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REESE    LIBRARY 

OF   TUB 

UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA. 

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,  Accessions  l\\>.  ^^7^^-<=J         Shelf  No... 


THE    WORKS 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT 


THE    WORKS 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT 


VOLUME   XXXI 


HISTORY  OF  WASHINGTON,  IDAHO,  AND  MONTANA 

1845-1889 


(It 


SAN    FRANCISCO 
THE    HISTORY   COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS 

1890 

,3 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  Year  1890,  by 
HUBERT   H.  BANCROFT, 

in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 
fj  $  2-S~ 

All  Rights  Reserved. 


PREFACE. 


IN  my  History  of  the  Northwest  Coast  I  have 
brought  down  the  annals  of  Washington,  Idaho,  and 
Montana  to  the  end  of  the  fur  company  regime,  in 
1846,  at  which  time  the  question  of  boundary  between 
the  possessions  of  Great  Britain  and  those  of  the 
United  States  was  determined,  the  subjects  of  the 
former  power  thereupon  retiring  from  the  banks  of 
the  Columbia  northward  beyond  the  line  of  latitude 
49°.  In  the  History  of  Oregon  I  have  likewise  given 
much  of  the  early  affairs  of  the  territory  treated  of  in 
this  volume,  that  territory  for  a  time  being  a  part  of 
Oregon;  just  as  in  the  history  of  Washington  much 
is  given  of  the  history  of  Idaho,  and  in  the  history 
of  Idaho  much  of  Montana. 

Under  the  term  Northwest  Coast  I  originally 
included  all  that  vast  region  of  North  America  north 
of  the  42d  parallel  and  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
Alaska  alone  excepted.  When,  in  184G,  the  south 
ern  line  of  British  Columbia  was  determined,  all  that 
remained  was  called  Oregon.  Later,  from  Oregon 
was  set  off  Washington;  from  Washington  was  set 
off  Idaho;  and  from  Idaho,  for  the  most  part,  was 
set  off  Montana.  Thus  for  some  part  of  the  history 
of  Montana  we  look  to  the  annals  of  Idaho,  Wash 
ington,  Oregon,  and  the  Northwest  Coast;  for  part 

(V) 


vi  PREFACE. 

of  the  history  of  Idaho  we  look  to  the  annals  of 
Washington  and  the  rest;  and  for  the  history  of 
Washington  we  must  have  also  the  histories  of  Ore 
gon  and  the  Northwest  Coast.  I  have  been  thus 
explicit  on  this  point,  in  order  that  the  people  of 
Washington,  Idaho,  and  Montana  might  thoroughly 
understand  how  the  histories  of  their  respective  sec 
tions  are  distributed  in  this  series — histories  which 
if  segregated  from  the  series  and  issued  separately 
would  each  fill  a  space  equal  to  two  of  my  volumes. 

There  were  those  among  the  early  pioneers  who 
came  to  the  Northwest  Coast  some  who  deter 
mined,  while  securing  to  themselves  such  homes  as 
they  might  choose  out  of  a  broad  expanse,  to  serve 
their  government  by  taking  possession  of  the  terri 
tory  north  of  the  Columbia  River,  not  as  Vancouver 
had  done  fifty-seven  years  before,  by  stepping  on 
shore  to  eat  luncheon  and  recite  some  ceremonies  to 
the  winds,  nor  as  Robert  Gray  had  done,  a  few  years 
later,  by  entering  and  naming  the  great  River  of  the 
West  after  his  ship;  but  by  actual  settlement  and  oc 
cupation.  I  need  not  repeat  here  the  narrative  of 
those  bold  measures  by  which  these  men  of  destiny 
achieved  what  they  aimed  at.  I  wish  only  to  declare 
that  they  no  more  knew  what  was  before  them  than 
did  the  first  immigrants  to  the  Willamette  Valley. 
Nevertheless,  it  fell  out  that  they  had  found  one  of 
the  choicest  portions  of  the  great  unknown  north 
west  ;  with  a  value  measured  not  alone  by  its  fertile  soil, 
but  also  by  its  wonderful  inland  sea,  with  its  salt 
water  canals  branching  off  in  all  directions,  deep,  safe 
from  storms,  always  open  to  navigation,  abounding  in 


PREFACE.  Tii 

fish,  bordered  many  miles  wide  with  the  most  magnifi 
cent  forests  on  earth.  It  did  not  require  the  im 
agination  of  a  poet  to  picture  a  glowing  future  for 
Puget  Sound,  albeit  far  away  in  the  dim  reaches  of 
time.  To  be  in  some  measure  connected  with  that 
future,  to  lay  ever  so  humbly  the  corner-stone,  was 
worth  all  the  toil  and  privation,  the  danger  and  the 
isolation,  incident  to  its  achievement. 

Not  only  was  there  this  inland  sea,  with  its  treas 
ures  inexhaustible  of  food  for  the  world,  and  its  fif 
teen  hundred  miles  of  shore  covered  with  pine  forests 
to  the  water's  edge,  but  surrounding  it  were  many 
small  valleys  of  the  richest  soils,  watered  by  streams 
fed  by  the  pure  snows  of  the  Cascade  and  Coast 
ranges,  half  prairie  and  half  forest,  warm,  sheltered 
from  winds,  enticing  the  weary  pilgrim  from  the 
eastern  side  of  the  continent  to  rest  in  their  calm 
solitudes.  It  was  true  that  the  native  wild  man  still  in 
habited  these  valleys  and  roamed  the  encircling  moun 
tains,  to  the  number  of  thirty  thousand ;  but  in  so  vast 
a  country  three  times  as  many  would  have  seemed 
few;  and  the  incomers  were  the  sons  of  sires  who  had 
met  and  subdued  the  savage  tribes  of  America  as 
they  pushed  their  way  westward  from  Plymouth  Hock 
to  the  Missouri  and  beyond;  therefore  they  had  no 
hesitation  now  in  settling  in  their  midst.  They  had 
been  bred  to  the  belief  that  "the  British  and  Ind 
ians"  would  melt  before  thorn. 

The  sources  of  material  for  writing  this  volume  are 
similar  to  those  which  have  enabled  me  to  write  all 
my  volumes;  namely,  all  existing  printed  matter, 
books,  public  documents,  and  newspapers,  together 


PREFACE. 


with  many  valuable  manuscripts,  the  results  of  hun 
dreds  of  dictations,  containing  the  experiences  of  those 
first  upon  the  ground  in  the  various  localities,  or  who 
have  in  any  manner  achieved  distinction  in  organiz 
ing  society  and  government  in  these  domains. 


COXTEKTS  OF  THIS  VOLUME. 


HISTORY   OF  WASHINGTON. 
CHAPTER    I. 

THE     FIRST    SETTLEMENTS. 

1845-1853. 

PAGE 

Attitude  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company — Michael  T.  Simmons  and  Asso 
ciates  Proceed  Northward — Settle  at  Budd  Inlet — Puget  Sound — 
Highlands — Tnmwater — Bush  Prairie — Chambers  Prairie — Neah  Bay 
— Marriages  and  Births — The  Indians  Pronounce  against  the  White 
Man — Effect  of  California  Gold  Discovery — The  Timber  Trade — 
Towns  Laid  out — Whidbey  Island  Settled — Occupation  of  the  Coast 
Country 1 

CHAPTER   II. 

POLITICS   AND    DEVELOPMENT. 

1845-1853. 

Public  Meetings — Settlers  versus  the  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Com 
pany —  Representation  in  the  Oregon  Legislature — Movements 
toward  the  Foundation  of  the  New  Territory  of  Columbia— Memo 
rial  to  Congress — If  not  a  Territory,  then  a  State — Queen  Charlotte 
Island  Expedition — The  Oregon  Legislature  Petition  Congress  for  a 
Division  of  Territory — Congress  Grants  the  Petition — But  instead  of 
Columbia,  the  New  Territory  is  Called  Washington — Officers  Ap 
pointed—Roads  Constructed — Immigration 39 

CHAPTER  III. 

ORGANIZATION    OF    GOVERNMENT. 

1853-1855. 

Governor  Isaac  Ingalls  Stevens— His  Life  and  Character— Railroad  Sur 
veys—Political  Parties— Election— First  Legislative  Assembly— Ita 
Personnel  and  Acts— Early  Newspapers— County  Organizations- 
Federal  Courts— Land  Claims  and  Land  Titles— Roads,  Mails,  and 
Express  Companies— San  Juan  Island— Indian  Troubles— Treaties 
and  Reservations — Stevens  in  Eastern  Washington •  • '  ° 


x  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

INDIAN    WARS. 

1855-1856. 

PAGE 

Causes  of  the  Indian  Outbreak — Discovery  of  Gold  near  Fort  Colville — 
Yakimas  Hostile — Expeditions  of  Major  0.  G.  Haller  into  the  Snake 
and  Yakima  Countries — Yakima  Campaign  of  1855— Movement  of 
Troops  on  the  Sound — Attack  on  Seattle — War  Vessels  on  the  Sound 
— Walla  Walla  Campaign  of  the  Oregon  Volunteers— Operations  of 
the  Second  Oregon  Regiment — Attack  on  the  Cascades — Colonel 
Cornelius  Returns  to  Portland , 108 


CHAPTER   V. 

INDIAN    WARS. 

1856-1858. 

Action  of  the  Governor — Disposition  of  Forces — New  Battalions — Plan 
of  Campaign — Battle  of  White  River — On  the  Sound— Martial  Law 
— Fighting  at  John  Day  River  and  Grand  Rond — East  of  the  Cas 
cade  Range — Stevens  in  the  Hostile  Country — Failure  of  his  Council 
— Lechi's  Betrayal,  Arrest,  Trials,  and  Execution — Assassination  of 
Quiemuth— Termination  of  Hostilities  011  the  Sound — Result — War 
Debt — Clarke  and  Wright's  Campaign — Defeat  of  Steptoe — Battles 
of  Four  Lakes  and  Spokane  Plains  in  the  Yakima  Country — Walla 
Walla  Country  Reopened 157 

CHAPTER   VI. 

THROUGH    FOUR   ADMINISTRATIONS. 

1855-1867. 

Party  Politics — Election  of  Delegate — Martial  Law — Stevens  Chosen 
Delegate — Death  of  Stevens — His  Character — Governor  McMullin — 
Fraser  River  Mining  Excitement— Its  Effect  on  Washington — Ser 
vices  of  Secretary  Mason — Governor  Gholson — Henry  M.  McGill — 
The  Capital  Question — The  University — Governor  Wallace — Gover 
nor  Pickering — The  Custom-house  Controversy — Inundation  of  Port 
Angeles 201 

CHAPTER   VII. 

MINING   AND   TOWN-MAKING. 

1861-1863. 

Organization  of  the  First  Washington  Infantry — Companies  from  Califor 
nia — Gold  Discoveries — Military  Road — Fraser  River  Travel — Col 
ville  Mines — The  Malheur  Country— The  Similkameen  Mines — 
American  Miners  in  British  Columbia — Gold  Discoveries  on  the 
Clearwater— On  Snake  River — Protest  of  the  Nez  Perec's — Pierce  City 


CONTENTS.  xi 

— Oro  Fino— Lewiston— Very  Rich  Diggings— California  Eclipsed— ^ 
Salmon  River  Mines— Political  Effect— Winter  Sufferings— Powder 
and  John  Day  Rivers— Florence  and  Warren  Diggings—  Boise"  Mines 
—Organization  of  the  Territory  of  Idaho 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

GOVERNMENT    AND    DEVELOPMENT. 

1863-1886. 

Effect  of  Territorial  Division— Election  of  Delegate— Negro  Suffrage 

Party  Politics — The  Legislature — Peace  and  Progress— Steamboating 
— Navigation  Companies — Clearing  Rivers — Public  Buildings— In 
sane  Asylum  and  Penitentiary — Legislative  Divorces — Government 
Reservations — Judicial  Affairs — Another  Delegate — Governor  Flan 
ders — Governor  Salomon — Governor  Ferry — Governor  Newell Era 

of  Railways — More  Elections — Political  Platforms — Convention — 
Woman's  Rights— Legislature 264 

CHAPTER   IX. 

PROGRESS    AND   STATEHOOD. 

Remarkable  Growth  of  the  Territory — Demand  for  Statehood — Enabling 
Act — State  Convention — Character  of  the  Delegates— Constitution 
Ratified— Waiting  for  a  Proclamation — Meeting  of  First  State 
Legislature — Character  of  Members — Unexpected  Delay  of  the  Presi 
dential  Proclamation — Election  of  Senators. . .  301 


HISTORY   OF    IDAHO. 
CHAPTER   I. 

PHYSICAL   FEATURES   AND    NATURAL    WEALTH. 

Territorial  Limits — The  World's  Wonder-land — Rivers,  Mountains,  and 
Valleys — Phenomenal  Features — Lava-fields — Mineral  Springs — 
Climate — Scores  of  Limpid  Lakes — Origin  of  the  Name  '  Idaho ' — In 
difference  of  Early  Immigrants — Natural  Productions — Game — Food 
Supply — Fur-bearing  Animals — First  Mormon  Settlement — County 
Divisions  of  Idaho  as  Part  of  Washington 393 

CHAPTER   II. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 

1862-1866. 

Mineral  Discoveries — Counties  and  Towns — Immigration — Routes  to 
the  Mines — Indian  Wars — Forts — Quartz- mining— Companies  and 
Claims— More  Town-building— Stage-roads— Sliding  Clubs— Traffic 
and  Travel — Oregon  versus  California— Mail  Contracts— Prospecting 
and  Mining— New  Districts— Output  of  Precious  Metals 406 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 

POLITICAL    AFFAIRS. 

1863-1885. 

PAGE 

Governor  Wallace — Territorial  Organization — Judicial  and  Legislative 
Matters — Acting  Governor  Daniels — Governor  Lyon — Secession  Sen 
timents — Crimes  and  Punishments — The  Magruder  Massacre — Vigi 
lance  Committees — Political  and  Highway  Robberies — Acting  Gov 
ernor  Smith — The  Capital  Question — Legislatures — Character  of 
Lyon — Acting  Governor  Howlett — Governor  Ballard — Gibbs — Mars- 
ton — Curtis  —  Bowen  —  Bennet  —  Judges  —  Governor  Thompson — 
Brayman — Neil — Bunn — Politics— Territorial  Limits — Federal  and 
Territorial  Officers . .  .  442 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THREATENING    ASPECT    OF   AFFAIRS. 
1861-1874. 

Tribal  and  Territorial  Divisions  of  the  Aborigines — Attitude  of  the  Nez 
Perce  Nation — Gold  Discovery  on  the  Nez  Perce  Reservation — 
Council  at  Lapwai — Terms  of  Treaty  Disregarded  by  the  White 
Men — Aboriginal  Diplomacy — Big  Thurder  and  the  Missionaries — 
Terms  of  the  New  Treaty — Claim  of  Eagle-from-the-light — Speech 
of  Lawyer — Conference  with  Joseph 481 


CHAPTER   V. 

INDIAN    WARS. 

1874-1878. 

March  of  the  Cavalry — Attitude  of  Joseph — His  Opinion  of  Indian  Res 
ervations — Indian  Outbreaks — Military  Companies  in  the  Field — 
The  Governors  of  Washington,  Oregon,  and  Idaho — Battle  of  Cotton- 
wood — Jealousies  between  Regulars  and  Volunteers — Battle  of  Clear- 
water — Flight  of  Joseph — Battle  of  Ruby  Creek — On  Snake  Creek 
— Surrender  of  Joseph — Another  Indian  Treaty — Disaffection  of  the 
Bannacks — Further  Fighting — End  of  Hostilities 497 


CHAPTER   VI. 

NATURAL    WEALTH. 

1865-1885. 

Mining  Prosperity  and  Reverses — Early  and  Later  Developments — The 
Several  Gold  and  Silver  Mining  Districts — The  Snake  River  Region 
— Production— Base  Metals — Iron  Veins — Salt — Sulphur — Soda — 
Mica — Stone — Agriculture — Soil — Grasses  and  Grazing— Forests— 
Climate — Health — Boundless  Possibilities 527 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

CHAPTER   VII. 

MATERIAL    AND    SOCIAL   PROGRESS. 

1864-1886. 

I'AGK 

Ada  County — Creation  of  the  Capital  of  Idaho — Origin  and  Development 
of  Towns — Farming  Settlements — Orchards — Stock-raising  —  Pio 
neers — Alturas  County — Mineral  and  Agricultural  Lands  and  Settle 
ment — Bear  Lake  County — Boise,  Cassia,  Custer,  Idaho,  Kootenai, 
Lemhi,  Nez  Perce,  Oneida,  Owyhee,  Shoshone,  and  Washington 
Counties— Public  Lands  in  Idaho— Social  Condition— Education- 
Religion — Benevolent  Societies — Public  Improvements— Railroads 
and  Telegraphs <r>4l 


HISTORY   OF   MONTANA. 
CHAPTER  I. 

NATURAL    WEALTH    AND    SETTLEMENT. 

1728-1862. 

The  Name — Configuration  and  Climate  — Game— Stock-raising  Advan 
tages—Minerals  and  Metals— Catacombs— Mauvaises  Terres— Early 
Explorations — Fur-hunters  and  Forts— Missionaries  and  Missions- 
Overland  Explorations  —  Railroad  Survey  —  Wagon-roads  —  Early 
Steamboats— Gold  Discoveries— The  Cattle  Business— First  Settlers 
—New  Counties  of  Washington 

CHAPTER  II. 

TOWN-BUILDING    AND   SOCIETY. 

1862-1864. 

Exploring  Expeditions— Pioneers  of  Montana— Prospecting  Parties— Or 
ganization  of  Districts— Stuart  and  Bozeman— De  Lacy— Biograph 
ical  Sketches  of  Settlers- Freights  and  Freight  Trains— Early  Soci 
ety  of  the  Mines— Road-agents  and  Vigilance  Committees— Legally 
Organized  Banditti— The  Sheriff  Highwayman  and  his  Deputies— A 
Typical  Trial— Wholesale  Assassination  and  Retribution. . 

CHAPTER  III. 

POLITICAL    AND   JUDICIAL. 

1864-1866. 

Organization  of  the  Territory-Boundaries  Established-Governor  Edger- 
ton-Judges  Appointed-First  Legislature-Seat  of  Governs 
Seal— Map— Meagher,  Acting  Governor-Party  Issues-* 
—Election- Early  Newspapers- Vigilance   Committee  Influen 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Eastern  Solons — Difficulties  Encountered  by  the  Early  Judges — 
Beidler — More  Legislation — Governor  Smith — Education — Assay 
Office — Surveyor-general — Removal  of  Capital 642 

CHAPTER    IV. 

POLITICAL    HISTORY. 

1866-1886. 

Special  Legislation — All  Made  Null  by  Congress — Useful  Laws — The  Cap 
ital  Question — Party  Issues — The  Several  Legislatures — Governor 
Ashley — Governor  Potts — Newspapers — Railway  Legislation — The 
Right-of-way  Question — Territorial  Extravagance — Northern  Pacific 
Railway— Local  Issues — Retrenchment  and  Reform 666 

CHAPTER  V. 

INDIAN    WARS. 

1855-1882. 

The  Blackfoot  Nation — Crows  and  Sioux — Their  Lands  and  their  Charac 
ters — The  Old,  Old  Issue — Treaty-making — Treaty-breaking,  Fight 
ing,  and  Finishing — Movements  of  Troops — Montana  Militia  Com 
panies — Establishing  Forts — Expeditions  for  Prospecting  and  Dis 
covery — Reservations — Long-continued  Hostilities  — Decisive  Meas 
ures 690 

CHAPTER   VI. 

MINING    AND    CATTLE-RAISING. 
1864-1880. 

Influx  of  Prospectors — Continued  Mineral  Discoveries — Alder  and  Last 
Chance  Gulches — Mining  Adventures — Some  Notable  Discoveries — 
Hydraulic  Machinery  —  Quartz-mining  —  Transportation  —  Routes 
and  Freights — The  Business  of  Cattle-growing — Ranges — Brands — 
Round-up — Product  and  Profit — Further  Mining  Developments  — 
Condition  of  Agriculture  and  Horticulture 720 

CHAPTER   VII. 

GENERAL    DEVELOPMENT. 

1870-1888. 

Condition  of  Montana  from  1870  to  1880 — Countries  Compared— Total 
Production  in  1888 — Price  of  Labor — Railroad  Era — Agriculture — 
Lumbering— Wages — Transportation  Companies — Coal — Looses  in 
Cattle — Mining  Development— Butte — Phillipsburg — Deer  Lodge — 
Helena — Great  Falls — Beuton — Eastern  Montana — Moral  and  Social 
Condition 750 


CONTENTS.  xv 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

PROGRESS   AND   STATEHOOD. 

1884-1889. 

Convention  of  1884 — Election  of  Delegate  and  Legislature — Republican 
and  Democratic  Conventions — Territorial  Officers — Governor  Leslie 
Appointed — Legislative  Sessions  and  Enactments — Memorials  con 
cerning  Mineral  Lands — The  Northern  Pacific  Railroad — Laws  to 
Guard  Elections— Thomas  H.  Carter,  Delegate — B.  F.  White,  Gov 
ernor — Enabling  Act  Passed  by  Congress — Constitutional  Convention 
— Features  of  the  Constitution — Political  Troubles 781 


AUTHORITIES   CONSULTED 


HISTORY    OF    WASHINGTON,    IDAHO, 
AND   MONTANA 


Absaraka,  or  Home  of  the  Crows.     Philadelphia,  1868. 

Adams  (W.  L. ),  Oregon  and  the  Pacific  Coast.  Boston,  I860;  Portland, 
Oregon,  1873. 

Albany  (Or.),  Register;  State  Rights  Democrat. 

Aildey  (Markfield),  George  Brinton  McClellau,  from  Cadet  to  Major-general. 
New  York,  1864. 

Alameda  Enciiial. 

Alvord  (B. ),  The  Cause  of  Learning  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  in  Evans'  Washing 
ton  Territory.  MS. 

American  Almanac.     Boston  and  New  York,  1830  et  seq. 

American  Mining  Index. 

American  Missionary.     New  York,  1862  et  seq. 

Anaheim  (Cal. ),  Gazette. 

Anderson  (Alex.  C.),  History  of  the  Northwest  Coast.     MS 

Angelo  (C.  Aubrey),  Idaho.     San  Francisco,  1865 

Antioch  (Cal.),  Ledger. 

Applegate  (Jesse),  Views  of  Oregon  History.     MS. 

Appletoii  (D.  &  Co.),  Journal.     New  York,  1868  et  seq. 

Armstrong  (A.  N.),  Oregon.      Chicago,  1857. 

Army  and  Navy  Journal. 

Ashland  (Or.),  Tidings. 

Astoria  (Or.),  Astorian. 

Atlantic  Monthly.     Boston,  1858  et  seq. 

Austin  (Nov.),  Reese  River  Reveille. 

Bagley  (V.  I.),  The  San  Juan  Affair.     MS. 
Baker  City  (Or.),  Reveille. 

Bilch  (Win  R.),  The  Mines,  Miners,  etc.,  of  the  U.  S.     Philadelphia,  1882. 
Ballou  (Win  T.),  Adventures.     MS. 
Bancroft  (A.  L.),  Journey  to  Oregon  in  18(52.     MS. 
Bancroft  (A.  L.  &  Co.),  Pacific  Coast  Guide.     San  Francisco,  1882. 
Bancroft  (Hubert  H.),  History  of  Oregon.     San  Francisco,  1SS6.    2  vols. 
Barkerville  (B.  C.),  Cariboo  Sentinel. 
Barnes  (G.  A.),  Oregon  and  California.     MS. 
Barret  (Leonard),  Travels  in  British  Columbia.     London,  1802. 
Barrows  (William),  Twelve  Nights  in  a  Hunter's  Camp.     Boston,  1869. 

(xvii) 


xviii  AUTHORITIES  CONSULTED 

Battle  Mountain  (Nev.),  Messenger. 

Bear  River  City  (Utah),  Index. 

Belcher  (Edward),  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  Round  the  World  in  1836—42. 
London,  1843.  2  vols. 

Bell  (Win  A.),  Settlement  of  Seattle.     MS. 

Bellevue  (Id.),  Wood  River  News. 

Benton  (Thos  H.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  1847. 

Berlin  Arbitration,  Papers  Relating  to  the  Treaty  of  Washington  (N.  W. 
Boundary),  vol.  v.  Washington,  1872. 

Blackfoot  (Id.),  Register. 

Blake  (W.  P.),  Production  of  the  Precious  Metals.  New  York  and  London, 
1809. 

Blanchet  (F.  N.),  Catholic  Missionaries  of  Oregon.  MS.;  Historical  Sketches 
of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Oregon.  Portland,  1878. 

Boise  City  (Id.),  Newspapers:  Chronicle;  Democrat;  Idahoan;  Idaho  States 
man;  News. 

Boiler  (Henry  A.),  Among  the  Indians.     Philadelphia,  1868. 

Bonanza  City  (Id.),  Yankee  Fork  Herald. 

Bond  (N.  T. ),  Early  History  of  Colorado,  Montana,  and  Idaho.     MS 

Bonnemaine  (Baron  de),  Stock-raising  in  Montana.     MS. 

Boston  (Mass.),  Advertiser. 

Bowles  (Saml),  Our  New  West.     Hartford,  New  York,  and  Chicago,  1869. 

Bowman,  Oregon  and  Washington.     MS. 

Bozeman  (Mont. ),  Avant  Courier. 

Bradshaw  (Chas  M.),  in  Sketches  of  Washington  Territory.     MS. 

Briefe  aus  den  Vereinigten  Staaten  von  Nord-Amerika.     Leipzig,  1853. 

Briggs  (Albert),  Port  Townsend.     MS. 

Bristol  (S. ),  Idaho  Nomenclature.     MS. 

Bristow  (E.  L.),  Rencounters.     MS. 

British  Columbia  Sketches.     MS. 

Brooks  (Chas  W.),  Japanese  Wrecks,  Stranded  and  Picked  up  Adrift,  in  the 
North  Pacific  Ocean.  San  Francisco,  1876. 

Brown  (B.  F.),  Narrative.     MS. 

Browne  (J.  H.),  Autobiography.     MS. 

Browne  (J.  Ross),  Report  on  the  Mineral  Resources  of  the  States  and  Terri 
tories  West  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Washington,  1868. 

Burchard  (H.  C.),  Reports  of  the  Director  of  the  Mint  upon  the  Productions 
of  the  Precious  Metals  in  the  U.  S.  Washington,  1881,  1882,  1883, 
1884. 

Burnett  (Peter  H.),  Recollections  of  the  Past.     MS.     2  vols. 

Butler  (J.  S.),  Life  and  Times  in  Idaho.     MS. 

Butte  (Mont.),  Miner. 

Campbell  (J.  L.),  Idaho;  Six  Months  in  the  Gold  Diggings.  Chicago,  1864; 
Western  Railroad  and  Emigrant  Guide.  Chicago,  1867. 

Camp  (David  W.),  American  Year  Book  and  National  Register.  Hartford 
(Conn.),  1869  et  seq. 

Carr  (Ezra  S.),  The  Patrons  of  Husbandry  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  San  Fran 
cisco,  1875. 

Carson  (Nev.),  State  Register. 

Cheyenne  (Wyom.),  Leader. 

Clark  (Jos.  G.),  Lights  and  Shadows  of  Sailor  Life.     Boston,  1848. 

Clyman  (Jas),  Note  Book,  1844-6.     MS. 

Codman  (John),  The  Round  Trip.     New  York,  1879. 

Coffin  (C.  C.),  The  Seat  of  Empire.     Boston,  1870. 

Coghanour  (D.),  Boise  Basin.     MS. 

Coke  (Henry  J.),  A  Ride  over  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Oregon  and  Cal. 
London,  1852. 

Colfax  (Wash.),  Palouse  Gazette. 

Colorado  Mining  Review,  iu  S.  F.  Coast  Review,  Apr.  1873. 


AUTHORITIES   CONSULTED.  xix 

Columbia  (Mo.),  Pastoral  Address,  etc.     n.  pi.,  1864. 

Congressional  Globe.     Washington  (1).  C. ),  1840  et  seq. 

Contemporary  Biography,  etc.      San  Francisco,  1SS1. 

Cooper  (Jas),  Maritime  Matters.     MS. 

Cooper  and  Suckley,  Natural  History  of  Wash.  Ty.     New  York,  1859. 

Corinne  (Utah),  Reporter. 

Cormvallis  (Kinahan),  New  Eldorado,  etc.     London,  1858. 

Corvallis  (Or.),  Gazette. 

Cox  (Ross),  Adventures  on  the  Columbia  River.     London,  1831;  New  York, 

1832.     2  vols. 

Cram  (T.  J.),  Topog.  Memoir  on  the  Dept  of  the  Pacific.       Washington,  1859. 
Cyclopedia  ot  Missions.     New  York,  1800. 

Dallas  (Or.),  Republican. 

Daly's  Address  Amer.  Geog.  Soc.,  1873. 

Davidson  (George),  Coast  Pilot  of  Cal.,  etc.     Washington,  1869. 

Davis  (Jeff.  C. ),  in  Mil.  Repts  Dept  Columbia,  Sept.  1,  1874. 

Dayton  (Or.),  Columbia  Chronicle;  Dem.  State  Journal;  Weekly  News. 

Deady  (M.  P.),  Hist.  Oregon.     MS.;  Scrap-Book. 

Deans  (Jas),  Vancouver  Island.     MS. 

De  Bow  (J.  D.  B.),  Encyclopedia  of  Trade,  etc.     London,  1854.    2  vols. 

De  Cosmos  (Amor),  Br.  Col.  Government.     MS. 

Deer  Lodge  (Mont.),  Independent;  New  Northwest. 

De  Groot  (Henry),  British  Columbia,  etc.     San  Francisco,  1859. 

Denny  (A.  A. ),  Snoqualmie  Iron  Mountain.  MS. ;  in  Wash.  Ter.  Sketches. 
MS. 

De  Smet  (P.  J.),  Letters  and  Sketches.  Philadelphia,  1843;  Voyages  aux 
Montagnes  Rocheuses.  Lille  (Fr.),  1859;  Western  Missions  and  Mis 
sionaries.  New  York,  1868. 

Des  Moines  (Iowa),  Register. 

Desmond  (R.  E.),  in  S.  F.  Alta  California,  Apr.  1,  1880. 

Dickinson  (Danl  S.),  Speeches,  Correspondence,  etc.    New  York,  1867.  2  vols. 

Dimsdaie  (Thos  J.),  Vigilantes  of  Montana.     Virginia  City  (Mont.),  18C6. 

Dix  (John  A.),  Speeches,  etc.     New  York,  1864.  2  vols. 

Dowell's  Scrap-Book. 

Drew  (C.  S.),  Owyhee  Reconnois.     Jacksonville  (Or.),  1865. 

Dunlop  (Jas),  Digest  of  Genl  Laws  of  U.  S.     Philadelphia,  1856. 

Dunn  (John),  Hist,  of  the  Or.  Territory.     London,  1844. 

Dutch  Flat  (Cal.),  Forum. 

Eastwick  (Phil.  G.),  Puget  Sound  Coal  Mines.     MS. 

Ebey  (Geo.  W.),  Journal.     MS.;  Letter  in  Enos' Collection.     MS. 

Edinburgh  Review,  1859  et  seq. 

Edwards  (P.  L.),  Sketches  of  Oregon.     MS. 

Eldridge  (Edward),  Sketch  of  Washington  Ty.  MS.;  in  Vancouver  Regis- 
ter,  Apr.  2,  1875. 

Elko  (Nev.),  Independent. 

Ellice  (E.),  in  Rept  Hudson's  Bay  Co.,  Aug.  1857. 

Ellicott  (Eugene),  Puget  Sound  Nomenclature.     MS. 

Esmeralda  (Nev.),  Herald,  Dec.  21,  1879. 

Eureka  (Nev.),  Humboldt  Times;  Sentinel. 

Evans  (Elwood),  Address,  Jan.  5,  1869;  July  9,  1880;  Division  of  the  J 
tory,   MS.;    Documents,   MS.,   lettered   as  follows:    H;  LL;    N;    11; 
T;  V;  ZZ;  Exploration  of  Vancouver  Island,  MS.;  Fraser  River  Excifa 
nent,  MS.;  Hist.  Mem.,  MS.;  Letter  to  Mrs  Victor,  Mh.;  Martial  Law 
in  Wash.  Ty,  MS.;  Northwest  Boundary,  MS.;  Northwest  < 
MS.,  in  Olympia  Club  Conversations,  MS.;  Oregon,  MS.;  Puyallup  A<i- 
dress,  MS.;  Reannexation  of  B.  C.  to  the  U.  S.,  Olympia  (Wash.),  1« 
Scrap-Book;  Trial  of  Leschi,  MS.;  Trial  of  Yellow  Jim,  MS.:  Wa«hini 
ton,  Past  and  Future,  Olympia,  1877;  Washington  Records,  No.  11,  Mfc. 


xx  AUTHORITIES   CONSULTED. 

Farmer  (E.  J.),  Resources  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.     Cleveland  (0.),  1883. 

Farnham  (J.  T.),  Hist,  of  Oregon  Territory.     New  York,  1844. 

Ferry  (Elisha  P.),  Message  to  Legislative  Assembly  (Wash.),  1873. 

Findlay  (Alex.  G.),  Directory  for  the  Navigation  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Lon 
don,  1851.  2  parts. 

Finlayson  (R-),  Vancouver  Island  and  N.  W.  Coast.     MS. 

Fisher  (L  P.),  Advertiser's  Guide.     San  Francisco,  1870  el  seq. 

Fisher  (R.  S.)  and  Colby  (Chas),  Amer.  Statis.  Annual.     New  York,  1854. 

Fitzgerald  ( Jas  E. ),  Charter  and  Proceedings  of  H.  B.  Co.  with  Reference  to 
Vancouver  Island.  London,  1849. 

Flanders  (Alvan),  Speech  on  Puget  Sound  and  Columbia  River  R.  R.  Bill, 
n.  pi.,  1868. 

Folsom  (Cal. ),  Telegraph. 

Ford  (N. ),  Pioneer  Road  Makers. 

Fort  Benton  (Mont.),  New  Northwest;  Record;  River  Press. 

Fort  L-ingly  Journal.     MS. 

Fremout  (J.  C.),  Exploring  Expedition,  etc.,  1843-4.     Washington,  1845. 

Fresno  (Cal.),   Expositor. 

Fry  (F.),  Fry's  Travellers  Guide.     Cincinnati,  1865. 

Gannett  (Henry),  Lists  of  Elevations.     Washington,  1877. 

Garfielde  (S.),  Climates  of  the  Northwest.     Philadelphia,  1872. 

Garnett  (Louis  A.),  Outlines  of  a  Scheme  for  Controlling  the  Coal  Trade. 
New  York,  1865. 

Gass  (Patrick),  Journal  of  Lewis  and  Clarke's  Expedition,  etc.  London, 
1808. 

General  Orders  Hdqrs  Dept  of  the  Columbia,  June  22,  1874;  Sept.  20,  Dec. 
31,  1875. 

Gibbs  (A.  C.),  Notes  on  Or.  History.     MS. 

Gibbs  (George),  in  Pacific  R.  R.  Reports,  i. 

Gibbs  (O.  J.),  Treaty  with  Great  Britain.     MS. 

Gilbert  (J.  J.),  Logging  and  R.  R.  Building.     MS.;  Puget  Sound.     MS. 

Goddard  (F.  B.),  Where  to  Emigrate,  and  Why.     New  York,  1869. 

Gold  Hill  (Nev.),  News. 

Goodyear  (W.  A.),  Coal  Mines  of  the  Western  Coast,  etc.  San  Francisco, 
1877. 

Grant  (W.  C.),  Description  of  Vancouver  Island,  in  London  Geog.  Soc.  Jour 
nal,  xxvii. 

Grass  Valley  (Cal.),  Republican;  Union. 

Gray  (W.  H.),  History  of  Oregon.     Portland,  etc.,  1870. 

Greenhow  (Robt),  Hist,  of  Oregon  and  California.  London,  1844;  and  Bos 
ton  (Mass.),  1847. 

Grover  (Lafayette),  Notable  Things  in  Or.  History.     MS.;  Public  Life.     MS. 

Hall  (James),  Sketches  of  the  West.     Cincinnati,  1834;  Philadelphia,  J835. 

Hancock  (Samuel),  Thirteen  Years'  Residence  on  the  Northwest  Coast.     MS. 

Hanford  (Abby  J.),  Indian  Attack  on  Seattle.     MS. 

Hansard's  Parliamentary  Debates.     London,  1860. 

Harper's  Magazine.     New  York,  1854  et  seq. 

Harrison  (J.  M.),  Harrison's  Guide,  etc.,  of  the  Pacific  Slope.  San  Fran 
cisco,  1872. 

Harvey  (Mrs  Eloise),  Life  of  McLoughlin.     MS. 

Hay  den  (F.  V.),  Geol.  Survey.     Washington  (D.  C.),  1873  et  seq. 

Hays'  Scrap-Books.     129  vols. 

Hayt  (E.  A.),  in  Sec.  Inter.  Rept,  1878-9. 

Healdsburg  (Cal.),  Russian  River  Flag;  Standard. 

Helena  (Mont.),  Herald;  Independent;  Post;  Republican;  Rocky  Mtn  Ga 
zette. 

Hesperian.     San  Francisco,  1858  et  seq. 

Hill  (N.  D.),  in  Wash.  Ty  Sketches.     MS. 


AUTHORITIES  CONSULTED.  xxi 

Hines  (Gustavus),  Oregon  and  its  Institutions.  New  York,  18G8;  Oregon: 
Its  History,  etc.  Buffalo  (N.  Y.),  1851;  Voyage  Round  the  World,  etc 
Buffalo  (N.  Y.),  1850. 

Historical  Magazine,  etc.      Boston  (Mass.),  1857  et  seq. 

Hittell  (John  S.),  Commerce  and  Industry  of  the  Pac.  Coast.  San  Fran 
cisco,  188-2;  Resources  of  California.  San  Francisco,  1874;  Scrap-Books; 
Manufactures;  Washington  Territory. 

Hofeu  (L.),  History  of  Idaho  County.     MS. 

Honolulu  (S.  I.),  Friend;  Polynesian. 

Hopkins  (C.  T.)  and  Ringot  (J.),  Ship-building  on  the  Pac.  Coast.  San 
Francisco,  1867. 

Howard  (Jacob  M.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  April  16,  1869. 

Howard  (0.  0.),  in  Military  Repts  Dept  Columbia,  Sept.  1,  1876. 

Howison  (N.  M.),  Report  on  Coast,  Harbors,  etc.,  of  Oregon,  1846.  Wash 
ington,  1848. 

Hudson's  Bay  and  Puget  Sound  Agric.  Co.'s  Claims.  Montreal  (Can.),  and 
Washington  (D.  C.).  1868 et  seq.  Memorials  Presented  to  the  Commis 
sioners,  April  17,  1865. 

Humboldt  (Nev.),  Times. 

Hutchings' California  Magazine,  1857  et  seq. 

Hutton  (J.  M.),  Early  Events,  etc.     MS. 

Idaho  City  (Id.),  News;  Union;  World. 

Idaho:  General  Laws,  1863-4  et  seq.;  House  and  Council  Journals,  1863^4 
et  seq. ;  Scraps;  Supt  Pub.  Instruction  Reports,  1865  et  seq. 

Jackson  (Cal.),  Amador  Ledger. 

Jacksonville  (Or.),  Dem.  Times;  Sentinel. 

Judge  (Jas),  in  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  July  30,  1870. 

Kelley  (Hall  J.),  Hist,  of  the  Settlement  of  Oregon.    Springfield  (Mass.),  1868. 

Kenyon  (F.),  Laws  of  Idaho  Relating  to  Quartz.     San  Francisco,  1866. 

Kip  (Lawrence),  Army  Life  on  the  Pacific.  New  York,  1859.  Indian  Coun 
cil  in  the  Valley  of  the  Walla  Walla.  San  Francisco,  1855. 

Kirchoff  (Theodor),  Reisebilder  und  Skissen  aus  Amerika.  New  York,  1875, 
1876.  2  vols. 

Knapp  (H.  H.),  Statements  of  Events  in  Idaho.     MS. 

Knox  (Thos  W.),  Underground  World,  etc.     Hartford  (Conn.),  1878. 

Kohl,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Reports,  xii.     Washington  (D.  C.),  1860. 

La  Conner  (Wash.),  Puget  Sound  Mail. 
La  Grande  (Or. ),  Mountain  Sentinel,  in  Idaho  World. 
Langevin  (H.  L.),  Report,  1852.     Ottawa  (Can.),  1872. 
Langley  (H.  G.),  Pacific  Coast  Directory,  1869  et  seq.     San  Francisco. 
Larocque,  Skagit  Mines. 
Lawson  (Jas  S. ),  Autobiography.     MS. 

Lee  (D.)  and  Frost  (J.  H.),  Ten  Years  in  Oregon.     New  York,  1844. 
Lewis  (Phil.  H.),  Coal  Discoveries  in  Wash.  Ty.     MS. 

Lewis  and  Clarke's  Travels  to  the  Source  of  the  Missouri  River,  etc.  Lon 
don,  1814. 

Lewiston  (Id.),  Golden  Age;  Journal;  Northerner;  Radiator;  Signal. 
London  Times,  Jan.  12,  1861. 

Lord  (Jno.  K.),  Naturalist  in  Vancouver's  Island,  etc.     London,  1866. 
Los  Angeles  (Cal.),  Herald;  Republican;  Star. 

Louisville  (Ky),  Courier-Journal,  in  Boise  Statesman,  Jan.  8,  1876. 
Ludlow  (F.  H.),  Heart  of  the  Continent.     New  York,  1870. 
Ludlow  (Wm),  Rept  of  a  Reconnoissance,  etc.,  1875.     Washington,  1876. 

Macfarlane  (Jas),  Coal  Regions  of  America.     New  York,  1873. 
Maize  (H.  B.),  Early  Events.     MS. 


xxii  AUTHORITIES  CONSULTED. 

Mariposa  (Cal.),  Gazette. 

Marshall  (i\  W.  M.),  Christian  Missions,  etc.     New  York,  1864.     2  vols. 

Martin  (R.  M.),  Hudson's  Bay  Territories,  etc.     London,  1849. 

Marysville  (Cal.),  Appeal. 

Mayne  (R.  C.),  Four  Years  in  Br.  Col.     London,  1862. 

McCabe  (Jas  D.  Jr.),  Comprehensive  View  of  Oar  Country,  etc.  Philadel 
phia,  etc.,  1876. 

McClure  (A.  K.),  Three  Thousand  Miles  through  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Philadelphia,  1869. 

McCoimell  (W.  J.),  Idaho  Inferno.     MS. 

McCormick  (S.  J.),  Almanac  for  Wash.,  Oregon,  etc.  Portland  (Or.),  1854 
et  seq. ;  Portland  Directory,  1863  et  seq.  Portland  (Or.). 

McCracken  (Jno.),  Early  Steamboating.     MS. 

McKay  (Jas  Wm),  Recollections  of  Hudson's  Bay  Co.     MS. 

Meagher  (Thos  F.),  in  Harper's  Magazine,  Oct.  1867;  in  Hays'  Scraps,  Min 
ing,  iii.,  25-6. 

Meeker  (E.),  Washington  Territory,  etc.     Olympia,  1870. 

Mercer  (A.  S.),  Washington  Territory,  etc.     Utica  (N.  Y.),  1865. 

Mercer  (Thos),  in  Bell's  Settlement  of  Seattle.  MS. ;  in  Wash.  Ty  Sketches. 
MS. 

Meteorological  Register,  U.  S.  Army,  1843-54.     Washington  (D.  C.),  1855. 

Methodist  Episc.  Church  Ann.  Conferences,  1856  et  seq.     San  Francisco. 

Miller  (Joaquin),  in  Walla  Walla  (Wash.)  Statesman,  Dec.  11,  1880. 

Miner  (The),  San  Francisco,  1866  et  seq. 

Missoula  (Mont.),  Missoulian;  Pioneer. 

Modesto  (Cal.),  News. 

Montana:  Hist.  Soc.  Contributions,  Helena,  1876  et  seq.;  Scraps. 

Montana  Pub.  Doc.:  Auditor's  Reports,  1866  et  seq.;  Council  Journals,  1864 
et  seq.;  House  Journals,  1864  et  seq.;  Laws,  1864  et  seq.;  Proclamation 
of  Gov.  Potts,  1877;  Reports  of  Gov.  to  Sec.  of  Interior,  1866  et  seq. 

Monteith  (Jno.  B.),  in  Rept  Sec.  Interior,  1877-8. 

Monterey  (Cal.),  Democrat. 

Morris  (Win  G.),  Address  before  Soc.  Cal.  Volunteers,  April  25,  1866.  San 
Francisco. 

Morse  (Eldridge),  Notes  of  Hist,  and  Res.  of  Wash.  Territory.     24  vols.  MS. 

Morse  (Jed.),  Rept  to  Sec.  of  WTar  on  Indian  Affairs.  New  Haven  (Conn.), 
1822. 

Moseley  (H.  N.),  Oregon:  Its  Resources.     London,  1878. 

Mullan  (John),  Miners' and  Travellers' Guide,  etc.  New  York,  1865;  Rept 
on  the  Construe,  of  a  Military  Road,  etc.  Washington,  1868;  in  Walla 
Walla  (Wash.)  Statesman,  June  6,  1863. 

Murphy  and  Harned,  Puget  Sound  Business  Directory,  1872. 

Napa  (Cal.),  Register. 

National  Almanac,  1863  et  seq.     Philadelphia,  etc. 

Neil  (Gov.  J.  B.),  Message  to  Idaho  Legislative  Assembly,  in  Silver  City 

(Id.)  Owyhee  Avalanche,  Dec.  18    1880;  Message,  1882;  Reports  to  Sec. 

of  Interior,  1880,  1882. 

Newberry  (J.  S.),  Report  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Reports,  vi. 
New  Tacoma  (Wash.),  Tacoma  Herald;  Ledger;  North  Pac.  Coast. 
New  York  Tribune,  in  Helena  (Mont.)  Gazette,  Sept.  6,  1873. 
Nichols  (Rowena),  Indian  Affairs.     MS. 
Nidever  (Geo. ),  Life  and  Adventures.     MS. 

Niles'  National  Register.     Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  1811  et  seq. 
Northern  Pac.  R.  R.  Settlers'  Guide,     n.pl.,  1872. 

Oats  (J.  W.),  in  The  Calif ornian,  Feb.  1880. 

Olympia  Club  Conversations.     MS. 

Olympia  (Wash.),  Columbian;  Echo;  Overland  Press;  Pacific  Tribune;  Pio 
neer;  Pioneer  and  Democrat;  Puget  Sound  Courier;  Territorial  Repub 
lican;  Transcript;  Washington  Standard. 


AUTHORITIES   CONSULTED.  xxiii 

O'Meara  (Jas),  in  Idaho  World,  Oct.  2,  1807. 

Oregon.  Archives.     MS. 

Oregon  City,  Enterprise;  Oregon  Spectator. 

Oregon  Pub.  Doc.  as  follows:  Adj.-Geul  Report,  1866;  Jour.  Council,  1852-3, 

1853^4;  Jour.  House,  1S65;  Jour.  Senate,  i860,  app. 
Oregon  and  Washington  Scraps. 
Oregon  and  Washington;   Statement  of  Delegation  in  Regard  to  War  Claims. 

n.  impt. 

Overland  Monthly,  in  Bois<§  Statesman,  Sept.  10,  1870. 
Overland  Press,  in  Portland  Wy.  Oregonian,  April  30,  1864. 
Owens  (Geo.),  Directory;  East  of  Cascade  Mountains.     San  Francisco,  1865. 
Oxford,  Idaho  Enterprise. 

Palmer  (Joel),  Journal  of  Travels  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  etc.  Cincin 
nati,  1852. 

Parker  (J.  G-.),  Puget  Sound.     MS. 

Peirce  (H.  M.),  Memoranda.     MS. 

Pengra  (B.  J.),  Report  of  Recent  Surveys,  etc.     Eugene  City  (Or.),  1865. 

Pettygrove  (F.  W.),  Oregon  in  1842.     MS. 

Plielps  (T.  S.),  Reminiscences  of  Seattle.     Philadelphia,  1881. 

Plummer  (A.  A.),  in  Wash.  Ty  Sketches.     MS. 

Pomeroy  (Wash.),  Independent. 

Portland  (Or.),  Advertiser;  in  Sac.  Union,  Nov.  23,  I860;  Bee;  Bulletin; 
Columbia  Evng  Telegram;  Herald;  New  Northwest;  Oregon  Deutche 
Zeitung;  Oregonian;  Pac.  Christ.  Advocate;  Standard;  West  Shore. 

Portland  (Or. ),  Board  of  Trade  Report,  1877. 

Port  Townsend  (Wash.),  Argus;  Democ.  Press;  Message;  Northwest;  Register. 

Price  (Henry  A.),  in  Niles'  National  Register,  Ixiii.,  242-3. 

Quigley  (Hugh),  Irish  Race  in  California,  etc.     San  Francisco,  1878. 

Rabbison  (A.  B. ),  Growth  of  Towns.     MS. 

Rawlings  (Thos),  Confederation  of  the  Br.  N.  Amer.  Confederation.  Lon 
don,  1865. 

Raymond  (R.  W.),  Mining  Industry  of  the  States,  etc.  New  York,  1874; 
Statistics  of  Mines,  etc.  Washington,  1873;  in  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  210,  42d 
Cong.  3d  Sess.;  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  141,  43d  Cong.  1st  Sess.;  H.  Ex.  Doc., 
177,  43d  Cong.  2d  Sess.;  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  159,  44th  Cong.  1st  Sess. 

Red  Bluff  (Cal. ),  Independent;  Sentinel. 

Redwood  (Cal.),  Gazette. 

Remy  (Jules)  and  Brenchley  (Julius),  Journey  to  Great  Salt  Lake  City. 
London,  1861. 

Reno  (Nev. ),  Gazette. 

Renton  (Wash.),  Coal  Company.     San  Francisco,  1874. 

Riblett  (Frank),  Snake  River  Region.     MS. 

Richmond  (Ind.),  Herald,  in  Silver  City  Owyhee  Avalanche,  Dec.  9,  1871. 

Richardson  (A.  D.),  Beyond  the  Mississippi.     Hartford  (Conn.),  1S67. 

Roberts  (Geo.  B.),  Recollections.     MS. 

Roder  (Henry),  Bellingham  Bay.     MS. 

Roseburg  (Or.),  Independent;  Plaindealer. 

Rossi  (1'Abbie),  Souvenirs  d'un  Voyage  en  Oregon  et  en  Californie.  Paris, 
1864. 

Ruby  City  (Id.),  Owyhee  Avalanche. 

Rusfing  (Jas  F.),  Across  America.     New  York,  1874. 

Russell  (Florence),  Child  Life  in  Oregon.     Boston  (Mass.),  n.  d. 

Sacramento  (Cal.),  Bee;  Record-Union;  Union. 

Saint-Amant  (M.  dc),  Voyages  en  Californie  et  dans  I'Ore'gon.     laris,  It 
St  Louis  (Mo.),  Democrat,  in  S.  F.  Bulletin,  July  28,  1871;  Times-Journal, 
March  11,  1879. 


xxiv  AUTHORITIES   CONSULTED. 

St  Paul  (Minn.),  Pioneer,  in  Helena  (Mont.)  Independent,  June  13,  1878. 

Salem  (Or.),  Mercury;  Oregon  Argus;  Statesman;  Unionist;  Willamette 
Farmer. 

Salinas  (Cal.),  City  Index. 

Salomon  (Gov.  E.  S.),  Message  to  Wash.  Legis.  Assembly,  1871. 

Salt  Lake  City,  Deseret  News;  Herald;  Telegraph;  Tribune;  Union  Vedette. 

San  Buenaventura  (Cal.),  Free  Press. 

San  Diego  (Cal. ),  Union. 

San  Francisco  newspapers  as  follows:  Abend  Post;  Advocate;  Alta  Califor 
nia;  Bulletin;  Cal.  Christ.  Advocate;  Call;  Chronicle;  Comml  Herald 
and  Market  Rev. ;  Comml  Review;  Courrier  de  San  Francisco;  Elevator; 
Evening  Picayune;  Examiner;  Golden  Era;  Herald;  Journal  of  Com 
merce;  Mining  Review;  Mining  and  Scientific  Press;  Monitor;  Pacific 
News;  Pacing  Rural  Press;  Post;  Stock  Report;  The  Pacific;  Times; 
True  Calif ornian;  Visitor. 

Saxton  (Chas),  in  Niles'  National  Register,  Ixix.,  242. 

Say  ward  (W.  T.),  Pioneer  Reminiscences.     MS. 

Scenes  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.     Philadelphia,  1846. 

Schultz  (Mrs  T. ),  Early  Anecdotes.     MS. 

Seattle  (Wash.),  Intelligencer;  Post;  Puget  Sound  Dispatch;  Puget  Sound 
Gazette;  Puget  Sound  Semi-weekly;  Tribune;  Washington  Gazette. 

Shasta  (Cal.),  Courier. 

Shoup  (G.  L.),  Idaho  Territory.     MS. 

Shuck  (0.  T.),  Representative  and  Leading  Men,  etc.  San  Francisco,  1870, 
1875. 

Silliman  (Benj.),  Amer.  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts.  New  Haven  (Conn.), 
1819  et  seq. 

Silver  City  (Id.),  Owyhee  Avalanche. 

Simmons  (M.  T.),  in  H.  B.  Co.  Evidence  in  H.  B.  Co.  Claims;  in  Ind.  Affairs 
Report,  1857,  1858. 

Simpson  (Sir  G.),  Narrative  of  a  Journey  Round  the  World.  London,  1847. 
2  vols. ;  in  Rept  Hudson's  Bay  Co.,  July,  Aug.,  1857. 

Siskiyou  County  (Cal.),  Affairs.     MS. 

Smyth  (John  H.),  Law  of  Homestead,  etc.     San  Francisco,  1875. 

Snohomish  (Wash.),  Northern  Star. 

Solano  (Cal. ),  Suisun  Herald. 

Sonith  (Sec.  R,  G.),  in  Rept  Hudson's  Bay  Co.,  July,  Aug.,  1857. 

Spalding  (H.  H.),  in  Van  Tramp  (J.  C.),  Prairie  and  Rocky  Mtn  Adventures, 
etc.  St  Louis  (Mo.),  1860. 

Spence  (Thos),  Settler's  Guide  in  the  U.  S.,  etc.,  1862. 

Spirit  of  Missions.     New  York,  1868. 

Spokane  Falls  (Wash.),  Spokane  Times. 

Star  (F.  R.),  Idaho.     MS. 

Steele  ( Alden  H. ),  With  the  Rifle  Regiment.     MS. 

Steele  (Fred.),  in  Gen.  Orders  Hdqrs  Dept  Columbia,  Nov.  1,  1867. 

Steilacoom  (Wash.),  Puget  Sound  Express;  Herald. 

Stevens  (I.  I.),  Address  on  the  Northwest.  N.  Y.,  Dec.  2,  1858;  Washing 
ton,  1858;  in  Ind.  Affairs  Report,  1854;  Letter  to  R.  R.  Convention,  etc., 
Washington  (D.  C.),  1860;  Message  to  Wash.  Legis.  Assembly,  1856-7, 
in  H.  Jour.,  app.,  i.-xxiii. ;  Narrative,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Reports,  xii.;  Proc. 
declaring  Pierce  Co.  under  Martial  Law,  in  Wash.  H.  Jour.,  1856-7, 
app.,  xxxix.;  Remarks  on  War  Expenses  of  Wash,  and  Oregon,  etc., 
Washington  (D.  C.),  1860. 

Stockton  (Cal.),  Independent. 

Strahorn  (Robt  E.),  Resources  and  Attrac.  of  Idaho,  etc.  Boise  City  (Id.), 
1881;  To  the  Rockies,  etc.  Chicago,  1881. 

Strong  (Win),  Hist,  of  Oregon.     MS. 

Stuart  (Mrs  A.  H.  H.),  Rept  of  Board  of  Immigration  to  Wash.  Legis.  As 
sembly.  Olympia  (Wash.),  1877;  Wash.  Territory;  Information  Con 
cerning,  etc.,  its  Soil,  etc.  Olympia,  1875. 


AUTHORITIES  CONSULTED  xxv 

Stuart  (Granville),  Montana  as  It  is.     New  York,  1865.     In  Montana  Hist 

Soc.  Proceedings,  i.     n.  impt. 
Susauville  (Cal.),  Lasseii  Co.  Advocate. 
Sutherland  (Thos_A.),  Howard's  Campaign  against  Nez  Perce  Indians    1877 

Portland,  16/8. 
Swan  (Jas  G .),  in  Boston  (Mass.)  Ev.  Transcript,  May  25,  1857;  Northwest 

Coast,  etc.     New  \ork,   1857;  Scrap-Books.     2  vols;  Wash.   Sketches. 

Alo. 

Swan  (J.  M.),  Colonizations.     MS. 
Sylvester  (Edward),  Founding  of  Olympia.     MS. 
Symons  (T.  W.),  in  S.  Ex.  Doc.  18G,  47th  Cong.  1st  Sess. 

Tacoma  (Wash.),  Pac.  Tribune. 

The  Dalles  (Or.),  Dalles  Inland  Empire;  Mountaineer. 

The  Mining  Industry.     Denver  (Colo.),  1881. 

Thompson  (A.  W.),  Law  of  the  Farm.     San  Francisco,  1876. 

Thornton  (J.  Q.),  Or.  and   California  in    1848.     New  York,   1849;   Oregon 

History.     MS. 

Tod  (John),  New  Caledonia.     MS. 
Tolmie   (Wm  F.),  Journal,   1833.     MS.;   Puget   Sound   and  N.  W.  Coast. 

MS. 

Townsend  (Jno.  K.),  Narrative  of  a  Journey,  etc.     Philadelphia,  1839. 
Tribune  Almanac.     New  York,  1838  et  seq. 
Tucker  (Eph.  W.),  Hist,  of  Oregon.     Buffalo  (N.  Y.),  1844. 
Tuscarora  (Nev.),  Times-Review. 
Twiss  (Travers),  Oregon  Question.     London,  1846. 

Umatilla  (Or.),  Advertiser;  Columbia  Press. 

U.  S.  Pub.  Doc.  as  follows:  Acts  and  Resolutions,  1853^1  et  seq.;  Bureau  of 
Statis.  Reports,  1854  et  seq.;  Census,  1850  et  seq.;  Commerce  and  Nav. 
Reports,  1857  et  seq.;  Commercial  Relations,  Reports,  1858  et  seq.; 
Commissioner's  Reports:  Agriculture,  1855  et  seq.;  Education,  1854  et 
seq.;  Indian  Affairs,  1854  et  seq.;  Internal  Revenue,  1863 et  seq.;  Lands, 
1855  et  seq.;  Director  of  Mint  Reports,  1863  et  seq.;  Congress.  Direc., 
1853-4  et  seq.;  House  Journals,  1853-4  et  seq.;  H.  Com.  Repts,  376, 
35th  Cong.  1st  Sess.;  no.  630,  43d  Cong.  1st  Sess.;  no.  1505,  46th 
Cong.  2d  Sess.;  Ex.  Doc.,  93,  35th  Cong.  1st  Sess.;  no.  1,  4'_M  Cong. 
3d  Sess.;  Life  Saving  Service  Reports,  1880  et  seq.;  Messages  and  Docs., 
1853-4  et  seq.;  Official  Registers,  1853  et  seq.;  Postmaster-Genl  Re 
ports,  1853  et  seq.;  Quartcrmaster-Genl  Reports,  1849  et  seq.;  Reply  of 
U.  S.  to  Hudson's  Bay  Co. 's  Claims,  Washington,  1872;  Sec.  Interior 
Reports,  1854  et  seq.;  Sec.  Treasury  Reports,  1854  et  seq.;  Sec.  War 
Reports,  1849  et  seq.;  Senate  Journals,  1853-4  et  seq.;  S.  Com.  Reports, 
47,  41st  Cong.  2d  Sess.;  S.  Ex.  Doc.,  16,  33d  Cong.  2d  Sess.;  no.  5,  34th 
Cong.  3d.  Sess.;  S.  Misc.  Doc.,  266,  35th  Cong.  1st  Sess.;  Surgeon -Geiil 
Circular  no.  8,  1875;  Surveyor-Genl  Reports,  1854  et  seq.;  U.  S.  Evi 
dence,  in  Hudson's  Bay  Co. 's  Claims,  Washington,  1872. 

Utah,  Hand-Book  of  Reference,  etc.     S.  L.  City,  1884. 

Vallejo(Cal.),  Chronicle. 

Vancouver  (Wash.),  Chronicle;  Clarke  County  Register;  Independent. 

Van  Tramp  (Juo.  C.),  Prairie  and  Rocky  Mtn  Adventures.  St  Louis  (Mo.), 
1860. 

Viagero  Universal.     Madrid,  1796-1801.     43  vols. 

Victor  (Mrs  F.  F.),  All  over  Oregon  and  Washington.  San  Francisco,  1872; 
River  of  the  West.  Hartford  (Conn.),  1870. 

Victoria  (V.  I.),  British  Colonist;  Colonist  and  Chronicle;  Victoria  Gazette. 

Virginia  City  (Mont.),  Capital  Times;  Madisouian;  Montana  Democrat;  Mon 
tana  Post;  Virginia  and  Helena  Post. 

Virginia  City  (Nev.),  Evng  Chronicle;  Union, 


AUTHORITIES  CONSULTED. 

Wadding  ton    (Alfred),    Fraser   Mines  Vindicated.      Victoria  (V.    I.),   1858; 

Overland  .Route  through  Br.  N.  America.     London,  1808. 
Waitsburgh  (Wash.),   Tunes. 
Walla  Walla    (Wash.),   Spirit  of  the  West;  Statesman;  Union;  "Washington 

Democrat;    Watchman. 
Washington  (D.  C.),  Chronicle,  in  Virginia  and  Helena  (Mont.)  Post,  Oct.  15, 

18U6. 

Wtshington:   Scraps;    Sketches.      MS. 
Washington  Territory:    Correspondence   Relating  to  Indian  Hostilities,  in  S. 

Ex.  Doc.  GS,    34th   Cong.  1st  Sess.;  Settler's  Guide.     New  York,  n.  d. ; 

New  York,    1878;    True    Exhibit    of    in    1880.     New    Tacoma   (Wash.), 

1830;  Women's  Christ.  Tetn.  Union. 
Washington  Territory    Pub.    Doc.    as   follows:    Board   of  Immigr.   Circular, 

March    1,   1878;   Council    Journal,    1854   et    seq. ;    Governor's   Messages, 

1854  et  seq.;  House  Journal,  1854  et  seq.;  Opinions  of  Supreme  Court, 

1854-64;    Revenue   Law,    1869;    Road    Laws,     1877;    School   Law,    1877, 

Statutes,    1854    et    seq.;     Territorial    Official     Reports;    Adjutant-Genl, 

1854  et  seq.;  Comptroller.    1854  et  seq.;    Governor  to  Sec.  of  Interior; 

1855  et  seq.;  Librarian,  1855  et  seq.;  Supt  Pub.  Instruction,  1873  et  seq.; 
Surveyor-Genl,  1854  et  seq. 

Weed  (Clias  E  ),  Queen  Charlotte  Island  Expedition.     MS. 

Whatcoin  (Wash.),  Bellingham  Bay  Mail. 

Wheeler  (G-eo.  M.),  U.  S.  Geolog.  Surveys  West  of  the  One  Hundreth  Me 
ridian.  Washington  (D.  C.),  1873  et  seq. 

White  (Elijah),  Concise  View  of  Or.  Territory.  Washington,  1846;  Ten 
Years  in  Oregon.  Ithaca  (N.  Y.),  1850. 

White  (Z.  L.),  in  Hay  den  (F.  V.),  Great  West.     Bloomington  (111.),  1880. 

Whitney  (J.  D.),  Notice  of  the  Mtn  Heights  in  the  U.  S.  San  Francisco, 
1862. 

Whitworth  (Geo.  F.),  Statement.      MS. 

Wilkes  (Chas),  U.  S.  Explor.  Expedition,  1838-42.  Philadelphia,  1844  et 
seq.  25  vols. 

Wilkeson  (Saml),   Wilkeson's  Notes  on  Puget  Sound,     n.  impt. 

Williams  (Henry  T.),  Pacific  Tourist.     New  York,  1876. 

Wmiiemucca  (Nev.),  Silver  State. 

Winser  (H.  J.),  Great  Northwest,  etc.     New  York,  1883. 

Wislizenus  (F.  A.),  Ausflug  Nach  den  Felsen-Gebirgen  im  Jahre  1839.  St 
Louis  (Mo.),  1840. 

Wolfe  (J.  M.),  Mercantile  Guide.     Omaha  (Neb.),  1878. 

Wood  (C.  E.  S.),  in  Century  Mag.,  May  1884. 

Wool  Bros.,  Live  Stock  Movement,  1880-4.     n.  impt. 

Wood  (H.  Clay),  Young  Joseph  and  Nez  Perce  Indians.  Portland  (Or.), 
1876. 

Woodland  (Cal. ),  Democrat. 

Wyoming  Indiana  and  Settlers.     MS. 

Yakima  (Wash.),  Wy.  Record;  Signal. 

Yale  (C.    G.),    in    Burchard's    Prod,    of  Prec.    Metals,    1380.      Washington 

(D.  C.),  1881. 

Yankton  (Dak.),  Press-Dacotaian. 
Yesler  (H.  L.),  Settlement  of  Wash.  Territory.     MS. 
Yreka  (Cal.),  Wy.  Journal,  Dec.  4,  1861;  Union. 

Zibriskie  (Jas  C.),  Pub.  Land  Laws  of  the  U.  S.     San  Francisco,  1370. 


HISTORY  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER  L 

THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 
1845-1853. 

ATTITUDE  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY — MICHAEL  T.  SIMMONS  AND 
ASSOCIATES  PROCEED  NORTHWARD — SETTLE  AT  BUDD  INLET — PUGET 
SOUND — HIGHLANDS — TUMWATER — Brsn  PRAIRIE— CHAMBERS  PRAIRIE 
— NEAII  BAY — MARRIAGES  AND  BIRTHS— THE  INDIANS  PRONOUNCE 
AGAINST  THE  WHITE  MAN — EFFECT  OF  CALIFORNIA  GOLD  DISCOVERY 
— THE  TIMBER  TRADE— TOWNS  LAID  OUT — WHIDBEY  ISLAND  SETTLED — 
OCCUPATION  OF  THE  COAST  COUNTRY. 

DOCTOR  JOHN  McLouGHLiN,  autocrat  of  Fort  Van 
couver,  at  the  instigation  of  the  London  managers 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  but  contrary  to  his 
own  judgment,  exercised  his  influence  to  induce  the 
incoming  citizens  of  the  United  States  not  to  locate 
themselves  north  of  the  Columbia  River,  as  in  the 
partition  presently  to  be  made  all  that  region  would 
probably  be  British  territory.  To  the  average  Amer 
ican  emigrant  of  that  day  the  simple  fact  that  a 
Britisher  should  wish  him  not  to  settle  in  any  certain 
part  of  the  undivided  territory  was  of  itself  sufficient 
incentive  for  him  to  select  that  spot,  provided  it  was 
not  much  worse  than  any  other.  There  must  be 
some  special  attraction  in  the  direction  of  Puget 
Sound,  else  the  fur  company  would  not  so  strongly 
advise  people  not  to  go  there. 

So  thought  Michael  T.  Simmons,  a  stanch  Ken- 

HIST.  WASH. — 1 


2  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

tuckian,  whom  the  reader  has  met  before,  in  the 
history  of  Oregon,  he  being  of  the  immigration  of 
1844,  and  spending  the  ensuing  winter  with  his 
family  at  Fort  Vancouver,  where  he  made  shingles  to 
pay  expenses,  his  wife  meanwhile  improving  the  time 
by  giving  birth  to  a  son,  named  Christopher,  the  first 
American  born  in  western  Washington. 

Simmons  was  a  fine  specimen  of  a  man,  and  a  good 
representative  of  the  class  that  went  into  Washington 
about  this  time,  determined  to  remain  there,  particu 
larly  if  England's  majesty  ordered  them  out.  Just 
past  thirty,  having  been  born  at  Sheppardsville 
the  5th  of  August,  1814,  possessing  the  grand 
physique  of  the  early  men  of  Kentucky,  unlettered 
though  not  unenlightened,  he  possessed  the  qualities 
which  in  feudal  times  made  men  chiefs  and  founders 
of  families.  His  courage  was  equalled  only  by  his 
independence;  he  could  not  comprehend  the  idea  of  a 
superior,  having  come  from  a  land  wherein  all  were 
kings  though  they  ruled  only  a  pigsty  or  a  potato-patch. 

He  had  intended  to  settle  in  the  valley  of  Rogue 
River  before  so  much  had  been  said  against  his  going 
north,  but  this  determined  him.  During  the  winter 
of  1844-5,  with  five  companions/  he  proceeded  north 
ward,  but  only  reached  the  fork  of  the  Cowlitz, 
whence  he  returned  to  Fort  Vancouver.  Again  he 
set  out  the  following  July  with  eight  others,2  and 
guided  beyond  Cowlitz  prairie  by  Peter  Borcier,  who 
had  performed  the  same  service  for  Wilkes  in  1841, 
he  not  only  reached  the  Sound,  but  made  a  canoe 
voyage  as  far  as  Whidbey  Island,  satisfying  himself 
of  the  commercial  advantages  of  this  region.  Then 
he  made  his  selection  at  the  head  of  Budd  Inlet, 
where  Des  Chutes  River  drops  by  successive  falls  a 
distance  of  eighty  feet,  constituting  a  fine  mill-power. 
The  place  had  the  further  advantage  of  being  at  no 

1  Henry  Williamson,  James  Loomis,  and  Henry,  James,  and  John  Owens, 
none  of  whom  finally  settled  north  of  the  Columbia. 

2  George  Waunch,  David  Crawford,    Charles  Eaton,    Niniwon  Everman, 
Seyburn  Thornton,  William  Shaw,  David  Parker,  and  John  Hunt. 


SIMMONS  THE  PIONEER.  3 

great  distance  from  Fort  Nisqually,  the  only  supply 
post  in  this  part  of  the  territory,  with  the  French 
settlements  to  the  south  of  it  on  the  Cowlitz  prairie 
constituting  a  link  with  the  Columbia  River  and 
Willamette  settlements.  The  selection  for  the  pur- 
po'ses  of  a  new  community  in  a  new  country  was  a 
good  one,  and  was  prompted  by  a  desire  somewhat 
similar  to  that  of  the  methodist  missionaries  to  get  pos 
session  of  Oregon  City,  on  account  of  the  water-power. 
Having  chosen  his  site,  he  returned  to  the  Colum 
bia  to  remove  his  family,  which  he  did  in  October, 
accompanied  by  James  McAllister,  David  Kindred, 
Gabriel  Jones,  George  W.  Bush,  and  their  wives  and 
children,  five  families  in  all,  and  two  single  men,  Jesse 
Ferguson  and  Samuel  B.  Crockett,  these  seven  men 
being  the  first  Americans  3  to  settle  in  the  region  of 
Puget  Sound,4  although  John  R.  Jackson,  of  the 
same  immigration,  had  been  a  little  beforehand  with 
them  in  point  of  time,  and  selected  a  claim  five  miles 
north  of  the  French  settlements,  and  ten  miles  be 
yond  the  Cowlitz  landing,  on  a  small  tributary  of  that 
river,  near  the  trail  to  the  Chehalis,5  which  site  he 
called  Highlands,  and  where  he  had  already  erected 
a  house.6 

3 1  purposely  leave  out  Richmond,  who  was  not  a  'settler,'  and  who  aban 
doned  the  mission.  Ferguson  married  Margaret  liutledge  May  29,  1853. 
Oiympia,  Columbian,  June  4,  1853. 

4  Every  part  of  the  great  Washington  Inlet  was  now  coming  to  be  called 
Pugct  Sound.     It  so  appears  in  the  writings  of  almost  all  authors,  besides 
being  always  referred  to  in  conversation  by  that  name.      Admiralty  Inlet 
was  found   too  long  a  name,  and  the  first  settlements  of   both  English  and 
Americans  were  upon  that  portion  called  after  Puget,  wliich  tended  to  estab 
lish  its  use,  for  in  passing  up  and  down  these  waters  it  was  not  easy  to  dis 
cern  where  one  division  ended  and  another  began.     Says  Eugene  Ellicot,  of 
the  U.  S.  coast  survey,  who  has  been  in  that  service  since  1SG4:  'Vancouver 
named  the  head  of  the  sound  above  Dana's  passage  Puget  Sound.     Twenty 
years  ago   the  designation   had   extended  itself  in   popular  use  as   far  as 
Point   Defiance  (at  the  foot  of  The  Narrows).     Now  it  is  applied  to  the 
whole  sound  as  far  as  Bellingham  Bay.     Instead  of  Admiralty  Inlet,  the  U.  S. 
chart  now  calls  it  Puget  Sound.  Ellicot's  Puget  Sound,  MS.,  i.     Indeed,  how 
ever  it  happened,  it  is  not  correct  to  call  these  waters,  in  some  places  wellnigh 
fathomless,  by  the  name  of  sound,  which  implies  sliallowness,  but  there  is 
no  withstanding  custom  and  convenience. 

5  Sometimes  called  Chickeeles.  See  Native.  Races,  i.  303. 

6  Jackson,  I  am  told,  intended  going  to  the  Sound,  and  as  early  as  March 
Bot  out  with  the  design  of  taking  up  the  water-power  at  the  falls  of  Des  Chutes, 


4  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

It  required  fifteen  days  to  open  a  road  for  the  pas 
sage  of  the  ox-teams  from  Cowlitz  landing  to  Budd 
Inlet,  a  distance  of  less  than  sixty  miles.  Simmons 
named  his  place  New  Market,  but  subsequent  settlers 
called  it  by  the  Indian,  and  more  appropriate,  name  of 
Tumwater,7  which  it  keeps,  and  which  to  avoid  confu 
sion  I  shall  hereafter  use. 

The  seven  Puget  Sound  settlers  took  their  claims 
within  a  radius  of  six  miles,  Kindred  two  miles  south 
of  Tumwater,  McAllister  about  six  miles  north-east, 
and  the  others  intermediate,  on  a  sandy  plain  now 
known  as  Bush  prairie,  from  George  W.  Bush.8  In 
the  same  summer  or  autumn  George  Waunch  located 
himself  on  the  Skookum  Chuck,  making  the  ninth 
man  not  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  service  who 
settled  north  of  the  Cowlitz  farm  in  1845. 

The  first  house  was  built  on  Kindred's  claim,  at  the 
west  edge  of  Bush  prairie,9  Simmons  building  at 

which  he  had  heard  of;  but  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  travel  at  this  season,  he 
proceeded  no  farther  than  Simon  Plomondon's  place  on  the  Newaukum  River,  a 
confluent  of  the  Chehalis.  But  about  the  second  week  in  July  he  again  set  forth 
for  Puget  Sound,  accompanied  by  W.  P.  Dougherty,  H.  A.  G.  Lee,  Joseph 
Watt,  Jacob  Haldry,  and  Stewart.  The  Oregonians  turned  back  from  the  Che 
halis,  and  Jackson,  after  exploring  the  country  in  that  vicinity,  returned  to  the 
Cowlitz  and  took  a  claim  as  above  stated.  While  returning  for  his  family  he 
met  Simmons'  party.  John  R.  Jackson  was  a  native  of  Durham,  parish  of 
Steindrop,  England,  born  Jan.  13,  1800.  He  landed  at  New  York  Sept.  27, 
1833,  and  went  directly  to  111.,  where  he  settled  Nov.  5th,  leaving  his  first 
American  home  for  Or.  in  1844.  He  was  a  butcher,  kept  a  public  house  at 
Highlands,  and  dispensed  good-cheer  with  good-humored  hospitality  during 
the  early  days  of  Washington.  His  house  was  a  rendezvous  for  the  transac 
tion  of  public  business,  the  first  courts  in  Lewis  county  being  held  there,  and 
there  was  discussed  the  propriety  of  a  separate  territorial  organization.  He 
died  May  5,  1873.  Olympia  Transcript,  May  31,  1873. 

7  Signifying  strong   water,  referring  to   the  falls.     This  word   displaced 
both  the  Des  Chutes  or  Falls  River  of  the  French,  and  the  New  Market  of 
Simmons.     It  is  now  common  usage  to  say  Tumwater  Falls  as  well  as  Tum 
water  town.     Skookum  Chuck,  the  Chinook  jargon  for  rapids,  is  better  ver 
nacular  for  strong  water,  and  is  the  name  of  a  branch  of  the  Chehalis. 

8  George  W.  Bush  (colored)  was  born  in  1790  in  Penn.,  but  in  early  life  re 
moved  to  Mo.,  and  in   1844  to  Or.,  finishing  his  long  journey  by  going  to 
i'uget  Sound.     He  was  respected  and  honored  by  the  pioneers  for  his  gener- 
,us  and  charitable  traits  and  manliness  of  character.      He  resided  on  the 
>rairie  which  bears  his  name  until  April  5,  1863,  when  he  suddenly  died  of 
Uemorrhage  by  the  bursting  of  a  blood-vessel.     His  son  George  became  a 
highly  esteemed  citizen,  who  was  made  president  of  the  Washington  Indus 
trial  Association,  and  whose  wheat,  raised  on  Bush  prairie,  was  awarded  the 
first  premium  at  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  Philadelphia.  Morse's  Wash. 
Ter.,  MS.,  i.  54. 

9  Mrs  Tabitha  Kindred,  who  was  many  years  a  widow,  died  June  12,  1872, 


EARLY  ANNALS  OF  TUMWATER.  5 

Tumwater  the  following  summer.  These  men  had 
enough  to  do  to  discharge  their  debts  to  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  McLoughlin  and  Douglas,  who,  not 
withstanding  their  efforts  to  turn  the  American  settlers 
south  of  the  Columbia,  seeing  they  would  go  north, 
gave  the  officers  of  the  company  on  Cowlitz  prairie 
and  at  Fort  Nisqually  orders  to  furnish  Simmons' 
company  with  200  bushels  of  wheat  at  eighty  cents  a 
bushel,  100  bushels  of  pease  at  one  dollar,  300  bushels 
of  potatoes  at  fifty  cents,  and  a  dozen  head  of  cattle 
at  twelve  dollars  each.10  During  the  winter  they  were 
visited  by  a  party  of  four  men,  who  proceeded  as  far 
as  Nisqually,  but  did  not  remain  in  this  region.11  In 
March  Mrs  McAllister 12  gave  birth  to  a  son,  who  was 
named  James  Benton,  the  first  American  born  on 
Puget  Sound. 

In  the  following  year  as  many  American  men  set 
tled  north  of  the  Cowlitz  and  about  the  head  of  the 
Sound  as  in  1845,  but  not  as  many  families.  At  the 
confluence  of  the  Skookum  Chuck  and  the  Chehalis, 
half-way  from  the  Cowlitz  landing  to  Tumwater,  two 
claims  were  made  by  Sidney  S.  Ford13  and  Joseph 
Barst.  Those  who  went  to  the  Sound  were  Charles 
H.  Eaton,14  and  his  brother  Nathan,  who  located  him- 

at  the  age  of  89,  having  resided  on  Bush  prairie  27  years.  Olf/rnpia  Transcript, 
June  15,  1872.  The  children  were  two  sons,  John  and  B.  Kindred,  and  two 
daughters,  Mrs  Parrot  of  Oregon  City,  and  Mrs  Simmons  of  the  Cowlitz.  Olym- 
pia  Courier,  June  15,  1872.  Mrs  Gabriel  Jones  died  July  18,  1868.  Her 
home  was  two  miles  from  Tumwater.  Olympia  Standard,  July  25,  18G8.  She 
was  70  years  of  age,  and  had  been  several  years  a  widow. 

10  Evans'  Historical  Memoranda,  consisting  of  a  compilation  of  newspaper 
articles,  chiefly  written  by  himself,  prepared  as  the  foundation  to  future  his 
torical  writing,  and  which  he  has  generously  placed  in  my  hands,  has  furnished 
me  with  this  item. 

11  They  were  Wainbow,  Wall,  Smith,  and  Piekett. 

12  Mrs  McAllister  died  in  1874.  Steilacoom  Express,  Sept.  10,  1S74. 
"Ford  was  born  in  New  York  in  1801,  and  died  Oct.  22,  180(5.     His  wife, 

Nancy,  was  born  in  New  York  in  1806.  They  were  married  in  1823,  and  re 
moved  to  Michigan  in  1834,  to  Missouri  in  1840,  and  to  Oregon  in  1845. 
Their  children  and  descendants  made  their  home  on  Ford  prairie,  about  the 
head  waters  of  the  Chehalis. 

14 Eaton  was  an  immigrant  of  1843.  He  was  born  in  Oswego  co.,  N.  Y., 
Dec.  22,  1818,  removing  to  Ohio  at  an  early  age,  whence  he  came  to  Oregon. 
In  the  Indian  war  of  1855  he  was  commissioned  capt.  In  1850  he  removed 
to  Tenalcut  prairie,  and  again  to  Yakima  Valley  in  1870,  ^vhere  he  was  en 
gaged  in  stock-raising.  He  died  at  Yakima  City  Dec.  19,  187G. 


6  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

self  on  the  east  side  of  Budd  Inlet,  on  what  is  now 
called  Chambers  prairie,  being  the  first  to  take  a 
claim  north  of  Tumwater;  Edmund  Sylvester,15  of 
Oregon  City,  who,  in  partnership  with  Levi  L.  Smith, 
took  two  half-sections  of  land,  one  directly  on  Budd 
Inlet,  two  miles  below  Tumwater,  and  the  other  on 
the  edge  of  Chambers  prairie;  Alonzo  Marion  Poe, 
Daniel  D.  Kinsey,  and  Antonio  B.  Rabbeson.16  Sev 
eral  other  persons  arrived  at  the  Sound  during  the 
autumn,  but  did  not  remain  at  that  time.17 

In  January  1847  three  brothers  from  Marion  county, 
named  Davis,  one  with  a  family,  arrived  at  Tumwater, 
besides  Samuel  Cool,  A.  J.  Moore,  Benjamin  Gordon, 
Leander  C.  Wallace,  Thomas  W.  Glasgow,  and  Sam 
uel  Hancock.18  In  March  there  arrived  Elisha  and 

15  Sylvester  was  born  in  Deer  Isle,  Maine.     For  antecedents,  see  Hist.  Or., 
i.  424,  this  series.     His  manuscript,  entitled  Olympia,  which  affords  me  many 
authoritative  items  of  early  history,  is  especially  useful  in  the  present  volume. 

16  Rabbeson  was  born  in  1824,  and  was  by  trade  a  carpenter.     He  came  to 
Oregon  from  New  York  City  in  1846,  and  immediately  went  to  Puget  Sound, 
settling  near  Sylvester's  claim,  where  he   still  resides.     His  manuscript, 
Growth  of  Towns,  contains  a  narrative  of  the  immigration  of  1846,  with  good 
character  sketches  of  some  of  the  men  in  it,  followed  by  an  interesting  account 
of  the  settlement  of  Washington,  his  reason  for  coming  to  the  Sound  being  a 
preference  for  salt-water.     Most  writers  place  Wallace  in  the  immigration  of 
1847,  but  Rabbeson  says  he  came  with  him  in  1846.   Growth  of  Towns,  MS., 
13.     This  is  the  Wallace  killed  in  the  attack  on  Nisqually  in  the  spring  of 
1849.  Hist.  Or.,  ii.  67-8,  this  series.     In  January  1854  Rabbeson  married 
Lucy  Barnes  of  Olympia. 

17  Elisha  and  William  Packwood,  Jason  Peters,  Thomas  Canby,  and  Elisha 
and  James  McKindley  examined  the  country  and  returned  to  the  Willamette 
to  winter.     Two  of  them  only  finally  settled  north  of  the  Columbia.  E cans' 
Hist.  Mem.,  11.     The  names  of  David  Coiner  and  J.  E.  Conat  also  appear  as 
settlers  of  this  year,  but  rno:-e  I  do  not  know  about  them. 

18 Hancock  left  Independence,  Mo.,  in  the  spring  of  1845,  but  remained 
in  Or.  City  one  year.  He  then  started  to  go  to  Puget  Sound  with  two  others, 
names  unknown,  by  the  way  of  the  Columbia,  Baker  Bay,  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
and  the  strait  of  Fuca.  They  succeeded  in  drawing  their  canoe  across  the 
neck  of  sand  north  of  Cape  Disappointment,  but  the  sight  of  the  ocean  in 
Nov.  disheartened  them,  find  they  decided  to  try  walking  from  the  coast  in 
land,  hoping  to  reach  the  Sound  in  that  way.  But  Hancock,  seized  with 
fever,  was  left  in  charge  of  the  Indians,  who,  after  extorting  every  article  he 
possessed,  conveyed  him  to  Astoria,  where  he  recovered.  What  became  of 
his  companions  does  not  appear  in  his  Thirteen  Years'  Residence  in  Washing 
ton  Territory,  MS.,  from  which  I  take  his  biography.  After  recovery,  he 
again  set  out  for  the  Sound  by  the  way  of  the  Cowlitz,  arriving  at  Tumwater 
early  in  1847,  and  going  to  work  at  shingle-making  like  the  others.  In  the 
spring  of  1849  Hancock  went  to  Cal.  for  gold,  where  he  had  a  great  many  ad 
ventures,  if  we  may  credit  the  marvellous  stories  contained  in  his  Thirteen 
Years.  On  returning  to  Puget  Sound  in  the  autumn  of  1849,  he  brought  a 
stock  of  gooda  to  sell  to  settlers  and  natives,  and  having  disposed  of  a  portion, 


PACKWOOD  AND  HANCOCK.  7 

William  Packwood,  with  their  families.  The  first 
settled  on  land  later  owned  by  David  J.  Chambers. 
Packwood  abandoned  it  in  August  to  return  to  the 
Willamette.  William  Packwood  took  a  claim  on  the 

set  out  to  explore  for  coal,  having  heard  that  this  mineral  was  to  be  found 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Sound.  In  these  explorations  he  spent  some 
months,  probably  trading  at  the  same  time  with  the  Indians.  In  1850  or 
spring  of  1851  he  took  some  goods  to  Neah  Bay;  but  the  Indians  being  hos 
tile,  he  was  compelled  to  save  himself  by  an  artifice,  writing  in  the  presence 
of  the  savages,  and  telling  them  that  it  was  to  bring  the  chief  of  all  the  white 
men  to  avenge  him  if  slain.  Their  superstitious  fear  of  paper  missives,  the 
power  of  which  they  had  witnessed  without  understanding,  conquered  their 
love  of  plunder,  and  they  carried  him  safely  to  Port  Townsend.  On  his  re 
turn  he  once  more  explored  for  coal  on  the  Snohomish  and  Stilaguamish  riv 
ers,  where  he  found  it,  and  discovered  also  the  Cedar  and  Dwamish  rivers. 
In  Nov.  1851  he  took  passage  in  the  brig  Kendall,  which  was  in  the  Sound, 
and  went  to  S.  F.  to  purchase  machinery  for  a  saw-mill,  together  with  another 
stock  of  goods.  Having  completed  his  purchases,  he  shipped  them  on  board 
a  vessel,  the  Kayucja,  for  Puget  Sound.  Captain  Davis  was  ignorant  of  nau 
tical  science,  and  had  never  been  upon  the  coast  of  Oregon.  When  Hancock 
recognized  the  entrance  to  the  strait  of  Fuca,  Davis  declined  to  enter,  and  to 
test  the  matter,  a  boat  was  sent  ashore  with  Hancock,  the  mate,  and  three 
other  persons,  at  an  unknown  island.  A  fog  coming  down  hid  the  vessel,  and 
the  pady  were  detained  three  days;  and  no  sooner  did  the  fog  clear  away 
than  the  natives  discovered  and  attacked  them,  compelling  them  to  put  to 
sea.  In  the  mean  time  the  vessel  was  quite  lost  to  sight.  Two  days  moru 
passed  on  another  small  island,  but  here  again  the  Indians  caused  them  to 
take  to  their  boat.  Several  days  more  were  passed  in  this  manner  before  the 
party  was  finally  rescued  by  some  Indians  from  V.  I.,  under  orders  from  an 
officer  of  the  II.  B.  Co.,  to  whom  they  had  reported  the  condition  of  the  boat's 
crew.  Clothing  and  provisions  were  despatched  to  them,  and  they  were 
brought  to  Sooke  harbor,  where  they  received  unlimited  hospitality  for  three 
days.  On  coming  to  Victoria  the  Kayuga  was  found  to  be  there,  having  by 
chance  got  into  the  strait  and  to  port,  but  without  endeavoring  to  pick  up 
that  portion  of  her  crew  and  passengers  left  without  provisions  on  an  unknown 
coast.  But  that  was  not  all.  A  considerable  portion  of  Hancock's  goods  had 
been  sold,  for  which  no  satisfaction  could  be  obtained  in  a  foreign  port.  The 
summing  up  of  the  whole  matter  shows  that  lie  was  disappointed  in  his  project 
of  building  a  mill  at  Clallam  Bay,  and  was  subjected  to  much  loss,  which  he 
endeavored  to  make  up  by  furnishing  timber  for  the  California  market.  In 
the  autumn  of  1852  he  removed  to  Neah  Bay,  determined  to  establish  a  trad 
ing-post  among  the  Indians,  which  he  succeeded  in  doing,  though  not  without 
building  fortifications  and  having  some  narrow  escapes.  He  afterward  pur 
chased  an  interest  in  the  brig  Eai/le,  Wolfe  master,  and  traded  with  the  Ind 
ians  on  the  northern  coast,  until  the  brig  was  blown  on  shore  and  wrecked, 
and  the  savages  had  despoiled  it  of  its  cargo.  From  this  expedition  he  re 
turned  alive,  after  many  adventures  with  the  savages  and  the  exercise  of  much 
tact  in  averting  their  hostile  intentions.  Escaping  to  Clyaquot  Bay,  he  found 
the  schooner  Demarls  Cove,  Capt.  Eli  Hathaway,  lying  there,  which  returned 
with  his  party  to  Neah  Bay;  but  the  Indians  having  become  more  threaten 
ing  than  before  at  that  place,  Hancock  determined  to  remove  his  goods  to 
Whidbey  Island,  and  did  so — there  being  no  vessel  in  port — by  lashing  together 
three  canoes  and  covering  them  with  planking,  on  which  the  movables  were 
placed,  a  ship's  long-boat  being  also  loaded  and  towed  behind.  A  sail  was 
rigged  by  setting  cedar  planks  upright,  and  then  the  craft  was  navigated  100 
miles  to  Penn  Cove.  There  he  settled,  and  married  Susan  Crockett.  Hia 
death  occurred  in  Sept.  1883,  at  Coupeville. 


8  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

south  bank  of  the  Nisqually,  and  there  remained.19 
During  the  summer  John  Kindred,  J.  B.  Logan,  B. 
F,  Shaw,  Robert  Logan,  and  A.  D.  Carnefix  joined 
the  settlement  at  the  head  of  the  Sound,  and  on  the 
10th  of  June  the  Skookum  Chuck  settlement  was  re- 
enforced  by  the  birth  of  Angeline  Ford,20  the  first 
American  girl  born  north  of  the  Columbia.  Late  in 
the  autumn  there  arrived  at  the  Sound  Thomas  M. 
Chambers,  with  his  sons,  David,  Andrew,  Thomas  J., 
and  McLean,  two  of  whom  had  families,21  and  George 
Brail  and  George  Shazar. 

From  Nisqually  the  settlers  obtained  pork,  wheat, 
pease,  potatoes,  and  such  other  needful  articles  as  the 
company's  stores  furnished.  In  1846  Simmons  put 
up  a  small  flouring  mill  at  Des  Chutes  falls,  in  a  log 
house,  with  a  set  of  stones  hewn  out  of  some  granite 
blocks  found  on  the  beach,  which  was  ready  to  grind 
the  first  crop  of  wheat,  if  not  to  bolt  it;  but  unbolted 
flour  was  a  luxury  after  boiled  wheat. 

19Packwood  was  a  native  of  Patrick  co.,  Va,  born  in  1813,  removing  with 
his  father  Elisha  to  Ind.  in  1819.  In  1834  he  migrated  to  Mo.,  and  ten  years 
later  to  Or.,  finally  coming  to  rest  on  the  Nisqually.  There  was  a  large  fam 
ily  of  the  Packwoods,  six  of  whom  arrived  in  Or.  in  1845.  See  list  on  p.  526 
and  530,  Hist.  Or.,  i.,  this  series.  In  1848  William  went  to  Cal.,  where  his 
brother  Elisha  was  then  residing,  but  appears  to  have  returned  without  much 
improving  his  fortunes.  He  constructed  a  ferry  on  the  Nisqually,  and  re 
mained  on  his  claim — with  the  exception  of  a  period  of  service  in  the  Indian 
war  of  1855 — until  1867,  when  he  sold  it  to  Isaac  P.  Hawk.  Later  he  made 
his  residence  at  Centreville,  on  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad.  For  many 
years  Packwood  occupied  his  summers  in  exploring  the  mountains  east  and 
west  of  the  Sound,  the  pass  at  the  head  of  the  Cowlitz  having  been  discovered 
by  and  named  after  him,  and  some  valuable  mineral  deposits  reported  by  him, 
especially  of  anthracite  coal.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  i.  54-87. 

20  Miss  Ford  married  John  Shelton. 

21  This  family  was  of  Scottish  origin,  but  had  been  for  half  a  century  in  the 
U.  S.,  residing  in  Ind.  and  Ky.     They  emigrated  to  Or.  in  1845.     Their  goods 
being  detained  at  The  Dalles,  in  Feb.  1846,  the  sons  constructed  a  flat-boat, 
12  by  20  feet,  with  a  whip-saw  and  hammer,  using  oak  pins  for  nails,  and 
loading  it  with  13  wagons  and  the  goods  of  seven  families,  descended  the  Co 
lumbia.     Thomas  M.  Chambers  settled  on  the  prairie  south-east  of  Olympia, 
which  bears  his  name,  and  where  Eaton  had  settled  before  him.     Here  he 
lived,  and  at  an  advanced  age  died.     David  J.  located  on  a  smaller  plain  3£ 
miles  east  of  Olympia,  and  made  a  fortune  in  stock-raising;  Andrew  settled 
between  the  Nisqually  plains  and  Yelm  prairie.     The  first  mill  in  Pierce  co. 
was  erected  by  Thomas  M. ,  on  Chambers  Creek  near  Steilacoom.    He  was  born 
in  Ky  in  1791,  and  died  at  Steilacoom  Dec.  1876.     Rebecca,  wife  of  Andrew 
J.  Chambers,  died  June  29,  1853.     On  the  18th  of  January,  1854,  he  married 
Margaret  White. 


LUMBER  AXD  LOVE.  9 

Late  the  following  year  a  saw-mill  was  completed 
at  Tumwater,  built  by  M.  T.  Simmons,  B.  F.  Shaw, 
E.  Sylvester,  Jesse  Ferguson,  A.  B.  Rabbeson,  Ga 
briel  Jones,  A.  D.  Carnefix,  and  John  R.  Kindred, 
who  formed  the  Puget  Sound  Milling  Company,  Oc 
tober  25,  1847,  Simmons  holding  the  principal  num 
ber  of  shares,  and  being  elected  superintendent.  The 
mill  irons,  which  had  been  in  use  at  Fort  Vancouver, 
were  obtained  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
The  lumber  found  a  market  among  the  settlers,  but 
chiefly  at  Nisqually,  where  it  was  sent  in  rafts,  and 
also  a  little  later  was  in  requisition  to  erect  barracks 
and  officers'  quarters  at  Steilacoom.22  Shingle-making 
was  also  an  important  industry,  shingles  passing  cur 
rent  at  Fort  Nisqually  in  exchange  for  clothing  or  other 
articles.  Room  for  idlers  there  was  none,  and  this 
was  fortunate,  since  indolence  in  contact  with  savagery 
soon  breeds  vice,  aggravated  by  enforced  solitude. 

Daniel  D.  Kinsey  was  the  first  lucky  bachelor  to 
secure  a  mate  in  these  wilds,  by  marrying,  on  the  6th 
of  July,  1847,  Ruth  Brock,  M.  T.  Simmons,  one  of 
the  judges  of  Vancouver  county,  officiating.  Samuel 
Hancock  and  A.  B.  Rabbeson  were  the  first  to  vary 
shingle-making  with  brick-making,  these  two  taking 
a  contract  to  burn  a  kiln  of  brick  in  July  1847,  on  the 
farm  of  Simon  Plomondon  at  the  Cowlitz.  And  thus 
they  not  only  held  their  own  in  the  new  country,  but 
increased  in  property  and  power. 

As  early  as  the  summer  of  this  second  year  they 
had  begun  to  recognize  the  necessity  of  communica 
tion  between  points,  and  in  August  blazed  out  a  trail 
from  Tumwater  to  the  claim  of  Sylvester  and  Smith, 
two  miles  below  on  the  Sound,  which  now  began  to  be 
called  Smithfield,  because  Levi  L.  Smith  resided 
there,  and  because  it  came  to  be  the  head  of  naviga 
tion  by  the  law  of  the  tides. 

22  The  date  of  the  lease  from  Simmons,  proprietor  of  the  claim,  is  August 
20,  1847,  to  continue  for  5  years  with  the  privilege  of  ten.  The  site  described 
was  the  north-west  part  of  the  lower  fall.  Evans'  Hist.  Mem.,  ii.;  Hist.  Or., 
ii.  70,  this  series. 


10  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

In  the  autumn  of  1847,  rendered  memorable  by  the 
massacre  at  Waiilatpu,  which  alarmed  these  feeble 
settlements,  and  by  the  prevalence  of  measles  among 
the  Indians,  for  which  the  white  people  knew  them 
selves  held  responsible  by  the  miserable  victims  and 
their  friends,  there  were  few  additions  to  the  popula 
tion.  Jonathan  Burbee,  an  immigrant  of  that  year, 
took  to  himself  some  land  on  the  little  Kalama  River; 
Peter  W.  Crawford,  E.  West,  and  James  O.  Raynor 
located  claims  on  the  Cowlitz  near  its  mouth,  being 
the  first  settlers  in  this  vicinity,23  and  Andrew  J. 
Simmons  took  a  claim  on  Cowlitz  prairie,  where  he 
died  February  1872.24 

Nor  were  there  many  accessions  to  the  population 
of  the  Sound  in  1848.  Rev.  Pascal  Ricard,  oblate 
father,  established  a  mission  three  miles  below  Turn- 
water,  June  14th,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  inlet, 
and  thereby  secured  half  a  section  of  land  to  the 
church.  Thomas  W.  Glasgow  made  a  tour  of  explo 
ration  down  the  Sound,  and  took  a  claim  on  Whidbey 
Island,  the  first  settlement  attempted  there,  and 
situated  north-east  from  the  Port  Townsend  of  Van 
couver,  directly  facing  the  strait  of  Fuca.  Here  he 
erected  a  cabin  and  planted  potatoes  arid  wheat.  His 
loneliness  seems  to  have  been  alleviated  during  his 
brief  residence,  a  half-caste  daughter  testifying  to  the 
favor  with  which  he  was  regarded  by  some  native 

23 In  1847,  when  Crawford,  whose  biography  is  given  in  my  flist.  Or.,  i. 
647,  was  looking  for  a  place  to  settle,  the  only  white  persons  living  on  the 
Cowlitz  were  Antoine  Gobain,  a  Canadian,  who  had  charge  of  the  H.  B.  Co.'s 
warehouse  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  about  two  miles  from  the  Columbia, 
and  Thibault,  another  Canadian,  who  lived  opposite  on  the  east  bank.  From 
there  to  the  Cowlitz  farms  all  was  an  unbroken  wilderness.  Crawford  and 
West  took  their  claims  adjoining  each  other  on  the  east  bank,  where  Crawford 
permanently  had  his  home,  and  Raynor  on  the  west  bank,  where  he  designed 
laying  out  a  town.  Crawford's  Nar.,  MS.,  98.  Owen  W.  Bozarth,  who  was 
of  the  immigration  of  1845,  settled,  as  I  suppose,  about  this  time  on  Cathla- 
pootle  or  Lewis  River,  so  called  from  the  land  claim  of  A.  Lee  Lewis,  about 
7  miles  above  the  mouth. 

24  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  March  2,  1872.  I  find  mention  of  Alexander 
Barren,  who  died  in  Feb.  1878;  William  Rutledge,  who  died  June  1872; 
Henry  Bechmau,  who  died  April  1879;  Felix  Dodd,  who  died  the  same  month 
and  year;  J.  H.  Smith,  who  died  May  1879;  and  John  E.  Picknell — all  of  whom 
settled  north  of  the  Columbia  this  year. 


GLASGOW  ON  WHIDBEY  ISLAND.  11 

brunette;25  yet  he  returned  to  Tumwater  to  secure 
other  companions,  and  persuaded  Rabbeson  and  Carne 
fix  to  accompany  him  back  to  his  island  home. 

On  the  voyage,  performed  in  a  canoe,  they  pro 
ceeded  to  the  head  of  Case  Inlet,  and  carrying  their 
canoe  across  the  portage  to  the  head  of  Hood  canal, 
explored  that  remarkable  passage.  Carnefix  turned 
back  from  the  mouth  of  the  Skokomish  River,26 
Glasgow  and  Rabbeson  continuing  on  to  Whidbey 
Island,  which  they  reached  in  July.  But  they  were 
not  permitted  to  remain.  Soon  after  their  arrival  a 
general  council  of  the  tribes  of  the  Sound  was  held 
on  the  island,  at  the  instigation  of  Patkanim,  chief  of 
the  Snoqualimichs,  to  confer  upon  the  policy  of  per 
mitting  American  settlements  in  their  country.  It 
was  decided  that  Glasgow  must  quit  the  island, 
which  he  was  at  length  forced  to  do,27  escaping  by 
the  aid  of  an  Indian  from  the  vicinity  of  Tumwater. 

2D Glasgow's  daughter  married  William  Hastie.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS., 
i.  113. 

26 It  was  the  turn  of  Carnefix  to  cook  and  attend  to  camp  work.  A  chief 
seeing  this  thought  him  to  be  a  slave,  and  offered  to  purchase  him.  The  jests 
of  his  companions  so  annoyed  Carnefix  that  he  abandoned  their  company. 
Evans"  Hist.  Mem.  ii. 

27  Patkanim  exhibited  the  tact  in  this  instance  which  marked  him  as  a 
savage  of  uncommon  intelligence.  Parade  has  a  great  effect  upon  the  human 
mind,  whether  savage  or  civilized.  Patkanim  gave  a  great  hunt  to  the  assem 
bled  chiefs.  A  corral  was  constructed,  with  wings  extending  across  the  island 
from  Penn  Cove  to  Glasgow's  claim,  and  a  drive  made  with  dogs,  by  which 
more  than  60  deer  were  secured  for  a  grand  banquet  at  the  inauguration  of 
the  council.  Patkanim  then  opened  the  conference  by  a  speech,  in  which  he 
urged  that  if  the  Americans  were  allowed  to  settle  among  them  they  would 
soon  become  numerous,  and  would  carry  off  their  people  in  large  lire-ships 
to  a  distant  country  on  which  the  sun  never  shone,  where  they  would  be  left 
to  perish.  He  argued  that  the  few  now  present  could  easily  be  exterminated, 
which  would  discourage  others  from  coming,  and  appealed  to  the  cupidity  of 
his  race  by  representing  that  the  death  of  the  Americans  in  the  country 
would  put  the  Indians  in  possession  of  a  large  amount  of  property.  But  the 
Indians  from  the  upper  part  of  the  Sound,  who  were  better  acquainted  with 
the  white  people,  did  not  agree  with  Patkanim.  The  chief  of  the  bands  about 
Tumwater,  Snohodumtah,  called  by  the  Americans  Grayhead,  resisted  the 
arguments  of  the  Snoqualimich  chief.  He  reminded  the  council  that  previous 
to  the  advent  of  the  Americans  the  tribes  from  the  lower  sound  often  made 
war  upon  the  weaker  tribes  of  his  section  of  the  country,  carrying  them 
off  for  slaves,  but  that  he  had  found  the  presence  of  the  Boston  men  a 
protection,  as  they  discouraged  wars.  Patkanim,  angered  at  this  opposition, 
created  a  great  excitement,  which  seemed  to  threaten  a  battle  between  the 
tribes,  and  Rabbeson  becoming  alarmed  fled  back  to  the  settlements.  Two 
days  later  Glasgow  followed,  being  assisted  to  escape  by  a  friendly  Indian, 
but  leaving  behind  him  all  his  property.  Id.,  11-12. 


12  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

Glasgow  seems  to  have  taken  a  claim  subsequently 
in  Pierce  county,  and  to  have  finally  left  the  terri 
tory.28 

During  this  summer  Hancock  took  a  claim  on 
the  west  side  of  Budd  Inlet,  and  built  a  wharf  and 
warehouse;  but  having  subsequently  engaged  in 
several  commercial  ventures  involving  loss,  he  finally 
settled  in  1852  on  Whidbey  Island,  Patkanim  having 
in  the  mean  time  failed  in  his  design  of  exterminating 
the  American  settlers.  Rabbeson,  glad  to  be  well 
away  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  Snoqualimich 
chief,  went  with  Ferguson  to  work  in  the  wheat- 
fields  of  the  Cowlitz  farm,  now  in  charge  of  George 
B.  Roberts,  where  they  taught  the  Frenchmen  how 
to  save  grain  by  cradling,  after  which  the  new 
method  was  high  in  favor  and  the  cradling  party  in 
demand. 

All  at  once  this  wholesome  plodding  was  inter 
rupted  by  the  news  of  the  gold  discovery  in  Califor 
nia,  and  every  man  who  could  do  so  set  off  at  once 
for  the  gold-fields.  They  made  flat-boats  and  floated 
their  loaded  wagons  down  the  Cowlitz  River  to  where 
the  old  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  trail  left  it,  drove 
their  ox-teams  to  the  Columbia  River  opposite  St 
Helen,  and  again  taking  the  trail  from  the  old  Mc 
Kay  farm,  which  the  Lees  had  travelled  in  1834, 
emerged  on  the  Tualatin  plains,  keeping  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Willamette  to  the  head  of  the  valley. 
They  here  came  into  the  southern  immigrant  road, 
which  they  followed  to  its  junction  with  the  Lassen 
trail  to  the  Sacramento  Valley,  where  they  arrived 
late  in  the  autumn,  having  performed  this  remarkable 
journey  without  accident.29 

28 In  July  1858  he  married  Ellen  Horan.  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem., 
July  30,  1858. 

'a  See  Hist.  Or.,  ii.  45,  this  series.  Also  Eabbeson's  Growth  of  Towns,  MS., 
11-12;  Hancock's  Thirteen  Years,  MS.,  105-17.  Sylvester,  who  with  Rab- 
beson,  Ferguson,  and  Borst  went  to  California  in  the  spring  of  1849,  describes 
the  route  as  I  have  given  it.  His  company  had  one  wagon  and  4  yokes  of 
oxen;  and  there  were  three  other  wagons  in  the  train.  They  started  in  April 
and  reached  Sacramento  in  July.  Olympia,  MS.,  13-15. 


GOLD  AND  INDIANS.  13 

The  rush  to  the  mines  had  the  same  temporary 
effect  upon  the  improvement  of  the  country  north  of 
the  Columbia  that  I  have  noticed  in  my  account  of 
the  gold  excitement  in  the  Willamette  Valley.  Farm 
ing,  building,  and  all  other  industries  were  suspended, 
while  for  about  two  years  the  working  population  of 
the  country  were  absent  in  search  of  gold.  This  inter 
ruption  to  the  steady  and  healthy  growth  which  had 
begun  has  been  much  lamented  by  some  writers,80 
with  what  justice  I  am  unable  to  perceive;  because 
although  the  country  stood  still  in  respect  to  agricul 
ture  and  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  a  new  and  small 
population,  this  loss  was  more  than  made  up  by  the 
commercial  prosperity  which  the  rapid  settlement  of 
the  Pacific  coast  bestowed  upon  the  whole  of  the  Ore 
gon  territory,  and  especially  upon  Puget  Sound,  which 
without  the  excitement  of  the  gold  discovery  must 
have  been  twenty  years  in  gaining  the  milling  and 
other  improvements  it  now  gained  in  three. 

In  the  mean  time,  and  before  these  results  became 
apparent,  the  settlements  on  the  Sound  were  threat 
ened  with  a  more  serious  check  by  the  Snoqualimichs, 
who  about  the  first  of  May  attacked  Fort  Nisqually 
with  the  intention  of  taking  it,  and  if  they  had  suc 
ceeded  in  this,  Patkanim's  plans  for  the  extermination 
of  the  white  people  would  have  been  carried  out.  In 
this  affair  Leander  C.  Wallace  was  killed,  and  two 
other  Americans,  Walker  and  Lewis,  wounded,  the 
latter  surviving  but  a  short  time.  For  this  crime 
Quallawort,  a  brother  of  Patkanim,  and  Kassass, 
another  Snoqualimich  chief,  suffered  death  by  hang 
ing,  as  related  in  a  previous  volume.31  This  was  a 
somewhat  different  termination  from  that  anticipated. 
Patkanim,  even  after  the  Snoqualimichs  were  re- 

30  Evans  says,  in  his  Hist.  Mem.  16,  that  'the  exodus  in  search  of  gold  was  a 
grievous  check,  and  that  years  of  sober  advancement  and  industry  were  re 
quired  to  recuperate  from  its  consequences.'     1  have  mentioned  in  my  history 
of  Oregon  that  other  writers  take  the  same  view. 

31  Hist.  Or.,  ii.  G7-8,  80. 


14  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

pulsed,  sent  word  to  the  American  settlers  that  they 
would  be  permitted  to  quit  the  country  by  leaving 
their  property.  To  this  they  answered  that  they 
had  come  to  stay,  and  immediately  erected  block 
houses  at  Tumwater  and  Skookuin  Chuck.  This 
decided  movement,  with  the  friendship  of  the  Indians 
on  the  upper  part  of  the  Sound,  and  the  prompt 
measures  of  Governor  Lane,  who  arrived  March  2d 
at  Oregon  City,  followed  by  the  establishment  of 
Fort  Steilacoom  about  the  middle  of  July,  crushed 
an  incipient  Indian  war.32 

The  outbreak  did  not  seriously  interrupt  the  dawn 
ing  fortunes  of  the  settlers,  who  were  scrupulously 
careful  to  prevent  any  difficulties  with  the  natives  by 
a  custom  of  uniform  prices  for  labor  and  goods,  and 
perfect  equity  in  dealing  with  them.33 

Owing  to  the  California  exodus,  the  year  1849 
was  remarkable  only  for  its  dearth  of  immigration. 

32  Writers  on  this  attack  on  Nisqually  have  laid  too  little  stress  on  Pat- 
kanim's  designs.  Taken  in  connection  with  the  proceedings  of  the  previous 
summer  at  Whidbey  Island,  the  intention  seems  clear;  the  quarrel  with  the 
Nisquallies  was  but  a  pretence  to  account  for  the  appearance  at  the  fort  of 
the  Snoqualimichs  in  their  war-paint.  The  killing  of  the  Americans  was  but 
an  incident,  as  they  could  not  have  known  that  they  should  meet  a  party  of 
the  settlers  there.  The  plan  was  to  capture  the  fort  and  the  supply  of 
ammunition,  after  which  it  would  have  been  quite  easy  to  make  an  end  cf 
the  settlements,  already  deprived  by  the  exodus  to  California  of  a  large  share 
of  their  fighting  material.  The  H.  B.  Co.,  confident  of  their  influence  with 
the  Indians,  either  did  not  suspect  or  did  not  like  to  admit  that  the  Snoqua 
limichs  intended  mischief  to  them,  though  Tolmie  confesses  that  when  he 
went  outside  the  fort  to  bring  in  Wallace's  body  he  was  aimed  at;  but  the 
person  was  prevented  firing  by  a  Sinahomish  Indian  present,  who  reproved 
him,  saying,  'Harm  enough  done  for  one  day.'  Tolmie's  Puget  Sound,  MS. 
35.  All  accounts  agree  that  Patkanim  was  inside  the  fort  when  the  firing 
by  the  Snoqualimichs  was  commenced,  and  that  it  began  when  a  gun  was 
discharged  inside  the  fort  to  clean  it.  May  not  this  have  been  the  precon 
certed  signal?  But  the  closing  of  the  gates  with  the  chief  inside,  and  the 
firing  from  the  bastion,  disconcerted  the  conspirators,  who  retreated  to  cover. 

33 Evans  mentionsin  his  Hist.  Mem.,  12,  that  Patterson,  an  immigrant  of  1S47, 
who  afterward  left  the  country,  became  indebted  to  an  Indian  for  bringing 
his  family  up  the  Cowlitz  River,  but  could  not  pay  him,  and  gave  his  note  for 
12  months.  At  the  end  of  the  year  the  Indian  came  to  claim  liis  pay,  but 
still  the  man  had  not  the  money,  on  learning  which  the  Indian  offered  to  take 
a  heifer,  which  offer  was  declined.  The  Indian  then  went  to  the  white  set 
tlement  at  Tumwater  and  entered  his  complaint,  when  a  meeting  was  called 
and  a  committee  appointed  to  return  with  him  to  the  house  of  the  debtor, 
who  was  compelled  to  deliver  up  the  heifer.  This  satisfied  the  creditor  and 
kept  the  peace. 


BACK  FROM  THE  MINES.  15 

But  by  the  end  of  the  year  most  of  the  gold-hunters 
were  back  on  their  claims,  somewhat  richer  than 
before  in  the  product  of  the  mines.  Early  in  January 
1850  there  arrived  the  first  American  merchant  vessel 
to  visit  the  Sound  since  its  settlement.  This  was  the 
brig;1  Orbit,  William  H.  Dunham  master,  from  Calais, 
Maine.  She  had  brought  a  company  of  adventurers 
to  California,  who  having  no  further  use  for  her,  sold 
her  for  a  few  thousand  dollars  to  four  men,  who 
thought  this  a  good  investment,  and  a  means  of  get 
ting  to  Puget  Sound.  Their  names  were  I.  N.  Ebey, 
B.  F.  Shaw,  Edmund  Sylvester,  and  one  Jackson. 
There  came  as  passenger  also  Charles  Hart  Smith,  a 
young  man  from  Maine  and  a  friend  of  Captain  Dun 
ham.  M.  T.  Simmons,  who  had  not  gone  to  the  mines, 
had  sold,  in  the  autumn  of  1849,  his  land  claim  at  Turn- 
water,  with  the  mills,  to  Crosby 34  and  Gray,  formerly 
of  Portland,  for  thirty-five  thousand  dollars.  With 
a  portion  of  this  money  he  purchased  a  controlling 
interest  in  the  Orbit,  and  taking  C.  H.  Smith  as  part 
ner,  sent  the  brig  back  to  San  Francisco  with  a  cargo 
of  piles,  with  Smith  as  supercargo,  to  dispose  of  them 
and  purchase  a  stock  of  general  merchandise.  The 
vessel  returned  in  July,  and  the  goods  were  opened  at 
Smithfield,  which  by  the  death  of  Smith 35  had  come  to 

31  Captain  Clanrick  Crosby  was  a  navigator,  and  first  saw  the  waters  of 
Puget  Sound  in  command  of  a  ship.  He  continued  to  reside  at  Tumwater 
down  to  the  time  of  his  death,  Oct.  29, 1879,  at  the  age  of  75  years.  His  wife, 
Phoebe  H.,  died  Nov.  25,  1871.  Their  children  are  Clanrick,  Jr,  William, 
Walter,  Fanny,  Mrs  George  D.  Biles,  and  Mrs  J.  H.  Naylor.  New  Tacoma 
Herald,  Oct.  30,  1879.  Crosby  was  speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives 
in  1864.  Bancroft's  Hand-book,  1864,  353. 

S5Levi  Lathrop  Smith  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  studied  for 
the  presbyterian  ministry;  but  migrating  to  Wisconsin,  became  there  attached 
to  a  half-caste  girl,  a  catholic.  To  marry  under  these  circumstances 
would  be  a  violation  of  rule,  and  he  made  another  to  remove  to  Oregon.  But 
his  health  was  affected,  and  he  suffered  with  epilepsy.  He  was  elected  to 
the  Oregon  legislature  in  1848,  but  did  not  live  to  take  his  seat,  being 
drowned  in  the  latter  part  of  August  while  going  from  his  claim  to  Tumwater, 
attacked,  it  was  supposed,  by  convulsions,  which  overturned  his  canoe.  He 
built  the  iirst  cabin  in  what  is  now  the  city  of  Olympia,  on  Main  Street,  half 
way  between  Second  and  Third  streets,  a  cabin  16  feet  square,  of  split  cedar, 
with  a  stone  fire-place,  a  stick  chimney,  and  roofed  with  four-feet  shingles 
held  on  with  weight-poles.  The  cabin  had  one  door,  and  three  panes  of  glass 
for  a  window;  a  rough  puncheon  floor,  and  a  rough  partition  dividing  oft  a 
bedroom  and  closet.  The  furniture  consisted  of  a  bedstead,  made  by  boring 


16  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

be  the  sole  property  of  Sylvester,  and  was  now  called 
Olympia,  at  the  suggestion  of  I.  N".  Ebey.36  Sylvester's 
claim  on  the  prairie  was  abandoned  when  he  took  pos 
session  of  the  claim  on  the  Sound,37  and  was  taken  by 
Captain  Dunham  of  the  Orbit,  who  was  killed  by  being 
thrown  from  his  horse38  July  4,  1851,  the  government 
reserving  the  land  for  his  heirs,  who  long  after  took 
possession. 

In  order  to  give  his  town  a  start,  Sylvester  offered 
to  give  Simmons  two  lots  for  business  purposes, 
which  were  accepted;  and  a  house  of  rough  boards, 
two  stories  high — its  ground  dimensions  twenty  feet 
front  by  forty  in  depth — was  erected  at  the  corner  of 
First  and  Main  streets,  and  the  cargo  of  the  Orbit 
displayed  for  sale,39  Smith  acting  as  clerk.  The  firm 

holes  in  the  upright  planking  and  inserting  sticks  to  support  the  bed,  two 
tables,  some  benches,  and  stools  of  domestic  manufacture.  The  furniture  of  the 
table  was  tin,  and  scanty  at  that.  Two  acres  of  land  were  enclosed,  in  which 
corn,  beans,  pumpkins,  squashes,  potatoes,  pease,  turnips,  cabbages,  melons, 
cucumbers,  beets,  parsnips,  carrots,  onions,  tomatoes,  radishes,  lettuce, 
parsley,  sweet  fennel,  peppergrass,  summer-savory,  and  sunflowers  were  culti 
vated.  The  live-stock  belonging  to  this  establishment  comprised  5  hogs,  3  pigs, 
7  hens,  a  cock,  a  cat  and  dog,  a  yoke  of  oxen,  and  a  pair  of  horses.  These  de 
tails  are  taken  from  a  humorous  document  supposed  to  have  been  written 
by  Smith  himself,  still  in  the  possession  of  a  gentleman  of  Olympia.  As  a 
picture  of  pioneer  life,  it  is  not  without  value.  A  diary  kept  by  Smith  has 
also  been  preserved,  in  which  appear  many  hints  of  his  sad  and  solitary  mus 
ings  upon  his  life  in  the  wilderness  and  his  disappointed  hopes.  Evans'  Hist. 
Notes,  4. 

36  Evans'  Historical  Notes,  a  collection  of  authorities  on  the  early  settle 
ments,  with  remarks  by  Evans,  gives  Ebey  as  the  author.     Sylvester  says, 
speaking  of  Ebey,  'We  got  the  name  from  the  Olympic  range;'  from  which  I 
have  no  doubt  Evans  is  correct.      The  town  was  surveyed  by  William  L. 
Frazer  in  1850;  and  afterward  by  H.  A.  Goldsborough,  who,  it  will  be  remem 
bered,  remained  in  the  territory  when  the  U.  S.  steamer  Massachusetts  sailed 
away  in  the  spring  of  1850.  Hist.  Or.,  ii.,  chap,  ix.,  this  series. 

37  Sylvester,  in  his  Olympia,  MS.,  does  not  mention  L.  L.   Smith,  but 
speaks   only  of  himself,  and  gives  the  impression  that  he  alone  settled  at 
Olympia  in  1846.     This  evasion  of  a  fact  puzzled  me  until  I  came  upon  the 
explanation  in  Evans'  Hist.  Notes,  2,  where  he  mentions  Sylvester's  reticence 
in  the  matter  of  Smith,  and  tells  us  that  it  arose  from  an  apprehension  that 
Smith's  heirs  might  some  time  lay  claim  to  the  town  site  and  disturb  the 
title.     This  fear  Evans  declares  to  be  groundless,  and  that  Sylvester  'lawfully 
survived  to  the  sole  ownership  of  Smith's  claim,'  by  the  partnership  clause  of 
the  Oregon  land  law. 

38 Swan,  in  Olympia  Club,  MS.,  6. 

39  The  Orbit,  being  of  little  or  no  use  to  her  owners,  Simmons  having  sold 
his  mills,  was  taken  to  the  Columbia  by  Captain  Butler  for  her  owners  in 
the  summer  of  1851.  She  got  into  the  breakers  on  the  bar  and  was  aban 
doned.  The  tide  returning  floated  her  into  Baker  Bay  in  safety.  Some  per 
sons  who  beheld  her  drifting  took  her  to  Astoria  and  claimed  salvage;  but 


COMMERCIAL  BEGINNINGS.  17 

had  a  profitable  trade,  as  we  may  well  believe  when 
cooking-stoves  without  furniture  sold  for  eighty  dol 
lars.40  American  commerce  was  thus  begun  with  a 
population  of  not  more  than  one  hundred  citizens  of 
the  United  States  in  the  region  immediately  about 
Puget  Sound.41  Three  of  the  crew  of  the  British 
ship  Albion  settled  in  the  region  of  Steilacoom; 
namely,  William  Bolton,  Frederick  Rabjohn,  and 
William  Elders,  If  it  is  true,  as  I  have  shown  in  a 
previous  volume,42  that  the  Americans,  as  soon  as  they 
were  armed  with  the  power  by  congress,  exhibited  a 
most  unfriendly  exclusiveness  toward  the  British  com 
pany  which  had  fostered  them  in  its  way,  it  is  easy 
to  perceive  that  they  were  actuated  partly  by  a  feel 
ing  of  revenge,  and  a  desire  for  retaliation  for  having 
been  compelled  to  show  the  rents  in  their  breeches  as 
a  reason  for  requiring  a  new  pair,43  and  to  account  for 
the  rents  besides,  to  prove  that  the  Indian  trade  had 
not  been  interfered  with.  Now  these  irrepressible 
Americans  were  bringing  their  own  goods  by  the 
ship-load,  and  peddling  them  about  the  Sound  in 
canoes  under  the  noses  of  the  company.  It  was  cer 
tainly  an  unequal  contest  when  legal  impediment  was 
removed. 

Simmons  brought  her  back  to  the  Sound,  where  she  was  finally  sold  at  mar 
shal's  sale,  and  purchased  by  a  company  consisting  of  John  M.  Swan,  H.  A. 
Goldsborough,  and  others,  who  loaded  her  with  piles  and  undertook  to  navi 
gate  her  to  the  S.  I.  They  met  with  a  gale  in  Fuca  Straits  and  had  their 
rigging  blown  to  pieces,  but  managed  to  get  into  Esqnimault  harbor,  where 
they  sold  the  vessel  to  the  H.  B.  Co.  for  $1,000.  The  company  refitted  her, 
changed  her  name  to  the  Discovery,  and  used  her  on  the  northern  coast  until 
1858,  when  she  was  employed  as  a  police  vessel  on  Fraser  River  in  collecting 
licenses.  Afterward  she  was  resold  to  Leonard,  of  the  firm  of  Leonard  & 
Green  of  Portland,  and  her  name  of  Orbit  restored;  she  Mas  taken  to  China 
and  again  sold,  where  she  disappears  from  history.  She  is  remembered  as  the 
first  American  vessel  that  ever  penetrated  to  the  head  of  Puget  Sound,  or  en 
gaged  in  a  commerce  with  Americans  on  its  waters.  Olympla  Club,  MS.,  2-8. 

*°Rabbeson,  in  Ohjmpia  Club,  MS.,  3. 

41Rabbeson  says  that  in  the  winter  of  1849  or  spring  of  1850.  at  the  time 
the  British  ship  Albion  was  lying  at  Dungeness  cutting  spars,  he  went  down 
to  that  port  with  Eaton  and  others,  and  in  returning  lie  fell  in  with  an  Amer 
ican  vessel  coming  up  for  piles,  which  he  piloted  to  the  upper  sound,  securing 
the  contract  for  furnishing  the  cargo.  He  thinks  her  name  was  The  P/findf*, 
and  the  next  vessel  in  the  sound  the  Robert  Bgwen.  Growth  of  Towns,  MS.,  14. 

allist.  Or.,  ii.,  104-6,  this  series. 

45 Sylvester's  Ohjmpia,  MS.,  12. 
HIST.  WASH.— 2 


18  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

In  the  Orbit  came  John  M.  Swan,44  who  in  1850 
settled  on  a  claim  immediately  east  of  Olympia,  which 
became  Swantown.  Another  passenger  was  Henry 
Murray,  who  took  a  claim  east  of  Steilacoom.  In  July 
Lafayette  Balch,  owner  of  the  brig  George  Emory, 
arrived  at  Olympia  with  a  cargo  of  goods,  which  he 
unloaded  at  that  place;  but  finding  he  could  not  get 
such  terms  as  he  desired  from  the  owner  of  the  town 
lots,  he  put  his  vessel  about  and  went  down  the  Sound, 
establishing  the  town  of  Port  Steilacoom,  putting  up 
a  large  business  house,  the  frame  of  which  he  brought 
from  San  Francisco,  and  to  which  he  removed  the 
goods  left  at  Olympia  to  be  sold  by  Henry  C. 
Wilson,45  who  appears  to  have  arrived  with  Balch, 
and  who  settled  on  the  west  shore  of  Port  Townsend 
on  the  15th  of  August.  On  the  15th  of  October 
I.  N.  Ebey  took  up  the  claim  from  which  Glasgow 
had  been  ejected  by  the  Indians  on  the  west  side  of 
Whidbey  Island,  about  a  mile  south  of  Penn  Cove. 
R.  H.  Lansdale  about  the  same  time  took  a  claim  at 
the  head  of  Penn  Cove,  where  the  town  of  Coveland 
was  ultimately  laid  out.  In  November  the  George 
Emory,  which  had  made  a  voyage  to  San  Francisco, 
brought  up  as  passengers  half  a  dozen  men  who  in 
tended  getting  out  a  cargo  of  piles  for  that  market, 
and  who  landed  five  miles  north  of  Steilacoom.  One 
of  their  number,  William  B.  Wilton,  selecting  a  claim, 
built  a  cabin,  and  the  adventurers  went  to  work  with 
a  will  to  make  their  fortunes.  Their  only  neighbor 

44 1  do  not  know  Swan's  antecedents,  except  that  he  was  in  the  mines  in 
April  1849,  and  that  after  working  there  for  three  months  he  became  ill,  and 
determined  to  go  north  as  soon  as  he  could  get  away,  for  his  health.  Find 
ing  the  Orbit  about  to  sail,  he  took  passage  in  her.  His  idea  was  to  go  to 
V.  I.,  but  when  he  arrived  at  Victoria  he  found  the  terms  of  colonization 
there  repulsive  to  him,  and  went  on  with  the  vessel  to  the  head  of  Puget 
Sound,  where  he  remained.  Swans  Colonization,  MS.,  2. 

«5  Wash.  Sketches,  MS.,  38-9;  Sylvester's  Olympia,  MS.,  19-20;  Swan's 
Colonization,  MS.,  4-5.  Wilson  married  Susan  P.  Keller  in  Oct.  1854.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  Captain  Josiah  P.  Keller  of  Maine,  who  settled  at  Port 
Gamble,  or  Teekalet  Bay,  in  the  autumn  of  1853,  with  his  family.  He  was 
born  in  1812,  and  emigrated  to  Puget  Sound  from  Boston.  He  was  a  useful 
and  respected  citizen,  being  the  founder  of  the  village  of  Teekalet.  His 
death  occurred  June  11,  1862,  at  Victoria.  Port  Towmend  Northwest,  June 
1862. 


PORT  TQWNSEND.  19 

was  William  Bolton,  who  could  net  have  been  very 
well  supplied  with  the  requirements  for  a  life  in  the 
woods,  as  they  were  unable  to  obtain  oxen  to  drag 
the  fallen  timber  to  the  water's  edge,  arid  in  April 
1851  abandoned  their  enterprise,  after  disposing  of 
as  much  of  the  timber  they  had  felled  as  could  be 
loaded  on  a  vessel  without  the  aid  of  oxen.  Two  of 
their  number,  Charles  C.  Bachelder  and  A.  A.  Plum 
mer,46  then  went  to  Port  Townsend,  and  took  claims 
on  Point  Hudson,  about  a  mile  north-west  of  Wilson, 
where  they  were  joined  in  November  by  L.  B.  Has 
tings  and  F.  W.  Pettygrove,  formerly  of  Oregon  City 
and  Portland,  who  had  ruined  himself  by  speculating 
in  property  at  Benicia,  California.  In  February, 
J.  G-.  Clinger47  and  Pettygrove  and  Hastings  took 
claims  adjoining  those  of  Bachelder  and  Plurnmer 
on  the  north  and  west,  and  soon  these  four  agreed 

O 

to  lay  out  a  town,  and  to  devote  a  third  of  each  of 
their  claims  to  town-site  purposes — a  fair  division, 
considering  the  relative  size  and  location  of  the 
claims.  Bachelder  and  Plutnmer,  being  unmarried, 
could  take  no  more  than  a  quarter-section  under  the 
Oregon  land  law,  which  granted  but  1GO  acres  as  a 
donation  when  such  claim  was  taken  after  the  1st  of 
December,  1850,  or  by  a  person  who  was  not  a  resi 
dent  of  Oregon  previous  to  that  time.  Pettygrove 
and  Hastings,48  having  both  emigrated  to  the  territory 

46  Plummer  was  a  native  of  Maine.  He  was  a  saddler  in  the  quartermas 
ter's  department  under  Parker  H.  French  on  the  march  to  El  Paso  of  the  3d 
infantry  in  1849.  From  El  Paso  he  went  to  Mazatlan,  and  thence  by  the 
bark  Phceuix  to  San  Francisco  in  May  1850.  In  the  spring  of  1851  he  took 
passage  on  the  Georye  Emory,  Capt.  Balch,  for  Puget  Sound.  Wash.  Sketches, 
MS.,  37;  see  also  Holuno  Co.  Hist.,  157. 

*7  Pettygrove  and  Hastings  arrived  in  the  schooner  Mary  Taylor,  from 
Portland.  Plummer,  in  Wash.  Sketches,  MS.,  a  collection  of  statements  taken 
down  by  my  short-hand  reporter,  says  that  into  his  cabin,  15  by  30  feet,  were 
crowded  fora  time  the  families  of  Pettygrove,  Hastings,  and  Cliuger.  Houses 
were  erected  as  soon  as  they  conveniently  could  be  on  the  claims  taken  by 
theso  settlers,  and  could  not  have  been  ready  much  before  spring. 

*8Biiggs,  in  his  Port  Townsend,  MS.,  containing  a  history  of  the  immigra- 


him  to  go  to  Puget  Sound.     Hastings  and  Pettygroye  then  went  over  to  look 
for  a  location,  and  fixed  upon  Port  Townsend. 


20  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

previous  to  1850,  and  being  married,  were  entitled  to 
take  a  whole  section,  but  their  land,  being  less  favor 
ably  situated  for  a  town  site,  was  worth  less  to  the 
company;  hence  the  terms  of  the  agreement. 

The  new  town  was  named  after  the  bay  upon  which 
it  was  situated,  Port  Townsend,  and  the  owners  con 
stituted  a  firm  for  the  prosecution  of  trade.49 

As  timber  was  the  chief  marketable  product  of  the 
country,  and  as  Hastings  and  Pettygrove  were  owners 
of  three  yokes  of  oxen,  the  company  at  once  set  to 
work  cutting  piles  and  squaring  timbers;  at  which 
labor  they  continued  for  about  two  years,  loading  sev 
eral  vessels,50  and  carrying  on  a  general  merchandise 
business  besides.51 

In  May  1852  Albert  Briggs  settled  a  mile  and  a 
half  south  from  Port  Townsend,52  and  in  September 
came  Thomas  M.  Hammond,  who  took  a  narrow  strip 
of  land  west  of  the  claims  of  Hastings  and  Wilson, 
and  which,  coming  down  to  the  bay,  adjoined  Briggs 
on  the  north.53  The  names  of  all  the  donation-land 

49  In  the  agreement  between  the  partners,  says  Briggs,  $3,000  was  to  be 
put  into  a  joint  stock  to  carry  on  merchandising  and  a  lishery,  neither  part 
ner  to  draw  out  more  than  the  net  income  according  to  their  share;  but  at 
the  end  of  three  yeai-s  the  original  stock  might  be  drawn  from  the  concern. 
A  condition  was  imposed,  on  account  of  habits  of  intemperance  on  the  part  of 
Bachelder  and  Pettygrove,  that  if  any  member  of  the  firm  should  be  declared 
incompetent  by  a  vote  of  the  others  to  attend  to  business  on  account  of  drink, 
he  should  forfeit  his  interest  and  quit  the  company.  Bachelder  lost  his  share 
by  this  agreement,  receiving  a  few  hundred  dollars  for  his  land  from  Petty- 
grove.  He  died  at  Port  Ludlow  not  long  after.  /(/. ,  24-5. 

60  The  brig  Wellingsley  several  times,  brig  James  Marshall  once,  ship  Ted- 
mcr  once,  and  bark  Mary  Adams  once.   Plummer,  in  Wash.  Sketches,  MS.,  40. 

61  The  first  house  erected  in  Port  Townsend  after  Plummer's  was  by  R.  M. 
Caines,  for  a  hotel  on  Water  Street,  later  occupied  as  the  A  ryus  newspaper 
office.     Then  followed  residences  by  Wilson,  J.  G.  Clinger,  who  had  taken  a 
land  claim  a  mile  and  a  half  south  of  the  town,  Benjamin  Ross,  who  with  his 
brother  R.  W.  Ross  had  located  land  fronting  on  the  Fuca  sea  at  the  head  of 
the  strait,  William  Webster,  John  Price,  and  E.  S.  Fowler,  who  had  a  stock 
of  merchandise.  Plummer,  in  Wash.  Sketches,  MS.,  40-1.     Mrs  Clinger  was 
the  mother  of  the  first  white  child  born  in  Port  Townsend. 

52  Briggs  was  born  in  Vt.     He  arrived  in  Or.  in  1847  with  the  immigration, 
in  company  with  Lot  Whitcomb,  and  worked  at  his  trade  of  carpenter  for  a 
year  or  more,  settling  at  last  on  the  Santiam,  where  he  remained  until  18.">2, 
when  he  went  to  the  Sound  on  the  solicitation  of  his  friend  Hastings.     He 
brought  his  family,  and  built,  according  to  his  own  statement,  the  first  frame 
house  and  brick  chimney  at  or  near  Port  Townsend,  and  brought  the  first 
horses  and  cattle  to  the  place.  Port  Townsend,  MS.,  1,  35. 

53  Hammond  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  born  about  1820,  arrivacl  in  the  U. 
S.  in  1829,  and  came  to  Cal.  in  1849  with  the  gold-seekers.     J.  B.  Beidelman 


LOW  AND  TERRY.  21 

claimants  about  Port  Townsend  are  here  mentioned 
in  my  account  of  its  settlements. 

In  the  latter  part  of  August  1851,  in  the  van  of 
the  immigration,  arrived  at  Portland  John  N.  Low 
and  C.  C.  Terry.  In  September  they  took  their 
cattle  and  whatever  live-stock  they  possessed  down 
the  Columbia,  and  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
trail  to  the  valley  of  the  Chehalis,  where  they  were 
left,  while  Low  54  and  Terry  proceeded  to  the  Sound 
to  explore  for  a  town  site,  fixing  at  last  upon  Alki 
Point,  on  the  west  side  of  Elliott  Bay,  where  a  claim 
was  taken  about  the  25th,  and  a  house  partially  con 
structed  of  logs.  They  found  that  others  were  pre 
paring  to  settle  in  the  vicinity,  and  were  encouraged. 
John  C.  Holgate,  a  young  man  and  an  immigrant  of 
1847,  who  had  served  in  the  Cayuse  war,  had  visited 
the  east  side  of  Elliott  Bay  in  1850,  selecting  a  claim 
for  himself.55 

Previous  to  the  arrival  of  Low  and  Terry  at  Alki 
Point,  Luther  M.  Collins  took  a  claim  in  the  valley 
of  the  Dwarnish  or  White  River,56  and  before  they 

&  Co.  of  San  Francisco  wished  him  to  start  a  fishery  and  cut  piles  for  that 
market.  He  took  passage  on  the  bark  Powhatan,  Captain  Mcllen,  for  I'ngct 
Sound,  but  by  the  tim  j  he  was  ready  to  begin  business  the  firm  had  failed, 
and  Hammond  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  settlers  of  Port  Townsend.  Wash. 
Sketches,  MS.,  95-7. 

64  John  N.  Low  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1820.  He  removed  to  111.,  where 
he  married,  in  1848,  L/dia  Col  burn,  born  in  Penn.  Low  brought  to  Or.  a 
herd  of  choice  stock  for  dairy  purposes,  which  were  the  first  selected  Ameri 
can  cattle  taken  to  the  Sound  country,  and  seems  to  have  had  a  more  definite 
purpose  in  emigrating  than  many  who  came  to  the  Pacific  coast  at  that 
period.  Morse'*  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  i.  118-19.  Charles  Carroll  Terry  was  a 
native  of  New  York  state. 

55 1  follow  the  account  of  Mrs  Abby  J.  Hanford,  who,  in  a  manuscript 
giving  an  account  of  the  Settlement  of  Seattle  and  the  Indian  (Tor,  makes  this 
positive  statement  concerning  Holgate's  visit.  Mrs  Hanford  was  a  sister  of 
Holgate,  whose  family  came  to  Or.  in  1853,  and  to  Wash,  in  1854.  Mrs 
Elizabeth  Holgate,  mother  of  Mrs  Hanford,  was  born  at  Middleton,  Ct,  in 
179G;  was  married  at  Pittsburg,  Pa,  in  1818,  to  A.  L.  Holgate,  who  died  in 
1847,  and  accompanied  her  children  to  Or.  She  died  in  Jan.  1880,  at  the 
house  of  her  daughter,  whose  husband's  land  adjoined  that  of  J.  C.  Holgate. 
Seattle  IntMifje»cer,  Jan.  24,  1880. 

56Tho  river  system  of  this  region  is  peculiar;  for  example,  White  River 
and  Cedar  River  both  rise  in  the  Cascade  Mountains  and  have  a  north-west 
course.  Cedar  flows  into  Lake  Washington,  from  which  l,y  the  same  mouth  but 
a  different  channel  it  runs  out  again  in  a  south-west  course,  called  Black  River, 


22  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

returned  to  Portland,  Collins,  Henry  Van  Assalt,  and 
Jacob  and  Samuel  Maple  arrived  and  settled  upon  the 
Dwamish,  where  they  had  previously  taken  claims.57 

Leaving  their  house  half  built,  the  settlers  at  Alki 
Point  returned  to  Portland,  where  Low  had  left  his 
wife  and  four  children.  Here  they  found  Arthur  A. 
Denny,  also  from  Illinois,  although  born  in  Indiana, 
with  a  wife  and  two  children;  William  N.  Bell,  a  na 
tive  of  Illinois,  with  a  wife  and  two  children;  and  C. 
D.  Borem,  with  a  wife  and  child;  besides  David  T. 
Denny,  unmarried — who  were  willing  to  accept  their 
statement  that  they  had  discovered  the  choicest  spot 
for  a  great  city  to  be  found  in  the  north-west. 

On  the  5th  of  November  this  company  took  pas 
sage  on  the  schooner  Exact,  Captain  Folger,  which 
had  been  chartered  to  carry  a  party  of  gold-hunters 
to  Queen  Charlotte  Island,  and  Low's  party  with  a  few 
others  to  Puget  Sound.  The  Alki  Point  settlers  ar 
rived  at  their  destination  on  the  13th,  and  were  dis 
embarked  at  low  tide,  spending  the  dull  November 
afternoon  in  carrying  their  goods  by  hand  out  of  the 
reach  of  high  water,  assisted  by  the  women  and  chil 
dren.  "And  then/'  says  Bell,  artlessly,  in  an  auto 
graph  letter,  "the  women  sat  down  and  cried."58  Poor 
women !  Is  it  any  wonder?  Think  of  it :  the  long  jour- 

into  White  River,  joining  the  two  by  a  link  little  more  than  two  miles  long. 
Below  this  junction  White  River  is  called  Dwamish,  with  no  better  reason 
than  that  the  Indians  gave  that  name  to  a  section  of  the  stream  where  they 
resided.  There  is  a  link  by  creeks  and  marshes  between  White  River  and 
the  Puyallup,  and  the  whole  eastern  shore  of  the  Sound  is  a  network  of  rivers, 
lakes,  creeks,  and  swales,  the  soil  of  the  bottom-lands  being  very  rich,  but 
overgrown  with  trees  of  the  water-loving  species.  Prairie  openings,  occur  at 
intervals,  on  which  the  settlements  were  made. 

57 1  am  thus  particular  in  the  matter  of  priority,  because  there  is  a  slight 
but  perceptible  jealousy  evident  in  my  authorities  as  to  the  claim  to  prece 
dence  in  settlement.  From  the  weight  of  testimony,  I  think  it  may  be  fairly 
said  that  the  Dwamish  Valley  was  settled  before  Alki  Point.  Jacob  Maple 
was  born  on  the  Monongehela  River,  Green  county,  Pennsylvania,  1798.  His 
father  removed  to  Jefferson  county,  Ohio,  in  1800,  and  died  in  1812.  The 
family  subsequently  lived  in  southern  Iowa,  from  which  they  emigrated  to 
Oregon  by  the  way  of  California,  arriving  in  1851.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS., 
ii.  8.  Another  settler  claiming  priority  ia  Martin  Tafteson,  who  took  a  claim 
on  Oak  Harbor  in  1851.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xxi.  43-5. 

58 1  have  a  valuable  dictation  by  Mr  Bell,  entitled  the  Settlement  of  Seattle, 
MS.,  in  which  many  historical  facts  are  set  forth  in  an  interesting  manner. 


FOUNDING  OF  SEATTLE.  23 

ney  overland,  the  wearisome  detention  in  Portland, 
the  sea-voyage  in  the  little  schooner,  and  all  to  be  set 
down  on  the  beach  of  this  lonely  inland  sea,  at  the 
beginning  of  a  long  winter,  without  a  shelter  from  the 
never-ceasing  rains  for  themselves  or  their  babes.  It 
did  not  make  it  any  easier  that  nobody  was  to  blame, 
and  that  in  this  way  only  could  their  husbands  take 
their  choice  of  the  government's  bounty  to  them.  It 
was  hard,  but  it  is  good  to  know  that  they  survived 
it,  and  that  a  house  was  erected  during  the  winter 
which  was  in  a  measure  comfortable.59 

Low  and  Terry  laid  out  a  town  at  Alki  Point,  call 
ing  it  New  York,  and  offering  lots  to  those  members 
of  the  company  who  would  remain  and  build  upon 
them.  But  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity  had  given  in 
formation  during  the  winter  concerning  a  pass  in  the 
Cascade  Range  which  induced  the  majority  to  remove 
in  the  spring  of  1852  to  the  east  side  of  the  bay,  where 
they  founded  a  town  of  their  own,  which  they  called 
Seattle,  after  a  chief  of  the  Dwamish  tribe  residing  in 
the  vicinity,  who  stood  high  in  the  estimation  of  the 
American  settlers.60 

D.  T.  Denny,  W.  N.  Bell,  A.  A.  Denny,  and  C. 
D.  Boren  took  claims  in  the  order  mentioned  on  the 
east  shore,  D.  T.  Denny's  being  farthest  north,  and 
Boren's  adjoining  on  the  south  a  claim  made  at  the 

59  Bell's  house  was  constructed  of  cedar  planks  split  out  of  the  tree,  the 
Oregon  cedar  having  a  straight  grain.     These  planks  were  made  smoother 
with  carpenter's  tools,  and  were  joined  neatly  in  the  flooring.     Some  window- 
eash  were  obtained  from  Olympia,  and  the  '  first  house  in  King  county '  (I  quote 
Bell)  was  after  all  a  decent  enough  domicile  when  it  was  completed. 

60  Seattle  is  described  as  a  dignified  and  venerable  personage,  whose  car 
riage  reminded  the  western  men  of  Senator  Benton;  but  I  doubt  if  the  Mis 
souri  senator  would  have  recognized  himself,  except  by  a  very  great  stretch  of 
imagination,  in  this  naked  savage  who  conversed  only  in  signs  and  grunts.     It 
is  said  that  Seattle  professed  to  remember  Vancouver— another  stretch  of  the 
imagination.  See   Olympia   Wash.   Standard,  April   25,    1868;  Richardson?* 
Missis.,  416.     It  is  well  known  that  the  Indians  north  of  the  Columbia  change 
their  names  when  a  relative  dies,  Swan's  JV.  W.  Coast,  189,  from  a  belief  that 
the  spirits  of  the  dead  will  return  on  hearing  these  familiar  names.     Seattle, 
on  hearing  that  a  town  was  called  by  his  name,  and  foreseeing  that  it  would 
be  a  disturbance  to  his  ghost  when  he  should  pass  away,  made  this  a  ground 
for  levying  a  tax  on  the  citizens  while  living,  taking  his  pay  beforehand  for 
the  inconvenience  he  expected  to  suffer  from  the  use  of  his  name  after  death. 
fesler's  Wash.  Ter,,  MS.,  6;  Murphy,  in  Appleton'n  Journal.  11,  1877. 


24  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

same  time  by  D.  S.  Maynard  from  Olympia,  who  in 
turn  adjoined  Holgate,  and  who  kept  the  first  trading- 
house  in  the  town.  Seattle  was  laid  oft'  upon  the 
water-front  from  about  the  middle  of  Maynard's  claim, 
a  larger  one  than  either  of  the  others,61  and  on  which 
the  first  house  was  built,  to  the  north  line  of  Bell's 
claim.  Then  in  the  autumn  came  Henry  L.  Yesler, 
who  was  looking  for  a  mill  site,  and  who  was  admitted 
to  the  water-front  by  a  re-arrangement  of  the  contig 
uous  boundaries  of  Boren  and  Maynard.62 

61  Maynard  came  to  Or.  in  Sept.  1850,  and  took  his  claim  under  the  dona 
tion  law  as  a  married  man,  and  as  a  resident  prior  to  Dec.  1850,  which  would 
have  entitled  him  to  040  acres.     But  on  the  22d  of  Dec.,  1852,  he  obtained 
from  the  Or.  leg.  a  divorce  from  Lydia  A.  Maynard,  whom  he  had  married  in 
Vt,  on  the  28th  of  August,  1828,  and  left  in  Ohio  when  he  emigrated.     In 
Jan.  1853  he  married  Catherine  Broshears,  and  soon  after  gave  the  required 
notice  of  settlement  on  his  claim,  acknowledging  his  previous  marriage,  but 
asserting  that  his  first  wife  died  Dec.  24,  1852.     In  due  course  a  certificate 
was  issued  to  Maynard  and  wife,  giving  the  west  half  of  the  claim  to  the  hus 
band  and  the  east  half  to  the  wife.     But  the  commissioner  of  the  general  land- 
ofiice  held  that  the  heirs  of  Lydia  A.  Maynard  should  have  had  the  east  half, 
she  being  his  wife  when  he  settled  on  the  land,  and  until  the  following  Dec. 
These  matters  coming  to  the  ears  of  the  first  Mrs  Maynard  and  her  two  sons, 
they  appeared  and  laid  claim  to  the  land,  and  the  case  being  considered  upon 
the  proofs,  neither  Lydia  A.  Maynard  nor  Catherine  Maynard  received  any 
part  of  the  land,  the  claim  of  the  first  being  rejected  because  she  had  acquired 
no  rights  by  her  presence  in  the  country  previous  to  the  divorce,  nor  could 
she  inherit  as  a  widow  after  the  divorce — an  iniquitous  decision,  by  the  way, 
where  no  notice  has  been  served — and  the  claim  of  the  second  being  rejected 
because  she  was  not  the  wife  of  Maynard  on  the  1st  of  Dec.,  1850,  nor  within 
one  year  thereafter.     The  320  acres  which  should  have  belonged  to  one  of 
these  women  reverted  to  the  government.     Maynard  died  in    1873.    Puget 
Sound  Dixpatch,  March  14  and  April  18,   1872;  Seattle  Intelliyencer,  March 
17,  1873,  Feb.  10,  1877;  S.  F.  Alta,  March  2,  1873. 

62  Yesler  was  a  native  of  Maryland;  went  to  Ohio  in  1832,  and  emigrated 
thence  in  1851  to  Or.,  intending  to  put  up  a  saw-mill  at  Portland;  but  the 
wreck  of  the  General   Warren  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  other  fancied 
drawbacks  caused  him  to  go  to  Cal.  and  to  look  around  for  some  land  in  that 
state;  but  meeting  a  sailing-master  who  had  been  in  Puget  Sound,  he  learned 
enough  of  the  advantages  of  this  region  for  a  lumbering  establishment  to  de 
cide  him  to  go  there,  and  to  settle  at  Seattle.     Yesler's  was  the  first  of  the 
saw-mills  put  up  with  a  design  to  establish  a  trade  with  S.  F.,  and  being  also 
at  a  central  point  on  the  Sound,  became  historically  important.     The  cook 
house  belonging  to  it,  though  only  a  'dingy-looking  hewed-log  building  about 
25  feet  square,  a  little  more  than  one  story  high  with  a  shed  addition  on  the 
rear,'  was  for  a  number  of  years  the  only  place  along  the  east  shore  of  the 
Sound  where  comfortable  entertainment  could  be  had.     'Many  an  old  Puget 
Sounder,'  says  a  correspondent  of  the  Puget  Sound  Weekly,  1806,  'remembers 
the  happy  hours,  jolly  nights,   strange  encounters,   and  wild  scenes  he  has 
enjoyed  around  the  broad  fireplace  and  hospitable  board  of  Yesler's  cook 
house.  '     During   the  Indian   war  it  was  a  rendezvous  for  the  volunteers;  it 
was  a  resort  of  naval  officers;  a  judge — Lander — had  his  office  in  a  corner  of 
it;  for  a  time  the  county  auditor's  office  was  there;  it  had  served  for  town-hall, 
court-house,  jail,  military  headquarters,  storehouse,  hotel,  and  church.    Elec- 


DECADENCE  OF  NEW  YORK.  25 

Before  proceeding  to  these  decisive  measures,  the 
town-site  company  made  a  careful  hydrographic  sur 
vey  of  the  bay,  Bell  and  Boren  paddling  the  canoe 
while  Denny  took  the  soundings.  On  the  23d  of  May, 
1853,  the  town  plat  was  filed  for  record,63  Bell  keep 
ing  his  claim  separate,  from  which  it  was  long  called 
Belltown.  Being  really  well  situated,  and  midway 
between  Port  Townsend  and  Olympia,  it  rewarded  its 
founders  by  a  steady  growth  and  by  becoming  the 
county  seat  of  King  county.  Its  population  in  1855 
was  about  three  hundred. 

The  embryo  city  of  New  York  never  advanced  be 
yond  a  chrysalid  condition;  but  after  having  achieved 
a  steam  saw-mill,  a  public  house,  and  two  or  three 
stores,  and  after  having  changed  its  name  to  Alki, 
an  Indian  word  signifying  in  the  future,  or  by  and 
by,  which  was  both  name  and  motto,  it  gave  way  to 
its  more  fortunate  rival.  It  had  a  better  landing 
than  Seattle  at  that  time,  but  a  harbor  that  was  ex 
posed  to  the  winds,  where  vessels  were  sometimes 
blown  ashore,  and  \vas  otherwise  inferior  in  position.6* 
Terry,  at  the  end  of  two  years,  removed  to  Seattle, 
where  he  died  in  1867.65  Low  went  to  California 
and  the  east,  but  finally  returned  to  Puget  Sound 
and  settled  in  Seattle. 

In  the  spring  of  1853  there  arrived  from  the  Wil 
lamette,  where  they  had  wintered,  David  Phillips66 

tions,  social  parties,  and  religious  services  were  held  under  its  roof.  The  first 
sermon  preached  in  King  co.  was  delivered  there  by  Clark,  and  the  first  suit  at 
law,  which  was  the  case  of  the  mate  of  the  Franklin  Adams  for  selling  the  ship's 
stores  on  his  own  account,  was  held  here  before  Justice  Maynard,  who  dis 
charged  the  accused  with  an  admonition  to  keep  his  accounts  more  correctly 
thereafter.  For  all  these  memories  the  old  building  was  regretted  when  in  1 865 
it  was  demolished  to  make  room  for  more  elegant  structures.  Yeslcr't  Waxh. 
Ter.,  MS.,  13.  D.  S.  Smith  of  Seattle  is,  though  not  the  first  settler  at 
that  place,  the  first  of  the  men  who  finally  settled  there  to  have  visited  the 
place,  on  a  whaling- vessel  which  entered  the  Sound  in  1837.  Seattle  Pac. 
Tribune,  June  24,  1877;  Purjet  Sound  Dispatch,  July  8,  1876. 

63 Morse's  Wash.  Tcr.,  MS.,  ii.  6. 

"Ellicott'i  Puget  Sound,  MS.,  19. 

65  Terry  had  a  trading-post  at  Alki,  as  well  as  Low  and  S.  M.  Holderness. 
In  185G  he  married  Mary  J.  Russell,  daughter  of  S.  W.  Russell,  of  the  White 
River  settlement.     After  her  husband's  death  in  1873,  Mrs  Terry  married 
W.  H.  Gilliam,  but  died  in  1875. 

66  Phillips  was  a  native  of  Penn.,  but   for  some  years  anterior  to  1852 


26  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

and  F.  Matthias  from  Pennsylvania,  Dexter  Horton 
and  Hannah  E.,  his  wife,  and  Thomas  Mercer,  from 
Princetown,  Illinois,67  S.  W.  Kussell,  T.  S.  Kussell, 
Hillery  Butler,  E.  M.  Smithers,  John  Thomas,  and 
H.  A.  Smith.  They  came  by  the  way  of  the  Cowlitz 
and  Olympia,  whence  they  were  carried  down  the 
Sound  on  board  the  schooner  Sarah  Stone,  which 
landed  at  Alki,  where  the  six  last  mentioned  re 
mained  for  the  summer,  removing  to  Seattle  in  the 
autumn.  J.  R.  Williamson,  George  Buckley,  Charles 
Kennedy,  and  G.  N.  McConaha  and  family,  also 
arrived  about  this  period,  and  settled  at  Seattle.  A 
daughter  born  to  Mrs  McConaha  in  September  was 
the  first  white  native  of  King  county. 

There  settled  in  the  Dwamish  or  White  River 
Valley,  not  far  from  the  spring  of  1853,  William 
Ballston,  D.  A.  Neely,  J.  Buckley,  A.  Hogine,  J. 
Harvey,  William  Brown,  a  Mr.  Nelson,  and  on  Lake 
Washington63  E.  A.  Clark. 

The  pursuits  of  the  first  settlers  of  Seattle  and  the 
adjacent  country  were  in  no  wise  different  from  those 
of  Olympia,  Steilacoom,  and  Port  Townsend.  Tim 
ber  was  the  most  available  product  of  this  region,  and 
to  getting  out  a  cargo  the  settlers  on  the  Dwamish 
River  first  applied  themselves.  Oxen  being  scarce 
in  the  new  settlements  previous  to  the  opening  of  a 

resided  in  Iowa.  He  went  into  mercantile  business  in  partnership  with 
Horton,  having  a  branch  house  in  Olympia.  They  dissolved  in  1861,  and 
Phillips  took  the  Olympia  business.  In  1870  they  reunited  in  a  banking 
establishment  in  Seattle.  In  the  mean  time  Phillips  was  elected  to  several 
county  offices,  and  3  times  to  a  seat  in  the  legislature  of  Wash.  He  was  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  March  1872,  president  of  the  pioneer  society  of  W.  T. 
Olympia  Transcript,  March  9,  1872;  Seattle  Intelligencer,  March  11,  1872. 

67 Mercer,  in  Wash.  Ter.  Sketches,  MS.,  1-3. 

68  At  this  time  the  lakes  in  the  vicinity  of  Seattle  were  not  named.  In 
1854  the  settlers  held  an  informal  meeting  and  decided  to  call  the  larger  one 
Washington  and  the  smaller  Union,  because  it  united  at  times  the  former  with 
the  bay.  Mercer,  in  Wash.  Ter.  Sketches,  MS.,  6.  It  is  not  improbable,  says 
Murphy,  in  Appletorfs  Journal,  11,  1877,  that  the  government  will  open  a 
canal  between  lake  Washington  and  the  Sound,  which  could  be  done  for 
$1,000,000,  in  order  to  make  the  lake  a  naval  station.  It  is  25  miles  long, 
3  to  5  miles  wide,  an  altitude  above  sea-level  of  18  feet,  sufficient  depth  to 
float  the  heaviest  ships,  and  is  surrounded  by  timber,  iron,  and  coal,  which 
natural  advantages  it  is  believed  will  sooner  or  later  make  it  of  importance 
to  the  United  States.  Puyet  Sound  Dispatch,  July  8,  1876;  Victor's  Or.  and 
Wash.,  246. 


NEW  DUNGENESS.  27 

road  from  Walla  Walla  over  the  Cascade  Mountains, 
there  was  much  difficulty  in  loading  vessels,  the  crew 
using  a  block  and  tackle  to  draw  the  timber  to  the 
landing.69 

They  cultivated  enough  land  to  insure  a  plentiful 
food  supply,  and  looked  elsewhere  for  their  profits,  a 
policy  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  Puget  Sound  region 
continued  to  pursue  for  a  longer  period  than  wisdom 
would  seem  to  dictate.  Many  were  engaged  in  a 
petty  trade,  which  they  preferred  to  agriculture,  and 
especially  the  eastern-born  men,  who  were  nearly  all 
traders.  To  this  preference,  more  than  to  any  other 
cause,  should  be  attributed  the  insignificant  improve 
ments  in  the  country  for  several  years. 

About  the  time  that  Seattle  was  founded,  B.  I.  Mad 
ison  settled  at  New  Dungeriess,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Dungeness  River.  He  was  a  trader  in  Indian  goods 
and  contraband  whiskey,  and  I  fear  had  many  imi 
tators.  His  trade  did  not  prevent  him  from  taking 
a  land-claim.  Soon  afterward  came  D.  F.  Brown- 
field,  who  located  next  to  Madison.  During  the  sum 
mer,  John  Thornton,  Joseph  Leary,  George  B.  Moore, 
John  Donnell,  J.  C.  Brown,  and  E.  H.  McAlmond  set 
tled  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  New  Dungeness,  and 
engaged  in  cutting  timber  to  load  vessels.  They 
had  four  yokes  of  oxen,  and  were  therefore  equipped 
for  the  business.  That  season,  also,  George  H.  Ger- 
rish  located  himself  near  this  point,  and  kept  a  trad 
ing-post  for  the  sale  of  Indian  goods. 

In  the  following  spring  came  the  first  family, 
Thomas  Abernethey  and  wife^  C.  M.  Bradshaw70  and 

68  The  first  vessel  loaded  at  the  head  of  Elliott  Bay  was  the  Leanest,  which 
took  a  cargo  in  the  winter  of  1851-2.  I  have  among  my  historical  correspond 
ence  a  letter  written  by  Eli  B.  Maple  concerning  the  first  settlement  of  King 
county,  who  saya  that  his  brother  Samuel  helped  to  load  this  vessel  in  Gig 
Harbor,  which  he  thinks  was  the  first  one  loaded  on  the  Sound,  in  which  he 
is  mistaken,  as  I  have  shown.  This  member  of  the  Maple  family  did  not 
arrive  until  the  autumn  of  1852,  when  he  joined  his  father  and  brother  in  the 
Dwamish  Valley. 

70 Charles  M.  Bradshaw  was  born  in  Penn.,  came  to  Or.  with  the  immigra 
tion  of  1852,  and  settled  soon  afterward  near  New  Dungeness,  on  Squiin's  prairie, 


28  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

several  other  single  men  followed,  namely,  S.  S.  Ir 
vine,  Joseph  Leighton,  Eliot  Cline,  John  Bell,  and 
E.  Price.  Irvine  and  Leighton  settled  east  of  New 
Dungeness  on  Squim  Bay.  The  second  family  in  the 
vicinity  was  that  of  J.  J.  Barrow,  who  first  settled  on 
Port  Discovery  Bay  in  1852,  but  removed  after  a 
year  or  two  to  Dungeness.  Port  Discovery  had 
other  settlers  in  1852-3,  namely,  James  Kaymer, 
John  E.  Burns,  John  F.  Tukey,  Benjamin  Gibbs, 
Richard  Gibbs,  James  Tucker,71  Mr  Boswell,  and  Mr 
Gallagher. 

There  was  also  one  settler  on  Protection  Island  in 
1853,  James  Whitcom,  who,  however,  abandoned  his 
claim  after  a  few  months  of  lonely  occupation.72  Chi- 
macum  Valley  had  also  one  settler,  II.  S.  Robinson, 
in  1853. 

There  was  no  part  of  the  country  on  the  Sound  that 
settled  up  so  rapidly  during  the  period  of  which  I  am 
speaking  as  Whidbey  Island.  This  preference  was 

where  he  remained  until  1867,  when  he  removed  to  Port  Townsend.  He 
studied  law,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1864,  after  which  l.c  was  several 
times  elected  to  the  legislature,  and  twice  made  attorney  of  the  3d  judicial 
district,  as  \vell  as  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  in  1878.  Wash. 
Sketches,  MS.,  59. 

71  Tucker  was  murdered  in  1863.     It  will  appear  in  the  course  of  this  his 
tory  that  murders  were  very  frequent.     Many  of  them  were  committed  by 
the  Indians  from  the  northern  coast,  who  came  up  the  strait  in  their  canoes, 
and  cruising  about,  either  attacked  isolated  settlements  at  night,  or  seized  and 
killed  white  men  travelling  about  the  Sound  in  canoes.     The  first  vessel  that 
came  into  the  harbor  of  IX  ew  Dungeness  for  a  cargo  was  the  John  Adam*,  in 
the  spring  of  1853.     Jewell,  her  master,  started  with  his  steward  to  go  to 
Port  Towusend  in  a  small  boat,  and  never  was  seen  again.     The  Indians  ad 
mitted  that  two  of  their  people  had  murdered  the  two  men,  but  as  it  could 
not  be  shown  that  they  were  dead,  the  accused  were  never  tried.     McAlmond, 
who  was  a  competent  ship-iraster,  sailed  the  vessel  to  S.  F.     An  eccentric 
man,  who  obtained  the  soubriquet  of  Arkansaw  Traveller  by  his  peregrinations 
in  the  region  of  Dungeness  in  1854,  was  shot  and  killed  by  Indians  while 
alone  in  his  canoe.     The  crime  came  to  light,  and  the  criminals  were  tried 
and  sentenced;  but  one  of  them  died  of  disease,  and  the  other  escaped  by  an 
error  in  the  entry  of  judgment.  Bradshaw,  in  Wash.  Sketches,  MS.,  65-6. 

72  Protection  Island  was  so  named  by  Vancouver  because  it  lay  in  front  of 
and  protected  Port  Discovery  from  the  north-west  winds.     The  first  actual 
or  permanent  settlers  on  this  island  were  Wiufield  Ebey,  brother  of  I.  N. 
Ebey,  and  George  Ebey,  his  cousin,  who  took  claims  there  in  1854.  Ebey's 
Journal,  MS.     Whitcom  was  a  native  of  Ottawa,  Canada,  who  came  to  Puget 
Sound  in  1852,  and  first  located  himself  on  the  Port  Gamble  side  of  Foul- 
weather  Bluff — also  named  by  Vancouver — in  the  service  of  the  milling  com 
pany  at  that  place,  putting  the  first  fire  under  the  boilers  of  Port  Gamble 
mill.     He  left  the  Sound  in  1854,  but  returned  in  1872. 


WHIDBEY  ISLAND  SETTLEMENT.  29 

owing  to  the  fact  that  the  island  contained  about  six 
thousand  acres  of  excellent  prairie  land,  and  that  the 
western  men,  who  located  on  farms,  were  accustomed 
to  an  open  country.  No  matter  how  rich  the  river- 
bottoms  or  poor  the  plains,  they  chose  the  plains 
rather  than  clear  the  river-bottoms  of  the  tangled 
jungles  which  oppressed  them.  Whidbey  Island  pos 
sessed,  besides  its  open  lands,  many  charms  of  scenery 
and  excellences  of  climate,  together  with  favorable 
position;  and  hither  came  so  many  of  the  first  agri 
culturalists  that  it  was  the  custom  to  speak  of  the 
island  as  the  garden  of  Puget  Sound.  Its  first  per 
manent  settlers  were,  as  I  have  mentioned,  Isaac  N. 
Ebey  and  R.  H.  Lansdale.73 

Lansdale  first  fixed  his  choice  upon  Oak  Harbor, 
but  removed  to  Perm  Cove  in  the  spring  of  1852. 
The  legislature  of  1852-3  organized  Island  county, 
and  fixed  the  county  seat  at  Coveland,  on  Lansdale's 
claim.  He  continued  to  reside  there,  practising  med 
icine,  until  he  was  made  Indian  agent,  in  December 
1854,  when  his  duties  took  him  east  of  the  Cascade 

™  I.  N.  Ebey  was  from  Mo.,  and  came  to  Or.  in  1848  just  in  time  to  join 
the  first  gold-hunters  in  Cal.,  where  he  was  moderately  successful.  His  wife, 
Rebecca  Wliitby,  n£e  Davis,  came  to  join  her  husband,  bringing  with  her  their 
two  sons,  Eason  and  Ellison,  in  1851,  in  company  with  the  Crockett  family. 
Mrs  Ebey,  a  beautiful  and  refined  lady,  was  the  first  white  woman  on  Whid 
bey  Island.  A  daughter  was  born  to  her  there.  She  died  of  consumption 
Sept.  29,  1853,  and  Ebey  married  for  his  second  wife  Mrs  Emily  A.  Sconce. 
In  1853  George  W.  Ebey,  a  young  man  and  cousin  to  I.  X.,  immigrated  to 
Puget  Sound  in  company  with  other  cousins  named  Royal.  In  1854  came 
Jacob  Ebey,  father  of  I.  N.,  his  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Sarah  Blue, 
born  in  Va,  his  brother  Winfield  Scott  Ebey,  two  sisters,  Mrs  Mary  Wright 
and  Ruth  Ebey,  two  children  of  Mrs  Wright,  whose  husband  was  in  C'al., 
and  George  W.  Beam,  who  afterward  married  the  daughter,  later  Mrs  Almira 
N.  Enos  of  S.  F.  Mrs  Enos  has  placed  in  my  hands  a  series  of  journals  kept 
by  members  of  her  family,  covering  a  period  between  April  18.14  and  April 
1804,  in  which  year  Winfield  died  of  consumption.  Jacob  Ebey,  who  died  in 
Feb.  18G2,  was  born  in  Penn.  Oct.  22,  1793.  He  served  in  the  war  of  1812, 
under  Gen.  Harrison.  He  emigrated  to  111.  in  1832,  and  in  the  Black  Hawk 
war  commanded  a  company  in  the  same  battalion  with  Captain  Abraham  Lin 
coln.  Subsequently  he  removed  to  Adair  county,  Missouri,  whence  the  fam 
ily  came  to  Washington.  The  death  of  his  wife,  which  occurred  in  1859,  was 
hastened  by  the  shocking  fate  of  her  son,  Isaac  N.,  who  was  murdered  at  his 
own  home  by  the  Haidah  Indians,  in  one  of  their  mysterious  incursions,  in 
the  summer  of  1857,  concerning  which  I  shall  have  more  to  say  in  another 
place.  George  W.  Beam  died  in  1SG6.  This  series  of  deaths  makes  the 
history  of  this  pioneer  family  as  remarkable  as  it  is  melancholy. 


30  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

Mountains,  where  he  remained  for  some  years.74  The 
other  settlers  of  1851  were  Uric  Friend,  Martin  Taft- 
son,  William  Wallace  and  family,  James  Mounts, 
Milton  Mounts,  Robert  S.  Bailey,  Patrick  Doyle, 
and  G.  W.  Sumner.  In  1852  came  Walter  Crock 
ett,75  with  his  son  John  and  family,  and  five  other 
children,  Samuel,  Hugh,  Charles,  Susan,  and  Wal 
ter,  Jr,  Judah  Church,  John  Chondra,  Benjamin 
Welcher,  Lewis  Welcher,  Joseph  S.  Smith  and  fam 
ily,  S.  D.  Howe,  G.  W.  L.  Allen,  Richard  B.  Hoi- 
brook,  born  and  bred  near  Plymouth  Rock,  George 
Bell,  Thomas  S.  Davis,  John  Davis,  John  Alexander 
and  family,  Mr  Bonswell  and  family,  N.  D.  Hill,73 
Humphrey  Hill,  W.  B.  Engle,  Samuel  Maylor, 
Thomas  Maylor,  Samuel  Libbey,  Captain  Eli  Hatha 
way,  and  Mr  Baltic. 

In  the  spring  of  1853  the  brig  J.  C.  Cabot,  Dryden 
master,  brought  to  the  island  from  Portland  John 
Kellogg,  James  Busby,  Thomas  Hastie,  Henry  Ivens, 
John  Dickenson,  all  of  whom  had  families,  Mrs  Re 
becca  Maddox  and  five  children,77  Mrs  Grove  Terry 
and  daughter  Chloe,  R.  L.  Doyle,  who  married  Miss 
Terr}^,  Nelson  Basil,  and  A.  Woodard,  who  subse 
quently  went  to  Olympia.  Others  who  settled  on 
Whidbey  Island  in  1853  were  Edward  Barrington,78 
Robert  C.  Hill,  Charles  H.  Miller,  Nelson  Miller, 
Captain  Thomas  Coupe,  who  founded  Coupeville, 
John  Kenneth,  Isaac  Powers,  Captain  William  Rob- 

7*  Richard  Hyatt  Lansdale  was  born  in  Md  in  1812,  but  bred  in  Ohio,  and 
removed  to  Ind.,  then  to  111.,  and  finally  to  Mo.  in  1846.  In  1849  he  came 
to  Or.  via  Cal.,  entering  the  Columbia  in  Oct.  He  was  first  auditor  of  Clarke 
co.,  and  first  postmaster  north  of  the  Columbia.  He  purchased  half  of 
Short's  town  site  at  Vancouver,  which  he  lost  and  abandoned. 

75  Walter  Crockett,  Sen.,  died  Nov.  25,  1864,  aged  83  years.  Seattle  Intel- 
liycnccr,  Dec.  6,  1869. 

76  Nathaniel  IX  Hill  was  born  in  Pa  in  1824,  and  came  to  Cal.  in  1850;  was 
employed  in  the  S.  F.  custom-house;  went  to  the  mines  and  on  a  farm  in  So 
noma  Valley,  but  finally  embarked  with  his  brothers  for  Puget  Sound,  and 
settled  on  Whidbey  Island.    Waxh.  Sketches,  MS.,  79-81. 

"Mrs  Maddox  married  L.  M.  Ford  of  Skagit  River  in  November  1855. 
Id.,  41. 

78  Edward  Barrington  died  in  Jan.  1883.  Port  Townsend  Argus,  Jan,  26, 
1883.  Coupe  died  in  1877. 


BELLINGHAM  BAY.  31 

ertson,79  Charles  Seybert,  Thomas  Lyle,  all  of  whom 
had  families,  Henry  McClurg,  Captain  B.  P.  Barstow, 
Edward  Grut,  Lawrence  Grenman,  Marshall  Camp 
bell,  Jacob  S.  Hindbaugh,  George  W.  Ebey,  and 
Charles  Thompson. 

When  I  have  added  the  names  of  Samuel  Hancock, 
John  Y.  Sewell,  Thomas  Cramey,  John  M.  Izeth, 
Dana  H.  Porter,80  Winfield  S.  Ebey,  and  George  W. 
Beam,  who  settled  the  following  year,  I  have  enu 
merated  most  of  the  men  who  at  any  time  have  long 
resided  upon  Whidbey  Island,  so  quickly  were  its 
lands  taken  up,  and  so  constant  have  been  its  first 
settlers. 

Settlement  was  extended  in  1852  to  Bellingham 
Bay.  William  Pattle,  while  looking  for  spar  timber 
among  the  islands  of  the  Fuca  sea,  landed  in  this  bay, 
and  while  encamped  upon  the  beach  observed  frag 
ments  of  coal,  which  led  to  the  discovery  of  a  deposit. 
Pattle  posted  the  usual  notice  of  a  claim,  and  went 
away  to  make  arrangements  for  opening  his  coal  mine. 
During  his  absence  Henry  Roder,81  who  was  looking 

79  Robertson  was  born  in  Norfolk,  Va  in  1809.  At  the  age  of  27  he  began 
sea-going,  and  first  came  to  S.  F.  in  command  of  the  bark  Creole.  He  was 
afterward  in  command  of  the  brig  Tarquina,  which  he  owned,  and  which 
brought  him  to  Puget  Sound  in  1852.  Taking  a  claim  on  Whidbey  Island, 
he  continued  to  trade  to  S.  F.  until  1855,  when  he  sent  his  vessel  to  the  S.  I. 
in  charge  of  his  first  officer,  who  sold  her  and  pocketed  the  proceeds.  Rob 
ertson  lost  $30,000  by  this  transaction,  but  had  a  competency  remaining.  He 
was  first  keeper  of  the  light  erected  in  I860  on  Admiralty  Head,  on  the  west 
coast  of  the  island.  Id.,  30-1. 

8U  Porter  was  inspector  of  spars  at  Port  Ludlow  some  years  later.  He  died 
in  March  1880. 

81  Roder  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  came  to  Cal.  in  1850.  His  partner,  R. 
V.  Peabody,  and  himself  had  the  usual  adventures  in  the  mines,  narrowly 
escaping  death  at  the  hands  of  the  famous  Joaquin  Murieta.  After  spending 
two  years  in  mining  and  trading,  Roder  and  Peabody  went  to  Or.  City  to 
engage  in  salmon-fishing,  but  were  diverted  from  their  purpose  by  the  high 
price  of  lumber  consequent  upon  the  great  fire  in  S.  F. ,  and  determined  to 
build  a  saw-mill.  Visiting  Puget  Sound  with  this  object  in  view,  they  were 
led  by  information  obtained  at  Port  Townsend  to  erect  their  mill  at  Belling 
ham  Bay,  on  a  stream  which  dried  up  as  soon  as  the  winter  rains  were  over,  a 
misfortune  which,  added  to  a  fall  in  the  price  of  lumber,  nearly  ruined  Roder 
and  Peabody.  These  facts,  with  a  general  account  of  the  history  of  the  lower 
sound  and  Bellingham  Bay,  are  obtained  from  Itoder's  lirllingham  Ba>i,  MS., 
an  excellent  authority,  and  also  from  a  well-written  autograph  Sketch  by 
Edward  Eldridge,  who  settled  at  the  same  time  with  Koder.  Roder, 


32  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

for  a  place  to  establish  a  saw-mill,  arrived  from  San 
Francisco  on  the  schooner  William  Allen,  with  R.  V. 
Peabody,  Edward  Eldridge,82  H.  C.  Page,  and  Wil 
liam  Utter,  Henry  Hewitt  and  William  Brown. 
Roder,  Peabody,  and  a  millwright  named  Brown, 
whom  they  found  at  Olympia,  formed  the  Whatcom 
Milling  Company,  taking  the  Indian  name  of  the 
place  where  their  mill  was  situated  as  a  designation. 
Hewitt  and  William  Brown,  who  were  engaged  in 
getting  out  logs  for  the  mill,  in  the  summer  of  1853, 
discovered  coal  on  the  land  adjoining  Pattle's  claim, 
and  sold  their  discovery  for  $18,000,  Roder  and  Pea- 
body  having  just  abandoned  this  claim  for  one  more 
heavily  timbered.83  About  the  same  time  came  L.  N". 
Collins,  Alexander  McLean,  Mr  Roberts,  and  Mr  Lyle, 
with  their  families,  which  completes  the  catalogue  of 
American  settlers  in  this  region  in  1853. 

In  the  autumn  of  1852,  on  account  of  devastating 
fires  in  California,  and  the  great  immigration  of  that 
year  to  Oregon,  a  milling  fever  possessed  men  of  a 
speculative  turn,  and  led  to  the  erection  of  several 
saw-mills  besides  those  at  Seattle  and  Bellingham 
Bay.  In  March  1853  the  Port  Ludlow  mill  was 
erected  by  W.  T.  Sayward8*  on  a  claim  taken  up  by 
J.  K.  Thorndike  the  previous  year.  It  was  followed 
the  same  season  by  the  Port  Gamble  mill  at  the 

Eldridge,  and  Peabody  still  reside  at  Whatcom  on  Bellingham  Bay.  Roder 
married  Elizabeth  Austin  of  Ohio. 

8i  Eldridge  was  a  sea-faring  man,  and  shipped  at  N.  Y.  for  S.  F.,  where  he 
arrived  in  1849,  and  went  to  the  mines.  Not  making  the  expected  fortune, 
he  joined  the  P.  M.  Steamship  Tennessee  in  1850,  but  married  and  returned 
to  mining,  which  he  followed  for  a  year,  when  on  going  to  S.  F.  to  take  pas 
sage  to  Australia  he  met  Roder,  a  former  acquaintance,  and  was  persuaded  to 
accompany  him  to  Puget  Sound.  Mrs  Eldridge  was  the  first  white  woman 
in  the  Bellingham  Bay  settlement.  Eldridge  has  occupied  some  official  posi 
tions,  and  was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1S78. 

83  In  a  chapter  on  minerals,  I  shall  give  this  history  more  particularly. 

84  Say  ward  was  a  native  of  Maine.     He  came  to  Cal.  via  Mexico,  arriving 
in  the  spring  of  1849.     The  narrative  of  his  business  experience  in  1849-51 
forms  a  story  of  unusual  interest,  which  is  contained  in  a  manuscript  by  him 
self  called  Pioneer  liemeniscences,  very  little  of  which,  however,  relates  to 
Washington.     The  mill  which  he  built  was  leased  in  1838  to  Amos  Phinney 
&  Co.,  who  subsequently  purchased  it.  See  also  Sylvester's  Olympia,  MS.,  21, 
and  Wash.  Sketches,  MS.,  42. 


CHINOOK  AND  BAKER  CITY.  33 

entrance  to  Hood  Canal,  erected  by  the  Puget  Mill 
Company,  the  site  being  selected  by  A.  J.  Talbot. 
Almost  simultaneously  Port  Madison  and  Port  Blakely 
were  taken  up  for  mill  sites,  and  somewhat  earlier 
C.  C.  Terry  and  William  H.  Renton  erected  a  mill 
at  Alki,  which  was  removed  two  or  three  years  later 
to  Port  Orchard.85 

From  1847  to  1853  there  had  been  a  steady  if  slow 
march  of  improvement  in  that  portion  of  the  terri 
tory  adjacent  to  the  Columbia  and  Cowlitz  rivers  and 
the  Pacific  ocean.  A  few  families  had  settled  on 
Lewis  River,  among  whom  was  Columbia  Lancaster, 
whom  Governor  Abernethy  had  appointed  supreme 
judge  of  Oregon  in  1847,  vice  Thornton,  resigned,  but 
who  removed  from  Oregon  City  to  the  north  side  of 
the  Columbia  in  1849.  In  the  extreme  south-west 
corner  of  what  is  now  Pacific  county  were  settled  in 
1848  John  Edmunds,  an  American,  James  Scar 
borough,  an  Englishman,  John  E.  Pinknell,  and  a  Cap 
tain  Johnson;  nor  does  it  appear  that  there  were  any 
other  residents  before  the  returning  gold-miners — 
being  detained  now  and  then  at  Baker  Bay,  or  com 
ing  by  mistake  into  Shoalwater  Bay — discovered  the 
advantages  which  these  places  offered  for  business. 
William  McCarty  had  a  fishery  and  a  good  zinc  house 
at  Chinook  in  1852;  and  Washington  Hall  was  post 
master  at  that  place  in  the  same  year,  and  it  is 
probable  they  settled  there  somewhat  earlier.  In 
1850,  the  fame  of  these  places  having  begun  to  spread, 
Elijah  White,  who  had  returned  to  the  Pacific  coast, 
essayed  to  build  upon  Baker  Bay  a  town  which  he 
named  Pacific  City,  but  which  enjoyed  an  existence86 
of  only  a  year  or  two. 

85  Tester's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  4-5.  Port  Orchard  was  named  after  an  officer 
of  Vancouver's  ship  Discovert/,  May  24,  1792.  See  also  Ellicott's  Puget  Sound, 
MS..  24. 

^Lawson.  in  his  Autobiography,  MS.,  35,  gives  some  account  of  this 
enterprise.  He  says  that  White  was  the  originator  of  it.  'I  do  not  know,' 
he  observes,  'whether  he  made  any  money  out  of  the  scheme,  but  lie  did  suc 
ceed  in  making  a  number  of  dupes,  among  whom  was  James  D.  Holman.' 
HIST.  WASH. — 3 


34  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

That  great  expectations  did  attach  to  Pacific  City 
was  made  apparent  by  a  petition  signed  by  A.  A. 
Skinner  and  250  others  to  have  it  made  a  port  of 
entry  and  delivery.87 

About  the  same  time  that  Pacific  City  was  at  its 
best,  Charles  J.  W.  Russell,  who  was  engaged  in  trade 
there,  settled  on  Shoalwater  Bay,  and  turned  his  at 
tention  to  taking  oysters,  with  which  the  bay  was 
found  to  be  inhabited.  In  1851  Russell  introduced 
Shoalwater  Bay  oysters  into  the  San  Francisco  mar 
ket,  carrying  them  down  by  the  mail-steamer.  In 
the  autumn  Captain  Fieldstead  took  a  load  of  oysters 
to  San  Francisco,  which  arrived  in  a  damaged  condi- 

O 

tion.  Anthony  Ludlum  then  fitted  out  the  schooner 
Sea  Serpent  for  Shoalwater  Bay,  which  succeeded  in 
saving  a  cargo,  and  a  company  was  formed  to  carry  on 
a  trade  in  oysters,  composed  of  Alexander  Hanson, 
George  G.  Bartlett,  Garrett  Tyron,  Mark  Winant, 
John  Morgan,  and  Frank  Garretson,  who  purchased 
the  schooner  Robert  Bruce,  after  which  the  town  of 
Bruceport  was  named,88  and  entered  into  the  business 
of  supplying  the  California  market.  In  the  autumn 
of  1852,  besides  the  above-named  persons,  there  were 
at  Shoalwater  Bay  Thomas  Foster,  Richard  Hillyer, 
John  W.  Champ,  Samuel  Sweeny,  Stephen  Marshall, 

Holman  had  expended  $28,000  in  erecting  and  furnishing  a  hotel.  White 
represented  that  there  might  be  found  at  Pacific  City  a  park  filled  with  deer, 
school-houses,  handsome  residences,  and  other  attractions.  A  newspaper 
was  to  be  started  there  by  a  Mr  Shephard;  a  Mr  Hopkins  was  engaged  to 
teach  in  the  imaginary  school-house,  and  others  victimized  in  a  similar  manner. 
Holman,  who  was  the  most  severe  sufferer,  vacated  the  hotel  and  took  a  claim 
in  the  neighborhood,  which  the  government  subsequently  reserved  for  military 
purposes.  Twenty-nine  years  afterward  Holman  received  $25,000  for  his 
claim,  and  had  land  enough  left  to  lay  out  a  sea-side  resort,  which  he  called 
Ilwaco.  Sac.  Transcript,  June  29,  1850;  Or.  Spectator,  Aug.  22,  1850;  U.  S. 
Statutes  at  Large,  xx.  G04.  Holman  was  born  in  Ky  in  1814,  bred  in  Tenn., 
and  came  to  Or.  in  1846.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  ii.  88-9. 

87O.  Statesman,  April  4,  1850;  S.  F.  Pacific  News,  Aug.  1,  1850;  S.  F. 
Courier,  Sept.  21  and  Oct.  2,  1850. 

88 1  take  this  account  from  an  article  published  in  the  S.  F.  Bulletin,  where 
it  is  said  the  schooner  was  burned  while  lying  at  her  landing,  and  the  com 
pany  forced  to  go  ashore,  where  they  encamped  on  the  south  side  of  North 
Bay,  and  from  being  known  as  the  Brnce  company,  gave  that  name  to  the 
place  as  it  grew  up.  Evans'  Hist.  Mem.t  21;  Pac.  K.  K.  Reports,  i.  465. 


SHOALWATER  BAY.  35 

Charles  W.  Deuter,  Richard  J.  Milward,  A.  E.  St 
John,  Walter  Lynde,  and  Jarnes  G.  Swan.89 

A  transient  company  of  five  men  were  at  the  same 
time  engaged  in  cutting  a  cargo  of  piles  for  San  Fran 
cisco,  and  during  the  autumn  Joel  L.  Brown,  Samuel 
Woodward,  J.  Henry  Whitcomb,  Charles  Stuart,  Joel 
and  Mark  Bullard,  and  Captain  Jackson,  of  the  immi 
gration  of  that  year,  settled  on  the  bay.  Brown's 
party  cut  a  wagon-road  across  the  portage  between 
Baker  and  Shoalwater  bays.  Brown  intended  erect 
ing  a  trading-house  and  laying  out  a  town,  but  died 
before  he  had  fairly  got  to  work,90  at  his  house  on  the 
Palux  River.  Later  in  the  same  season  Charles 
Stuart  took  a  claim  on  the  Willopah  River;  and 
David  K.  Weldon  and  family  from  San  Francisco- 
Mrs  Weldon  being  the  first  white  woman  in  this  set 
tlement — built  a  residence  and  trading-house  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Necomanche  or  North  River,  besides 

89  Author  of  The  North-west  Coast,  or  Three  Years'  Residence  in  Washington 
Territory,  which,  besides  being  an  entertaining  narrative,  is  a  valuable  au 
thority  on  Indian  customs  and  ethnology.  Swan  was  born  in  Medford,  Mass., 
Jan.  11,  1818;  a  son  of  Samuel  Swan,  an  East  Indian  trader,  who  was  lost  on 
Minot's  ledge,  Cohasset,  Mass.,  in  1823,  while  on  his  homeward  voyage  from 
the  west  African  coast  with  a  cargo  of  palm-oil,  ivory,  and  gold-dust,  in  the 
brig  Hope  Still  of  Boston.  His  maternal  uncle,  William  Tufts,  was  super 
cargo  for  Theodore  Lyman  of  Boston,  in  the  ship  Guatimozin,  in  1SOG,  and 
was  wrecked  on  Seven  Mile  beach,  New  Jersey,  on  his  return,  Feb.  3,  1810. 
Stories  of  the  Nootka,  Neah  Bay,  and  Chinook  chiefs  were  familiar  to  him  in 
his  childhood,  and  his  interest  in  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  was  greater  than 
that  of  a  casual  observer,  as  his  remarks  are  more  happily  descriptive  or 
scientific.  He  left  Boston  in  the  winter  of  1849,  in  the  ship  Rob  Roy,  Thomas 
Holt,  arriving  in  S.  F.  in  the  spring  of  1850,  where  he  bought  an  interest  in 
the  steamboat  Tehama,  running  to  Marysville,  acting  as  purser  of  the  boat. 
He  was  concerned  in  other  enterprises  with  Farwell  and  Curtis,  until  becom 
ing  acquainted  with  C.  J.  W.  Russell,  who  invited  him  to  make  a  visit  to 
Shoalwater  Bay,  he  determined  to  remain,  and  take  a  claim  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Querquelin  Creek,  where  he  resided  until  185G,  when  he  went  east  and 
published  his  book,  returning  in  1859  to  Port  Townsend.  In  18G2  he  was 
appointed  teacher  to  the  Makah  Indians  at  Neah  Bay,  and  filled  that  position 
for  four  years,  when  he  again  went  east  and  published  a  second  book  on  the 
Makah  Indians,  with  a  treatise  on  their  language,  which  was  issued  as 
authoritative  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  18G9,  as  was  also  another  paper 
on  the  Haidah  Indians  of  Queen  Charlotte  Island.  In  1875  Swan  was  ap 
pointed  commissioner  to  collect  articles  of  Indian  manufacture  for  the  national 
museum,  which  were  exhibited  at  the  great  ex  position  of  187G  in  Philadelphia, 
besides  having  occupied  many  public  places  of  more  honor  than  profit.  He 
was  later  a  practising  lawyer  of  Port  Townsend.  These  facts,  with  much  more 
for  which  I  have  not  space,  I  find  in  hia  autograph  Skctchen  of  Washinyton 
Territory,  MS.,  in  my  collection. 

80  Swan's  N.  W.  Coast,  64. 


36  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

which  he  erected,  in  company  with  George  Watkins, 
the  first  saw-mill  in  this  part  of  the  territory  in 
1852-3.  Woodward  settled  on  the  Willopah  River,  ten 
miles  from  its  mouth,  being  the  first  to  locate  on  that 
stream.01  Whitcom  was  the  second,92  followed  by 
William  Gushing,  Gardiner  Crocker,  Soule,  Christian, 
and  Geisy. 

On  the  Boisfort  prairie,  previously  settled  by  Pierre 
Chelle,  a  Canadian  half-breed,  C.  F.  White  was  the 
first  American  settler  in  1852.93  From  1851  to  1853 
near  Claquato  settled  H.  N.  Stearns,  H.  Buchanan, 
Albert  Purcell,  A.  F.  Tullis,  L.  A.  Davis,  Cyrus 
White,  and  Simeon  Bush. 

In  the  winter  of  1850-1  John  Butler  Chapman, 
from  the  south  side  of  the  Columbia,  made  a  settle 
ment  on  Gray  Harbor,  and  laid  out  the  town  of  Che- 
halis  City.  But  the  undertaking  languished,  getting 
no  further  than  the  erection  of  one  house,  when  Chap 
man,  finding  himself  too  remote  from  affairs  in  which 
he  was  interested,  removed  to  the  Sound,  and  with  his 
son,  John  M.  Chapman,  took  a  claim  adjoining  Balch 
at  Steilacoom,  and  competed  with  him  for  the  dis 
tinction  of  founding  a  city  at  this  point,  his  claim 
finally  relapsing  to  the  condition  of  a  farm.  In  1852 
J.  L.  Scammon,  from  Maine  by  way  of  California,  set 
tled  several  miles  up  the  Chehalis  from  Gray  Harbor, 
where  Montesano  later  was  placed,  with  four  others 

91  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  ii.  74;  Swan's  N.  W.  Coast,  65. 

92  J.  H.  Whitcom  was  born  in  Vt  in  1824,  removed  to  Ohio  at  the  age  of 
13  years,  married  in  that  state,  and  went  to  111.  in  1845,  whence  he  came  to 
Or.  in  1847,  and  to  Shoalwater  Bay  in  1852.     Morse,  who  has  expended  much 
labor  in  searching  out  pioneer  families,  says  that  in  1854  S.  P.  Soule,  S.  A. 
Soule,  E.  Soule,  Charles  Soule,  Christian,  and  Gcisy  settled  in  the  vicinity 
of  Shoalwater  Bay.     The  Geisy  families,  of  which  there  were  two,  were  mem 
bers  of  the  communistic  association  of  Pennsylvania  farmers,  who  had  emi 
grated  to  Wisconsin;  but  being  dissatisfied,  had  sent  this  Geisy  as  agent  to  look 
out  lands  in  Or.  or  Wash.     He  selected  land  on  the  Boisfort  prairie,  near  Bui- 
lard,  Crocker,  and  Woodward,  and  soon  after  brought  out  40  families.     The 
Geisy  families,  however,  having  met  with  several  losses  by  death  from  acci 
dent  and  natural  causes,  and  being  unable  to  gain  control  of  Woodward's 
landing  on  the  river,  which  they  desired  for  their  community  purposes,  be 
came  discouraged  and  left  the  country. 

93  North  Pacific  Coast,  Jan.  15,  1880. 


WARBASSPORT  AND  CASCADE.  37 

who  did  not  remain.  In  the  two  succeeding  years 
the  lesser  Chehalis  Valley  was  settled  up  rapidly, 
connecting  with  the  settlements  on  the  upper  Che 
halis  made  at  an  earlier  period  by  H.  N.  Stearns,  H. 
Buchanan,  Albert  Purcell,  A.  F.  Tullis,  and  L.  A. 
Davis;  and  the  Cowlitz  Valley,  which  was  also  being 
settled,  but  more  slowly. 

Jonathan  Burbee,  who  removed  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Cowlitz  in  1848,  was  drowned  on  the  Columbia  bar 
in  the  winter  of  1851-2,  when  a  schooner  which  he 
had  loaded  with  potatoes  for  California94  was  lost;  but 
his  family  remained.  Next  after  him  came,  in  1849, 
H.  D.  Huntington,  Nathaniel  Stone,  Seth  Catlin, 
David  Stone,  James  Redpath,  James  Porter,  and  R. 
C.  Smith,  the  three  first  named  having  large  families, 
now  well-known  in  Oregon  and  Washington.  Their 
claims  extended  from  near  the  mouth  of  the  Cowlitz 
on  the  west  side  for  a  distance  of  two  or  three  miles. 

The  next  settlement  was  at  Cowlitz  landing,  made 
by  E.  D.  Warbass,95  in  July  1850,  when  Warbassport 
was  founded  by  laying  offa  town  and  opening  a  trading- 
house.  About  the  same  time  a  settlement  was  made 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia  at  the  lower  cas 
cades,  by  George  Drew,  who  had  a  town  surveyed  called 
Cascade,  where  a  trading-house  was  established  by 
George  L.  and  George  W.  Johnson,  F.  A.  Chenoweth 
and  T.  B.  Pierce.  Contemporaneously,  at  the  upper 
cascades,  Daniel  F.  and  Putnam  Bradford,  B.  B. 
Bishop,  Lawrence  W.  Coe,  and  others  had  settled, 

94  Swan  says  that  Captain  Johnson,  John  Dawson,  and  another  man  were 
drowned  together  while  crossing  the  Columbia  in  a  boat;  that  before  this, 
McCarty  was  drowned  while  crossing  the  Wallacut  River,  returning  from  a 
visit  to  Johnson,  and  that  Scarborough  died  before  Johnson  at  his  home. 
This  was  all  previous  to  1854. 

96  Warbass  was  born  in  N.  J.  in  1825,  came  to  Cal.  in  1849,  where  he  was 
an  auctioneer  at  Sac.,  but  his  health  failing  there,  he  visited  Or.,  and  ended  by 
settling  on  the  Cowlitz,  though  he  explored  the  Snohomish  and  Snoqualimich 
rivers  in  1851,  and  in  1853  assisted  Howard  to  explore  for  coal.  He  was  post 
master  under  postal  agent  Coe  in  that  year,  and  continued  to  reside  on  the 
Cowlitz  until  1855,  when  he  volunteered  as  captain  of  a  company  to  fight  the 
Indians.  He  became  a  post  sutler  afterward  at  Bellingham  Bay  and  San 
Juan  Island,  where  he  then  resided,  and  was  county  auditor  and  member  of 
the  legislature  from  San  Juan  county.  Jtlorae's  Wank.  Ter.,  MS.,  ii.  54;  Altn 
California,  Nov.  2.  1852. 


38  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENTS. 

and  the  Bradfords  had  also  established  a  place  of 
trade.96 

These  were  the  people,  together  with  some  who 
have  yet  to  be  mentioned,  and  others  who  may  never 
be  mentioned,  who  had  spread  themselves  over  the 
western  portion  of  Washington  previous  to  its  organ 
ization  as  a  territory,  concerning  which  I  shall  speak 
presently.97 

96  Or.  Spectator,  Aug.  28,  1850;  Coke's  Ride,  319, 

97 1  have  gathered  the  following  names  of  the  pioneers  of  1852  not  men 
tioned  in  the  foregoing  pages:  Rev.  Daniel  Bagley,  Rev.  D.  R.  McMillan,  R. 
M.  Hathaway,  Smith  Hays,  Logan  Hays,  Gilmore  Hays,  Stephen  Hodgdon, 
Samuel  Holmes,  John  Harvey,  Richard  B.  Holbrook  (married  Mrs  Sylvester, 
nte  Lowe,  of  Maine),  John  Hogue,  Levi  L.  Gates,  Charfes  Graham,  William 
H.  Gillan  and  family,  Daniel  B.  Fales,  wife  and  chiWren,  Felt,  Cortland 
Etheridge,  W.  B.  Engle,  Shirley  Ensign,  Joel  Clayton,  Joseph  Cushman,  Levi 
Donthitt,  Frank  P.  Dugan,  Gideon  Bromfield,  George  A.  Barnes  and  wife, 
Anna,  Thomas  Briggs,  J.  C.  Brown,  John  Buckley,  James  Allen,  G.  W.  L. 
Allen,  W.  B.  D.  Newman,  William  Jarmin,  Daniel  Kaiser,  A.  W.  Moore, 
John  W.  McAllister,  Caleb  Miller,  Thomas  Monroe,  Stephen  P.  McDonald, 
Joseph  Mace,  William  Metcalfe,  Samuel  McCaw,  F.  McNatt,  Abner  Martin, 
Asa  W.  Pierce,  F.  K.  Perkins,  James  Riley,  B.  Ross  and  family,  Daniel 
Stewart,  Samuel  D.  Smith,  David  Shelton  and  wife,  Christina,  M.  C.  Sim 
mons,  James  Taylor,  Thomas  Tallentire  and  family,  Amos  F.  Tullis,  J.  K. 
Thorndyke,  William  Turnbull,  J.  S.  Turner,  John  Vail,  Charles  Vail,  D.  K. 
Welden,  H.  R.  Woodward,  G.  K.  Willard,  Benjamin  Welcher,  Lewis  Welcher, 
William  C.  Webster  and  family,  Samuel  Woodward,  John  Walker,  James  R. 
Watson,  B.  F.  Yantis,  Judah  Church,  from  Pontiac,  Michigan,  died  in  1853, 
aged  60  years.  William  Rutledge,  who  settled  on  Black  River,  near  Lake 
Washington,  was  also  an  immigrant  of  1852.  He  died  June  1,  1872,  aged  78 
years. 


CHAPTER  It. 

POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

1845-1853. 

PUBLIC  MEETINGS — SETTLERS  VERSUS  THE  PUGET  SOUND  AGRICULTURAL  COM 
PANY — REPRESENTATION  IN  THE  OREGON  LEGISLATURE— MOVEMENTS 
TOWARD  THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  NEW  TERRITORY  OF  COLUMBIA — 
MEMORIAL  TO  CONGRESS — IF  NOT  A  TERRITORY,  THEN  A  STATE — QUEEN 
CHARLOTTE  ISLAND  EXPEDITION — THE  OREGON  LEGISLATURE  PETITION 
CONGRESS  FOR  A  DIVISION  OF  TERRITORY — CONGRESS  GRANTS  THE  PETI- 
TON — BCT  INSTEAD  OF  COLUMBIA,  THE  NEW  TERRITORY  is  CALLED  WASH 
INGTON — OFFICERS  APPOINTED — ROADS  CONSTRUCTED — IMMIGRATION. 

IN  the  previous  chapter  I  have  made  the  reader  ac 
quainted  with  the  earliest  American  residents  of  the 
territory  north  of  the  Columbia,  and  the  methods  by 
which  they  secured  themselves  homes  and  laid  the 
foundations  of  fortunes  by  courage,  hardihood,  fore 
sight,  by  making  shingles,  bricks,  and  cradling-ma 
chines,  by  building  mills,  loading  vessels  with  timber, 
laying  out  towns,  establishing  fisheries,  exploring  for 
coal,  and  mining  for  gold.  But  these  were  private 
enterprises  concerning  only  individuals,  or  small  groups 
of  men  at  most,  and  I  come  now  to  consider  them  as 
a  body  politic,  with  relations  to  the  government  of 
Oregon  and  to  the  general  government. 

The  first  public  meeting  recorded  concerned  claim- 
jumping,  against  which  it  was  a  protest,  and  was  held 
in  Lewis  county,  which  then  comprised  all  of  the  ter 
ritory  north  of  the  Columbia  and  west  of  the  Cascade 
Mountains  not  contained  in  Clarke  county,  and  prob 
ably  at  the  house  of  John  R.  Jackson,  June  11,  1847. 
The  second  was  held  at  Tumwater  November  5,  1848, 

(39) 


40  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

and  was  called  to  express  the  sentiments  of  the  Amer 
ican  settlers  concerning  the  threatened  encroachments 
of  the  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Association.  "This 
fall,"  says  an  old  settler,  ''the  company  conceived  the 
design  of  making  claim  under  the  treaty  for  the 
immense  tract  called  the  Nisqually  claim,  lying  south 
of  the  Nisqually  River,  and  with  that  view  drove  a 
large  herd  of  cattle  across  the  river."  The  American 
residents,  in  a  convention  called  to  order  by  M.  T. 
Simmons  and  presided  over  by  William  Packwood, 
passed  a  series  of  resolutions,  a  copy  of  which  was  pre 
sented  to  W.  F.  Tolmie,  the  agent  in  charge  of  Fort 
Nisqually,  by  I.  N.  Ebey  who  had  just  arrived  in  the 
country,  and  Rabbeson,  with  the  declaration  that  the 
Americans  demanded  the  withdrawal  of  the  Hud 
son's  Bay  Company's  herds  to  the  north  side  of  the 
Nisqually  within  one  week  from  the  day  the  notice 
was  received. 

The  preamble  set  forth  that  the  herds  of  the  com 
pany  would  soon  consume  all  the  vegetation  of  the 
country  ranged  by  them,  to  the  detriment  of  the  set 
tlers  on  the  south  or  west  side  of  the  river;  and  that, 
as  these  cattle  were  wild,  if  suffered  to  mix  with  do 
mesticated  cattle  they  would  greatly  demoralize  them. 
It  was  thereupon  resolved  that  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  had  placed  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the 
Americans  who  first  designed  settling  on  Puget 
Sound — referring  to  the  Simmons  colony — using  mis 
representation  and  fraud  to  prevent  them,  and  even 
threatening  force;  that  they  held  the  conduct  of  Tolmie 
censurable  in  endeavoring  to  prevent  settlement  by 
Americans  on  certain  lands  which  he  pretended  were 
reserved  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  1846,  although 
he  knew  they  were  not;  that  this  assumption  of  right 
was  only  equalled  by  the  baseness  of  the  subterfuge 
by  which  the  company  was  attempting  to  hold  other 
large  tracts  by  an  apparent  compliance  with  the 
organic  land  law  of  the  territory — that  is,  by  taking 
claims  in  the  names  of  servants  of  the  company  who 


A  PROTEST  OF  AMERICANS.  41 

did  not  even  know  where  to  find  the  lands  located  in 
their  names,  but  who  were  compelled  to  agree  to  con 
vey  these  lands  to  the  company  when  their  title 
should  have  been  completed. 

They  declared  that  they  as  American  citizens  had 
a  regard  for  treaty  stipulations  and  national  honor, 
and  were  jealous  of  any  infringement  of  the  laws  of 
the  country  by  persons  who  had  no  interest  in  the 
glory  or  prosperity  of  the  government,  but  were  for 
eign-born  and  owed  allegiance  alone  to  Great  Britain. 
They  warned  the  company  that  it  had  never  been  the 
policy  of  the  United  States  to  grant  pre-emption 
rights  to  other  than  American  citizens,  or  those  who 
had  declared  their  intention  to  become  such  in  a  legal 
form,  and  that  such  would  without  doubt  be  the  con 
ditions  of  land  grants  in  the  expected  donation  law. 

They  declared  they  viewed  the  claims  and  improve 
ments  made  subsequent  to  the  treaty  by  the  Puget 
Sound  Agricultural  Company  as  giving  them  no 
rights;  and  as  to  their  previous  rights,  they  were  only 
possessory,  and  the  United  States  had  never  parted 
with  the  actual  title  to  the  lands  occupied,  but  that 
any  American  citizen  might  appropriate  the  land  to 
himself,  with  the  improvements,  and  that  the  claims 
held  by  the  servants  of  the  company  would  not  be 
respected  unless  the  nominal  settlers  became  settlers 
in  fact  and  American  citizens.1 

Within  the  week  allowed  the  company  to  withdraw 
their  cattle  from  the  Nisqually  plains  they  had  with 
drawn  them,  and  there  was  no  trouble  from  that  source. 
The  threat  implied  in  the  resolutions,  to  sustain  any 
American  citizen  in  appropriating  the  lands  claimed 
by  the  company  and  not  by  individuals  who  had  re 
nounced  allegiance  to  Great  Britain,  together  with  the 
improvements,  was  carried  out  to  the  letter  during  the 

I0r.  Spectator,  Jan.  11,  1849.  I.  1ST.  Ebey  is  said  by  Rabbeson  to  have 
draughted  the  resolutions,  though  Rabbeson  was  chairman  of  the  committee, 
and  S.  B.  Crockett  the  third  member.  He  knew  of  the  long  feud  between 
certain  of  his  countrymen  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  without  know 
ing  the  merits  of  the  case  on  either  side,  was  prepared  in  any  event  to  be  strongly 
American. 


42  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

following  twelve  years,  their  lands  being  covered  with 
squatters,  and  the  products  of  the  Cowlitz  farm  taken 
away  without  leave  or  compensation,2  not  by  the  men 
who  composed  this  meeting,  but  by  others  who  adopted 
these  views  of  the  company's  rights. 

The  land  laid  claim  to  by  the  agricultural  company, 
in  their  memorial  to  the  joint  commission  provided 
for  by  the  convention  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain  March  5,  1864,  was  "the  tract  of 

2  George  B.  Roberts,  in  his  Recollections,  MS.,  89,  91,  94,  speaks  very  feel 
ingly  of  what  be  was  compelled  to  suffer  from  1846  to  1871,  by  reason  of  his 
membership  and  agency  of  the  company  at  the  Cowlitz  farm.  '  The  fortunes 
of  the  company  were  upon  the  fast  ebb,'  he  says,  'and  rather  than  go  north, 
or  elsewhere,  I  thought  I  had  better  settle  as  a  farmer  on  the  Newaukum.  I 
made  out  very  poorly  as  a  settler,  and  when  Stevens'  war  broke  out,  I  left  my 
family  and  went  for  a  short  time  as  mail-guard,  but  was  soon  employed  as  a 
clerk  to  Gen.  Miller,  quartermaster-general  of  volunteers. .  .In  the  Fraser 
River  excitement  of  1858,  I  went  to  Victoria  and  arranged  with  Tolmie, 
then  agent  of  the  P.  S.  A.  A.,  to  carry  on  the  Cowlitz  farm  on  a  small  scale 
for  my  own  benefit;  but  I  was  to  keep  the  buildings  in  repair  and  the  farm 
at  its  then  size  until  some  action  was  had  with  the  government.  I  took  pos 
session  unopposed,  and  all  went  well  until  my  hay  was  put  up  in  cocks,  when 
here  came  a  lot  of  fellows,  armed  with  rifles,  and  carried  it  all  off.  One  of  these 
squatters  was  the  justice;  so  my  lawyer,  Elwood  Evans,  recommended  chang 
ing  the  venue.  The  jury  decided  that  they  knew  nothing  of  treaties,  and  of 
course  I  had  all  the  expense  to  bear.  The  company  said  the  crops  were  mine, 
and  they  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Then  followed  the  burning  of  a 
large  barn,  etc.,  poor  Kendall's  letter  and  murder,  then  injunction  and  disso 
lution,  the  loss  of  papers  by  the  judge  when  the  time  of  trial  came,  so  as  not 
to  pronounce,  and  so  this  matter  went  from  1859  to  1871. .  .The  judge  was 
a  federal  appointee,  and  in  theory  independent,  but  liable  to  be  unseated  at 
any  time  and  returned  to  the  people  whom  he  had  offended...!  could  not 
with  any  grace  relinquish  the  property  entrusted  to  my  care,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  squatters  rendering  me  too  poor  to  leave.  Whether  the  company  from  any 
sinister  motives  helped  these  troubles  I  know  not.  I  leave  to  your  imagina 
tion  the  state  I  was  kept  in,  and  my  family;  sometimes  my  windows  at  night 
were  riddled  with  shot,  my  fences  set  open,  and  in  dry  weather  set  on  fire. 
It  was  an  immense  effort  to  unseat  me,  and  cheat  the  government  of  these 
lands,  and  all  the  clamor  against  the  P.  S.  A.  A.  was  for  nothing  else. . . 
The  P.  S.  A.  A.  one  year  paid  Pierce  county  $7,000  in  taxes,  but  it  is  likely 
the  company  was  astute  enough  to  do  so  with  the  view  of  the  record  showing 
the  value  of  their  property  at  that  time.  In  1870  or  1871  Salucius  Garfielde 
succeeded  in  getting  donation  claims  for  the  "hardy  pioneers."  Well,  I 
always  thought  a  pioneer  was  a  person  who  hewed  out  a  farm,  not  one  who 
violently  took  possession  of  a  beautiful  property  that  had  been  carefully,  not 
to  say  scientifically,  farmed  for  over  thirty  years.'  This  shows  to  what  acts 
the  sentiment  adopted  by  the  early  settlers  toward  the  Puget  Sound  Com 
pany  influenced  rude  and  unscrupulous  or  ignorant  and  prejudiced  men;  and 
also  the  injustice  inflicted  upon  individuals  by  the  carrying-out  of  their  views. 
For  the  previous  biography  of  G.  B.  Roberts,  see  Hist.  Or.,  i.  38-9,  this 
series.  He  finally  settled  at  Cathlamet,  where  he  kept  a  store,  and  held  the 
offices  of  probate  judge,  treasurer,  and  deputy  auditor  ofWahkiakum  county. 
He  died  in  the  spring  of  1883,  and  his  wife,  Rose  Birnie,  a  year  or  two  earlier. 
See  note  on  p.  1 1 1  of  vol  ii. ,  Hint.  Or. 


THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY.  43 

land  at  Nisqually,  extending  along  the  shores  of 
Puget  Sound  from  the  Nisqually  River  on  one 
side  to  the  Puyallup  River  on  the  other,  and  back 
to  the  Cascade  Range,  containing  not  less  than 
261  square  miles,  or  107,040  acres,"  with  "the  land 
and  farm  at  the  Cowlitz  consisting  of  3,572  acres, 
more  or  less," 3  which  they  proposed  to  sell  back  to 
the  United  States  together  with  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company's  lands,  and  the  improvements  and  live-stock 
of  both  companies,  for  the  sum  of  five  million  dollars. 
They  received  for  such  claims  as  were  allowed  $750,- 
000.  That  the  sum  paid  for  the  blunder  of  the 
government  in  agreeing  to  confirm  to  these  companies 
their  claims  without  any  definite  boundary  was  no 
greater,  was  owing  to  the  persistent  effort  of  the 
settlers  of  Washington  to  diminish  their  possessions.4 
Another  specimen  of  the  temper  of  the  early  settlers 
was  shown  when  the  president  and  senate  of  the 
United  States  sent  them  a  federal  judge  in  the  person 
of  William  Strong.  They  refused,  as  jurors,  to  be 
bidden  by  him,  "in  the  manner  of  slave-driving,"  to 
repair  to  the  house  of  John  R.  Jackson  to  hold  court, 
when  the  county  commissioners  had  fixed  the  county 
seat  at  Sidney  S.  Ford's  claim  on  the  Chehalis,  at 
which  place  they  held  an  indignation  meeting  in 
October  1851,  M.  T.  Simmons  in  the  chair.5 

When  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  1845  made 
a  compact  with  the  provisional  government  of  Oregon 
to  give  it  their  support  on  certain  conditions,  there 
existed  no  county  organization  north  of  the  Columbia 
River,  except  as  the  counties  or  districts  of  Tualatin 
and  Clackamas  extended  northward  to  the  boundary 
of  the  Oregon  territory,  declared  by  the  legislature 

3  New  Tacoma  North  Pacific  Coast,  June  15,  1880,  180. 

*  At  a  meeting  held  at  Stcilacoom  in  May  1851,  it  is  stated  that  Tolmie 
as  the  company's  agent  had  diminished  their  claim  to  144  square  miles,  after 
the  passage  of  the  land  law,  but  that  he  was  using  every  means  to  drive 
settlers  off  that  tract,  with  what  success  I  need  not  say.  Or.  Spectator,  June 
5,  1851. 

5 See  Hist.  Or.,  ii.  162,  this  series. 


44  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

of  1844  to  be  at  the  parallel  of  54°  40',  when,  as  no 
American  citizens  resided  north  of  the  Columbia  at 
that  time,  no  administration  of  colonial  law  had  ever 
been  necessary;  but  on  the  compact  going  into  effect, 
and  Americans  settling  in  the  region  of  Puget  Sound, 
the  district  of  Vancouver  was  created  north  of  the 
Columbia,  and  officers  appointed  as  follows:  James 
Douglas,  M.  T.  Simmons,  and  Charles  Forrest  dis 
trict  judges,  and  John  R.  Jackson  sheriff.6 

On  the  19th  of  December  1845  the  county  of 
Lewis  was  created  "out  of  all  that  territory  lying 
north  of  the  Columbia  River  and  west  of  the  Cowlitz, 
up  to  54°  and  40'  north  latitude,"  and  was  entitled  to 
elect  the  same  officers  as  other  counties,  except  that 
the  sheriff  of  Vancouver  county  was  required  to  assess 
and  collect  the  revenue  for  both  districts  for  the  year 
1846.  No  county  officers  were  appointed,  but  the 
choice  of  judges  and  a  representative  was  left  to  the 
people  at  the  annual  election  in  1846,  when  W.  F. 
Tolmie  was  chosen  to  represent  in  the  legislature 
Lewis  county,  and  Henry  N.  Peers7  Vancouver 
county,  while  the  privilege8  of  electing  judges  was 
not  regarded. 

Dugald  McTavish,  Richard  Covington,  and  Rich 
ard  Lane,  all  Hudson's  Bay  Company  men,  were  ap 
pointed  judges  of  Vancouver  district  to  fill  vacancies, 
but  no  appointments  were  made  in  Lewis  county. 
At  the  session  of  1846  a  change  was  made,  requiring 
the  people  to  elect  their  county  judges  or  justices  of 
the  peace  for  the  term  of  two  years,  at  the  annual 
election.  Under  this  law,  in  1847  Vancouver  county 

6  The  legislature  of  August  1845  established  a  bench  of  county  judges  to 
hold  office  one,  two,  and  three  years,  and  the  same  body  in  the  following 
December  made  the  three  years'  judge  president  of  the  district  court  of  his 
district.  Or.  Laws,  1843-9,  32-3.     Douglas  was  president  of  the  district  court 
of  Vancouver;  Simmons  held  office  two  years  and  Forrest  one  year. 

7  Peers  was  a  talented  young  man  of  the  H.  B.  Co.,  a  good  versifier,  and 
fair  legislator. 

8  This  was  simply  a  privilege  granted  by  resolution  of  the  legislature  of 
1845,  these  officers  being  appointed  by  that  body,  and  vacancies  filled  by  tho 
governor  until  December  1846,  when  an  act  was  passed  providing  for  the 
election  of  judges  and  other  county  officers.  Or.  Spectator,  Jan.  21,  1847. 


LEWIS  AND  VANCOUVER  COUNTIES.  45 

elected  Richard  Lane,  R.  R.  Thompson,  and  John 
White,  one  man  of  the  fur  company  and  two  Ameri 
cans,  justices  of  the  peace,  and  Henry  N.  Peers  rep 
resentative;  while  Lewis  county  elected  Jacob  Wooley, 
S.  B.  Crockett,  and  John  R.  Jackson  justices,9  and 
Simon  Plomondon,  Canadian,  for  representative. 
Vancouver  county  elected  William  Bryan  sheriff  and 
assessor,  Adolphus  Lee  Lewis  treasurer,  and  R. 
Covington  county  clerk;  Lewis  county  elected  M. 
Brock  assessor,  James  Birnie  treasurer,  and  Alonzo 
M.  Poe  sheriff.10  The  vote  of  Lewis  county  at  this 
election  gave  Abernethy  the  majority  for  governor, 
which  he  did  not  have  south  of  the  Columbia. 

In  1848  Lewis  county  was  not  represented,  the 
member  elect,  Levi  Lathrop  Smith,  whose  biograph}* 
I  give  elsewhere,  having  been  drowned;  Vancouver 
county  was  represented  by  A.  Lee  Lewis.  Little 
legislation  of  any  kind  was  effected,  on  account  of  the 
absence  of  so  large  a  part  of  the  population  in  Cali 
fornia.  For  the  same  reason,  the  only  general  news 
paper  in  the  territory,  the  Oregon  Spectator,  was 
suspended  during  several  months  of  1849,  covering 
the  important  period  of  the  erection  of  a  territorial 
government  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States  by 
Joseph  Lane,  appointed  governor  of  Oregon  by  Pres 
ident  Polk,  and  on  its  resuming  publication  it  gave 
but  briefly  election  and  legislative  news.  From  this 
meagre  statement,  it  appears,  however,  that  the  ap 
portionment  of  representatives  under  the  new  order 
of  things  allowed  one  joint  member  for  each  branch 
of  the  legislature  for  Lewis,  Vancouver,  and  Clatsop 
counties,  Samuel  T.  McKean  of  the  latter  in  the 
council,  and  M.  T.  Simmons  of  Lewis  in  the  lower 
house.11  The  territory  having  been  laid  off  into 

9  Simmons  must  have  acted  as  judge  of  Lewis  county  previous  to  this, 
though  appointed  for  Vancouver,  for  the  marriage  of  Daniel  D.  Kinsey  and 
Ruth  Brock  was  solemnized  in  July  L847  by  'Judge  '  Simmons.  Evans1  hist. 
Notes,  9. 

10  Or.  Spectator,  July  22,  1847. 

11  M.,  Oct.  18,  1849. 


46  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

three  judicial  districts,  Lewis  county  being  in 
third,  the  first  territorial  legislature  passed  an 
attaching  it  to  the  first  district,  in  order  that 
judge  of  that  district,  Bryant,  the  other  judges  be 
ing  absent,  might  repair  to  Steilacoom  and  try  the 
Snoqualimich  who  had  shot  two  Americans  at  Nis- 
qually  in  the  March  previous,  which  was  done,  as  I 
have  fully  related  elsewhere;12  this  being  the  first  court 
of  which  there  is  any  record  in  Lewis  county,  and  the 
first  United  States  court  north  of  the  Columbia. 

The  member  from  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia 
was  absent  from  the  long  term  held  after  the  adjourn 
ment  in  July;  and  as  McKean  was  more  interested 
in  Clatsop  than  Lewis  or  Vancouver,  the  settlers  of 
the  latter  counties  felt  themselves  but  poorly  repre 
sented,  the  most  important  act  concerning  their  divis 
ion  of  the  territory  being  the  change  of  name  of  Van 
couver  to  Clarke  county.13  In  the  following  year  they 
were  in  no  better  case,  although  they  elected  for  the 
first  time  a  full  set  of  county  officers.  McKean  was 
still  their  councilman,  and  another  member  from 
Clatsop  their  assemblyman,  Truman  P.  Powers,  a 
good  and  true  man,  but  knowing  nothing  about  the 
wants  of  any  but  his  own  immediate  locality.  How 
ever,  by  dint  of  lobbying,  a  new  county  was  created 
at  this  session  out  of  the  strip  of  country  bordering 
on  Shoalwater  Bay  and  the  estuary  of  the  Columbia; 
and  in  1851  the  three  counties  north  of  the  river  were 
able  to  elect  a  councilman,  Columbia  Lancaster,  and 
a  representative,  D.  F.  Brownfield,  in  whom  they  put 
their  trust  as  Americans.  Alas,  for  human  expecta 
tions!  Both  of  these  men,  instead  of  attending  to  the 
needs  of  their  constituents,  entered  into  a  squabble 
over  the  location  of  the  seat  of  government,  and  with 
idiotic  obstinacy  remained  staring  at  empty  benches 
in  Oregon  City  with  three  other  dunces  for  two 
weeks,  when  they  returned  to  their  homes. 

12//is«.  Or.,  ii.  79-80,  this  series. 
13  Or.  Jour.  Council,  1849,  09. 


CHAPMAN'S  SCHEME.  47 

Now,  the  people  south  of  the  Columbia,  whose  rep 
resentatives  were  ever  on  the  alert  to  secure  some 
benefits  to  their  own  districts,  were  not  to  be  blamed 
for  the  state  of  affairs  I  have  indicated  in  the  remote 
region  of  Puget  Sound,  or  for  not  embodying  in  their 
frequent  memorials  to  congress  the  wants  and  wishes, 
never  properly  expressed  in  the  legislative  assembly. 
But  with  that  ready  jealousy  the  people  ever  feel  of 
the  strong,  they  held  the  territorial  legislature  guilty 
of  asking  everything  for  the  Willamette  Valley  and 
nothing  for  Puget  Sound.  This  feeling  prepared 
their  minds  for  the  development  of  a  scheme  fora  new 
territory,  which  was  first  voiced  by  J.  B.  Chapman, 
a  lawyer,  the  founder  of  Chehalis  City,14  a  trading 
politician  and  promoter  of  factions.  He  had  lived  in 
Oregon  City  or  Portland,  but  conceived  the  idea  of 
enlarging  his  field  of  operations,  and  in  the  winter  of 
1850-1  explored  north  of  the  Columbia  fora  proper 
field.  On  the  17th  of  February,  1851,  he  wrote  to 
A.  A.  Durham  of  Oswego,  on  the  Willamette,  that 
he  found  "the  fairest  and  best  portion  of  Oregon  north 
of  the  Columbia,"  and  that  no  doubt  it  must  and  would 
be  a  separate  territory  and  state  from  that  of  the 
south.  "The  north,"  he  said,  "must  be  Columbia 
Territory  and  the  south  the  State  of  Oregon.  How 
poetical! — from  Maine  to  Columbia;  and  how  mean 
ing  of  space!"15  The  letter  was  signed  'Carman  and 
Chapman,'  but  no  one  ever  heard  of  Carman,  and 
Evans,  who  made  special  inquiry,  thinks  he  was  a 
myth. 

Chehalis  City  being  too  remote,  and  wanting  in 
population  for  the  centre  of  Chapman's  designs,  he  re 
moved  soon  after  to  the  Sound,  where  he  attempted 
to  establish  Steilacoom  City,  adjoining  the  Port  Steil- 
acoom  of  Balch,  but  failed  to  secure  his  object  of  sup- 

"  J.  B.  Chapman  also  located  a  paper  town  on  the  upper  Chehalis,  which 
he  called  Charleston,  but  which  never  had  a  real  existence.  Evans' Division 
of  the  Territory,  i.,  being  a  collection  of  printed  matter  on  the  subject,  with 
notes  by  Elwood  Evans. 

r*Or.  Spectator,  April  10, 1851;  Olympia  Standard,  April  28, 1868;  Evans' 
Division  of  Territory. 


48  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

planting  the  latter.  In  politics  he  was  more  success 
ful,  because  he  contrived  to  assume  the  distinction  of 
originating  the  idea  which  he  had  only  borrowed  from 
those  who  were  nursing  their  wrath  over  wrongs,  and 
of  anticipating  a  contemplated  movement  by  getting 
it  into  print  over  his  signature. 

The  first  real  movement  made  in  the  direction  of  a 
new  territory  was  on  the  4th  of  July,  1851,  when  the 
Americans  about  the  head  of  the  Sound  met  at  Olym- 
pia  to  celebrate  the  nation's  birthday.  Chapman, 
being,  as  he  asserts,  the  only  lawyer  among  them,  was 
chosen  orator  of  the  occasion,  and  in  his  speech  re 
ferred  to  "the  future  state  of  Columbia"  with  an  en 
thusiasm  which  delighted  his  hearers.  After  the 
ceremonies  of  the  day  were  over,  a  meeting  was  held 
for  the  purpose  of  organizing  for  the  effort  to  procure 
a  separate  government  for  the  country  north  of  the 
Columbia,  Clanrick  Crosby,  the  purchaser  of  the  Turn- 
water  property  of  M.  T.  Simmons,  being  chairman  of 
the  meeting,  and  A.  M.  Poe  secretary.  The  meeting 
was  addressed  by  I.  N.  Ebey,  J.  B.  Chapman,  C. 
Crosby,  and  H.  A.  Goldsborough.16  A  committee  on 
resolutions  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Ebey,  Golds- 
borough,  Wilson,  Chapman,  Simmons,  Chambers,  and 
Crockett.  The  committee  recommended  a  convention 
of  representatives  from  all  the  election  precincts  north 
of  the  Columbia,  to  be  held  at  Cowlitz  landing  on  the 
29th  of  August,  the  object  of  which  was  to  "take  into 
careful  consideration  the  present  peculiar  position  of 
the  northern  portion  of  the  territory,  its  wants,  the 
best  method  of  supplying  those  wants,  and  the  pro 
priety  of  an  early  appeal  to  congress  for  a  division  of 
the  territory." 

16  H.  A.  Goldsborough  was  a  brother  of  Louis  M.  Goldsborough,  com 
mander  of  the  Massachusetts,  which  was  in  the  Sound  in  the  spring  of  1850, 
making  an  examination  of  the  shores  with  reference  to  military  and  naval 
reservations,  and  the  security  of  commerce.  H.  A.  Goldsborough  remained 
at  Olympia  when  the  Massachusetts  left  in  Jul}',  and  became  a  resident  of  the 
territory.  He  devoted  much  time  to  exploring  for  minerals,  and  discovered 
coal  on  the  Stilaguamish  River  as  early  as  the  autumn  of  1850.  Or.  Specta 
tor,  Nov.  14,  1850.  He  was  the  first  collector  of  internal  revenue  in  Wash. 


PETITION  FOR  A  NEW  TERRITORY.  49 

To  this  motion  the  settlers  on  the  Cowlitz  made  a 
quick  response,  holding  a  meeting  on  the  7th  of  July 
at  the  house  of  John  R.  Jackson,  who  was  chairman, 
and  E.  D.  Warbass  secretary.  At  this  meeting 
Chapman  was  present,  and  with  Warbass  and  S.  S. 
Ford  reported  resolutions  favoring  the  object  of  the 
proposed  convention.  The  committee  of  arrangements 
consisted  of  George  Drew,  W.  L.  Frazer,  and  E.  D. 
Warbass,  and  the  corresponding  committee  of  J.  B. 
Chapman  and  George  B.  Roberts. 

When  the  convention  assembled  on  the  day  ap 
pointed  there  were  present  twenty-six  delegates.17 
The  business  the  convention  accomplished  was  the 
memorializing  of  congress  on  the  subject  of  division, 
the  instruction  of  the  Oregon  delegate  in  conformity 
with  this  memorial,  the  petitioning  of  congress  for  a 
territorial  road  from  some  point  on  Puget  Sound  to 
Walla  Walla,  and  a  plank  road  from  the  Sound  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Cowlitz,  with  suitable  appropriations. 
It  also  asked  that  the  benefits  of  the  donation  land 
law  should  be  extended  to  the  new  territory  in  case 
their  prayer  for  division  should  be  granted.  It  de 
fined  the  limits  of  twelve  counties,  substantially  in 
the  form  in  which  they  were  established  by  the  Ore 
gon  legislature;  and  having  made  so  good  a  beginning, 
adjourned  on  the  second  day  to  the  3d  of  May  follow 
ing,  to  await  the  action  of  congress  in  the  interim,18 
when,  if  their  prayer  should  have  been  refused,  they 
were  to  proceed  to  form  a  state  constitution  and  ask 

17  From  Monticello,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Cowlitz,  Seth  Catliu,  Jonathan 
Burbee,  Robert  Huntress;  from  Cowlitz  landing,  E.  D.  Warbass,  John  R. 
Jackson,  W.  L.  Frazer,  Simon  Plomondon;  from  Newaukum,  S.  S.  Saunders, 
A.  B.  Dillenbaugh,  Marcel  Birnie,  Sidney  S.  Ford,  James  Cochran,  Joseph 
Borst;  from  Tumwater,  M.  T.  Simmons,  Clanrick  Crosby,  Joseph  Broshears, 
A.  J.  Simmons;  from  Olympia,  A.  M.  Poe,  D.  S.  Maynard,  D.  F.  Brovvnfield; 
from  Steilacoom,  T.  M.  Chambers,  John  Bradley,  J.  B.  Chapman,  H.  C.  Wil 
son,  John  Edgar,  and  F.  S.  Balch.  Or.  Statesman,  Sept.  23,  1851. 

18 The  memorial  was  prepared  by  Chapman,  Balch,  and  M.  T.  Simmons. 
The  other  committees  were  as  follows:  Territorial  Government,  Chapman, 
Jackson,  Simmons,  Huntress,  and  Chambers;  Districts  and  Counties,  Brown- 
field,  Wilson,  Crosby,  Jackson,  Burbee,  Flomoudon,  Edgar,  and  Warbass; 
Rights  and  Privileges  of  Citizens,  Huntress,  Maynard,  and  Chapman;  Internal 
Improvements,  M.  T.  Simmons,  Burbee,  and  Borst;  Ways  and  Means,  Frazer, 
A.  J.  Simmons,  and  Bradley. 
HIST.  WASH. — 1 


50  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

admission  into  the  union!  Such  was  the  expression 
of  the  representatives19  of  Lewis  county — for  every 
precinct  represented  was  in  the  county  of  Lewis,  Pa 
cific  and  Clarke  counties  having  sent  no  delegates. 
The  grievances  suffered  were  in  fact  chiefly  felt  in 
the  region  represented  at  the  convention. 

Soon  after  the  Cowlitz  meeting  occurred  the  con 
flict  of  the  jurymen  of  Lewis  county,  before  referred 
to,  with  their  first  federal  officer,  Judge  Strong.  In 
accordance  with  an  act  of  the  legislature  authorizing 
and  requiring  the  county  judges,  any  two  of  whom 
should  constitute  a  board  of  county  commissioners  for 
the  selection  of  a  county  seat,  the  place  of  holding 
court  was  fixed  at  S.  S.  Ford's  claim  on  the  Cheha- 
lis.  But  Judge  Strong  preferred  holding  court  at 
Jackson's  house,  twenty  miles  nearer  to  the  Cowlitz 
landing,  sending  a  peremptory  order  to  the  jurymen 
to  repair  to  Highlands,  which  they,  resenting  the  im- 
periousness  of  the  judge,  refused  to  do,  but  held  a 
public  meeting  and  talked  of  impeachment.  Chap 
man,  for  purposes  of  his  own,  glossed  over  the  offence 
given  by  Strong,  both  he  and  Brownfield,  as  well  as 
Lancaster,  siding  with  the  federal  officers  against  the 
people  on  the  meeting  of  the  legislature  in  December; 

19 Chapman,  in  his  autobiography  in  Livingston's  Eminent  Americans,  iv. 
436,  says  that,  after  much  exertion,  'he  obtained  a  convention  of  15  members, 
but  not  one  parliamentary  gentleman  among  them,  hence  the  whole  business 
devolved  upon  him;'  that  he  'drew  up  all  the  resolutions'  and  the  memorial, 
though  other  members  offered  them  in  their  own  names,  and  so  contrived  that 
every  name  should  appear  in  the  proceedings,  to  give  the  appearance  of  a 
large  convention;  and  that  neither  of  the  men  on  the  committee  with  him 
could  write  his  name.  Autobiographies  should  be  confirmed  by  two  cred 
ible  witnesses.  In  this  instance  Chapman  has  made  use  of  the  circumstance 
of  Simmons'  want  of  education  to  grossly  misrepresent  the  intelligence  of  the 
community  of  which  such  men  as  Ebey,  whose  private  correspondence  in  my 
possession  shows  him  to  be  a  man  of  refined  feelings,  Goldsborough,  Catlin, 
Warbass,  Balch,  Crosby,  Wilson,  and  others  were  members.  As  to  Simmons, 
although  his  want  of  scholarship  was  an  impediment  and  a  mortification,  he 
possessed  the  real  qualities  of  a  leader,  which  Chapman  lacked ;  for  the  latter 
was  never  able  to  achieve  either  popularity  or  position,  though  he  strove  hard 
for  both.  The  census  of  1850  for  Lewis  county  gives  the  total  white  population 
at  457,  only  six  of  whom,  over  twenty  years  of  age,  were  not  able  to  write. 
It  is  probable  that  not  more  than  one  out  of  the  six  was  sent  to  the  conven 
tion,  and  he  was  appointed  on  account  of  his  brain-power  and  consequent  in 
fluence. 


THE  FIRST  NEWSPAPER.  51 

arid  the  affairs  of  the  whole  trans-Columbia  region, 
not  attended  to  by  J.  A.  Anderson  of  Clatsop  and 
Pacific  counties,  were  suffered  to  pass  without  notice. *° 

This,  however,  Anderson  did  for  them:  he  pre 
sented  a  petition  from  J.  B.  Chapman  and  fifty-five 
others  for  the  establishment  of  a  new  county,  to  be 
called  Simmons,  and  the  readjustment  of  the  eastern 
boundary  of  Lewis  county.  The  boundary  of  the 
new  county  was  defined  as  described  by  the  commit 
tee  on  counties  of  the  August  convention,  but  the 
council  amended  the  house  bill  by  substituting  Thurs- 
ton  for  Simmons;  and  the  limits  of  Lewis  on  the  east 
were  removed  fifteen  miles  east  of  the  junction  of  the 
forks  of  the  Cowlitz,  running  due  north  to  the  south 
ern  boundary  of  Thurston  -county. 

In  joint  convention  of  both  branches  of  the  legis 
lature,  I.  N.  Ebey  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney 
for  the  third  judicial  district,  receiving  fourteen  votes, 
and  the  ubiquitous  Chapman  two.21  Ebey  being  pop 
ular,  energetic,  and  devoted  to  the  interests  of  his 
section,  much  comfort  was  derived  from  this  legisla 
tive  appointment.  Meantime  congress  took  no  notice 
apparently  of  the  memorial  forwarded  by  the  conven 
tion  of  August,  nor  did  the  citizens  north  of  the  Co 
lumbia  assemble  in  Ma}r  to  frame  a  state  constitution 
as  they  had  threatened,  yet  as  they  could  not  seriously 
have  contemplated.  But  as  a  means  to  a  desired  end, 
The  Columbian,  a  weekly  newspaper,  was  established 
at  Olympia,22  which  issued  its  first  number  on  the  llth 
of  September,  1852;  and  was  untiring  in  its  advocacy 
of  an.  independent  organization.  It  was  wisely  sug- 

2ft  Evans  says,  in  his  Division  of  the  Territory,  5,  that  when  he  came  to 
Puget  Sound  J.  B.  Chapman  was  extremely  unpopular,  and  he  doubts  if, 
anxious  as  the  people  were  for  an  organization  north  of  the  Columbia,  they 
would  have  accepted  it  with  Chapman  as  an  appointee,  which  he  was  aiming 
at.  He  did  not  get  an  appointment,  as  he  confesses  in  his  Autobiography. 

"The  first  judges  of  Thurston  county  were  A.  A.  Denny,  S.  S.  Ford,  and 
David  Shelton.  Olympia  Columbian,  Nov.  C,  1851.  See  also  0?'.  Jour.  Coun 
cil,  1831-2,  68. 

22  Th<>  Columbian  was  published  by  J.  W.  Wiley  and  T.  F.  McElroy.^the 
latter  having  been  connected  witli  the  S]>ectator.  McElroy  retired  in  Sep 
tember  1853,  and  M.  K.  Smith  became  publisher. 


52  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

gested  that,  as  many  influential  citizens  would  be  as 
sembled  at  the  house  of  J.  R.  Jackson  on  the  25th 
of  October  to  attend  the  sitting  of  the  court,  the  op 
portunity  should  be  seized  to  make  arrangements 
for  another  convention,  a  hint  which  was  adopted. 
On  the  27th  of  September  a  meeting  was  held, 
and  a  general  convention  planned  for  the  25th  of  Oc 
tober,  at  Monticello.  It  was  considered  certain  that 
all  the  inhabitants  about  Puget  Sound  would  vote  for 
a  separate  organization,  but  not  quite  so  evident  that 
those  living  upon  the  Columbia,  and  accustomed  to 
act  with  the  people  south  of  it,  would  do  so.  By 
holding  the  convention  at  Monticello,  it  was  hoped  to 
influence  the  doubtful  in  the  direction  of  their  wishes. 
At  the  time  appointed,  the  delegates  assembled 
and  organized  by  electing  G.  N.  McConaha  president 
and  R.  J.  White  secretary.  After  an  address  by  the 
president,  a  committee  of  thirteen23  was  selected  to 
frame  another  memorial  to  congress,  which  contained 
the  following  arguments:  It  was  desired  to  Ifove  or 
ganized  a  separate  territory,  bounded  on  the  south  and 
east  by  the  Columbia;  and  for  these  reasons:  the  terri 
tory  was  too  large  ever  to  be  embraced  within  the  lim 
its  of  one  state,  containing  as  it  did  341,000  square  miles, 
with  640  miles  of  sea-coast,  while  the  proposed  terri 
tory  would  embrace  about  32,000  square  miles,  that 
being  believed  to  be  of  fair  and  just  extent.  Those 
portions  of  the  undivided  territory  lying  north  and 
south  of  the  Columbia  must,  from  their  geographical 
positions,  become  rivals  in  commerce.  The  southern 
portion,  having  now  the  greatest  number  of  voters, 
controls  legislation,  from  which  fact  it  was  evident 
that  northern  Oregon  received  no  benefit  from  con 
gressional  appropriations,  which  were  subject  to  the 
disposition  of  the  legislature.  The  seat  of  govern 
ment  was,  by  the  nearest  practicable  route,  500  miles 
from  a  large  portion  of  the  citizens  of  the  territory. 

23Quincy  A.  Brooks,  D.  S.  Maynard,  William  W.  Plumb,  Alfred  Cook,  J. 
R.  Jackson,  E.  L.  Finch,  A.  F.  Scott,  F.  A.  Clarke,  C.  S.  Hathaway,  E.  A. 
Allen,  E.  II.  Winslow,  Seth  Catliu,  and  N.  Stone  constituted  the  committee. 


TERRITORY  OF  COLUMBIA.  53 

A  majority  of  the  legislation  of  the  south  was  opposed 
to  the  interests  of  the  north.  Northern  Oregon  pos 
sessed  great  natural  resources  and  an  already  large 
population,  which  would  be  greatly  increased  could 
they  secure  the  fostering  care  of  congress.  Where 
fore  they  humbly  petitioned  for  the  early  organization 
of  a  territory,  to  be  called  the  Territory  of  Columbia, 
north  and  west  of  the  Columbia  River,  as  described. 
Then  followed  forty-four  names  of  the  most  influen 
tial  citizens  of  Lewis  and  Thurston  counties.24 

As  before,  the  convention  appointed  a  meeting  for 
May,  and  adjourned ;  the  memorial  was  forwarded  to 
Lane,  and  the  proceedings  were  made  as  public  as  the 
Oregon  newspapers  could  make  them. 

But  matters  were  already  slowly  mending  north  of 
the  Columbia.  There  had  been  some  valuable  acces 
sions  to  the  population,  as  the  reader  of  the  previous 
chapter  is  aware;  a  good  many  vessels  were  coming 
to  the^ound  for  timber,25  which  gave  employment 
to  men  without  capital,  and  brought  money  into  the 
country,  and  the  influence  of  United  States  laws  were 

24  G.  N.  McConaha,  Seth  Catlin,  R.  J.  White,  J.  1ST.  Law,  Q.  A.  Brooks, 
C.  C.  Terry,  C.  S.  Hathaway,  A.  J.  Simmons,  E.  H.  Winslow,  S.  Plomondon, 
A.  Cook,  H.  A.  Goldsborough,  A.  F.  Scott,  G.  Drew,  W.  N.  Bell,  M.  T.  Sim 
mons,  A.  A.  Denny,  H.  C.  Wilson,  L.  M.  Collins,  L.  B.  Hastings,  G.  B. 
Roberts,  S.  S.  Ford,  Sen.,  N.  Stone,  B.  C.  Armstrong,  L.  H.  Davis,  J.  Fowler, 
C.  H.  Hale,  A.  Crawford,  S.  D.  Rundell,  H.  D.  Huntington,  E.  J.  Allen,  W. 
A.  L.  McCorkle,  A.  B.  Dillenbaugh,  N.  Ostrander,  J.  11.  Jacks?on,  C.  F.  Sor 
ter,  D.  S.  Maynard,  E.  L.  Finch,  F.  A.  Clarke,  H.  Miles,  Win  W.  Plumb,  P. 
W.  Crawford,  A.  Wylie,  S.  P.  Moses.  Cong.  Globe,  1832-3,  541;  Columbian, 
Dec.  11,  1852;  Or.  Statesman,  Jan.  1,  1853;  Olympia  Standard,  May  9,  18GS. 

'2j  No  list  of  vessels  was  kept  previous  to  the  arrival  of  a  collector  in  Nov. 
1851;  but  between  the  13th  of  that  month  and  the  last  of  June  following 
there  were  38  arrivals  and  departures  from  Olympia,  as  follows:  Brigs, 
George  Emory,  Orbit,  G.  W.  Kendall,  John  Davis,  Franklin  Adams,  Daniel, 
Lconesa,  Jane,  Eagle;  brigantine,  Mary  Dare;  schooners,  Exact,  Demarls 
Cove,  Susan  Sfurges,  Alice,  Franklin,  Mary  Taylor,  Cynosure,  Honolulu  Packet, 
Mexican,  Cecil;  bark,  Brontes;  steamer,  Beaver.  The  memoranda  made  by 
the  collector  was  as  follows:  Brigantine  Mary  Dare  and  steamer  Bc'irer  seized 
for  infractions  of  the  U.  S.  revenue  laws.  U.  S.  sloop  of  war  Vinccntim,  W.  L. 
Hudson  commander,  visited  the  Sound,  obtained  supplies  and  exercised  her 
batteries.  Sloop  Ge.orgiana  wrecked  on  Queen  Charlotte  Island,  her  passen 
gers  and  crew  taken  prisoners  by  the  Indians.  Schooner  Demaris  Cove 
promptly  sent  to  their  relief  by  the  collector.  Schooner  Harriet,  from  the  Co 
lumbia,  bound  to  S.  F.  with  passengers  and  freight,  blown  to  about  lat.  55°, 
lost  sails,  etc.;  came  into  port  in  distress.  Brig  Una  totally  wrecked  at 
Cape  Flattery.  Olympia  Columbian,  Sept.  11,  1852. 


54  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

beginning  to  be  felt  in  the  presence  of  a  customs  office 
as  well  as  a  district  court.  In  May  1851  President 
Fillmore  commissioned  Simpson  P.  Moses  of  Ohio  col 
lector  of  customs,  and  W.  W.  Miller  of  Illinois  surveyor 
of  the  port  of  Nisqually,  on  Puget  Sound.  These  offi 
cials  arrived  in  the  months  of  October  arid  November, 
Miller  overland  and  Moses  by  the  Nicaragua  route, 
then  newly  opened.26  With  the  latter  came  the  family 
of  the  collector,  two  unmarried  women  named  Relyea,27 
A.  B.  Moses,  brother  of  the  collector,  and  Deputy  Col 
lector  El  wood  Evans,  who  later  became  so  well  known 
in  connection  with  the  history  of  Washington  and  its 
preservation  in  a  written  form.28  There  came  also,  as 
passengers  from  San  Francisco,  Theodore  Dubosq,  J. 
M.  Bach  elder  and  family,  and  John  Hamilton.29 

I  have  already  in  a  previous  volume  related  with 
what  ardor  Collector  Moses  adopted  the  anti-Hudson's 
Bay  Company  tone  of  the  early  settlers,  and  how  he 
brought  the  government  into  debt  many  thousand 
dollars  by  seizures  of  British  vessels30  after  the  re 
moval  of  the  port  of  entry  to  Olympia.  The  seizure 
of  the  Beaver  and  the  Mary  Dare 31  occurred  about 

'K  Evans  says  the  collector  sailed  from  N.  Y.  August  14th  in  the  steamship 
Prometheus,  which  connected  with  the  Independence  at  San  Juan  del  Sur,  ar 
riving  at  S.  F.  Sept.  17th.  The  remainder  of  the  voyage  to  Puget  Sound  was 
performed  in  the  brig  Gfor<je  Emory,  owned  by  Lafayette  Balch  of  Port  Steil- 
acoom,  which  left  Oct.  24th,  and  arrived  off  Port  Townsend  Nov.  10th,  where 
the  collector  and  his  deputy  were  sworn  in  by  Henry  C.  Wilson,  justice  of 
the  peace  of  Lewis  county.  Notes  on  Settlement,  15;  N.  W.  Coast,  MS.,  1. 

27  Louisa  Relyea  married  Frederick  Myers,  and  her  sister  John  Bradley. 
Evans'  Notes  on  Settlement,  16. 

28  Evans  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Dec.  29,  1828.     Wishing  to  come  to 
the  Pacific  coast,  he  was  tendered  the  appointment  of  deputy  clerk  to  the  col 
lector  of  Puget  Sound,  and  accepted.     He  returned  to  Philadelphia  in  1832, 
and  came  out  again  in  18.33  as  private  secretary  to  Gov.  Stevens.     From  that 
time  he  carefully  observed  and  noted  the  progress  of  events,  in  which  he  took 
no  insignificant  personal  interest.    By  profession  a  lawyer,  he  resided  at  Olym 
pia  from  1851  to  1879,  when  he  removed  to  New  Tacoma.     He  married  Elzira 
Z.  Gove  of  Olympia,  formerly  of  Bath,  Maine,  on  the  1st  of  January,  1856. 

29  Hamilton  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Bachelder.     He  was  drowned  March 
27,  1854,  on  the  ill-fated  expedition  of  Major  Larned,  U.  S.  A.  Evans'  Notes 
on  Settlement,  16. 

80  Hist.  Or.,  ii.  105-8,  this  series. 

31  Moses  appointed  I.  N.  Ebey  and  A.  J.  Simmons  temporary  inspectors, 
and  on  the  1st  of  December  directed  Ebey  to  make  a  strict  examination,  which 
resulted  in  finding  $500  worth  of  Indian  goods  on  board  the  Beaver,  and  on 
the  Mary  Dare  a  contraband  package  of  refined  sugar  weighing  230  pounds. 
By  the  103d  section  of  the  act  of  March  2,  1799,  reiined  sugar  could  not  bo 


OLYMPIA  IN  EARLY  DAYS.  55 

the  last  of  November,  and  on  the  20th  of  January  a 
special  term  of  court  was  held  at  Olympia  to  try  these 
cases,  this  being  the  first  term  of  the  federal  court  in 
Thurston  county,  Judge  Strong  presiding,  Simon  B. 
May  re  of  Portland  being  attorney  for  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  and  David  Logan  of  the  same  place 
acting  for  the  United  States  district  attorney,  Ebey, 
in  these  cases.  Quincy  A.  Brooks  acted  as  clerk  of  the 
court,  and  A.  M.  Poe  as  deputy  marshal.  At  this 
term  were  admitted  to  practice  Brooks,  S.  P.  Moses, 
Ebey,  and  Evans. 

Evans  describes,  in  a  journal  kept  by  him  at  that 
time,  and  incorporated  in  his  Historical  Notes  on 
Settlement,  the  appearance  of  Olyrnpia  in  the  winter 
of  1851-2.  There  were  " about  a  dozen  one-story 
frame  cabins  of  primitive  architecture,  covered  with 
split-cedar  siding,  well  ventilated,  but  healthy.  There 
were  about  twice  that  number  of  Indian  huts  a  short 
distance  from  the  custom-house,  which  was  in  the 
second  story  of  Simmons'  building,  before  described, 
on  the  first  floor  of  which  was  his  store,  with  a  small 
room  partitioned  off  for  a  post-office." 

It  was  during  the  month  of  November  that  the 
Exact  arrived  at  Olympia  with  the  gold-seekers  for 
Queen  Charlotte  Island,  after  leaving  the  Alki  Point 
settlers.  The  Exact  brought,  as  settlers  to  Olympia, 
Daniel  B.  Bigelow,  a  lawyer  and  a  Massachusetts 
man  who  crossed  the  continent  that  summer.  His 
first  case  was  a  suit  between  Crosby  and  M.  T. 
Simmons,  growing  out  of  a  question  of  title  to  the 
Turn  water  claim,  Bigelow  representing  Simmons  and 
J.  B.  Chapman  being  Crosby's  attorney.  James 
Hughes  and  family  also  arrived  by  the  Exact. 

The  rumor  which  led  the  Portland  company  to 
charter  this  vessel  to  take  them  to  Queen  Charlotte 

imported  in  packages  of  less  than  600  pounds,  under  penalty  of  forfeiture  of 
the  sugar  and  the  vessel  in  which  it  was  imported.  It  was  also  shown  that 
the  Beaver  had  anchored  at  Nisqually  and  sent  boats  ashore.  These  were  the 
infractions  of  the  revenue  law  on  which  the  seizures  were  made. 


56  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

Island  was  first   brought   to    Pug^et    Sound   bv  one 

o  \t 

McEwen,  mate  of  the  sloop  Georgiana  from  Australia. 
McEwen  exhibited  gold  in  chunks  which  had  been 
chiselled  out  of  quartz-veins  in  rock  on  the  island,  and 
created  thereby  such  an  excitement  that  a  company 
was  immediately  raised  to  visit  the  new  gold  region, 
Goldsborough  at  the  head.  On  the  3d  of  November 
the  adventurers  sailed  from  Olympia  in  the  Georgiana, 
with  tools  and  provisions,  and  arrived  on  the  18th  in 
the  harbor  on  the  east  side  of  the  island,  called  Kom- 
shewah  by  the  natives,  though  their  true  destination 
was  Gold  Harbor  on  the  west  side.  On  the  following 
day  the  sloop  was  blown  ashore  and  wrecked,  when 
the  Haidahs,  a  numerous  and  cruel  tribe,  plundered 
the  vessel,  took  the  company  prisoners,  and  reduced 
them  to  slavery.  Their  final  fate  would  probably 
have  been  death  by  starvation  and  ill  treatment,  but 
for  a  fortunate  incident  of  their  voyage. 

On  coming  opposite  Cape  Flattery,  the  sloop  was 
boarded  by  Captain  Balch  of  the  Demaris  Cove,  who 
on  learning  her  destination  promised  to  follow  as  soon 
as  he  should  have  met  the  George  Emory,  then  due, 
with  the  collector  of  Puget  Sound  on  board.  In 
pursuance  of  this  engagement,  the  Demaris  Cove  ran 
up  to  the  island  in  December,  where  she  learned  from 
the  Indians  of  the  wreck  of  the  Georgiana,  and  being 
in  danger  from  the  natives,  Balch  at  once  returned  to 
the  Sound  to  procure  arms  and  goods  for  the  ransom 
of  the  prisoners. 

On  hearing  what  had  happened,  Collector  Moses, 
after  conferring  with  the  army  officers  at  Fort  Steil- 
acoom,  chartered  the  Demaris  Cove  and  despatched 
her  December  19th  for  Queen  Charlotte  Island,  Lieu 
tenant  John  Dement  of  the  1st  artillery,  with  a  few 
soldiers,  A.  B.  Moses,  Dubosq,  Poe,  Sylvester,  and 
other  volunteers,  accompanying  Captain  Balch.  On 
the  31st  the  schooner  returned  with  the  ransomed 
captives,  to  the  great  joy  of  their  friends,  who  held  a 
public  meeting  to  express  their  satisfaction,  giving 


CAPTIVE  GOLD-SEEKERS.  57 

unstinted  praise  to  the  collector  for  his  prompt  action 
in  the  matter.32 

3-  The  details  of  the  Geortjiana  affair  are  interesting  and  dramatic.  The 
Indians  took  possession  of  every  article  that  could  be  .saved  from  the  vessel, 
which  they  then  burned  for  the  iron.  They  swooped  down  upon  the  shivering 
and  half-drowned  white  men  as  fast  as  they  came  ashore  through  the  surf — 
some  ablo  to  help  themselves,  and  others  unconscious,  but  all  finally  surviv 
ing — to  strip  them  of  their  only  possessions,  their  scanty  clothing.  This  last 
injury,  however,  was  averted  on  making  the  chief  understand  that  lie  should 
be  paid  a  ransom  if  their  safety  and  comfort  were  secured  until  such  time  as 
rescue  came.  They  escaped  the  worst  slavery  by  affecting  to  be  chiefs  and 
ignorant  of  labor.  Their  sufferings  from  cold  and  the  want  of  bedding,  etc., 
were  extreme,  and  their  captivity  lasted  54  days.  The  pay  demanded  for 
each  person  was  5  four-point  blankets,  1  shirt,  1  bolt  of  muslin,  and  2  pounds 
of  tobacco,  besides  all  the  plunder  of  the  vessel.  S.  D.  Howe  and  three  others 
•were  permitted  by  the  savages  take  a  canoe  and  go  to  Fort  Simpson  for  relief, 
but  their  efforts  were  a  partial  failure. 

The  names  of  the  rescued  captives  wei'e,  of  the  vessel's  crew,  William  Row 
land,  captain;  Duncan  McEwen,  mate;  Benjamin  and  Richard  Gibbs,  sailors; 
Tamaree,  an  Hawaiian  cook;  passengers,  Asher  Sargent,  E.  N.  Sargent,  Sam 
uel  D.  Howe,  Ambrose  Jewell,  Charles  Weed,  Daniel  Show,  Samuel  H.  Wil 
liams,  James  McAllister,  John  Thornton,  Charles  Hendricks,  George  A.  Paige, 
John  Rcmley,  Jesse  Ferguson,  Ignatius  Colvin,  James  K.  Hurd,  William  Ma- 
hard,  Solomon  S.  Gideon,  George  Moore,  B.  F.  McDonald,  Sidney  S.  Ford, 
Jr,  Isaac  M.  Browne,  and  Mr.  Seidner.  I  find,  besides  the  reports  made  at 
the  time  by  S.  D.  Howe,  George  Moore,  Capt.  Rowland,  and  subsequently  by 
Charles  E.  Weed,  an  account  by  the  latter  among  my  manuscripts,  under  the 
title  of  Weed's  Charlotte  Island  Expedition,  from  all  of  which  I  have  drawn 
the  chief  facts.  Weed  was  27  years  of  age,  a  native  of  Ct,  and  had  just  come 
to  Olympia  by  way  of  the  Willamette  from  Cal.  George  A.  Paige,  a  native 
of  N.  H.,  had  served  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  had  been  but  a  short  time  in 
Or.  He  remained  on  the  Sound,  serving  in  the  Indian  wars,  and  receiving  an 
appointment  as  Indian  agent  at  Port  Madison.  He  died  at  Fort  Colville  in 
1868.  See  references  to  the  Georgiana  affair,  in  Or.  Statesman,  Feb.  15  and  '24, 
a-.ul  March  9,  1852;  Or.  Spectator,  Jan.  27,  1852;  New  Tacoma  Ledger,  July 
9,  1880. 

While  the  Olympia  gold -seekers  were  experiencing  so  great  ill  fortune,  the 
Exact' s  company,  which  left  the  Sound  somewhat  later,  succeeded  in  landing, 
and  spent  the  winter  exploring  the  island,  which  they  found  to  be  a  rocky 
formation,  not  susceptible  in  the  higher  parts  of  being  cultivated,  though  the 
natives  at  Gold  Harbor  raised  excellent  potatoes  and  turnips.  The  climate 
was  severe,  and  no  gold  was  found  except  in  quartz  veins,  which  required 
blasting.  The  Indians  had  some  lumps  of  pure  gold  and  fine  specimens  of 
quartz  stolen  from  a  blast  made  by  the  crew  of  the  H.  B.  Co.'s  brigantine  Una 
a  short  time  previous.  This  vessel  was  stranded  on  Cape  Flattery,  Dec.  20th, 
the  passengers  getting  ashore  with  their  baggage,  when  they  were  attacked 
by  the  Indians,  who  would  have  killed  them  to  get  possession  of  their  goods 
had  they  not  fled,  leaving  everything  in  the  hands  of  the  savages,  who  burned 
the  vessel.  The  crew  and  passengers,  among  whom  were  three  women,  were 
so  fortunate  as  to  signal  the  Demaris  Cove  on  her  way  to  rescue  the  Olympia 
company,  which  took  them  on  board  and  carried  them  to  Fort  Victoria.  The 
Indians  of  Gold  Harbor,  though  they  did  not  prevent  the  Exact' a  company 
from  prospecting,  represented  that  they  had  sold  the  island  to  the  H.  B.  Co., 
and  were  to  defend  it  from  occupation  by  Americans.  The  prospectors  re- 
remained  until  March,  when  they  returned  to  Puget  Sound,  bringing  a  few 
specimens  obtained  from  the  natives.  The  Exact  refitted  and  returned  in 
March.  Three  other  vessels,  the  Tepic,  Glencoe,  and  Vancouver,  advertised 
to  take  passengers  to  the  island,  but  nothing  like  success  followed  the  expedi- 


58  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

But  if  the  persons  concerned  approved  of  the  action 
of  the  collector,  the  government  did  not,  and  refused 
to,  pay  the  expenses  of  the  rescue,  which  Moses  in 
a  letter  to  Secretary  Corwin  of  the  treasury  as 
sumed  that  it  would  do;  and  the  collector  of  Puget 
Sound  was  reminded  somewhat  sharply  that  it  was 
not  his  business  to  fit  out  military  expeditions  at  the 
expense  of  the  United  States,  the  first  cost  of  which 
in  this  case  was  seven  or  eight  thousand  dollars.33 
But  congress,  when  memorialized  by  the  legislature 
of  Washington  at  its  first  session,  did  appropriate 
fifteen  thousand  dollars,  out  of  which  to  pay  the  claims 
of  Captain  Balch  and  others,  as  in  justice  it  was 
bound  to  do.  Had  the  collector  waited  for  the  gov 
ernor  to  act,  another  month  would  necessarily  have 
been  consumed,  during  which  the  captives  might  have 
perished. 

On  the  meeting  of  the  Oregon  legislature,  ten  days 

tions.  According  to  the  S.  F.  Alto,  of  April  1,  1859,  a  nugget  weighing  $250 
was  obtained  from  the  natives  by  the  captain  of  the  H.  li.  Co.  's  str  Labou- 
chere.  The  Indians  refused  to  reveal  the  location  of  the  gold  mine,  but  offered 
to  procure  more  of  it  for  sale;  and  it  is  certain  that  the  company  did  buy  a 
large  amount  of  gold  from  them  about  this  time.  A  third  vessel,  the  brig 
Eagle,  was  fitted  out  at  Portland  for  prosecuting  gold  discovery  on  the  north 
coast,  and  for  trading  with  the  Indians.  On  the  9th  of  August,  while  attempt 
ing  to  enter  a  harbor  on  V.  I.,  the  brig  was  wrecked,  the  crew  and  passengers 
reaching  the  shore  with  only  a  few  articles  of  food  and  clothing.  No  sooner 
had  they  landed  than  they  were  stripped  and  their  lives  threatened.  On  the 
llth  the  party  contrived  to  escape  in  a  whale-boat,  coasting  along  the  island 
for  live  days,  subsisting  on  shell-fish,  being  treated  barbarously  by  the  natives, 
who  attacked  them  in  Nootka  Sound,  taking  two  of  them  prisoners.  The  re 
mainder  of  the  company  escaped  to  sea  and  were  picked  up  by  a  trading  ves 
sel  soon  after.  On  board  the  rescuing  vessel  were  some  friendly  Indians,  who 
volunteered  to  undertake  the  ransom  of  the  captives,  which  they  succeeded 
in  doing,  and  all  arrived  safely  in  Puget  Sound  in  Sept.  Olympia  Columbian, 
Sept.  11,  1852.  Report  of  Ind.  Agent  Starling,  in  U.  S.  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.,  ] ,  v.  i. 
pt  i.  4G4,  32d  cong.  2d  sess.  Some  of  the  gold-seekers  being  left  on  Queen 
Charlotte  Island,  wishing  to  return  home,  and  not  having  a  vessel  to  bring 
them,  four  men  set  out  in  an  open  boat,  14  feet  long  by  4^  wide,  carrying  one 
small  sail,  and  neither  chart  nor  compass.  After  many  dangers  from  the  sea 
and  savages,  they  reached  Wludbey  Island  in  an  exhausted  condition,  after 
being  15 "days  at  sea.  Their  names  were  Ellis  Barnes,  James  C.  Hedges, 
Clement  W.  Sumner,  and  Thomas  Tobias.  The  Indians  of  the  north-west 
coast  were  at  this  time,  and  for  a  number  of  years  later,  troublesome  to  the 
daring  pioneers  of  the  northern  coast.  During  the  summer  of  1S52  the  north 
ern  Indians  committed  depredations  on  the  schr  Franklin,  Capt.  Pinkharn, 
and  at  different  times  many  murders  on  Puget  Sound.  Olympia  Columbian, 
Sept.  18,  1852. 

33 For  the  papers  in  the  case,  see  House  Ex.  Doc.,  130.  32d  cong.  1st  sess. 


NEW  COUNTIES.  59 

after  the  Cowlitz  convention,  Lancaster,  the  council 
man  whose  term  held  over,  did  not  appear  to  take  his 
seat,  but  resigned  his  office  at  so  late  a  moment,  that 
although  an  election  was  held,  Seth  Catlin  being 
chosen  against  A.  A.  Denny,  it  was  too  late  to  be  of 
use  to  the  region  he  represented;  but  F.  A.  Chen- 
oweth  and  I.  N.  Ebey  being  members  of  the  lower 
house  in  addition  to  Anderson  of  Clatsop  and  Pacific, 
there  was  a  perceptible  change  from  the  neglect  of 
former*  legislatures,  and  it  is  probable,  if  no  action  had 
been  taken  looking  to  a  separate  territory,  that  the 
Puget  Sound  country  would  have  obtained  recogni 
tion  in  the  future.  But  the  Oregon  legislators  were 
not  averse  to  the  division,  the  counties  south  of  the 
Columbia  having,  as  the  northern  counties  alleged, 
diverse  commercial  interests,  and  being  at  too  great  a 
distance  from  each  other  to  be  much  in  sympathy. 
But  the  legislature  adopted  without  demur  a  reso 
lution  of  Ebey's  that  congress  should  appropriate 
thirty  thousand  dollars  to  construct  a  military  road 
from  Steilacoom  to  Walla  Walla.  Four  new  counties 
were  established,  Jefferson,  King.  Pierce,  and  Island. 
Two  joint  representatives  were  allowed,  one  for  Island 
and  Jefferson,  and  one  for  King  and  Pierce.  Pacific 
county  was  also  separated  from  Clatsop  for  judicial 
purposes,  and  the  judge  of  the  3d  district  required  to 
hold  two  terms  of  court  annually  in  the  former.34 

On  the  10th  of  January  Chenoweth  introduced  a 
resolution  in  the  house  in  regard  to  organizing  a  ter 
ritory  north  of  the  Columbia.  On  the  14th  Ebey 
reported  a  memorial  to  congress  as  a  substitute  for 

31  The  county  seat  of  Jefferson  was  fixed  at  Port  Townsend;  of  King  at 
Seattle;  and  Olympia  was  made  the  county  seat  of  Thurston.  The  commis 
sioners  appointed  for  Jefferson  co.,  to  serve  until  their  successors  were 
elected,  were  L.  B.  Hastings,  D.  F.  Brownfield,  and  Albert  Briggs;  H.  C. 
Wilson  sheriff,  and  A.  A.  Plummer  probate  clerk.  For  Island  co.,  Samuel 
B.  Howe,  John  Alexander,  and  John  Crockett;  George  W.  L.  Allen  sheriff, 
and  R.  H.  Lansdale  probate  clerk.  For  King  co.,  A.  A.  Denny,  John  N. 
Lowe,  and  Luther  N.  Collins;  David  C.  Borcn  sheriff,  and  H.  D.  Yesler  pro 
bate  clerk.  For  Pierce  co.,  Thos  M.  Chambers,  William  Dougherty, 
Alexander  Smith;  John  Bradley  sheriff,  and  John  M.  Chapman  probate 
clerk.  Or.  Statesman,  Jan.  22,  1853;  Columbian,  Jan.  29  and  Feb.  19,  1853; 
North  Pacific  Coast,  vol.  i.,  no.  1,  p.  16. 


60  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  resolution, *which  he  asked  the  assembly  to  adopt, 
and  which  passed  without  opposition  or  amendment, 
the  only  question  raised  in  connection  with  the  sub 
ject  being  the  division  by  an  east  and  west  line, 
some  members  contending  that  Oregon  should  include 
Puget  Sound  and  all  the  country  west  of  the  Cas 
cade  Mountains,  while  the  country  east  of  that  range 
should  form  a  new  territory — an  opinion  long  held  by 
a  minority  in  view  of  the  admission  of  Washington 
as  a  state.  Such  a  division  at  that  time  womd  have 
made  Portland  the  capital.35 

But  Lane  had  not  waited  to  hear  from  the  Oregon 
legislative  assembly  concerning  the  division  of  the 
territory.  Immediately  on  receiving  the  memorial 

35  Ol>/mpia  Columbian,  May  9,  18GS.  The  memorial  was  as  follows:  'Your 
memorialists,  the  legislative  assembly  of  Oregon,  legally  assembled  upon  the 
first  Monday  in  December,  A.  D.  1852,  would  respectfully  represent  unto  your 
honorable  body  that  a  period  of  four  years  and  six  months  has  elapsed  since 
the  establishment  of  the  present  territorial  government  over  the  territory  of 
Oregon;  and  that  in  the  mean  time  the  population  of  the  said  territory  has 
spread  from  the  banks  of  the  Columbia  River  north  along  Puget  Sound,  Ad 
miralty  Inlet,  and  Possession  Sound,  and  the  surrounding  country  to  the 
Canal  do  Hiiro;  and  that  the  people  of  that  territory  labor  under  great  incon 
venience  and  hardship  by  reason  of  the  great  distance  to  which  they  are  re 
moved  from  the  centre  of  the  present  territorial  organization.  Those  portions  of 
Oregon  territory  lying  north  and  south  of  the  Columbia  River  must,  from  their 
geographic:,!  position,  difference  in  climate,  and  internal  resources,  remain  in 
a  great  degree  distinct  communities,  with  different  interests  and  policies  in 
all  that  appertains  to  their  domestic  legislation,  and  the  various  interests  that 
are  to  be  regulated,  nourished,  and  cherished  by  it.  The  communication  be 
tween  these  two  portions  of  the  territory  is  difficult,  casual,  and  uncertain. 
Although  time  and  improvement  would  in  some  measure  remove  this  obstacle, 
yet  it  would  for  a  long  period  in  the  future  form  a  serious  barrier  to  the  pros 
perity  and  well-being  of  each,  so  long  as  they  remain  under,  one  government. 
The  territory  north  of  the  Columbia,  and  west  of  the  great  northern  branch 
of  that  stream,  contains  a  sufficient  number  of  square  miles  to  form  a  state, 
which  in  point  of  resources  and  capacity  to  maintain  a  population  will  com 
pare  favorably  with  most  of  the  states  of  the  union.  Experience  has  proven 
that  when  marked  geographical  boundaries  which  have  been  traced  by  the 
hand  of  nature  have  been  disregarded  in  the  formation  of  local  governments, 
that  sectional  jealousies  and  local  strifes  have  seriously  embarrassed  their  pros 
perity  and  characterized  their  domestic  legislation.  Yourmemorialists,  forthcse 
reasons,  and  for  the  benefit  of  Oregon  both  north  and  south  of  the  Columbia 
River,  and  believing  from  the  reservation  of  power  in  the  first  section  of  the 
organic  act  that  congress  then  anticipated  that  at  some  future  time  it  would  be 
necessary  to  establish  other  territorial  organizations  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains,  and  believing  that  that  time  has  come,  would  respectfully  pray  your 
honorable  body  to  establish  a  separate  territorial  government  for  all  that  por 
tion  of  Oregon  territory  lying  north  of  the  Columbia  River  and  west  of  the 
great  northern  branch  of  the  same,  to  be  known  as  the  Territory  of  Columbia.' 
Or.  Statesman,  Jan.  29,  1853;  Columbian,  Feb.  12,  1853. 


WASHINGTON,  NOT  COLUMBIA.  61 

of  the  Monticello  convention,  which  Was  about  the 
beginning  of  the  second  session  of  the  thirty-second 
congress,  he  presented  it  in  the  house  by  a  resolution 
requesting  the  committee  on  territories  to  inquire  into 
the  expediency  of  dividing  Oregon,  and  framing  a  new 
territory  north  of  the  Columbia,  by  the  name  of  Co 
lumbia  Territory,  which  resolution  was  adopted.  On 
the  8th  of  February,  1853,  the  house  proceeded  to  the 
consideration  of  the  bill  prepared  by  the  committee. 
The  bilrdid  not  confine  the  new  territory  to  the  lim 
its  described  in  the  memorial,  but  continued  the  line 
of  partition  from  a  point  near  Fort  Walla  Walla,  along 
the  46th  parallel,  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  making  a 
nearly  equal  division  of  the  whole  of  Oregon.  The 
arguments  used  by  Lane  in  favor  of  the  bill  were  the 
same  as  those  given  in  the  memorial,  with  the  addi 
tion  of  some  explanations  and  statements  more  effect 
ive  than  veracious,  but  which  may  have  been  necessary 
to  success;  as,  for  instance,  the  statement  that  the  pop 
ulation  of  the  proposed  territory  was  as  great  as  that 
of  the  whole  of  Oregon  at  the  time  of  its  organization 
into  a  territory,86  whereas  it  was  about  one  third. 

Stanton  of  Kentucky  moved  to  substitute  the 
name  of  Washington  for  that  of  Columbia,  to  which 
Lane  agreed,  notwithstanding  it  was  an  ill-advised 
change.  The  vote  of  the  house  was  taken  on  the 
10th,  the  bill  passing  by  a  majority  of  128  to  29. 
The  senate  passed  it  on  the  2d  of  March  without 
amendment,  the  president  signing  it  the  same  day.37 
Thus  painlessly  was  severed  from  the  real  Oregon 
that  northern  portion  over  which  statesmen  and  pio 
neers  had  at  one  time  so  hotly  contended  with  Great 
Britain. 

Information  of  this  act  did  not  reach  those  inter 
ested  until  near  the  last  of  April.  About  i/ne  middle 
of  May  it  became  known  that  I.  I.  Stevens  of  An- 

88  The  census  of  Washington,  taken  in  1853,  and  finished  in  Noy.,  fixed 
the  white  population  at  3,905.  Swan's  N.  W.  Coast,  401. 

37  House.  Jour.,  8,  210,  32cl  cong  2d  seas.;  Cong.  O'obe,  vol.  26,  555,  1020, 
32d  cong.  2d  sess. ;  Olympia.  Columbian,  April  23,  1853. 


62  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

dover,  Massachusetts,  had  been  appointed  governor, 
Edward  Lander  of  Indiana  chief  justice,  John  R. 
Miller  of  Ohio  and  Victor  Monroe  of  Kentucky 
associate  justices,  and  J.  S.  Clendenin,  of  Louisiana 
United  States  district  attorney.  Miller  falling  ill, 
Moses  Hoagland  of  Millersburg,  Ohio,  was  appointed 
in  his  place,  but  did  not  accept,  O.  B.  McFadden 
of  Oregon  being  subsequently  appointed  to  his 
district.  J.  Patten  Anderson  of  Mississippi  was 
appointed  United  States  marshal,  and  directed  to 
take  the  census.38  I.  N.  Ebey  was  appointed  col 
lector  of  Puget  Sound,  in  place  of  S.  P.  Moses,  re 
moved;39  and  not  long  afterward  A.  B.  Moses  was 
appointed  surveyor  of  the  port  of  Nisqually,  in  place 
of  Miller,  removed. 

The  marshal  was  the  first  of  the  federal  officers  to 
arrive,  reaching  Puget  Sound  early  in  July,  accom 
panied  by  his  family.  He  was  soon  followed  by 
Judge  Monroe,  and  in  September  by  Judge  Lander, 
C.  H.  Mason,  secretary  of  the  territory,  and  District 
Attorney  Clendenin  and  family.  Governor  Stevens 
did  not  reach  Olympia  until  about  the  last  of  Novem 
ber,  his  proclamation  organizing  the  government 
being  made  on  the  28th  of  that  month.  Before  pro 
ceeding  to  discuss  his  administration,  the  rapid 

88  According  to  the  census  completed  in  the  autumn  of  1853  by  the  mar 
shal,  the  several  counties  were  populated  as  follows: 

Name.  Population.  Voters. 

Island 195  80 

Jefferson 189  68 

King 170  111 

Pierce 513  276 

Thurston 996  381 

Pacific 152  61 

Lewis 616  239 

Clarke  1,134  4G6 

Total 3,9G5          1,082 

W.  T.  House  Jour.,  1854-5,  185;  Olympia  Columbian,  Nov.  26,  1853. 

39  Moses  was  accused  of  retaining  a  lady's  private  wardrobe,  of  shielding 
a  mutinous  crew,  and  conniving  at  smuggling  by  the  H.  B.  Co. 's  servants. 
Or.  Statesman,  Dec.  4,  1852.  None  of  the  charges  I  think  could  be  sustained; 
but  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  instituted  a  suit  against  him  for  $7,608.70, 
balance  due  the  United  States,  and  caused  his  indictment  as  a  defaulter.  Id., 
Jan.  17,  I860. 


ATTRACTING  IMMIGRANTS.  63 

changes  taking  place  in  the  territory  compel  a  brief 
review  of  its  progress  in  a  material  point  of  view. 

The  most  important  thing  to  be  done  for  a  new 
country  is  the  laying-out  and  improvement  of  roads. 
No  country  ever  suffered  more  from  the  absence  of 
good  roads  than  Oregon,  and  the  pioneers  of  the 
Puget  Sound  region  realized  fully  the  drawback  they 
had  to  contend  against  to  induce  immigrants  from 
the  border  states  to  come  to  the  shores  of  their  new 
Mediterranean  after  having  reached  the  settled  Valley 
Willamette.  The  only  way  in  which  they  could  hope 
to  secure  large  families  of  agricultural  people  and  nu 
merous  herds  of  cattle,  with  work-oxen  and  horses, 
was  to  have  a  road  over  the  Cascade  Mountains  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Columbia  as  good  as  the  one 
around  the  base  of  Mount  Hood  on  the  south  side. 
As  early  as  1850  it  was  determined  at  a  public  meet 
ing  to  make  the  effort  to  open  a  road  over  the 
mountains  and  down  the  Yakima  River  to  Fort 
Walla  Walla,  to  intersect  the  immigrant  road  from 
Grand  Kond.  A  sum  of  money  was  raised  among 
the  few  settlers,  and  a  company  of  young  men,  headed 
by  M.  T.  Simmons,  was  organized  to  hew  out  a  high 
way  for  the  passage  of  wagons  to  the  Sound.40 
Another  incentive  to  this  labor  was  the  alleged  dis 
covery  of  gold  on  the  Yakima  and  Spokane  rivers  by 
J.  L.  Parrish  and  W.  H.  Gray,  while  making  a  tour 
through  the  eastern  division  of  Oregon.  The  under 
taking  of  opening  a  road  through  the  dense  forests 
and  up  and  down  the  fearfully  steep  ridges  proved 
too  great  for  the  means  and  strength  of  Simmons' 
company,  and  only  served  to  fix  the  resolve  to  com 
plete  the  work  at  some  future  time. 

There  was,  previous  to  1852,  no  road  between 
Olympia  and  Tumwater,  or  between  Tuunwater  and 

"According  to  Gray,  Pierre  C.  Pambrun  of  Fort  Walla  Walla,  and 
Cornelius  Rogers,  first  explored  the  Nachess  pass  at  the  head  of  the  Yakima. 
Or.  Spectator,  May  12,  1849. 


64  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

Cowlitz  landing.  The  first  mail  contract  over  this 
route  was  let  July  11,  1851,  and  the  mail  carried  on 
horseback,  in  the  pockets  of  A.  B.  Rabbeson,41  Sim 
mons  being  postmaster  at  Olyrnpia,  and  Warbass  at 
the  Cowlitz,  or  Warbassport.  The  road  was  so  much 
improved  in  1852  that  a  mail-wagon  was  driven  over 
it  that  year,42  yet  with  great  difficulty,  being  avoided 
as  much  as  possible  by  passengers.43  In  1853  an 
express  line  was  established  over  the  route  by  John 
G.  Parker  and  Henry  D.  Colter  carrying  mail  and 
light  packages  on  horseback,44  nor  was  there  much 
improvement  in  this  route  for  another  two  or  three 
years. 

In  1853  it  was  again  resolved  to  open  the  road  for 

41  Rabbesoii's  Growth  of  Towns,  MS. ,  15. 

&Id.;   Puriet  Sound  Dir.,  1872. 

43  The  mail  carrier  in  1853  was  James  H.  Yantis,  son  of  B.  F.  Yantis  of 
Mound  Prairie,  who  died  August  7th  of  that  year.  Olympia  Columbian,  Au 
gust  13,  1853.  B.  F.  Yantis  was  a  Kentuckian,  born  March  19,  1807.  He 
removed  to  Mo.  in  1835,  and  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1852.  He  occupied  many 
positions  of  trust  in  Wash.,  and  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  and  legislator. 
After  the  creation  of  Idaho  territory  he  resided  there  for  some  time  and  served 
in  the  legislature,  but  finally  returned  to  Puget  Sound,  where  he  died  in  1879. 
Olym/iia  Standard,  Feb.  15,  1879. 

41  John  G.  Parker,  long  a  resident  of  Olympia,  and  later  capt.  of  the  steam 
boat  Messenger,  came  to  S.  F.  in  1851  as  messenger  for  Gregory  &  Co.,  and 
to  Puget  Sound  in  1853  as  an  agent  to  close  theaftairsof  a  trading-house  kept 
Ly  Wright  &  Colter  at  Olympia.  Finding  that  there  was  no  way  of  carry 
ing  money  between  Puget  Sound  and  S.  F.  except  by  lumber  vessels,  which 
were  irregular  and  often  went  to  the  S.  I.,  he  decided  to  remain  in  Wash.,  in 
view  of  which  lie  bought  out  the  interest  of  his  employers,  and  established 
Parker  &  Colter's  express,  carrying  the  mail  through  to  the  Cowlitz  in  a 
single  day  by  relays  of  horses,  a  distance  of  70  miles,  to  connect  with  Adams' 
express  at  Portland.  At  the  end  of  18  months  Colter  absconded  with  several 
thousand  dollars  belonging  to  the  firm,  which  put  an  end  to  the  first  express 
company.  The  second  express  enterprise  was  by  A.  B.  Stuart,  who  began 
business  in  1854,  followed  by  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.  in  Feb.  1856,  and  by 
Charles  E.  Williams  of  Olympia  in  April  1858,  who  continued  in  the  business 
for  10  years,  during  which  mail  facilities  were  greatly  increased  throughout 
the  territory.  The  first  passenger  line  to  the  Cowlitz,  to  connect  with  boats 
to  Portland,  was  started  in  Dec.  1854,  by  W.  B.  Goodell,  who  furnished 
passage  by  stage  or  ruling  horses  for  $10  from  Olympia  to  Warbassport.  The 
contract  for  carrying  the  mail  was  not  then  let  to  an  express  company.  Wrard 
&  Robinson  of  Olympia  had  the  contract  from  1854  to  1858,  when  Henry 
Winsor  took  it.  He  carried  passengers  to  and  from  Olympia  to  Rainier  on 
the  Columbia  for  $15;  by  wagon  to  Cowlitz  landing,  and  from  there  to  Monti- 
cello  either  by  canoe  or  horses  as  preferred.  The  canoe  was  used  a  good  deal 
until  about  18GS.  The  wagon-road  was  not  then,  nor  many  years  later,  a  good 
one,  but  in  summer  it  compensated  for  the  discomforts  of  the  ride  by  giving 
the  traveller  a  view  of  the  most  magnificent  fir  forest  in  the  world,  the  boles 
of  the  trees  towering  100  or  150  feet  without  a  limb;  while  100  feet  above, 
their  tapering  tops  seem  to  pierce  the  sky. 


A  NEW  ROAD.  65 

the  immigration  to  come  into  the  new  territory  over  the 
Cascade  Mountains.  A  general  meeting  of  citizens 
was  held  at  Olympia  May  14th  to  discuss  the  subject 
in  all  its  bearings,  when  G.  N.  McConaha,  Whitficlcl 
Kirtley,  Charles  Eaton,  John  Edgar,  and  E.  J.  Allen 
were  chosen  road-viewers  to  report  upon  the  practi 
cability  of  the  undertaking.45  At  the  end  of  three 
weeks  a  report  was  made  of  the  route  from  Olympia 
to  the  summit  of  the  Cascade  Range,  and  by  the 
middle  of  July  volunteers  were  at  work  upon  the  sur 
vey,  who  so  far  succeeded  in  their  design  as  to  cut  a 
way  by  which  thirty-five  wagons  reached  the  shores 
of  the  Sound  that  autumn/6  bringing  between  one  and 
two  hundred  men,  women,  and  children,  to  populate 
the  rich  valleys  of  White  and  Puyallup  rivers.47 

45  At  this  meeting  was  read  a  statement  furnished  by  Blanchet,  catholic 
bishop  of  Walla  WTalla  in  1847,  who  had  a  knowledge,  gained  from  the  Ind 
ians,  of  the  passes  of  the  mountains.     The  priests  were  in  the  habit  of  visiting 
the  Sound  with  the  Indians  for  guides. 

46  This  enterprise  will  receive  further  mention  hereafter.     The  men  who 
labored  for  it  were,  besides  those  before  mentioned,  George  Shazer,  B.  F. 
Yantis,  William  Pack  wood,  B.  F.  Shaw,  John  Alexander,  B.  Close,  A.  W. 
Moore,  E.  Sylvester,  James  Kurd,  and  W.  W.  Plumb.     The  men  who  worked 
upon  the  eastern  end  of  the  road  were  Whitfield  Kirtley,  Edwin  Marsh,  Nel 
son  Sargent,  Paul  Ruddcll,  Edward  Miller,  J.  W.  Fouts,  John  L.  Perkins, 
Isaac  M.  Brown,  James  Alverson,  Nathaniel  G.  Stewart,  William  Carpenter, 
E.  L.  Allen,  A.  C.  Burge,  Thomas  Dixon,  Ephraim  Allyn,  James  II.  Allyn, 
George  Cithers,  John  Walker,  John  H.  Mills,  R.  S.  More,  R.  Forman,  Ed. 
Crofts,  James  Boise,  Robert  Patterson,  Edward  Miller,   Edward  Wallace, 
Lewis  Wallace,  James  R.  Smith,  John  Barrow,  and  James  Meek. 

"Among  them  were  John  W.  Lane  and  wife,  Samuel  Ray,  William  Ray, 
Henry  Mitchell,  H.  Rockeuficld,  James  Barr,  J.  A.  Sperry,  William  Claflin, 
Evan  Watts,  J.  J.  Ragan,  William  McCreary,  G.  Miller,  John  Nelson,  J.  Lang- 
myre,  wife  and  5  children,  E.  A.  Light,  wife  and  child,  William  M.  Kincaid, 
wife  and  6  children,  Isaac  Woolery,  wife  and  4  children,  Abram  H.  Woolery, 
wife  and  3  children,  and  Peter  Judson,  wife  and  2  children,  composing  the 
first  train  of  47  persons.  This  train  had  62  work-oxen,  20  cows,  and  7 
mares.  There  were,  besides,  J.  W.  Woodward,  John  B.  Moyer,  Z.  Gotzan, 
Aaron  Rockenfield,  Norman  Kilborn,  Isaac  Lemmon,  R.  A.  Finnell,  William 
R.  Downey,  wife  and  children,  John  James  Downey  and  daughter,  Abiel  Mor 
rison,  Charlotte  his  wife,  and  family,  George  Haywood,  James  Bell,  John  Bell, 
W.  II.  Brannon  and  family,  John  Carson  and  wife,  Israel  Wright,  Byrd 
Wright,  Frank  Wright,  Van  Ogle,  and  Addison  S.  Persham,  most  of  whom 
crossed  by  the  Nachess  pass.  Many  of  them  had  families  and  friends  who  are 
not  named  here.  Other  immigrants  of  this  year  were  William  H.  Wallace, 
Elijah  E.  Baker,  David  C.  Forbes,  J.  H.  Cleale,  John  L.  Clarke,  Mason  Guess 
(married  Miss  Downey),  William  H.  Williams,  G.  F.  Whitworth  and  family, 
Mrs  Sarah  Thompson,  J.  Stillman,  Peter  Stiles  (died  in  1877,  aged  91  years), 
W.  B.  Sinclair  (marrried  a  daughter  of  J.  N.  Low),  J.  R.  Roundtree,  James 
H.  Roundtree,  William  Ryan,  A.  H.  Robie,  E.  G.Price,  W.  H.  Pearson,  Wil 
liam  Newton,  Mrs  Rebecca  Maddox  and  children  (Joseph,  Michael,  Stephen, 
HIST.  WASH. — 5 


66  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

John  Thomas  and  John  Nelson 4S  founded  the  White 
River  settlement.  Owing  to  the  peculiar  system  of 
drainage  of  these  rivers,  to  which  I  have  referred,  by 
which  the  same  stream  has  several  names,  it  is  neces 
sary  to  remark  in  this  place  that  White  River  settle 
ment  means  that  portion  of  the  common  valley  be 
tween  the  Dwamish  and  Black  sections.  Above  the 
junction  of  Black  and  White  rivers  is  what  is  known 
as  the  Slaughter  settlement,  which  was  founded  by 

C.  E.  King,  W.  H.  Brannan,  Joseph  Brannan,  Joseph 
Lake,  Donald  Lake,  H.  Meter,  E.  Cooper,  W.  A.  Cox, 

D.  A.  Neely,  M.  Kirkland,  and  S.  W.  Russell. 

The  Black  River  Valley  was  settled  in  1854  by 
O.  M.  Eaton,  H.  H.  Tobin,  and  Mr  Fanjoy,  who 
built  a  saw-mill  at  the  entrance  of  Cedar  River,49 
which  was  burned  by  Indians  the  following  year. 
William  N.  Kincaid 50  settled  in  the  Puyallup 61  Valley, 
together  with  Isaac  Woolery,  A.  H.  Woolery,  W. 
Boatman,  J.  H.  Bell,  T.  R.  Wright,  I.  H.  Wright, 
G.  Hayward,  A.  Benson,  I.  McCarty,  I.  Lemmon, 
Thomas  Owen,  Daniel  Lane,  Thomas.  Hadley,  II. 
Whitesell,  R.  More,  R.  Nix,  A.  S.  Persham,  and  D. 
Warner.  A  settlement  had  been  commenced  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Puyallup  River  in  the  spring  of  1852, 

and  2  others),  J.  Mowerman,  wife  and  children,  H.  Meter,  Christopher  Ken 
nedy,  Franklin  Kennedy,  W.  Krice,  B.  F.  Kendall,  James  Kymes,  Joel 
Knight,  Michael  Luark  and  family,  Joseph  Lake,  Donald  Lake,  Lenark,  J.  B. 
Ladee,  Lambert,  William  Lane  and  family,  Henry  Ivens,  Tyrus  Himes,  James 
Biles,  Martin  V.  Harper,  Baily  Gatzert,  Alonzo  B.  Dillenbaugh,  J.  C. 
Davis,  Perry  Dunfiold,  Simeon  Cooper,  E.  Cooper,  John  Dickenson,  W.  C. 
Briggs,  Joseph  N.  Baker,  John  E.  Burns,  Rev.  C.  Biles  and  family,  P.  Ahern, 
H.  Patterson,  M.  Kirkland,  and  W.  A.  Cox. 

48  Nelson  was  a  native  of  Norway.     The  Seattle  Intelligencer,  in  Olympia 
Transcript  of  Feb.  1,  1873,  states  that  Nelson  settled  first  on  White  River 
in  1852.     If  so,  he  did  not  come  with  the  immigration  named  above,  though 
he  is  set  down  as  one  of  them  in  the  Olympia  Columbian,  Oct.  15,  1853,  a 
good  authority. 

49  None  of  these  men  were  living  in  1857.     Tobin  died  and  his  widow  mar 
ried  E.  M.  Smithers,  who  had  settled  between  Smith's  Cove  and  Salmon  Bay, 
but  who  went  to  reside  on  the  Tobin  place  after  his  marriage  with  Mrs  Tobin. 
Eaton  and  Fanjoy  were  murdered  by  the  Indians  while  en  route  to  the  Colville 
mines  in  1855.  Morsel  Wash.  Ter.,  ii.,  MS.  8-10. 

60Kincaid  died  in  Feb.  1870,  at  his  home  in  the  Puyallup  Valley,  aged  75 
years.  Seattle  Intelligencer,  Feb.  2,  1870. 

61  Puyallup  signifies,  in  the  Indian  tongue,  shadow,  from  the  dense  shade 
of  its  forest.  Evam'  Puyallup  Address,  in  New  Tacoma  Ledger,  July  9,  1880. 


PROGRESS  OF  SETTLEMENT.  67 

•when  Nicholas  Delin  took  a  claim  at  the  head  of  Com 
mencement  Bay,  just  east  of  the  present  town  site 
of  New  Tacoma.52  In  October  Peter  Judson  of  the 
immigration  settled  on  the  town  site,  which  had  been 
previously  taken  and  abandoned  by  Jacob  Barnhart. 
James  Biles  settled  at  Tumwater.  Tyrus  Himes 53 
took  a  claim  six  miles  east  of  Olympia.  James  Allen 
settled  in  Thurston  county.54  John  L.  Clarke  and  J. 
H.  Cleale 55  took  up  their  residence  in  Olympia.  Most 
of  the  immigration  chose  claims  in  the  fall  of  1853. 
Those  who  followed  the  next  year  also  immediately 
selected  land,  these  two  immigrations  being  the  last 

'  O  O 

that  were  permitted  to  take  donation  claims.  The 
Indian  war  of  1855-6,  and  the  insecurity  of  life  in  iso 
lated  settlements  for  a  number  of  years,  caused  the 
abandonment  of  the  greater  part  of  the  farms  just 
opened,  and  it  was  not  until  1859  that  settlement  was 
reestablished  in  the  valleys  where  the  first  direct  over 
land  immigration  made  their  choice.56 

Owing  to  the  many  hinderances  to  growth  which 

52  It  was  taken  for  a  mill  site,  and  in  1853  M.  T.  Simmons  and  Smith  Hays 
went  in  partnership  with  Delin  to  put  up  two  saw-mills,  one  on  his  claim  and 
one  on  Skookum  Bay.     One  mill  was  completed  that  spring,  and  two  cargoes 
of  lumber  shipped  on  the  George  Emory,  Captain  Alden  Y.  Trask,  but  that 
was  all.     The  site  was  unfavorable,  the  lumber  having  to  be  rafted  a  mile  to 
the  vessel. 

53  These  two  worthy  pioneers  were  united  by  more  than  the  usual  bonds 
of  fellowship  in  trials,  Himes  having  been  rescued  from  short  rations  for 
himself  and  family  of  wife  and  four  children,  at  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
brought  through  to  Puget  Sound  by  the  warm-hearted  Kentuckian  who  led 
the  first  train  through  the  Nachess  pass.     Himes  was  born  in  Troy,  Pa,  April 
14,  1818.      He  married,  in  May  1843,   Emmeline  Holcomb  of  Le  Roy,  Pa. 
After  making  several  removes,  he  settled  in  Lafayette,  111.,  where  he  was  in 
comfortable  circumstances,  when  he  was  seized  with  the  Oregon  fever,  and 
started  for  Polk  co. ;  but  having  miscalculated  the  requirements  of  the  jour 
ney,  and  being  thrown  upon  the  hospitality  of  Mr.  Biles,  he  was  led  to  Wash 
ington.    He  died  in  April  1879,  at  his  home  in  Thurston  co.    George  H.  Himes, 
job  printer  of  Portland,  Or.,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Tyrus  Himes.  Evans,  in 
Trans.  Or.  Pioneer  Asso.,  1879,  49-53. 

84  Allen  was  born  in  Pa,  Nov.  3,  1798,  and  removed  while  young  to  Ohio. 
He  married  in  1815,  and  lost  his  wife  in  1836,  after  which  he  remained  un 
married,  accompanying  his  children  to  Puget  Sound  in  1853,  and  residing 
there  until  his  death  in  1S68.  Olympia  Transcript,  Nov.  2,  1868. 

"Clarke  and  Cleale  both  died  in  1873.  Olympia  Courier,  Oct.  4,  1873; 
Olympia  Transcript,  May  17,  1873. 

56  Evans  says  that  4rthur  Miller  returned  to  the  Puyallup  in  1859,  fol 
lowed  in  1860  by  J.  V.  MeelFer,  and  in  1861  by  a  sufficient  number  of  families 
to  justify  the  establishment  of  a  post-office,  of  which  J.  P.  Stewart  was  post 
master  for  12  years.  New  Tacoma  Ledijer,  July  9,  1880. 


68  POLITICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  territory  encountered,  and  which  I  shall  attempt 
to  set  forth  in  this  volume,  the  Pioneer  Association 
of  Washington57  set  its  limit  of  pioneer  settle 
ment  at  1860,  at  about  which  time  these  difficulties 
began  finally  to  disappear.  It  will  be  observed  that 
there  were  no  large  annual  accessions  to  this  territory 
as  there  had  been  south  of  the  Columbia,  and  that 
although  it  commenced  its  existence  after  the  other  had 
conquered  many  obstacles,  and  with  seemingly  superior 
advantages,  its  situation  proved  unfavorable  to  rapid 
development. 

In  November  1853  a  steam-packet,  the  Fairy,  was 
placed  upon  the  Sound  by  her  owner  and  master,  D. 
J.  Gove,  to  ply  between  the  settlements;63  and  the 
first  of  a  line  of  clipper-built  lumbermen,  the  Live 
Yankee,  for  the  trade  between  the  Sound  and  San 
Francisco,  was  being  constructed  at  Bath,  Maine, 
during  the  summer,  while  a  constantly  increasing  fleet 
of  American  vessels  visited  these  waters.  Schools 
had  been  opened  in  several  neighborhoods,  but  for  ob 
vious  reasons  there  was  no  system  of  education  estab 
lished.  Of  ministers  there  were  enough,  but  not 
much  church-going,  and  as  yet  no  churches  nor  sec 
tarian  institutions  of  any  kind  except  the  catholic  Ind 
ian  mission  near  Olympia.  But  with  a  population  of 

57  In  Jan.  1871  a  meeting  was  called  at  Columbia  Hall,  in  Olympia,  for 
the  purpose  of  perfecting  the  organization  of  a  pioneer  association,  the  call 
being  signed  by  67  names  of  residents  from  a  period  antedating  1860.  The 
committee  on  constitution  and  by-laws,  consisting  of  Joseph  Cushman, 
Elwood  Evans,  E.  T.  Gunn,  Benjamin  Earned,  Levi  Shelton,  S.  Coulter, 
W.  W.  Miller,  and  0.  B.  McFadden,  reported  Feb.  15th.  The  requisition  for 
membership  was  a  residence  in  the  territory  previous  to  Jan.  1,  1860,  or  oil 
the  Pacific  coast  prior  to  Jan.  1,  1855.  Olympia  Transcript,  Feb.  18,  1871. 
David  Phillips,  first  president  of  the  society,  died  in  March  1872.  Seattle  In 
telligencer,  March  11,  1872.  A  call  similar  to  the  first  was  made  at  Van 
couver  in  October  1874,  signed  by  Joseph  Petrain,  M.  R.  Hathaway,  A.  M. 
Andrew,  John  Proebstel,  R.  D.  Fales,  David  Wall,  William  H.  Traut,  B. 
F.  Preston,  Guy  Hayden,  S.  P.  McDonald,  H.  L.  Caples,  John  F.  Smith,  G. 
H.  Steward,  and  S.  B.  Curtis.  F.  W.  Bier,  S.  P.  McDonald,  and  G.  T.  Mc- 
Connell  were  appointed  a  committee  on  constitution  and  by-laws.  This  society 
sought  to  limit  the  pioneer  period  to  Jan.  1,  1856,  the  Columbia  River  section 
of  the  territory  being  a  much  older  settlement  than  Puget  Sound.  By  the 
same  rule,  the  pioneers  of  eastern  Washington  should  be  allowed  until  1865 
or  1868.  Vancouver  Register,  Aug.  7,  1874,  Oct.  9,  1874. 

68  Olympia  Columbian,  Nov.  4,  1853.  Rabbeson  afterward  owned  the  Fairy. 
She  was  blown  up  in  Oct.  1857,  at  Olympia. 


PROSPECTS.  69 

less  than  4,000,  not  quite  1,700  of  whom  were  voters, 
the  ambitious  young  commonwealth  was  already  talk 
ing  of  a  railroad  from  the  Skookum  Chuck  coal-fields, 
discovered  in  1850,  to  Olympia,  and  J.  W.  Trutch 
was  engaged  in  surveying  a  route  ^  in  the  autumn  of 
1853.  In  this  chaotic  but  hopeful  condition  was  the 
new  territory  of  Washington,  when  on  the  26th  of 
November,  1853,  Governor  I.  I.  Stevens  arrived  at 
Olympia  to  set  in  motion  the  wheels  of  government. 

69  Olympia,  Columbian,  Oct.  2  and  16,  1853. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 
1853-1855. 

GOVERNOR  ISAAC  INGALLS  STEVENS — His  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER — RAILROAD 
SURVEYS — POLITICAL  PARTIES — ELECTION — FIRST  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEM 
BLY — ITS  PERSONNEL  AND  ACTS — EARLY  NEWSPAPERS — COUNTY  ORGAN 
IZATIONS — FEDERAL  COURTS — LAND  CLAIMS  AND  LAND  TITLES — ROADS, 
MAILS,  AND  EXPRESS  COMPANIES — SAN  JUAN  ISLAND — INDIAN  TROUBLES 
— TREATIES  AND  RESERVATIONS — STEVENS  IN  EASTERN  WASHINGTON. 

ISAAC  INGALLS  STEVENS,  the  man  who  had  been  sent 
to  organize  the  government  of  Washington,  was  one 
fitted  by  nature  and  education  to  impress  himself 
upon  the  history  of  the  country  in  a  remarkable  de 
gree.  He  was  born  at  Andover,  Massachusetts,  and 
educated  in  the  military  school  of  West  Point,  from 
which  he  graduated,  in  1839,  with  the  highest  honors. 
He  had  charge  for  a  few  years  of  fortifications  on  the 
New  England  coast.  He  had  been  on  the  staff  of 
General  Scott  in  Mexico,  and  for  four  years  previous 
to  his  appointment  as  governor  of  Washington  had 
been  an  assistant  of  Professor  Bache  on  the  coast 
survey,  which  gave  him  the  further  training  which 
was  to  make  his  name  prominent  in  connection  with 
the  survey  for  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad — the  his 
toric  road  of  the  continent — the  idea  of  which  had  for 
thirty  years  been  developing  in  connection  with  the 
Columbia  River  and  a  route  to  China. 

Congress  having  at  length  authorized  the  survey 
of  this  and  other  routes  to  the  Pacific,  Stevens  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  northern  line,  whose  terminus, 
by  the  progress  of  discovery  and  events,  was  now 

(70) 


GOVERNOR  AND  POLITICS.  71 

fixed  at  Puget  Sound.  He  was  to  proceed  from  the 
head  waters  of  the  Mississippi  to  this  inlet  of  the  Pa 
cific,  and  report  not  only  upon  the  route,  but  upon  the 
Indian  tribes  along  it,  with  whom  he  was  to  establish 
friendly  relations,  and,  when  practicable,  to  treat. 
The  manner  in  which  the  survey  was  conducted  is 
spoken  of  in  another  portion  of  my  work,  and  I  pro 
ceed  here  with  the  narration  of  territorial  affairs.1 
The  day  appointed  by  Governor  Stevens  for  electing 
a  delegate  to  congress  and  members  of  a  council  and 
house  of  representatives  was  the  30th  of  January,  1854, 
the  members  chosen  to  convene  at  Olympia  February 
27th  following.  In  the  time  intervening,  two  political 
parties  organized  and  enacted  the  usual  contest  over 
their  candidates.  The  democratic  candidate  for  dele 
gate  to  congress,  Columbia  Lancaster,  is  not  unknown 
to  the  reader.  He  had  served  the  county  of  Lewis 
in  the  council  of  the  Oregon  legislature,  if  service  it 
could  be  called,  in  which  he  did  nothing  but  cover  him 
self  with  ridicule.  His  whig  opponent  was  William 
H.  Wallace,2  and  the  independent  candidate  M.  L.  Sim- 

1  The  officers  appointed  to  assist  Stevens  in  the  survey  of  a  railroad  route 
were  W.  T.  Gardiner,  capt.  1st  dragoons;  George  B.  McClellan,  brev.  capt., 
assigned  to  duty  as  capt.  of  eng. ;  Johnson  K.  Duncan,  2d  lieut  3d  art.;  Rufus 
Sax  ton,  Jr,  2d  lieut  4th  art.;   Cuvier  Grover  (brother  of  L.  F.  Grover  of 
Oregon),  2d  lieut  5th  art.;  A.  J.  Donelson,  2d  lieut  corps  of  engineers;  John 
Mullan,  Jr,  brev.  2d  lieut  1st  art.;   George  F.  Suckley  and  J.  G.  Cooper, 
surgeons  and  naturalists;  John  Evans,  geologist;  J.  M.  Stanley,  artist  (the 
same  who  was  in  Oregon  in  1847-8);  G.  W.  Stevens  and  A.  Remenyi,  astron 
omers;  A.  W.  Tinkham  and  F.  W.  Lander  (brother  of  Judge  Lander),  civil 
engineers;  John   Lambert,   draughtsman.    Washington  (City)  Republic,   May 
7,  1853.     The  survey  was  to  be  commenced  from  both  ends  of  the  route,  to 
meet  somewhere  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.     McClellan,  who  had  charge 
of  the  west  end  of  the  line,  arrived  in  S.  F.  in  June  1853,  and  proceeded  to 
explore  the  Cascade  Range  for  passes  leading  to  Puget  Sound,  starting  from 
Vancouver,  and  dividing  his  party  so  as  to  make  a  reconnoissance  on  both 
sides  of  the  range  the  same  season.     The  narratives  of  these  surveys  contained 
in  the  Pacific  R.  R.  reports  are  interesting.     Several  persons  connected  with 
the  expeditions  remained  on  the  Pacific  coast;  others  have  since  revisited 
it  in  an  official  capacity,  and  a  few  who  are  not  mentioned  here  will  be  men 
tioned  in  connection  with  subsequent  events. 

2  Wallace  was  born  in  Miami  county,  Ohio,  July  17,  1811,  whence  he  re 
moved  when  a  child  to  Indiana,  and  in  1839  to  Iowa,  where  he  served  in  both 
branches  of  the  legislature.     He  was  appointed  receiver  of  public  moneys  at 
Fairfield,  Iowa,  holding  the  office  until  Pierce's  administration,  when  he  re 
moved  to  Washington,  in  1853.     His  subsequent  career  will  be  given  here 
after.     His  death  occurred  Feb.  8,  1879.  Olympia  Standard,  Feb.  15,  1879; 
New  Tacoma  Herald,  Feb  14,  1879. 


72  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

mons,  who,  notwithstanding  his  popularity  as  a  man 
and  a  democrat,  received  only  eighteen  votes.3  Wal 
lace  received  500,  and  Lancaster  690.  Democracy 
was  strong  on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia,  as  it 
was  on  the  south,  but  it  had  not  yet  assumed  the  same 
dictatorial  tone,4  and  Lancaster,  who  had  affiliated 
with  the  whigs  in  1851  in  Oregon,  was  a  thorough 
enough  democrat  in  1853.5  He  had  a  talent  for  hu 
morous  story-telling,  which  in  debate  often  goes  as  far 
as  argument  or  forensic  eloquence  before  a  promiscu 
ous  assemblage.  The  unsuccessful  candidates  were 
John  M.  Hayden,6  surgeon  at  Fort  Steilacoom,  F.  A. 

s  Simmons'  influence  naturally  declined  when  he  was  put  in  comparison 
and  competition  with  men  of  different  degrees  of  education,  and  he  felt  the 
embarrassment  and  humiliation  of  it  keenly.  To  it  he  ascribed  the  loss  of  his 
property,  which  occurred  later.  Although  a  man  of  large  frame  and  good 
constitution,  he  died  at  the  age  of  53  years,  Nov.  15,  1867.  He  was  buried 
with  imposing  ceremonies  by  the  masonic  order,  of  which  he  was  a  member, 
having  subscribed  liberally  toward  the  erection  of  a  masonic  hall  at  Olympia 
in  1854.  Olympia  Standard,  Nov.  23,  1867. 

*  Joseph  Cushman  was  appointed  by  a  democratic  legislature  first  probate 
judge  of  Thurston  co.  He  was  born  at  Middlebury,  Mass.,  March  13,  1807, 
and  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Robert  Cushman  of  the  Mayflower  company, 
had  a  good  home  education  and  a  Boston  business  training,  hence  was  a  val 
uable  man  in  any  community,  besides  being  an  orator  of  ability,  and  ready 
writer.  He  went  to  South  America  in  1849,  and  after  a  brief  stay  iii  Valpa 
raiso,  came  to  California,  and  engaged  in  jobbing  goods  on  the  Sacramento 
River.  Making  the  acquaintance  of  Samuel  Merritt,  owner  of  the  brig  O. 
W.  Kendall,  he  took  charge  of  Merritt's  business,  established  in  Olympia  in 
1852,  Merritt  running  a  fine  of  vessels,  and  having  a  trading-house  at  that 
place.  In  1857  Cushman  was  admitted  to  practice  as  an  attorney,  and  suc 
cessfully  defended  Luther  M.  Collins,  who  was  charged  with  murder  in  con 
nection  with  the  execution  of  an  Indian  outlaw.  In  1855  he  was  nominated 
by  the  free-soil  party  for  delegate  to  congress,  but  was  beaten  by  J.  P.  An 
derson,  democrat.  In  the  Indian  war  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Eaton's 
company  of  rangers,  and  was  one  of  the  party  besieged  on  Lemmon's  land  in 
the  Puyallup  Valley,  remaining  in  the  service  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
was  president  of  the  first  board  of  trustees  for  Olympia  in  1869.  In  1861  he 
was  appointed  by  President  Lincoln  receiver  of  public  moneys  in  connection 
with  the  land-office,  which  appointment  he  held  until  1870.  His  name  is  in 
corporated  with  the  history  of  the  capital  of  Washington  particularly,  and 
with  the  country  in  general.  He  died  Feb.  29,  1872.  Olympia  Echo,  March 
7,  1872;  Olympia  Standard,  March  2,  1872. 

5  P.  W.  Crawford  relates  how  by  a  little  sharp  practice  he  procured  the 
nomination  in  convention  of  his  friend  Lancaster,  who  lived  on  or  near  the 
Columbia,  against  the  candidates  of  the  Sound  district,  by  dividing  the  votes 
against  him,  and  as  they  failed,  gathering  them  in  solid  for  the  remaining 
candidate.   Narr.,  MS.,  267. 

6  Hayden  was  strongly  supported  by  Pierce  co. ,  having  resided  at  the  fort 
ever  since  its  establishment,  practising  his  profession  also  outside  the  military 
reservation.     Being  recalled  to  the  east  in  1854,  companies  A  and  C,  4th  in 
fantry,  presented  him  a  flattering  farewell  address,  published  in  Olympia 
Pioneer  and  Dem.,  Jan.  21,  1854. 


THE  LEGISLATURE.  73 

Chenoweth,  Judge   Strong,  Gilmore   Hays,7  and  W. 
H.  Wallace. 

In  the  legislature,  which  organized  by  choosing 
G.  N.  McConaha 8  president  of  the  council,  and  F.  A. 
Chenoweth  speaker  of  the  lower  house,  there  was  a 
democratic  majority  of  one  in  the  council 9  and  six  in 

7  Gilmore  Hays  was  a  native  of  Ky,  but  resided  in  Mo.,  where  lie  was  dis 
trict  judge,  when  the  gold  discovery  drew  him  to  Cal.  Returning  to  Mo.,  he 
led  a  train  of  immigrants  to  Oregon  in  1852,  and  in  1853  settled  on  Des 
Chutes  River  near  the  head  of  Btidd  Inlet.  The  year  1852  was  the  time  of 
the  cholera  on  the  plains,  and  Hays  lost  his  wife  and  two  children,  who  were 
buried  near  Salmon  Falls  of  Snake  River,  together  with  the  wife  of  B.  F. 
Yantis.  There  remained  to  him  three  sons,  James  H.,  Charles,  and  Robert, 
and  one  daughter,  who  married  J.  G.  Parker,  all  of  whom  reside  in  Olympia. 
In  the  same  company  were  John  P.  and  Isaac  Hays,  his  brothers,  N.  Ostran- 
der,  Hilary  Butler,  James  Scott,  and  their  families,  Thomas  Prather,  George 
Fry,  and  others.  When  the  Indian  war  threatened,  he  was  first  to  volunteer, 
his  was  the  first  company  raised,  and  throughout  he  was  of  much  service  to 
the  territory.  After  the  termination  of  the  war,  he  returned  to  Mo.,  but  in 
1863  removed  to  Idaho,  and  was  useful  to  the  supt  of  Ind.  affairs  for  Washing 
ton  in  arranging  treaties  with  the  natives.  Failing  health  caused  him  to 
return  to  Puget  Sound,  where  he  died  October  10,  1880.  Olympia  Transcript, 
Oct.  30,  1880;  Objmpia  Standard,  Oct.  29.  1880:  Olympia  Courier,  Oct.  29, 
1880. 

8 McConaha  was  drowned,  in  company  with  P.  B.  Barstow,  in  the  Sound, 
on  the  23d  of  May,  1854.  His  widow,  Ursula,  had  a  series  of  other  losses 
and  misfortunes.  An  8-year  old  daughter  was  burned  to  death  in  March 
1858,  a  son  was  killed  by  a  vicious  horse,  and  another  son  terribly  maimed 
by  an  accident.  In  August  1859  she  married  L.  V.  Wyckoff  of  Seattle. 

9  The  first  legislative  assembly  was  composed  of  nine  councilmen,  as  follows: 
Clarke  county,  Daniel  F.  Bradford  and  William  H.  Tappan;  Island  and  Jeffer 
son,  William  T.  Say  ward;  Lewis  and  Pacific,  Seth  Catlin  and  Henry  Miles; 
Pierce  and  King,  Lafayette  V.  Balch  and  G.  N.  McConaha;  Thurston,  D.  R. 
Bigelow  and  B.  F.  Yantis.  H.  M.  Frost  of  Pierce  was  elected  chief  clerk,  and 
U.  E.  Hicks  of  Thurston  assistant  clerk.  Hicks  was  county  clerk  of  Thurston. 
He  figured  a  good  deal  in  politics,  served  in  the  Indian  war  of  1855-6,  and 
afterward  edited  one  or  more  newspapers.  He  emigrated  to  Washington  from 
Mo.  in  1850,  with  his  young  wife,  who  died  Nov.  16,  1853,  aged  '21  years. 
He  married,  Jan.  21,  1855,  India  Ann  Hartsock.  Frost  served  but  a  part  of 
the  term,  and  resigned,  when  Elwood  Evans  was  elected  and  served  from 
March  8th  to  May  1st.  J.  L.  Mitchell  of  Lewis  was  elected  sergeant-at-arms, 
and  W.  G.  Osborn  of  Thurston  door-keeper.  The  council  being  divided  into 
three  classes  by  lot.  D.  R.  Bigelow,  Seth  Catlin,  and  W.  H.  Tappan  drew 
the  three-years  term;  B.  F.  Yantis,  Henry  Miles,  and  G.  N.  McConaha,  the 
two-years  term;  W.  T.  Sayward,  D.  F.  Bradford,  and  L.  Balch,  the  one-year 
term.  The  house  of  representatives  consisted  of  seventeen  members,  one 
from  Island  county,  S.  1).  Howe  (whig);  five  from  Clarke,  J.  D.  Biles,  F.  A. 
Chenoweth,  A.  J.  Bolan,  Henry  R.  Crosbie,  and  A.  Lee  Lewis  (whig);  one 
from  Lewis,  H.  D.  Huntington  (whig) — John  R.  Jackson  and  F.  A.  Clarke 
received  the  same  number  of  votes,  and  the  second  member  from  Lewis  was 
not  elected;  one  from  Jefferson,  D.  F.  Brownfield;  one  from  King,  A.  A. 
Denny  (whig);  three  from  Pierce,  L.  F.  Thompson,  John  M.  Chapman,  and 
H.  C.  Moseley;  four  from  Thurston,  Leonard  D.  Durgin,  David  Shclton,  Ira 
Ward  (whig),  and  C.  H.  Hale  (whig);  one  from  Pacific,  Jehu  Scudder,  who 
died  before  the  legislature  convened.  Scudder  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in 
Pacific  county,  and  was  much  regretted.  A  singular  fatality  attended  the 


74  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

the  house  of  representatives;  but  there  was  no  undue 
exhibition  of  partisan  zeal,  nor  any  occasion  for  it, 
the  assembly  being  impressed  with  the  importance  of 
the  public  duties  which  had  been  assigned  to  them. 
The  organization  being  completed  on  the  28th,  Gov 
ernor  Stevens  was  invited  to  communicate  to  the 
legislature  a  message,  in  which  he  made  certain  state 
ments  which  will  not  be  out  of  place  here  as  an 
introduction  to  his  administration  and  the  history  of 
the  territory. 

After  a  just  encomium  upon  the  country  and  its 
natural  advantages  for  commerce,  he  reminded  them 
that  as  the  Indian  title  to  lands  had  not  been  extin 
guished,  nor  a  law  passed  for  its  extinguishment, 
titles  could  not  be  secured  under  the  land  law  of 
congress,  and  the  public  surveys  were  languidly  con 
ducted.  He  spoke  of  the  importance  of  a  road  to 
Walla  Walla,  another  to  the  Columbia,  and  one  along 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  Sound  to  Bellingham  Bay, 
and  advised  them  to  memorialize  congress  on  the 
urgent  necessity  for  these  roads,  to  prevent  suffering 
and  loss  to  the  immigrations.  He  counselled  them 
to  ask  for  a  surveyor-general  of  the  territory,  and 
that  liberal  appropriations  might  be  made  for  the 
surveyors,  that  they  might  keep  in  advance  of  the 
settlements.  He  proposed  to  request  an  amendment 
to  the  land  law  making  it  possible  to  acquire  title  by 
the  payment  of  the  minimum  valuation,  by  a  resi 
dence  of  one  year,  or  by  improvements  equal  to  the 
minimum  valuation,  and  that  single  women  should 
be  placed  on  the  same  footing  with  married  women. 
He  recommended  the  early  settlement  of  the  boundary 

representatives  from  Pacific.  In  the  first  instance,  J.  L.  Brown  was  nom 
inated,  and  died  before  the  election.  His  successor,  Scudder,  who  was  nom 
inated  after  his  death  and  elected,  did  not  live  to  take  his  seat.  Henry  Feister 
was  then  chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy,  but  died  of  apoplexy  on  the  evening  of 
the  day  on  which  he  was  sworn  in.  Feister  also  left  a  family.  Another 
election  being  ordered,  James  C.  Strong  was  chosen,  and  took  his  seat  April 
14,  1854.  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  April  15,  1S">4.  B.  F.  Kendall  was 
elected  chief  clerk,  and  J.  Phillips  assistant  clerk,  of  the  lower  house;  Jacob 
Smith  of  Whidbey  Island  sergeant-at-arms;  and  J.  H.  Roundtree  door-keeper. 
Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  March  4,  1854. 


MESSAGE  OF  GOVERNOR  STEVENS.          75 

line  between  Washington  and  the  British  territory 
on  the  north,  and  that  congress  should  be  memorial 
ized  on  this  subject,  and  on  the  importance  of  contin 
uing  the  geographical  and  geological  surveys  already 
commenced.  He  made  the  usual  prophetic  remarks 
on  the  Pacific  railroads,10  referred  to  the  inefficient 
mail  service,  of  which  I  have  spoken  at  length  in  the 
history  of  Oregon,  gave  same  advice  concerning  the 
preparation  of  a  code  of  laws,  and  adverted  to  the  im 
portance  of  organizing  new  counties  east  of  the  Cas 
cade  Range,  and  readjusting  the  boundaries  of  some 
of  the  older  ones. 

In  referring  to  the  position  occupied  by  the  Hud 
son's  Bay  and  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  companies, 
the  governor  declared  them  to  have  certain  rights 
granted  to  them,  and  lands  confirmed  to  them,  but 
that  the  vague  nature  of  their  limits  must  lead  to 
disputes  concerning  their  possessions,  and  recom 
mended  that  congress  should  be  memorialized  to 
extinguish  their  title.  As  to  the  right  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  trade  with  the  Indians, 
that  he  said  was  no  longer  allowed,  and  under  instruc 
tions  from  the  secretary  of  state  he  had  already 
informed  the  company  that  they  would  be  given  until 
July  to  wind  up  their  affairs,  after  which  time  the 
laws  regulating  intercourse  with  the  Indians  would 
be  rigidly  enforced. 

He  recommended  a  special  commission  to  report  on 
a  school  system,  and  that  congress  should  be  asked  to 
appropriate  land  for  a  university;  also  that  some  mili 
tary  training  should  be  included  in  the  curriculum  of 
the  higher  schools.  An  efficient  militia  system  was 
declared  to  be  necessary  in  a  distant  territory,  which 

19 '  In  my  judgment,  with  such  aid  as  the  government  can  rightfully  furnish 
as  a  proprietor  in  making  surveys  and  granting  lands,  the  energies  of  our 
people  are  adequate  to  building  not  simply  one,  but  three  or  four  roads.  Our 
commerce  doubles  in  7  years,  our  railroads  in  4  or  5  years,  and  we  have  reason 
to  believe  that  for  some  years  to  come  this  rate  of  increase  will  be  accelerated. 
...  I  am  firmly  of  opinion,  however,  that  these  great  undertakings  should 
be  controlled  and  consummated  by  the  people  themselves,  and  that  every 
project  of  a  government  road  should  be  discountenanced. '  Wash.  Jour.  Council, 
1854,  14. 


76  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

must  in  case  of  war  be  compelled  for  a  time  to  rely 
upon  itself;  and  this  he  thought,  with  the  arms  and 
ammunition  to  which  the  territory  would  be  entitled 
under  the  laws  of  congress,  would  enable  it  to  protect 
itself  from  any  foreign  invader.11  Such  is  a  brief 
abstract  of  the  first  message  of  the  first  governor  of 
Washington,  which  is  an  epitome  also  of  the  condition, 
needs,  and  prospects  of  the  new  commonwealth. 
Most  of  the  suggestions  made  by  the  governor  were 
carried  out  in  some  form. 

Immediately  after  organization,  the  house  adopted 
for  the  territorial  seal  a  device  furnished  by  Lieutenant 
J.  EL.  Duncan  of  Stevens'  surveying  expedition.12 


SEAL. 

The  first  bill  passed  was  on  the  1st  of  March,  an  act 
providing  for  a  board  of  commissioners  to  prepare  a 
code  of  laws  for  the  territory;  the  board  appointed 
consisting  of  judges  Edward  Lander,  Victor  Monroe, 
and  William  Strong,  who  adopted  as  many  of  the 

11  Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1854,  10-18. 

12  On  one  side,  a  log  cabin  and  an  immigrant  wagon,  with  a  fir  forest  in  the 
background;  on  the  other,  a  sheet  of  water  being  traversed  by  a  steamer  and 
sailing-vessels;  a  city  in  perspective;  the  goddess  of  hope  and  an  anchor  in 
the  centre,  the  figure  pointing  above  to  the  significant  Indian  word  'Alki' — by 
and  by.   Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  Feb.  25,  1854;   Wash.  Jour.  Houue, 
1854,  14. 


COUNTIES.  77 

laws  of  Oregon  as  they  found  practicable,  and  other 
suitable  ones  from  other  codes,13  the  laws  originated 

'  O 

by  the  legislature  being  chiefly  local. 

The  counties  of  Sawamish,14  Whatcom,15  Clallam, 
Chehalis,  Cowlitz,  Wahkiakum,  Ska-mania,  and  Walla 
Walla16  were  created,  the  latter  with  the  county  seat 
"on  the  land  claim  of  Lloyd  Brooks,"  now  the  site  of 
the  city  of  Walla  Walla.  The  county  seat  of  Clarke 
county  was  fixed  at  Vancouver,17  "on  the  east  side 

13  Strong's  Hist.  Or.,  MS.,  62.     J.  W.  Wiley  of  tine  Pioneer  and  Democrat, 
a  new  name  for  the  Columbian,  was  elected  territorial  printer  by  the  legisla 
ture,  but  A.  M.  Berry,  Wiley's  partner,  was  appointed  to  superintend  the  print 
ing  of  the  laws  in  the  east.     He  died  of  malignant  small-pox  soon  after  reach 
ing  his  home  in  Greenland,  N.  H.,  at  the  age  of  29  years,  and  the  laws  were  not  in 
readiness  for  the  next  legislature.     Alfred  Metcalf  Berry  came  to  the  Pacific 
coast  in  1849,  and  to  Or.  in  1850  for  his  health.     In  Dec.  1853  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  Wiley,  and  the  name  of  Columbian  being  no  longer  signifi 
cant,  the  publishers  changed  it  to  Washington  Pioneer.     In  Jan.  1854  R.  L. 
Doyle  brought  a  press  and  material  to  Olympia,  with  the  intention  of  starting 
a  new  paper  to  be  called  the  Northwest  Democrat,  but  finally  consolidated 
with  the  Pioneer,  which  then  became  the  Pioneer  and  Democrat.  See  Wash. 
Pioneer,  Jan.  28,  1854.     Soon  after  the  death  of  Berry,  George  B.  Goudy, 
another  young  man,  became  associated  with  Wiley  as  publisher,  the  firm  be 
ing  Wiley,  Goudy,  &  Doyle,  but  Doyle  retired  before  the  end  of  the  year 
(1855),  and  only  Wiley  and  Goudy  remained,  Wiley  being  editor.    Goudy  was 
elected  territorial  printer  Jan.  27  1855,  the  Pioneer  and  Democrat  remaining 
the  official  paper  of  the  territory  until  a  republican  administration  in  18G1. 
He  was  a  native  of  Indianapolis,  Ind. ,  and  born  in  1828.    He  came  to  Or.  in  1841J, 
and  for  a  year  had  charge  of  the  publication  of  the  Spectator.    He  married  Eliz 
abeth  Morgan  of  Lafayette,  Or.,  in  Sept.  1854,  and  removed  to  Olympia  early 
in  1855.     His  connection  with  the  Pioneer  and  Democrat  ceased  in  Aug.  1856. 
He  died  Sept.  19,  1857,  leaving  a  wife  and  child.     E.  Furste  succeeded  Goudy 
as  publisher  of  the  Pioneer  and  Democrat.     In  May  1858  Wiley  retired,  leav 
ing  Furste  publisher  and  editor.     Wiley  died  March  30,  I860,  at  the  age  of 
40,  the  victim  of  intemperate  drinking.     He  was  born  in  Ohio,  was  possessed 
of  brilliant  talents,  and  impressed  his  mind  and  energy  upon  the  history  of 
his  adopted  country,  but  fell  by  a  power  mightier  than  himself.  Pioneer  and 
Dem.,  March  30,  1860.     In  November  1860  Furste  sold  the  paper  to  James 
Lodge,  who  found  the  change  in  public  sentiment  against  the  democratic 
antecedents  of  this  journal,  which  lost  precedence,  and  was  discontinued  not 
long  after.     Historically,  the  Pioneer  and  Democrat  is  of  more  importance 
than  any  other  journal  or  journals. 

14  Sawamish  county,  first  organized  March  13,  1854,  had  its  name  changed 
to  Mason  Jan.  3,  1864,  in  honor  of  Charles  H.  Mason,  first  secretary  of  the 
territory.     The  county  officers  appointed  on  its  organization  were:  commis 
sioners,    Wesley  Gosnell,  Charles  Graham,  Lee  Hancock;   sheriff,  Finis  K. 
Simmons;  judge  of  probate,  Alfred  Hall;  auditor,  V.  P.  Morrow;  treasurer, 
Orrington  Cushman;  justice  of  the  peace,  Aaron  M.  Collins.   Olympia  Pioneer 
and  Dem.,  May  27,  1854. 

15  Commissioners  appointed   for  Whatcom  county  were  William  Cullen, 
H.  C.  Page,  R.  V.  Peabody;  sheriff,  Ellis  Barnes;  auditor,  A.  M.  Poe. 

16  Commissioners  appointed   for  Walla  Walla  were  George  C.   Bamford, 
John  Owen,  Dominique  Pambrun;  sheriff,  Narcisse  Raymond;  judge  of  pro 
bate  and  justice  of  the  peace,  Lloyd  Brooke. 

17  Vancouver  is  called  Columbia  City  in  the  act.     This  patriotic  change  of 


78  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

of  Mrs  Esther  Short's  land  claim,"  and  by  the  same 
act  Mrs  Short's  dwelling  was  made  the  legal  place 
of  holding  courts  until  suitable  buildings  should  be 
erected  by  the  county.18  The  county  seat  of  Che- 
name  occurred  about  1851  or  1852,  but  I  fail  to  find  any  mention  of  it.  I 
think  it  was  done  on  the  motion  of  the  first  postmaster  at  that  place,  R.  H. 
Lansdale,  who  had  the  post-office  called  Columbia  City.  The  name,  how 
ever,  would  not  pass  in  the  face  of  long  usage,  and  the  Washington  legisla 
ture  at  its  second  session  changed  it  to  Vancouver.  The  commissioners 
appointed  for  Clarke  county  by  the  first  territorial  legislature  were  William 
Dillon,  C.  C.  Stiles,  and  Mr  Fairchilds;  sheriff,  George  W.  Hart;  judge  of 
probate,  Henry  Gullifer;  auditor,  William  Ryan;  treasurer,  Henry  Burlin- 
game;  justices  of  the  peace,  Solomon  Strong,  Michael  Tubbs;  coroner,  William 
M.  Simmons;  assessor,  Henry  C.  Morse;  constable  for  Vancouver  precinct, 
Moses  Kirkham,  for  Cathlapootle  precinct,  C.  C.  Bogarth,  for  Washougal 
precinct,  Berry  Paten. 

18  Officers  were  appointed  for  all  the  counties  already  in  existence,  as  well  as 
the  new  ones,  and  as  the  list  furnishes  a  guide  to  the  distribution  of  the  pop 
ulation,  they  are  here  given.  Skamania  county  commissioners,  S.  M.  Hamil 
ton,  Joseph  Robbins,  Jacob  W.  Scroder;  sheriff,  E.  F.  McNoll;  judge  of 
probate,  Cornelius  Salmer;  treasurer,  J.  H.  Bush;  auditor,  George  W. 
Johnson;  justices  of  the  peace,  N.  H.  Gales,  B.  B.  Bishop,  and  Lloyd  Brooke. 

Cowlitz  county  commissioners,  Thomas  Lowe,  A.  A.  Abernethy,  Seylor 
Rue;  justice  of  the  peace  for  Monticello  precinct,  Nathaniel  Stone;  constable, 
R.  C.  Smith;  judge  of  probate,  Nathaniel  Ostrander;  auditor,  Charles  Hoi- 
man;  treasurer,  Alexander  Crawford;  sheriff,  James  Huntington;  assessor, 
Benjamin  Huntington;  justice  of  the  peace  for  Oak  Point  precinct,  W. 
H.  Harris;  constable,  F.  A.  Smith. 

Wahkiakum  county  commissioners,  James  Birnie,  Thompson  Dray,  Aus 
tin  Nye;  auditor,  Newell  Bearfs;  treasurer,  James  Birnie,  Jr;  sheriff,  Wil 
liam  Stilwell;  judge  of  probate  and  justice  of  the  peace,  Solomon  Stilwell. 

Pacific  county  commissioners,  George  T.  Eastabrook,  P.  J.  McEwen,  Daniel 
Wilson;  judge  of  probate,  George  P.  Newell;  justice  of  the  peace,  Ezra  Wes- 
ton;  constable,  William  Edwards. 

Lewis  county  commissioners,  Henry  R.  Stillman,  Thomas  Metcalf,  J.  C. 
Davis;  judge  of  probate,  James  Gardiner;  auditor,  Horace  H.  Pints;  jus 
tices  of  the  peace,  Charles  F.  White,  O.  Small,  N.  Stearns,  F.  Delin;  con 
stables,  Baptiste  Bone,  William  C.  Many;  sheriff,  J.  L.  Mitchell;  auditor, 
Martin  Budson;  treasurer,  C.  C.  Pagett;  coroner,  George  B.  Roberts;  super 
intendent  of  common  schools,  A.  B.  Dillenbaugh. 

Thurston  county  commissioners,  Sidney  S.  Ford,  Sen.,  David  J.  Chambers, 
Jarnes  McAllister;  auditor,  Urban  E.  Hicks;  sheriff,  Franklin  Kennedy; 
assessor,  Whitficld  Kirtley;  judge  of  probate,  Stephen  D.  Ruddell;  treasurer, 
Daniel  R.  Bigelow;  justices  of  the  peace,  Nathan  Eaton,  Joseph  Broshears, 
W.  Plumb;  superintendent  of  schools,  Elwood  Evans;  constable  for  Olym- 
pia  precinct,  Franklin  Kennedy. 

Chehalis  county  commissioners,  George  Watkins,  John  Vail,  John  Brady; 
auditor,  A.  0.  Houston;  treasurer,  D.  K.  Weldon;  judge  of  probate,  James 
H.  Roundtree;  sheriff,  M.  A.  Fairfield;  justices  of  the  peace,  William  M. 
Bullard,  C.  L.  Russell,  I.  L.  Scammon. 

Pierce  county  commissioners,  William  P.  Dougherty,  L.  A.  Smith,  William 
N.  Savage;  treasurer,  H.  C.  Perkins;  sheriff,  C.  Dunham;  assessor,  Hugh 
Patterson;  coroner,  Anthony  Laughlin;  justices  of  the  peace,  H.  M.  Frost, 
George  Brown,  Samuel  McCaw;  auditor,  G.  Bowlin;  judge  of  probate,  H. 
C.  Moseley;  constables,  William  McLucas,  William  Sherwood. 

King  county  commissioners,  Thomas  Mercer,  G.  W.  W.  Loomis,  L.  M. 
Collins;  judge  of  probate,  William  A.  Strickler;  sheriff,  C.  D.  Boren;  auditor, 


CAPITAL  AND  COURTS.  79 

halis  county  was  fixed  temporarily  "at  the  house  of 
D.  K.  Weldon;"  of  Cowlitz,  at  Monticello ;  and  of 
Skamania,  at  the  "south-east  corner  of  the  land  claim 
of  F.  A.  Chenoweth." 

Olympia  was  fixed  upon  as  the  temporary  seat  of 
government,  the  judicial  districts  were  defined,  and 
the  judges  assigned  to  them  as  follows:  the  first  dis 
trict  comprised  Walla  Walla,  Skamania,  Clarke,  Cow 
litz,  Wahkiakum,  and  Pacific  counties,  Judge  McFad- 
den;  second  district,  Lewis,  Chehalis,  Thurston,  and 
Sawamish  counties,  Judge  Monroe;  third  district, 
Pierce,  King,  Island,  Clallam,  Jefferson,  and  What- 
com,  Judge  Lander.  At  the  second  session  of  the 
legislature  Lander  was  assigned  to  the  second  district, 
and  the  judge  of  that  district  to  the  third,  which 
brought  the  chief  justice  to  the  more  central  portion 
of  the  territory.  In  their  districts  the  judges  were 
required  to  reside,  and  to  hold  two  terms  of  the  dis 
trict  court  annually  in  each  county,  except  in  those 
which  were  attached  to  some  other  for  judicial  pur 
poses,  like  Walla  Walla,  which  was  attached  to 
Skamania,  and  Chehalis  to  Thurston. 

The  first  federal  court  held  in  Washington  after 
the  organization  of  the  territory  was  by  the  proclama 
tion  of  the  governor  on  the  2d  day  of  January,  1854, 
at  Cowlitz  landing,  by  Judge  Monroe,  who  in  May 
held  regular  terms  in  all  the  counties  of  his  district 
according  to  the  act  of  the  legislature,  and  to  the 

H.  L.  Yesler;  treasurer,  William  P.  Smith;  superintendent  of  schools, 
Henry  A.  Smith;  assessor,  John  C.  Holgate;  justices  of  the  peace,  John  A. 
Chase,  S.  L.  Grow,  S.  W.  Russell;  constables,  B.  L.  Johns,  S.  13.  Simmons, 
James  N.  Roberts. 

Jefferson  county  commissioners,  J.  P.  Keller,  William  Dunn,  F.  W.  Pet- 
tygrove;  treasurer,  J.  K.  Thorndyke;  sheriff,  W.  T.  Sayward;  judge  of  pro 
bate,  L.  B.Hastings;  auditor,  A.  A.  Plummer;  justices  of  the  peace,  J.  P.  Kel 
ler,  William  Webster,  F.  W.  Pettygrove,  J.  K.  Thorndyke;  assessor,  J. 
Clinger. 

Clallam  county  commissioners,  E.  H.  McAlmond,  E.  Price,  Daniel  F. 
Brownfleld;  sheriff,  Charles  Bradshaw;  justice  of  the  peace,  G.  H.  Gerrish; 
assessor,  J.  C.  Brown;  treasurer,  Mr  Fitzgerald;  judge  of  probate,  John 
Margrave;  auditor,  G.  B.  Moore. 

Island  county  commissioners,  John  Alexander,  John  Crockett,  Ira  B. 
Powers;  sheriff,  Hugh  Crockett;  auditor,  R.  H.  Lansdale;  assessor,  Hum 
phry  Hill. 


80  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

satisfaction  of  the  people.  Yet  in  October  be  was 
removed,  upon  the  false  representation  of  some  per 
sons  unknown  that  he  had  absented  himself  from  the 
territory.19  F.  A.  Chenoweth  was  appointed  in  his 
place,  and  was  present  as  the  judge  of  the  2d  judicial 
district  at  the  meeting  of  the  supreme  court  in  Olyrn- 
pia  in  December,20  the  bench  now  containing  but  one 
of  the  original  appointees  for  Washington,  Lander,  the 
chief  justice.21 

There  was  none  of  that  romantic  attempt  at  creating 
something  out  of  nothing  in  the  first  acts  of  the  Wash 
ington  legislature  which  invested  with  so  much  inter 
est  the  beginnings  of  government  in  Oregon,  for  the 
legislators  had  at  the  outset  the  aid  of  United  States 
judges  and  men  familiar  with  law,  besides  having  the 
government  at  their  back  to  defray  all  necessary  ex 
penses.  There  is  therefore  nothing  to  relate  concern 
ing  their  acts,  except  in  instances  already  pointed  out 
in  the  message  of  Governor  Stevens,  where  certain 
local  interests  demanded  peculiar  measures  or  called 
for  the  aid  of  congress. 

The  most  important  matter  to  which  the  attention 

w  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  Oct.  21,  1854.  Monroe  died  at  Olympia 
Sept.  15,  1856,  aged  40  years.  He  was  buried  on  the  point  on  Budd  Inlet 
near  the  capitol  at  Olympia,  but  15  years  afterward  the  remains  were  rein- 
terred  in  the  masonic  cemetery.  Olympia  Transcript,  March  13,  1S69. 

'MId.,  Dec.  9,  1854. 

21  Edward  Lander  was  a  native  of  Salem,  Mass.  He  was  graduated  at  Har 
vard  in  1836,  and  soon  after  entered  the  law  school  at  Cambridge.  His  first  law 
practice  was  in  Essex  co.,  but  in  1841  he  removed  to  Ind.,  where  he  was  soon 
appointed  prosecuting  attorney  for  several  counties,  and  subsequently  judge 
of  the  court  of  common  pleas  of  the  state.  His  habits  were  said  to  be  correct, 
his  manners  dignified  and  polished,  and  his  legal  and  literary  attainments  of 
a  high  order.  Boston  Times,  in  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem. ,  Jan.  7,  1854.  For 
McFadden's  antecedents,  see  Hist.  Or.,  ii.,  chap,  xi.,  this  series.  He  died  of 
heart  disease,  at  the  age  of  58  years,  at  the  residence  of  his  son-in-law,  W.  \V. 
Miller  of  Olympia,  in  June  1875,  after  a  residence  of  22  years  in  the  territory, 
during  which  he  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  and  delegate  to  congress. 
Spirit  of  the  West,  June  26,  1875;  Olympia  Transcript,  July  3,  1875;  U.  S. 
House  Jour.,  43d  cong.  1st  sess.,  13.  F.  A.  Chenoweth  was  born  in  1819,  in 
Franklin  co.,  Ohio,  and  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law  in  Wisconsin  at  the 
age  of  22  years.  He  came  to  Or.  in  1849,  and  settled  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river  near  the  Cascades,  being  elected  to  the  legislature  from  Lewis  and 
Clarke  counties  in  1852.  In  1863  he  removed  to  Corvallis,  where  he  was  again 
elected  to  the  Or.  legislature,  and  to  the  presidency  of  the  Willamette  Valley 
and  Coast  railroad.  Portland  West  Shore,  July  1877. 


LAND  LAWS.  81 

of  the  national  legislature  was  called  was  a  change  in 
the  land  law,  to  effect  which  congress  was  memorial 
ized  to  grant  them  a  surveyor-general  of  their  own, 
and  a  land  system  "separate  from,  and  wholly  discon 
nected  with,  that  of  Oregon  territory."22 

By  comparing  the  demands  with  the  memorials  of 
the  Oregon  legislature  from  time  to  time,  it  will  be 
perceived  that  the  earth  hunger  was  not  all  confined 
to  the  people  south  of  the  Columbia.  And  by  refer 
ence  to  my  History  of  Oregon,  the  reader  may  learn 
to  what  extent  congress  responded  to  the  demands  of 

22  The  amendments  petitioned  for  were:  1.  To  be  relieved  from  the  prohibi 
tion  preventing  the  holders  of  donation  certificates  from  selling  any  portion 
of  their  claims  before  they  received  a  patent;  their  certificates  to  be  prima 
facie  evidence  of  title.  Suggestions  were  given  as  to  the  manner  of  establish 
ing  a  claim  by  witnesses  before  the  surveyor-general.  2.  That  persons  enti 
tled  to  a  donation  should  be  permitted  to  take  irregular  fractions  of  land. 
3.  That  town  proprietors  should  be  authorized  to  convey  lots  by  valid  deeds, 
the  same  as  if  a  patent  had  been  issued.  4.  That  when  either  parent  of  a 
child  or  children  should  have  died  upon  the  road  to  Washington,  the  survivor 
should  be  entitled  to  as  much  land  as  both  together  would  have  been  entitled 
to;  provided  the  land  taken  in  the  name  of  the  deceased  should  be  held  in 
trust  for  the  children.  Or  when  either  parent  should  have  started  for  or 
arrived  in  the  territory,  and  the  other,  though  not  yet  started,  should  die, 
having  a  child  or  children,  the  surviving  parent  should  be  entitled,  by  com 
plying  with  the  provisions  of  the  law,  to  the  full  amount  that  both  parents 
and  such  child  or  children  would  have  been  entitled  to  had  they  all  arrived 
in  the  territory.  Or  that  when  both  parents  should  die  after  having  begun 
their  journey  to  Washington,  or  before  locating  a  claim,  having  a  child  or 
children,  such  child  or  children  should,  by  guardian,  be  entitled  to  locate  as 
much  land  as  both  parents  would  have  taken  under  the  law  had  they  lived. 
5.  That  widows  immigrating  to  and  settling  in  the  territory  should  be  allowed 
to  take  the  same  amount  of  land  as  unmarried  men,  by  compliance  with  the 
law.  6.  That  all  persons  who  should  have  located  claims  under  the  provis 
ions  of  the  donation  law  prior  to  the  1st  of  Jan.,  1852,  should  be  entitled  to 
their  patents  as  soon  as  the  land  should  have  been  surveyed,  and  they  have 
obtained  a  certificate  from  the  surveyor-general.  And  that  all  persons  who 
should  have  located  claims  subsequent  to  the  1st  day  of  Jan.,  1852,  should  be 
entitled  to  patents  by  residing  thereon  for  the  term  of  two  years,  or  by  hav 
ing  made  improvements  to  the  amount  of  four  hundred  dollars;  provided,  that 
the  removal  of  timber  from  the  public  lands  without  intention  to  reside  thereon 
should  be  regarded  as  trespass;  the  improvements  to  be  estimated  by  the 
increased  value  of  the  lands  by  clearing,  cultivating,  fencing,  and  building. 
7.  That  all  American  citizens,  or  those  who  had  declared  their  intention  to 
become  such,  including  American  half-breeds,  on  arriving  at  the  age  of  twen 
ty-one,  should  be  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  the  donation  act.  8.  That  the 
provisions  of  the  law  be  extended  to  an  indefinite  period.  9.  That  each  sin 
gle  person  should  be  entitled  to  receive  160  acres,  and  a  man  and  wife  double 
that  amount;  provided,  that  the  estate  of  the  wife  should  be  sole  and  sepa 
rate,  and  not  alienable  for  the  debts  or  liabilities  of  the  husband.  10.  That 
all  persons  who  had  failed  or  neglected  to  take  claims  within  the  time  pre 
scribed  by  law  should  be  permitted  to  take  claims  as  if  they  had  but  just 
arrived  in  the  country.  Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1854,  179-81. 
HIST.  WASH.— 6 


82  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

both  legislatures  in  the  matter  of  amount  of  bounty 
and  limit  of  time.23  A  surveyor-general  and  register 
and  receiver  were  given  to  Washington ;  in  no  other 
wise  was  a  separate  land  system  granted;  but  the  new 
territory  was  entitled  to  the  same  privileges  with  Ore 
gon,  no  more  or  different.24 

23 Hist.  Or.,  ii.,  chap,  x.,  this  series.  The  points  gained  by  an  act  of  con 
gress  passed  July  17,  1854,  were  the  withdrawal  of  town  sites  from  the  pro 
visions  of  the  donation  act,  and  subjecting  them  to  the  operation  of  the  act  of 
May  23,  1844,  'for  the  relief  of  citizens  of  towns  upon  lands  of  the  United 
States,  under  certain  circumstances,'  and  the  reduction  of  the  time  of  occu 
pancy  before  purchase  to  one  year;  the  repeal  of  that  portion  of  the  land  law 
which  made  void  contracts  for  the  sale  of  land  before  patent  issued,  provided 
that  sales  should  not  be  valid  unless  the  vendor  should  have  resided  four 
years  upon  the  land;  the  extension  of  the  preemption  privilege  to  Oregon  and 
Washington;  the  extension  of  the  donation  privilege  to  1855;  the  grant  of 
two  townships  of  land  for  university  purposes;  the  donation  of  160  acres  of 
land  to  orphans  whose  parents,  had  they  lived,  would  have  been  entitled  to  a 
donation;  and  the  appointment  of  a  register  and  receiver  for  each  of  the  two 
territories.  Wash.  Tvr.  Statutes,  1854,  53-5. 

24  The  subject  of  amended  land  laws  for  their  territory  was  not  permitted 
to  drop  with  this  attempt.  When  the  privileges  of  the  old  donation  act  ex 
pired  in  1855,  a  petition  signed  by  200  settlers  was  presented  to  congress, 
asking  that  the  clause  in  that  act  which  required  them  to  reside  for  4  years 
consecutively  on  their  claims  before  receiving  a  certificate  should  be  ex 
punged,  and  that  they  be  allowed  to  purchase  them  at  the  rate  of  $1.25  an 
acre,  counting  the  value  of  their  improvements  as  payment;  the  amount  of 
labor  bestowed  being  taken  as  evidence  of  an  intention  to  remain  a  permanent 
settler.  Objmpla  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  Aug.  19,  1855.  No  change  was  made  as 
therein  requested.  Tilton,  the  surveyor-general  appointed  for  Washington, 
was  directed  to  join  with  the  surveyor-general  of  Oregon  in  starting  the  sur 
vey  of  his  territory,  carrying  out  the  work  as  already  begun,  and  using  it  as  a 
basis  for  organizing  the  Washington  surveys  in  that  part  of  the  country  where 
the  settlers  most  required  a  survey.  U.  S.  ff.  Ex.  Doc.,  vol.  i.,  pt  i.,  33d  cong. 
1st  sess.  In  his  first  report,  Sept.  20,  1855,  Tilton  asked  for  increased  com 
pensation  per  mile  for  contractors,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  surveying  in 
Washington,  where  one  enormous  forest  was  found  growing  amidst  the  decay 
ing  ruins  of  another,  centuries  old,  in  consequence  of  which  horses  could 
not  be  used,  and  provisions  had  to  be  packed  upon  the  backs  of  men,  at  a  great 
cost.  Id.,  vol.  i.,  pt  i.,  292,  34th  cong.  1st  sess. 

W.  W.  De  Lacy  ran  the  standard  meridian  from  Vancouver  through  to 
the  northern  boundary  of  Washington.  The  Willamette  meridian  fell  in  the 
water  nearly  the  whole  length  of  the  Sound,  compelling  him  to  make  re 
peated  offsets  to  the  east.  One  of  these  offsets  was  run  on  the  line  between 
range  5  and  6  east  of  the  Willamette  meridian,  which  line  runs  through  the 
western  part  of  Snohomish  City.  After  the  close  of  the  Indian  war,  De 
Lacy  ran  and  blazed  out  the  line  of  the  military  road  from  Steilacoom  to 
Bellingham  Bay,  with  the  assistance  of  only  one  Indian,  Pirns,  who  afterward 
murdered  a  settler  on  the  Snohomish  River,  named  Carter.  Morse's  Wash. 
Ter.,  MS.,  xx.  36-7.  The  total  amount  surveyed  under  the  Oregon  office  was 
1,876  miles,  the  amount  surveyed  under  Tilton  previous  to  Dec.  1855,  3,663 
miles,  and  the  quantity  proposed  to  be  surveyed  in  the  next  2  years,  5,688 
miles,  all  west  of  the  Cascade  Range.  The  Indian  wars,  however,  stopped 
work  for  about  that  length  of  time.  It  was  difficult  to  find  deputies  who 
would  undertake  the  work,  on  account  of  Indian  hostilities,  even  after  the  war 
was  declared  at  an  end.  Deputy  Surveyor  Dominick  Hunt  was  murdered  on 


LANDS  AND  TITLES.  83 

Next  in  importance  was  a  memorial  relative  to  the 
extinguishment  of  the  Indian  title,  congress  being 
urged  to  make  provisions  for  the  immediate  pur 
chase  of  the  lands  occupied  by  the  natives;  and  this 
request  was  granted,  as  I  shall  soon  proceed  to  show. 
Congress  was  also  asked  to  change  the  organic  act  of 
the  territory,  which  apportioned  the  legislature  by  the 
number  of  qualified  voters,  so  as  to  make  the  appor 
tionment  by  the  number  of  inhabitants,  which  was  not 
allowed.  Not  less  important  than  either  of  these  was 
a  memorial  concerning  the  Puget  Sound  Agricultural 
Company,  and  the  difference  of  opinion  existing  be 
tween  the  company  and  the  citizens  of  Washington  in 
relation  to  the  rights'  of  the  association  under  the 
treaty  of  1846.  The  memorial  set  forth  that  the  then 
present  moment  was  an  auspicious  one  for  the  extinc 
tion  of  their  title,  and  gave  as  a  reason  that  "build 
ings,  once  valuable,  from  long  use  are  now  measurably 
worthless;  and  lands  once  fertile,  which  paid  the  tiller 
of  the  soil,  are  now  become  destitute  of  any  fertilizing 
qualities;  that  said  farms  are  now  less  valuable  than 
the  same  amount  of  lands  in  a  state  of  nature;"  and 
congress  was  entreated  to  save  the  country  from  this 

Whidbey  Island  in  the  latter  part  of  July  1858.  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem., 
Aug  G,  1858;  Land-office  Kept,  1858.  The  field  of  operations  in  1858  was  on 
Shoalwater  Bay,  Gray  Harbor,  Whidbey  Island,  and  the  southern  coast  of 
the  Fuca  strait.  As  there  was  but  one  land-office  in  the  territory,  and  that 
one  situated  at  Olympia,  the  land  commissioner,  at  the  request  of  the  territo 
rial  legislature,  recommended  the  formation  of  three  new  districts.  No  action 
was  taken,  and  in  1858  the  legislature  passed  another  resolution  asking  for 
three  additional  land  districts,  one  to  be  called  Columbia  River  Land  Dis 
trict.  The  commissioner  again  made  his  former  recommendation,  the  house 
committee  on  lands  recommending  two  new  districts.  U.  S.  Misc.  Doc.,  130, 
vol.  ii.,  34th  cong.  1st  sess.;  Id.,  doc.  114;  Id.,  doc.  30,  vol.  i.,  35th  cong.  2d 
sess.;  U.  S.  H.  Com.  Rept,  37(3,  vol.  iii.,  35th  cong.  1st  sess.  On  the  IGth  of 
May,  18GO,  congress  passed  an  act  to  'create  an  additional  land  district  in 
Washington  territory,' but  provided  no  appropriation  for  carrying  out  its 
purpose  until  the  following  year,  when  the  office  at  Vancouver  was  established. 
In  1857  a  bill  was  brought  before  the  house  of  representatives  to  extend  the 
public  surveys  east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains.  The  senate  referred  the  mat 
ter  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior,  who  declared  there  was  no  necessity  for 
the  bill,  and  that  it  would  render  emigration  overland  dangerous  by  exciting 
the  Indians.  U.  S.  Sen.  Misc.,  28,  34th  coug.  3d  sess.  It  was  not  until  the 
close  of  the  Indian  war  east  of  the  mountains  in  1858  that  the  land  laws 
were  extended  to  that  region.  In  1862  the  legislature  memorialized  con 
gress  for  a  land-office  at  Walla  Walla,  which  was  established.  Wash.  Stat.t 
1SG1-2,  139. 


84  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

deterioration.25  The  memorial  also  stated  that  at  the 
period  of  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  the  amount  of 
land  enclosed  by  the  Puget  Sound  Company  at  Cow- 
litz  and  Nisqually  did  not  exceed  2,000  acres,  yet 
that  the  company  claimed  227  square  miles,  or  in  other 
words,  all  the  land  over  which  their  herds  of  wild  stock 
occasionally  roamed,  or  to  which  they  were  from  time 
to  time  removed  for  change  of  pasture.  The  Ameri 
cans  held  that  the  treaty  confirmed  only  the  lands  en 
closed  by  fences.  They  had  settled  upon  and  improved 
the  unenclosed  lands  in  many  instances;  yet  they  had 
received  written  notices  from  the  agents  of  the  com 
pany  commanding  them  to  vacate  their  homes  or  be 
served  with  writs  of  ejectment  and  trespass;  for  which 
causes  congress  was  petitioned  to  take  steps  to  ascer 
tain  the  rights  of  the  company,  and  to  purchase 
them.26 

A  joint  resolution  was  also  passed  instructing  the 
delegate  to  congress  to  use  his  influence  with  the  ad 
ministration  to  effect  a  settlement  of  the  disputed 
boundary  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Brit 
ain,  involving  the  right  to  the  islands  of  the  archipel 
ago  of  Haro,  the  matter  being  afterward  known  as 
the  San  Juan  question,  and  to  take  some  steps  to 
remove  the  foreign  trespassers  from,  the  islands — a  res 
olution  suggested,  as  we  already  know,  by  the  message 
of  Governor  Stevens.27 

23  This  remarkable  statement  is  corroborated  by  subsequent  writers,  who 
account  for  the  impoverishment  of  the  soil  by  the  substratum  of  gravel,  which, 
when  the  sod  was  disturbed,  allowed  the  rains  to  wash  down,  as  through  a 
filter,  the  component  parts  of  the  soil.  For  the  same  reason,  the  cattle-ranges, 
from  being  continually  trampled  in  wet  weather,  received  no  benefit  from  the 
dr.ng  of  the  animals,  and  deteriorated  as  stated  above.  On  the  plains  between 
the  Nisqually  and  Puyallup  rivers,  where  once  the  grass  grew  as  tall  as  a  man 
on  horseback,  the  appearance  of  the  country  was  later  one  of  sterility. 

26  Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1854,  183-5.  Two  other  memorials  were  passed 
at  this  session;  one  asking  that  the  claim  of  Lafayette  Baloh  for  the  expense 
incurred  in  rescuing  the  Georrjiana's  passengers  from  Queen  Charlotte  Island 
bo  paid,  and  one  praying  congress  to  confirm  the  land  claim  of  George  Bush, 
colored,  to  him  and  his  heirs.  Id.,  185-8.  As  to  the  first,  congress  had  already 
legislated  on  that  subject.  Cong.  Globe,  xxx.  125. 

'"  The  other  joint  resolutions  passed  related  to  the  establishment  of  a  mail 
service,  by  the  way  of  Puget  Sound,  between  Olympia  and  other  points  in 
Washington  to  San  Francisco,  New  York,  and  Nc'.v  Orleans;  to  appropriations 
for  territorial  and  military  roads;  to  light-houses  at  Cape  Flattery,  en  Blunt's 


TERRITORIAL  OFFICERS.  85 

The  selection  of  territorial  officers  by  the  legislature 
resulted  in  the  appointment  of  William  Cook  treas 
urer,  D.  B.  Bigelow  auditor,  F.  A.  Chenoweth  pros 
ecuting  attorney  of  the  first  judicial  district,  D.  R. 
Bigelow  for  the  second,  and  F.  A.  Clarke  for  the 
third.  B.  F.  Kendall28  was  chosen  territorial  librarian. 
The  legislature  adjourned  May  1st,  after  passing  125* 
acts,  and  conducting  its  business  harmoniously. 

That  which  appears  as  most  deserving  of  comment 
in  the  proceedings  of  this  body  is  a  resolution  passed 
early  in  the  session,  that,  in  its  opinion,  no  disad 
vantage  could  result  to  the  territory  should  the  gov 
ernor  proceed  to  Washington  city,  "if,  in  his  judgment, 
the  interest  of  the  Pacific  railroad  survey  and  the 
matters  incident  thereto  could  thereby  be  promoted." 
Stevens  was  anxious  to  report  in  person  on  the  results 
of  the  railroad  survey.  In  anticipation  of  this,  he 
made  a  voyage  down  the  Sound,  looking  for  the  best 
point  for  the  terminus  of  the  Northern  Pacific,  and 
he  named  Steilacoom,  Seattle,  and  Bellingham  Bay 
as  impressing  him  favorably.29  But  there  were  other 
matters  which  he  wished  to  bring  to  the  attention  of 
the  government  in  his  capacity  of  superintendent  of 

Island,  and  at  New  Dungeness;  to  an  appropriation  for  a  marine  hospital;  to 
a  requisition  for  arms  and  equipments  for  the  male  citizens  of  the  territory 
between  the  ages  of  18  and  45;  to  the  completion  of  the  geological  survey;  to 
the  building  of  an  arsenal;  to  having  Columbia  City,  Penn  Cove,  Port  Gam 
ble,  Whatcom,  and  Seattle  made  ports  of  delivery;  to  having  the  office  of  the 
surveyor  of  customs  removed  from  Nisqually  to  Steilucoom;  to  increasing  the 
salary  of  the  collector  of  customs;  and  to  the  advantage  of  annexing  the  Sand 
wich  Islands;  with  some  lesser  local  matters.  Among  the  latter  was  one  set 
ting  forth  that  Henry  V.  Colter,  one  of  the  firm  of  Parker  &  Colter's  express, 
had  absconded  with  $3,875  of  the  government  funds,  and  instructing  the  del 
egate  to  urge  congress  to  confer  authority  upon  the  accounting  officers  of  the 
treasury  to  place  that  amount  to  the  credit  of  the  secretary  of  the  territory. 
This  matter  has  been  already  referred  to  in  Parker's  account  of  the  earliest 
mails  and  express  companies.  It  is  said  that  Colter  afterward  fell  heir  to  a 
fortune  of  $200,000.  Olympia  Transcript,  Aug.  8,  1874. 

28  Wash.  Jour.  Council,   1854,  116.     The  first  appropriation  for  a  public 
library,  $3,000,  was  expended  by  Stevens.     The  report  of  the  librarian  for 
1854  was  that  there  were  2,130  volumes  in  the  library.     Stevens  said  in  his 
first  message  that  he  had  taken  care  to  get  the  best  books  in  each  department 
of  learning,  and  that  he  had  applied  to  the  executives  of  every  state  and  ter 
ritory  and  to  many  learned  societies  to  donate  their  publications.     In  1871 
tlie  territorial  library  contained  over  4, 100  volumes,  besides  maps  and  charts. 
Wash.  Jour.  House,  1871,  app.  1-86. 

29  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  Jan.  28,  1854, 


86  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

Indian  affairs  for  Washington,  and  as  a  commissioner 
to  ascertain  what  were  the  rights  and  what  was  the 
property  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  Puget  Sound  com 
panies  in  Oregon  and  Washington,  as  well  as  to  urge 
the  settlement  of  the  northern  boundary  of  the  latter 
territory.80 

The  matter  of  the  boundary  line  between  the  island 
of  Vancouver  and  Washington  was  a  later  question. 
The  earliest  conflict  arose  in  1854  between  I.  N. 
Ebey,  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties  as  collector 

30 In  Stevens'  report  is  found  a  list  of  all  the  forts  of  the  H.  B,  Co., 
•with  their  rank  and  value,  and  the  amount  of  cultivated  laud,  making  the 
whole  foot  up  no  more  than  $300,000,  whereas  they  received  twenty  years 
later  more  than  double  that  amount.  The  other  information  contained  in  the 
report  relates  to  the  segregation  of  the  land  claimed  by  the  companies  into 
donation  lots,  with  the  names  of  the  squatters,  and  is  of  interest  in  the  history 
of  the  early  settlement  of  the  country.  The  following  are  the  names  of  the 
so-called  trespassers:  At  Fort  Vancouver,  Bishop  Blanchet,  for  a  mission 
claim,  the  same  640  acres  being  claimed  by  James  Graham  of  the  H.  B.  Co. 
The  county  of  Clarke  also  claimed  160  acres  of  the  same  land  as  a  county  seat, 
which  was  allowed,  as  I  have  mentioned  elsewhere.  Over  all  these  claims 
the  United  States  military  reserve  extended.  Immediately  east  of  Vancouver 
640  acres  were  claimed  by  Forbes  Barclay  (British),  and  the  same  tract  by  an 
American,  Ryan,  who  resided  on  it  and  cultivated  it,  while  Barclay  lived 
at  Oregon  City.  Adjoining  was  a  claim  of  640  acres,  which,  after  passing 
through  several  hands — a  servant  of  the  company.  Chief  Factor  Ogden,  and 
Switzler — was  finally  sold  to  Nye,  an  American.  A  tract  4  miles  square  above 
these  claims,  and  embracing  the  company's  mills,  was  claimed  by  Daniel 
Harvey  (British);  but  040  acres,  including  the  grist-mill,  were  claimed  by  a 
naturalized  citizen,  William  F.  Crate;  and  640,  including  the  saw-mill,  by 
Gabriel  Barktroth,  also  a  naturalized  citizen.  A  portion  of  this  section,  with 
the  mill,  was  claimed  by  Maxon,  an  American.  On  the  Camas  prairie,  or 
Mill  Plain,  back  of  this,  were  settled  Samuel  Valentine,  Jacob  Predstel, 
and  Daniel  Ollis,  Americans.  On  the  river  above  Nye  were  Peter  Dunning- 
ton  and  John  Stringer.  Mrs  Esther  Short,  widow  of  Daniel  V.  Short,  claimed 
640  acres  adjoining  the  military  reservation.  The  other  claimants  on  the 
lands  near  Vancouver  were  George  Maleck,  American,  and  Charles  Prew, 
naturalized,  who  claimed  the  same  section,  Maleck  residing  on  it.  Francis 
Laframboise,  Abraham  Robie,  St  Andrew,  and  James  Petram  held  each  640 
acres  as  lessees  of  the  H.  B.  Co.  Seepleawa,  Isaac  E.  Bell,  John  C.  Allman, 
T.  P.  Dean,  Malky,  William  H.  Dillon,  David  Sturgess— also  claimed  by  Geo. 
Harvey,  British  subject — George  Batty,  James  Bowers,  Linsey,  John  Dillon, 
Ira  Patterson,  Samuel  Matthews,  Clark  Short,  Michael  Trobb,  John  B. 
Lee,  George  Morrow,  J.  L.  Myers,  George  Weber,  Benjamin  Olney,  Job 
Fisher,  William  M.  Simmons,  Alexander  Davis,  Americans,  each  claim 
ing  from  320  to  640  acres,  were  residing  and  making  improvements  on  land 
claimed  by  the  H.  B.  Co.  on  the  Columbia,  and  in  several  instances  by  indi 
viduals  under  the  treaty,  but  only  when  not  resided  upon  by  these  claimants. 
This  list  was  made  by  I.  N.  Ebey  for  Governor  Stevens.  U.  S.  Sen.  Ex.  Doc., 
37,  33d  cong.  2d  sess.  W.  H.  Dillon  resided  at  Dillon's  Ferry,  near  Van 
couver.  His  daughter  Olive  married  Matthias  Spurgeon,  who  was  born  in 
Muscatine,  la,  and  migrated  to  Or.  in  1852,  residing  for  7  years  in  Dillon's 
family.  He  went  to  Idaho  during  early  mining  times  in  that  territory,  but 
returned  and  engaged  in  farming  near  Vancouver. 


THE  SAN  JUAN  TROUBLE.  87 

of  customs,  and  a  justice  of  the  peace  under  the  colo 
nial  government  of  Vancouver  Island,  named  Griffin. 
Ebey  finding  San  Juan  Island  covered  with  several 
thousand  head  of  sheep,  horses,  cattle,  and  hogs,  im 
ported  from  Vancouver  Island  without  being  entered 
at  the  custom-house,  was  questioned  by  Griffin  as  to 
his  intentions  in  paying  the  island  a  visit,  and  declined 
to  answer,  but  proceeded  to  encamp  near  the  shore. 
On  the  following  day  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
steamer  Otter  ran  over  from  Vancouver  and  anchored 
in  front  of  Ebey's  encampment,  sending  a  boat  ashore, 
in  which  was  Mr  Sankster,  collector  of  customs  for 
the  port  of  Victoria,  who  also  desired  to  know  Ebey's 
errand,  and  was  told  that  he  was  there  in  his  official 
capacity  of  collector  for  the  district  of  Puget  Sound. 
Sankster  then  declared  that  he  should  arrest  all  per 
sons  and  seize  all  vessels  found  navigating  the  waters 
west  of  Rosario  strait  and  north  of  the  middle  of  the 
strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca. 

This  growl  of  the  British  lion,  so  far  from  putting 
to  flight  the  American  eagle,  only  caused  its  repre 
sentative  to  declare  that  an  inspector  of  customs  should 
remain  upon  the  island  to  enforce  the  revenue  laws  of 
the  United  States,  and  that  he  hoped  no  persons  pre 
tending  to  be  officers  of  the  British  government  would 
be  so  rash  as  to  interfere  with  the  discharge  of  his  offi 
cial  duties.  Sankster  then  ordered  the  British  flag  to 
be  displayed  on  shore,  which  was  done  by  hoisting  it 
over  the  quarters  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  on 
the  island. 

During  these  proceedings  James  Douglas,  governor 
of  Vancouver  Island  and  vice-admiral  of  the  British 
navy,  was  on  board  the  Otter,  waiting  for  Ebey  to 
capitulate.  Sankster  even  proposed  that  he  should 
go  on  board  the  Otter  to  hold  a  conference  with  his 
excellency,  but  the  invitation  was  declined,  with  a 
declaration  that  the  collector  of  Puget  Sound  would 
be  happy  to  meet  Governor  Douglas  at  his  tent.  Soon 
after,  the  steamer  returned  to  Victoria,  leaving  a  boat 


88  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

and  crew  to  keep  watch ;  and  Ebey  next  day  appointed 
and  swore  into  office  Inspector  Webber,  whom  he 
stationed  on  San  Juan  Island.31 

This  occurrence  was  in  the  latter  part  of  April  or 
first  of  May  1854,  about  the  time  that  Governor 
Stevens  left  the  territory  for  Washington  city,  and 
was  probably  occasioned  in  part  by  the  intimations 
given  in  the  message  of  the  governor  and  resolution 
of  the  legislature  that  the  question  of  boundary  would 
be  agitated,  with  a  desire  and  determination  on  the 
part  of  Douglas  to  hold  the  islands  in  the  Fuca  straits 
when  the  struggle  came.  This  subject  furnished  a 
valid  reason  for  wishing  to  secure  the  attention  of  the 
heads  of  government.  The  extinguishment  of  the 
Indian  titles  was  perhaps  more  imperative  than  any 
other,  and  to  this  Stevens  addressed  himself  with  the 
energy,  ability,  and  straightforwardness  which  were 
his  characteristics,  supplementing  the  feebler  efforts 
of  Lancaster,  and  with  Lane  of  Oregon  coming  to  the 
rescue  of  the  most  important  bills  for  Washington,3'2 
and  really  doing  the  work  of  the  delegate.  In  his 
readiness  to  assume  every  responsibility,  Stevens  re 
sembled  Thurston  of  Oregon,  but  was  more  solidly 
and  squarely  built,  like  Napoleon,  whom  he  resembled 
in  figure,  and  less  nervously  irritable.  No  amount  of 
labor  appalled  him;  and  when  in  the  midst  of  affairs 
of  the  gravest  importance,  he  was  alert  and  buoyant 
without  being  unduly  excited. 

The  appropriations  obtained  for  Washington  by 
Lancaster,  assisted  by  Stevens  and  Lane,  were  $30,- 
000  for  a  military  road  from  the  great  falls  of  the 
Missouri  to  intersect  the  road  leading  from  Walla 
Walla  to  Puget  Sound.  This  was  a  scheme  origi- 


3lOlympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  May  13,  1854.  For  a  chapter  on  the  San 
Juan  difficulty,  see  Hist.  Brit.  Columbia,  this  series. 

82  Lane  added  to  his  bill  amendatory  of  the  land  law,  which  passed  in  July, 
a  section  giving  Washington  a  surveyor-general.  He  consented  that  Wash 
ington  should  have  the  arsenal,  should  congress  grant  one  jointly  to  both  ter 
ritories,  and  in  various  ways  helped  on  the  delegate,  all  of  whose  letters  home 
complained  that  he  could  not  get  the  attention  of  congress.  Had  he  been  a 
Thurston  or  a  Lane,  he  would  have  compelled  the  attention  of  congress. 


APPROPRIATIONS  BY  CONGRESS.  80 

nating  with  Stevens,  who  thought  by  making  the  Mis 
souri  River  a  highway,  and  constructing  a  road  from 
its  head  waters  to  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Co 
lumbia,  or  to  intersect  with  the  old  immigrant  road,  to 
shorten  the  distance  travelled  by  wagons  and  lessen 
the  hardships  of  immigration,  as  well  as  to  avoid  the 
danger  from  Indian  attacks  on  a  portion  of  the  road 
by  the  South  pass.  For  this  reason,  and  to  cultivate 
the  friendship  of  the  Indians,  as  well  as  to  make  a 
more  thorough  exploration  of  the  Blackfoot  country 
for  railroad  passes,  he  left  lieutenants  Grover  and 
Mullan  and  Mr  Doty  in  the  mountain  region  west  of 
the  Missouri  through  the  winter  of  1853-4,  during 
which  the  line  of  road  across  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
from  Fort  Benton  to  Cceur  d'Alene  Lake,  was  marked 
out,  and  afterward  used  as  the  route  for  the  expendi 
ture  of  the  congressional  appropriation  named  above, 
and  which,  from  the  fact  that  Mullan  was  appointed 
to  construct  it,  took  the  name  of  the  Mullan  road. 

An  appropriation  of  $25,000  was  made  for  the  con 
struction  of  a  military  road  from  Fort  Dalles  to  Fort 
Vancouver,  and  of  $30,000  for  a  road  from  Vancouver 
to  Fort  Steilacoom;  for  light-houses  at  Cape  Shoal- 
water,  Blunt's  Island,  Cape  Flattery,  and  New  Dun- 
geness,  $89,000;  and  for  buoys  at  the  entrance  of 
Dungeness  and  the  anchorages  on  Puget  Sound, 
$5,000.  Some  increase  was  made  in  the  salaries  of 
territorial  officers,  and  a  liberal  appropriation  for  the 
Indian  service,  including  $100,000  to  enable  Stevens 
to  treat  with  the  Blackfoot  and  other  tribes  in  the 
north  and  east  portions  of  the  territory. 

Washington  territory,  or  that  portion  of  it  to  which 
its  early  history  chiefly  relates,  was  surrounded  by 
and  at  the  mercy  of  the  most  numerous,  if  not  the 
most  warlike,  native  tribes  of  the  original  territory 
of  Oregon.  The  census  in  Stevens'  report,  1853-4, 
gave  the  whole  number  of  Indians  in  western  Wash 
ington  as  between  seven  and  eight  thousand,  and 


90  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  between  six  and  seven 
thousand.33  Besides  the  tribes  actually  resident  about 
the  Sound,  the  settlements  were  liable  to  incursions 
from  the  Haidahs  of  Queen  Charlotte  Island,  and 
even  from  the  tribes  of  the  coast  as  far  north  as 
Fort  Simpson,  these  tribes  being  good  seamen,  and 
possessing  large  and  strong  war  canoes,  in  which  they 
made  long  voyages  to  commit  a  murder  or  a  theft.34 
The  Indians  on  the  sea-coast  of  Washington  and  along 
the  strait  of  Fuca  were  sometimes  guilty  of  murder, 
and  those  about  the  settlements  could  not  always 
withstand  the  temptation  to  commit  a  robbery,  for 
which  they  were  promptly  punished  when  detected, 
but  no  serious  outbreaks  had  yet  occurred  since  the 
organization  of  the  territory. 

In  July  1852  the  United  States  coast  surveying 
steamer  Active,  James  R.  Alden  commanding,  with  a 
surveying  party  under  lieutenants  Davidson  and  Law- 
son,  entered  Neah  Bay,  and  encamped  on  the  shore 
near  the  trading  post  of  Samuel  Hancock,  having 
gained  the  full  consent  of  the  Makahs  living  there 
in  order  not  to  give  offence.  The  steamer  then  pro 
ceeded  on  a  preliminary  survey  up  the  strait  to  Dun- 
geness  and  Port  Townsend,  Davidson  establishing 
astronomical  stations  at  the  latter  place  and  Port 
Angeles,  after  which  he  returned  to  Neah  Bay,  and 
the  Active  again  left  for  Shoalwater  Bay  to  make  a 
survey  there  before  the  close  of  the  season,  leaving 
the  party  of  nine  persons  at  Neah  Bay  without  the 
means  of  quitting  that  station  until  she  should  re 
turn.  The  camp  was  well  armed  with  rifles,  cavalry 
pistols,  shot-guns,  and  revolvers,  and  although  not 

33  Ind.  Aff.  Kept,  1854,  249. 

84  On  the  26th  of  September,  1852,  the  American  schooner  Susan  Sturges, 
sailing  along  the  coast  of  Queen  Charlotte  Island  with  a  light  breeze,  was 
surrounded  by  thirty  canoes,  the  Indians  professing  a  desire  to  sell  some  fish. 
When  they  were  near  enough,  they  simultaneously  sprang  on  board,  taking 
possession  of  the  vessel,  stripping  the  crew  naked,  and  taking  them  on  shore 
prisoners,  after  which  they  burned  the  vessel.  The  captives  were  rescued  by 
the  H.  B.  Co.  's  steamer  Heaver,  from  Fort  Simpson,  with  the  exception  of 
one  man,  whom  the  Indians  refused  to  release.  His  fate  it  is  needless  to 
conjecture.  Olympia  Columbian,  Jan.  1,  1863. 


INDIANS  AND  SMALL-POX.  91 

apprehending  any  danger,  were  prepared  for  an  attack. 
All  went  well  for  a  few  days  after  the  departure  of 
the  steamer,  when  a  fleet  of  canoes  containing  between 

'  o 

150  and  200  Nitinats  from  Vancouver  Island  an 
chored  in  the  bay,  most  of  them  remaining  in  their 
boats.  Thinking  this  a  precautionary  measure  to 
avoid  quarrels  between  the  resident  tribes  and  the 
strangers,  the  surveying  party  remained  in  negligent 
satisfaction,  pleased  with  this  apparent  discretion  of 
the  visitors. 

But  Hancock,  who  was  buying  fish  oil  of  them,  had 
discovered,  by  overhearing  on  the  second  day  a  con 
versation  not  intended  for  his  ears,  a  plot  to  massacre 
himself  and  the  surveying  party,  and  possess  them 
selves  of  the  goods  and  arms  of  both.  He  hastened 
to  impart  this  information  to  Davidson  and  Lawson, 
who  immediately  loaded  all  their  arms,  threw  up  a 
breastwork,  and  detailed  a  night-watch.  Hancock, 
who  had  two  men  at  his  post,  made  preparations  for 
an  attack,  and  himself  mounted  guard.  During  the 
night  some  Indians  came  ashore  and  proceeded  in  the 
direction  of  the  surveyors'  camp,  but  being  challenged 
by  the  guard,  retreated  to  their  canoes,  which  took 
their  departure  at  daybreak.  The  plot  originated 
with  the  Vancouver  Island  Indians,  the  Makahs  being 
reluctant  accomplices,  fearing  the  vengeance  of  the 
white  people.  Happily  nothing  came  of  it,  and  noth 
ing  was  said  about  it  to  the  Makahs.35 

Not  long  afterward  the  schooner  Cynosure,  Fowler 
master,  from  San  Francisco,  visited  Neah  Bay,  having 
on  board  two  Makahs,  and  a  white  man  sick  with  what 
proved  to  be  small-pox.  The  disease  had  been  com 
municated  to  Indians,  who  soon  fell  ill  and  spread  the 
contagion  among  their  tribe,  who  perished  by  scores 
from  its  ravages.  Not  being  able  to  control  it,  they 
conceived  the  idea  of  running  away  from  the  scourge, 
and  fled  to  Vancouver  Island,  where  they  communi- 

s*Law8on's  Autobiography,  MS.,  51-3;  Hancock's  Thirteen  Years,  MS., 
273-8. 


92  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

cated  it  to  the  Nitinats.  The  beach  at  Neah  Bay 
was  strewn  with  the  unburied  bodies  of  the  miserable 
Makahs,  who  were  no  longer  able  or  willing  to  attend 
the  sick  or  bury  the  dead.  At  the  end  of  six  weeks 
the  disease  abated,  but  the  tribe  had  lost  a  large 
percentage  of  its  members,  and  was  plunged  in  grief. 
After  a  few  months  of  brooding  over  their  losses,  they 
came  to  the  conclusion,  as  they  had  never  experienced 
such  a  visitation  before  Hancock  came  to  live  among 
them,  that  he  must  have  originated  the  plague,  and  he 
was  threatened  with  death  if  he  remained.  His  trad 
ing  post  was  therefore  vacated  in  the  spring  of  1853.36 

In  September  1853  a  large  party  of  the  Makahs 
visited  New  Dungeness  in  their  canoes,  encamping 
on  a  sand-spit  at  the  entrance  to  the  harbor,  having 
among  them  an  Indian  who  had  killed  Albert  Pet- 
tingill  near  Port  Tovvnsend  in  the  previous  spring. 
On  being  informed  of  this  by  a  Clallam,  Me  Almond, 
Bradshaw,  Abernethy,  Cline,  Brownfield,  and  Moore, 
being  all  the  settlers  who  were  in  the  neighborhood 
at  the  time,  met,  and  having  sent  for  reenforcemeots, 
finally  delegated  Brownfield  to  seek  an  interview  with 
the  Indians  and  demand  the  surrender  of  the  mur 
derer.  But  upon  visiting  their  camp,  the  Makahs 
refused  to  deliver  up  the  guilty  one,  challenging  the 
white  men  to  battle.  Being  reenforced  by  J.  C. 
Brown,  H.  W.  Watkins,  and  William  Failing,  the 
settlers  attempted  to  enter  the  Indian  camp,  when 
they  were  fired  upon.  Firing  followed  from  both 
sides,  and  in  the  affair  two  Indians  were  killed,  two 
wounded,  and  one  white  man  slightly  hurt  by  a  ball 
in  the  neck.  Darkness  put  an  end  to  the  engagement, 
which  was  conducted  in  canoes,  and  the  Indians  dis 
persed,  the  murderer  going  to  Port  Townsend.37 

On  hearing  of  the  attempted  capture  and  the  escape 

36 Id.,  278-86,  333.  Swan,  in  his  Northwest  Coast,  55-6,  refers  to  the 
prevalence  of  a  light  form  of  small-pox  at  Shoalwater  Bay,  which  did  not 
carry  off  white  men.  but  was  fatal  to  Indians.  Hancock  also  relates  that  one 
of  the  Makahs  who  first  had  the  disease  recovered,  but  his  people,  holding  him 
responsible  for  its  introduction,  killed  him.  Thirteen  Years,  MS.,  285-6. 

31  Olympia  Columbian,  Oct.  8  and  15,  1853. 


DEPREDATIONS  BY  NATIVES.  93 

of  the  murderer,  Captain  Alderi  pursued  him  from 
port  to  port  in  the  Active,  and  succeeded  in  overtak 
ing  him  at  Port  Ludlow,  where  the  chiefs  of  his  tribe 
coming  on  board  were  detained  until  the  criminal  was 

O 

given  up.  He  was  tried  and  found  guilty  at  the  Oc 
tober  term  of  the  3d  district  court  in  1854,  together 
with  an  accomplice.38 

Early  in  March  1854  William  Young,  in  the  em 
ployment  of  C.  C.  Terry  at  Alki,  while  looking  for  a 
land  claim  with  a  canoe  and  a  crew  of  three  Snoho- 
mish,  was  killed  and  robbed,  two  of  the  Indians 
being  found  with  his  clothing  and  other  property  in 
their  possession.  Suspecting  themselves  about  to 
be  arrested,  they  fled  to  Holme  Harbor,  Whidbey 
Island,  whither  they  were  pursued  by  the  sheriff,  T. 
S.  Russell,  of  King  county,  with  a  posse  of  four  men, 
who  made  the  arrests,  but  were  fired  upon  by  the 
friends  of  the  prisoners  and  four  of  their  number 
wounded,  one  of  whom,  Charles  Cherry,  died  soon 
after  returning  to  Seattle.39  Nine  Indians,  including 
one  of  the  murderers,  were  killed,  and  the  other  one 
secured,  who  confessed  not  only  the  killing  of  Young, 
but  also  of  one  of  his  confederates  in  a  quarrel  over 
the  spoil.  This  Indian  was  imprisoned  for  several 
months,  but  finally  discharged. 

About  the  same  time  the  Clallams  at  Dungeness 
having  killed  Captain  Jewell  and  his  steward,  Lieu 
tenant  Floyd  Jones,  4th  infantry,  with  a  squad  of 
men  repaired  to  the  disturbed  district,  where  two 
Indians  were  killed  and  several  slightly  wounded  in 
an  encounter  between  the  Clallams  and  the  military 
and  settlers.  On  hearing  of  these  troubles,  Governor 
Stevens  made  a  visit  to  the  lower  Sound;  but  in  the 
mean  time  the  murderers,  three  in  number,  were  ar- 

38  W.   H.  Wallace  and  Elwood  Evans   defended  Pettiugill's  murderers; 
Joseph  S.  Smith  and  B.  F.  Kendall  defended  Jewell's  murderers,  and  the  Ind 
ian  who  killed  Church.  O/ympia  Pioneer  and  Dem,,  Oct.  21,  1854. 

39  A  petition  was  sent  to  congress  asking  relief  from  the  loss  sustained  by 
T.  S.  Russell,  F.  M.  Syner,  and  Robert  R.  Phillips  by  reason  of  their  wounds 
and  consequent  inability  to  labor.    Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1854,  205-6. 


94  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

rested,  and  three  others  underwent  flogging  for 
theft.40 

In  consequence  of  the  affair  at  Holme  Harbor, 
Major  Larned,  who  took  command  of  Fort  Steilacoom. 
in  July  previous,  proceeded  to  Whidbey  Island  with 
a  detachment  of  nine  soldiers,  to  endeavor  to  restore 
peace  to  the  settlement  at  that  point.  While  return 
ing  in  a  government  surf-boat,  navigated  by  John 
Hamilton  of  Steilacoom,  all  were  lost  by  the  sudden 
upsetting  of  the  craft  in  a  squall  off  Port  Madison, 
except  two  privates,  who  clung  to  the  boat  and  drifted 
ashore  near  Seattle.41 

No  Indian  agents  as  yet  having  been  commis 
sioned  for  Washington,  Governor  Stevens,  as  superin 
tendent  of  Indian  affairs,  appointed  M.  T.  Simmons 
special  agent  for  the  Puget  Sound  district.  Simmons 
entered  upon  his  duties  by  publishing  a  request  to  all 
good  citizens  to  aid  in  the  suppression  of  liquor-selling 
to  Indians,  by  informing  him  of  every  such  infraction 
of  the  law  which  became  known  to  them;  by  advising 
persons  employing  Indians  to  have  a  written  contract 
witnessed  by  a  white  man;  and  by  refraining  from 
punishing  suspected  Indian  criminals  except  upon  cer 
tain  proofs  of  their  crimes.  With  this  caution  ob 
served,  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  preserve  the  peace. 
Soon  after  the  appointment  of  Simmons  west  of  the 
Cascade  Mountains,  Stevens  appointed  A.  J.  Bolan, 
member  of  the  legislature  from  Clarke  county,  special 
agent  for  the  district  extending  east  of  the  Cascades 
to  the  Bitter  Hoot  Mountains,  and  W.  H.  Tappan, 
councilman  from  Clarke  county,  special  agent  for  the 
Columbia  River  district. 

In  April  1854  the  Snohomish  voluntarily  hanged 
two  of  their  own  people  at  Seattle  for  the  murder 

40  Joseph  S.  Smith  and  B.  F.  Kendall  defended  these  Indians,  and  also  the 
murderer  of  Judah  Church,  who  was  killed  in  March  1853.  Olymjria  Pioneer 
and  De.m.,  Oct.  21,  1854.     They  were  all  convicted,  but  escaped. 

41  The  drowned  were  Major  Lamed,  who  left  a  family  at  Fort  Steilacoom, 
John  Hamilton,  Corporal  Jirah  T.  Barlow,    John   Mclntyre,    Henry  Hall, 
Lawrence  Fitzpatrick,  Charles  Ross,  John  Clark,  and  Henry  Lees.  Id.,  April 
8,  1854. 


INDIAN  WARS.  95 

of  a  white  man  at  Lake  Union,  in  July  previous,  and 
the  most  friendly  relations  seemed  established  in 
that  quarter  About  the  same  time  James  Burt 
murdered  an  Indian  of  Fort  Simpson,  near  Olympia, 
was  tried  and  acquitted,  but  fled  the  territory  to  avoid 
the  vengeance  of  the  tribe.  In  the  estimation  of  the 
public,  the  white  man  should  have  been  punished,42 
and  apprehensions  of  the  consequences  of  this  act 
were  expressed  in  the  Olympia  newspaper. 

In  the  latter  part  of  May  ten  large  war  canoes, 
containing  several  hundred  northern  Indians,  appeared 
at  Vancouver  Island,  and  a  party  of  eight  coming  on 
shore,  shot  Charles  Bailey,  an  Englishman,  whom 
they  mistook  for  an  American.  Governor  Douglas 
ordered  out  a  force  from  the  fort  at  Victoria,  pursuing 
them  to  their  canoes,  two  of  which  proceeded  to  Bel- 
lingham  Bay,  landing  at  the  claim  of  a  settler  named 
Clayton,  who,  perceiving  from  their  demeanor  that 
hostilities  were  intended,  fled  to  the  woods,  pursued 
by  the  Indians,  and  escaped  to  the  house  of  Captain 
Pattle,  where  some  of  the  Lummi  tribe  were  found 
and  sent  to  alarm  the  settlements.  Clayton,  Pattle, 
and  five  others,  in  order  to  avoid  being  taken  should 
the  enemy  have  found  the  trail  of  the  fugitives,  em 
barked  in  a  canoe,  and  anchored  off  the  house  of  Pat 
tle,  in  readiness  to  escape  by  water  should  the  Indians 
attack  by  land.  Here  they  remained  from  Satur 
day  afternoon  to  10  o'clock  Sunday  night,  when  all 
went  ashore  except  two — David  Melville  and  George 
Brown — who  were  left  to  keep  guard.  During  the 
night  Richard  Williams,  one  of  the  shore  party,  dis 
charged  his  gun  to  clean  it,  the  arm  having  been  wet 
the  day  before.  His  fire  was  returned  by  a  volley 
out  of  the  darkness  and  from  the  water.  At  the 
sound  of  the  firing,  some  friendly  Indians  came  to  the 
rescue,  and  the  enemy  was  driven  off.  The  two  men 
in  the  boat  were  never  seen  again,  but  as  their  canoe 

o         » 

ald.,  May  20,  1854;  rept  of  Capt.  Stoneman.  in  U.  S.  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  88, 
x.,  17o-G,  30th  cong.  1st  sess. 


96  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

was  found  on  the  beach  the  next  morning,  covered 
with  blood,  it  was  supposed  that  they  were  surprised 
while  asleep  and  beheaded,  as  was  customary  with 
these  northern  Indians.  The  murderers  then  robbed 
several  houses  on  Bellingham  Bay  and  Whidbey 
Island,  and  disappered.  Secretary  and  acting  gover 
nor  Mason  and  Agent  Simmons,  on  learning  that 
armed  northern  Indians  had  appeared  in  the  waters  of 
Washington,  immediately  repaired  to  Fort  Steilacoom, 
and  with  a  small  detachment  of  soldiers  proceeded 
down  the  Sound  to  ascertain  the  condition  of  affairs 
in  that  quarter.  Nothing,  however,  was  effected  be 
yond  making  a  display  of  the  intention  of  the  United 
States  to  punish  crimes  committed  against  its  citi 
zens,  when  able.  Upon  receiving  advices  from  the 
Secretary,  Governor  Stevens  called  the  attention  of 
the  war  department  to  the  inadequacy  of  the  force 
stationed  at  Puget  Sound,  and  the  necessity  for  some 
means  of  transporting  troops  other  than  by  canoes. 

The  absence  of  steam-vessels  on  the  Sound  made 
the  communication  of  news  slow  and  uncertain,  as  it 
also  made  the  chance  of  succor  in  case  of  need  nearly 
hopeless.  The  Fairy,  which  ran  for  a  short  time,  had 
been  withdrawn,  and  for  the  period  of  nine  months 
nothing;  faster  than  a  sailing  vessel  or  canoe  could  be 

• 

had  to  transport  passengers  or  troops  from  point  to 
point,  while  land  travel  north  of  Seattle  was  imprac 
ticable.  At  length,  in  September  1854,  the  steamer 
Major  Tompkins,  Captain  James  M.  Hunt,  owned  by 
John  H.  Scranton,  was  brought  from  San  Francisco 
and  placed  upon  the  Sound  to  ply  regularly  between 
Olyrnpia,  where  a  wharf  had  been  erected  by  Edward 
Giddings,  Jr,  on  the  flat  north  of  the  town,43  and 
Victoria,  calling  at  the  intermediate  ports.  Very 
soon  afterward  the  custom-house  was  removed  from 
Olympia  to  Port  Townsend,  and  the  revenue-cutter 
Jefferson  Davis,  Captain  William  C.  Pease,  arriving 

"Sylvester's  Olympia,  MS.,  22;  Parker's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  5-6;  Eldridge'a 
Sketches,  MS.,  11;  Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1854,  209-10. 


LOSS  OF  THE  MAJOR  TOMPKIXS.  97 

for  service  on  the  Sound,  sensibly  relieved  the  feeling 
of  isolation  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  northern  counties. 
In  October  the  murderers  of  Captain  Jewell  and 
Church  escaped  from  Fort  Steilacoorn,  and  Acting 
Governor  Mason  offered  a  large  reward  for  their  re- 
apprehension.  These  Indians  were  retaken  in  Decem 
ber,  when  the  Major  Tompkins,  with  the  revenue-cutter 
carrying  troops  in  tow,  proceeded  to  a  camp  of  the 
Clallams  on  Hood  Canal,  to  demand  the  surrender  of 
the  convicts.  Already  Simmons  had  secured  Church's 
murderer,  but  the  tribe  refused  to  give  up  the  others. 
When  the  soldiers  under  Lieutenant  Nugent  landed, 
the  savages  fled,  and  the  only  result  of  this  expedition 
was  the  destruction  of  their  camp  and  winter  supply 
of  salmon.  The  cutter  also  fired  some  shots  into  the 
woods  before  leaving,  by  which  five  Clallams  were 
reported  to  have  been  killed.  On  the  return  down 
the  canal,  Simmons  succeeded  in  capturing  a  Clallam 
chief  known  as  the  Duke  of  York,44  and  detained  him 
as  a  hostage  for  the  surrender  of  the  escaped  con 
victs,  who  were  finally  delivered,  and  taken  to  Stcila- 
coom.  The  Indians  were  terrified  by  the  rapidity 
with  which  the  Major  Tompldns  followed  them,  and 
the  certainty  with  which  they  were  overtaken  in 
flight,  and  it  was  believed  the  moral  effect  of  the  fear 
inspired  would  be  effectual  to  prevent  crimes.  To 
the  chagrin  of  the  white  population  and  the  relief  of 
the  Indians,  the  Major  TompJcins  was  lost  the  night 
of  the  10th  of  February,  1855,  by  being  blown  on  the 
rocks  at  the  entrance  to  Esquimalt  Harbor,  Vancou 
ver  Island,  her  passengers  all  escaping  to  land.  Her 
place  was  filled  soon  after  by  the  Water  Lily,  owned 
by  C.  C.  Terry. 

44  This  Indian  and  his  two  wives,  Queen  Victoria  and  Jenny  Lind,  have 
become  historical  characters  in  Washington,  being  often  referred  to  by 
writers  visiting  Port  Townsend,  where  they  resided.  Swan,  in  liis  Wash. 
Sketch,  MS.,  8,  makes  mention  of  them,  saying  that  the  Duke  of  York  lived  at 
one  end  of  the  beach,  and  at  the  other  a  remnant  of  the  Chimakum  tribe. 
Nothing  less  like  the  personages  they  were  named  after  could  be  imagined 
than  these  squalid  beach  dwellers. 
HIST.  WASH.— 7 


98  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

Governor  Stevens  returned  to  Olympia  with  his 
family45  on  the  1st  of  December,  in  time  to  be  present 
at  the  opening  of  the  legislature40  on  the  4th  of  that 
month. 

In  his  message  the  governor  referred  to  the  Indian 
disturbances  on  the  immigrant  road  to  Oregon  and 
Washington/7  as  well  as  the  troubles  on  the  lower 
part  of  the  Sound,  and  the  effect  they  were  likely  to 
have  upon  the  immigration  of  the  following  years,48 

45  Accompanying  the  governor  on  his  first  arrival  was  his  nephew,  George 
Watson  Stevens  of  Lawrence,  Mass.,  22  years  of  age.     He  was  a  young  man 
of  talent  and  education,  from  whom  much  was  expected;  but  was  accidentally 
drowned  in  the  Skookum  Chuck,  Feb.  16,  1885.  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem., 
Feb.  24,  1855. 

46  The  members  of  the  council  elected  to  fill  the  places  left  vacant  by  the 
expiration  of  the  short  term  and  other  causes  were  Jefferson  Huff  and  Ira 
Patterson  from  Clarke  and  Skamania,  C.  C.  Terry  and  W.  A.  Strickler  from 
Pierce  and  King,  and  A.  M.  Poe  from  Island,  Clallam,  Jefferson,  and  What- 
com  counties.     Catlin,  of  the  former  council,  was  chosen  president;  Butler 
P.  Anderson,  chief  clerk;  A.  J.  Moses,  assistant  clerk;  J.  L.  Mitchell,  ser- 
geant-at-arms;   William  Cullison,  door-keeper. 

The  lower  house  was  composed  of  William  McCool,  of  Skamania  county; 
C.  C.  Stiles,  Chas  S.  Irby,  William  Hendrickson,  Henry  R.  Crosbie,  of  Clarke; 
John  Briscoe,  of  Pacific  and  Wahkiakum;  George  Watkins,  of  Chehalis  and 
Sawamish ;  Charles  H.  Spinning,  Charles  F.  White,  of  Lewis;  Stephen 
Guthrie,  William  Cock,  Benjamin  L.  Henness,  William  P.  Wells,  of  Thurs- 
ton;  William  H.  Wallace,  Frank  Clarke,  Samuel  McCaw,  of  Pierce;  John  Car 
son,  of  Pierce  and  King;  A.  A.  Denny,  of  King;  Timothy  Heald,  of  Jefferson 
and  Clallam;  R.  L.  Doyle,  of  Island  and  Whatcom;  A.  S.  Abernethy,  of 
Cowlitz.  Crosbie  was  chosen  speaker;  B.  F.  Kendall  was  elected  chief  clerk; 
R.  M.  Walker,  assistant  clerk;  Milton  Mounts,  sergeant-at-arms;  William 
Baily,  door-keeper.  Wash.  Jour.  House,  1854-5,  8-9,  16. 

47  The  massacre  of  the  Ward  train,  in  Hist.  Or.,  ii.,  chap,  xiv.,  this  series, 
and  the  killing  of  George  Lake,  Walter  G.  Perry,  and  E.  B.  Cantrell,  immi 
grants  to  Washington,  is  referred  to  here.  Ebey's  Jour.,  MS.,  12-15,  17,  19, 
23,  25. 

48  The  immigration  to  Washington  by  the  road  opened  in  1853  to  Walla 
Walla  was  not  large.     The  road  had  been  further  improved,  but  was  not  yet 
good.     Jacob  Ebey  and  W.  S.  Ebey,  with  six  others  of  the  family,  Harvey 
H.  Jones,  A.  S.Yantis,  Moses  Kirtland,  M.   Cox,    T.   J.   Headley,    Henry 
Whitsill,  George  E.  King,   the  families  of  Lake  and  Perry  killed  by  the 
Indians,  C.  P.    Anderson,  Charles  Van  Wormer,  William  Goodell,  A.  D. 
Neely,  J.   R.  Meeker,  M.  W.  Morrow,  James  Kirtley,  W.  N.  Ayers,  in  all 
about  20  families  and  200  head  of  stock,  passed  over  this  route.  Olympia 
Pioneer  and  Dem.,  Sept.  16  and  Oct.   15,  1854.     In  Ebey^s  Journal,  MS.,  i. 
101,  I  find  mention  of  A.  J.  Bradley,  Dick  Bradley,  John  Waste,  Judson,  H. 
H.  Jones,  S.  P.  Burr,  and  hints  of  the  settlements  already  made  and  to  be 
made  in  White  and  Puyallup  valleys.     Porter's   claim   was   the   first  after 
leaving  the  mountains  in  White  River  Valley.     '  King,  Kirtland,  Jones,  and 
others, '  says  Ebey,  '  will  probably  locate  in  this  vicinity,'  and  by  reference 
to  Morgan's  map  of  Puget  Sound  I  find  these  names,  and  that  of  Cox  on  White 
River.     Three   miles  from   Porter's  was  Council's  prairie,  and  three  milea 
farther  was  Fennellis'  prairie;  six  miles  to  the  Puyallup  bottoms,  where  some 
houses  were  being  put  up;   nine  miles  after  crossing  the   Puyallup  to  J. 
Montgomery's  claim  east  of  Steilacoom,  and  near  that  place  the  claim  of  Peter 


TREATIES  WITH  THE  NATIVES.  99 

and  again  recommended  the  enrolment  of  the  militia, 
before  which  an  application  to  the  secretary  of  war 
for  arms  and  ammunition  must  fail,  and  expressed  the 
hope  that  the  people  would  give  him  their  support 
in  arranging  "on  a  permanent  basis  the  future  of  the 
Indians  in  the  territory."  Feeling  the  necessity  of 
this  work,  the  governor  very  soon  set  about  it,  and 
concluded  on  the  2Gth  of  December  a  treaty  with  the 
several  tribes  at  the  head  of  the  Sound.  Three  small 
reservations  were  made,  as  follows:  an  island  op 
posite  Skookum  Bay,  two  sections  of  land  on  the 
Sound  west  of  the  meridian  line,  and  an  equal  amount 
on  the  Puyallup  River  near  its  mouth.  Under  this 
treaty  the  Indians  had  the  right  to  fish  as  usual,  to 
pasture  their  horses  on  any  unclaimed  land,  and  to 
gather  their  food  of  berries  and  roots  wherever  they 
did  not  trespass  upon  enclosed  ground,  or  to  reside 
near  the  settlements  provided  they  did  nothing  to 
make  their  presence  objectionable.  Between  six  and 
seven  hundred  signed  the  treaty,  which,  besides  their 
annuities,  gave  them  teachers,  a  farmer,  mechanics, 
and  a  physician,  and  manifested  their  satisfaction.49 
This  treaty  was  immediately  ratified  by  the  senate. 

On  the  22d  of  January,  1854,  a  treaty  was  con 
cluded  with  about  2,500  natives  on  the  eastern  shore 
of  the  Sound.  The  treaty  was  held  at  Point  Elliott, 
near  the  mouth  of  Snohomish  River.  Speeches  were 
made  by  Seattle,  Patkanim,  and  other  chiefs  of  influ 
ence,  all  expressive  of  friendship  for  the  white  people 
and  pleasure  at  the  treaty,  and  a  reservation  was  agreed 
upon  on  the  Lumimi  River.  Then  followed  a  treaty 

Smith.  According  to  the  same  authority,  Judson  Van  Wormer  and  Goodell 
went  to  Mound  Prairie,  south  of  the  Nisqually  lliver,  to  find  claims.  S.  P. 
Burr  died  on  the  road,  but  his  family  arrived.  Mrs  Meeker  died  on  the 
Platte.  Meeker  and  Mrs  Burr  were  married  after  arriving  in  the  territory. 
Ezra  Meeker,  later  a  well-known  hop-grower  in  the  Puyallup  Valley,  and 
author  of  a  pamphlet  on  Washington,  was  already  settled  on  a  claim  east  of 
Steilacoom.  Daniel  Smalley  and  George  W.  Davidson  settled  near  New 
Dimgeuess  in  the  autumn  of  1854,  but  they  were  not  of  the  overland  immi 
gration.  Many  arrived  by  sea,  or  from  the  Columbia.  H'axh.  Ter.  Sketches, 
MS.,  68. 

49  Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1854-5,  15;  0/ympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  Dec.  30, 
1854. 


100  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

with  the  tribes  farther  north,  at  which  a  thousand 
were  present,  who  consented  readily  to  the  terms,  the 
chiefs  using  the  occasion  to  display  their  oratory,  but 
in  a  friendly  fashion.  A  reservation  was  selected 
about  the  head  of  Hood  Canal.  Soon  afterward  the 
Makahs  of  Cape  Flattery  and  other  tribes  at  the  en 
trance  to  the  straits  were  treated  with;  and  lastly  a 
council  was  held  with  those  on  the  Chehalis  River 
and  the  coast,  the  whole  business  being  transacted  in 
less  than  three  months,  and  in  the  winter  season,  such 
was  the  energy  with  which  the  governor  addressed 
himself  to  the  duties  of  Indian  superintendent.50 

But  after  a  week  of  negotiation,  in  the  latter  case 
the  council  broke  up  without  coming  to  any  agree 
ment  on  account  of  each  of  the  fragments  of  tribes, 
five  in  number,  desiring  a  separate  reservation,  to 
which  Stevens  refused  his  consent.51 

Having  completed  the  labor  of  extinguishing  Indian 
titles  west  of  the  Cascade  Mountains,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  the  Cowlitz,  Chinooks,  Chehalis,  and  Que- 
niults,  who  together  numbered  about  eight  hundred, 
Stevens  next  prepared  to  enter  upon  the  same  duties 
in  eastern  Washington.  While  on  his  survej'ing  expe 
dition,  he  had  been  at  much  pains  to  become  acquainted 

50  Swan,  in  his  Northwest  Coast,  327-48,  gives  some  idea  of  how  Stevens 
accomplished  so  much  work.     It  was  greatly  advanced  by  his  habit  of  having 
agents  on  the  ground  some  time  beforehand.     He  has  been  accused,  particu 
larly  by  Tolmie,  in  his  Purjet  Sound,  MS. ,  37,  of  forcing  treaties  upon  the  Ind 
ians  without  giving  them  time  to  consider  sufficiently  what  was  proposed. 
But  Swan  makes  a  different  statement.     Special  Agent  Tap  pan  was  sent  in 
advance  to  gather  up  the  Indians  of  his  district  and  take  them  to  the  place 
of  meeting  on  the  Chehalis  River,  where  H.  D.  Cook  and  Sidney  Ford,  Jr, 
would  meet  him  with  the  coast  tribes.     Swan,  J.  G.  Cooper  of  the  railroad 
survey,  George  Gibbs,  and  others  were  invited  to  be  present.     The  treaty- 
ground  was  on  the  claim  of  James  Pilkington,  10  miles  above  Gray  Harbor, 
where  a  comfortable  camp  was  arranged,  and  where  ample  time  was  taken  to 
make  the  Indians  acquainted  with  the  propositions  offered  them.     The  prin 
cipal  interpreter  for  the  white  men  was  B.  F.  Shaw,  colonel  of  the  newly  or 
ganized  militia,  who  gave  the  speech  of  the  governor  in  jargon  to  an  Indian 
interpreter  from  each  tribe,  who  repeated  it  to  his  people — a  slow  but  sure 
method  of  conveying  his  meaning. 

51  Swan  thought  Stevens  should  have  yielded.     Perhaps  it  would  have  been 
more  politic;  but  Palmer  of  Oregon,  after  many  years  of  acquaintance  with 
Indian  affairs,  says  it  is  a  mistake  to  have  many  reservations.     It  certainly  is 
much  more  expensive  to  the  government.     Swan  believed  the  Indians  should 
have  been  humored  in  their  dislike  of  each  other  and  their  attachment  to 
localities. 


MORE  TREATIES.  101 

with  all  the  tribes  upon  his  route  within  or  bordering 
upon  his-district,  and  to  prepare  their  minds  for  treaty- 
making.  He  had  particularly  commissioned  James 
Doty,  one  of  his  assistants,  who  remained  at  Fort 
Beriton  in  charge  of  the  meteorological  post  at  that 
place  for  a  year,  to  inquire  into  all  matters  pertaining 
to  the  Indian  tribes  in  that  quarter,  and  who  was 
made  a  special  agent  for  that  purpose.62  Lieutenant 
Mullan,  who  was  employed  in  the  Mathead  country  for 
the  same  length  of  time,  was  instructed  to  give  much 
attention  to  Indian  affairs,  and  apparently  gained  a 
strong  influence  over  them;  and  Lieutenant  Saxton 
also  remained  some  time  with  the  Nez  Perces  in  order 
to  give  and  obtain  information. 

In  October  Mullan  and  Doty  arrived,  the  first  at 
Vancouver  and  the  second  at  Olympia,  and  when 
Stevens  returned  a  few  weeks  later  from  Washington 
city,  they  were  ready  to  report  in  person.  In  Janu 
ary  1855  Doty  was  despatched  with  a  small  party 
east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  to  make  arrangements 
with  the  Yakimas,  Walla  Wallas,  Nez  Perces,  and 
Palouses,  for  a  grand  council,  which,  by  agreement 
with  Superintendent  Palmer  of  Oregon,  was  appointed 
for  the  20th  of  May,  Kamiakin,  chief  of  the  Yaki 
mas,  himself  directing  that  the  council  should  be  held 
in  the  Walla  Walla  Valley,  near  the  site  of  the  pres 
ent  city  of  that  name,  because  it  was  an  ancient 
council-ground. 

At  the  time  and  place  agreed  upon  the  council  was 
held,  and  treaties  signed  by  the  chiefs  of  the  Yakimas, 
Walla  Wallas,  Nez  Perces,  and  Cayuses,  the  narra 
tive  of  which  is  contained  in  another  volume.53  Sev 
eral  weeks  were  consumed  at  the  treaty-grounds,  and 
it  was  the  middle  of  June  before  Stevens  was  ready 

62  Par.  #.  R.  Kept,  xii.  113. 

^Hist.   Or.,  ii.,  chap,  xiv.,  this  series.       Briefly,  the  tribes  assembk 
gave  the  superintendents  unexpected  trouble  in  making  treaties,  Kaniiakn 
having  conspired  with  other  chiefs  to  destroy  the  commissioners  and  s 
government  property  which  was  stored  at  Fort  Walla  Walla.    Lawyer, 
chief  of  the  Nez  Perces,  was  able  to  prevent  the  conspiracy  being  came      >ut, 
but  not  to  prevent  what  followed. 


102  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

to  proceed  to  the  Black  foot  country,  where  arrange 
ments  had  been  made  for  a  treaty  council  in  October. 
While  en  route  every  opportunity  was  used  to  culti 
vate  confidential  relations  with  the  Indians,  and 
treaties  were  entered  into  with  the  upper  Pend  d'Ore- 
illes,  Kootenais,  and  Flatheads.  A  delegation  of  the 
Nez  Perces,  under  the  special  agency  of  William 
Craig  of  Lapwai,  attended  him  to  the  Blackfoot  coun 
cil,  where  a  treaty  of  peace  was  entered  into  between 
the  Blackfoot  nation  and  this  tribe,  and  where  a  suc 
cessful  conference  was  held  with  this  powerful  and 
predatory  people.54  The  news  of  the  Blackfoot  treaty 
was  despatched  to  Olympia  by  the  governor's  special 
expressman,  W.  H.  Pearson,  who  returning  October 
29th  met  Stevens'  party  two  days'  travel  west  of  Fort 
Benton,  on  their  way  home  with  the  intelligence  that, 
so  far  from  keeping  their  treaty  obligations,  the  Yaki- 
mas,  Walla  Wallas,  Cayuses,  Palouses,  and  a  part  of 
the  Nez  Perces  were  at  war  with  the  white  people, 
and  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  reach 

64  Stevens  was  assisted  in  his  labors  by  Special  Agent  Doty;  by  commis 
sioned  agent  R.  H.  Lansdalo,  whose  district  this  was  ;  by  Gustavus  Sohon,  'a 
private  in  the  4th  infantry,  who  was  with  Mr  Mullan  the  year  previous  in 
the  Bitter  Root  Valley,  and  had  shown  a  great  taste  as  an  artist  and  ability 
to  learn  the  Indian  language,  as  well  as  facility  in  intercourse  with  the  Ind 
ians;'  by  Albert  H.  Robie,  'a  most  intelligent  young  man,  who,  from  a 
cook-boy  in  1853,  had  in  a  year  and  half  become  an  intelligent  herder  and 
woodsman,  and  was  also  desirous  of  being  engaged  on  the  service;'  Pac.  E.  H. 
Kept,  xii.  196;  and  Special  Agent  Thomas  Adams,  one  of  his  aids  in  1853. 
His  messenger  was  W.  H.  Pearson,  whom  Stevens  describes  as  'hardy,  intel 
ligent,  bold,  and  resolute,'  and  as  being  'acquainted  with  all  the  relations 
between  Indians  and  white  men,  from  the  borders  of  Texas  to  the  forty-ninth 
parallel. '  Pearson  carried  the  news  of  the  Walla  Walla  council  to  Olympia, 
and  returning  overtook  Stevens  in  the  Flathead  country  in  time  to  start  back 
again  July  18th  with  the  results  of  a  council  with  that  nation.  On  the  27th 
of  August  he  again  overtook  Stevens'  party  at  Fort  Benton,  the  distance  to 
Olympia  and  back — 1,750  miles— being  accomplished  in  28  days,  some  of 
which  were  not  used  in  travel.  He  rode  the  2GO  miles  from  Fort  Owen  to 
Fort  Benton  in  less  than  three  days.  One  thing  which  Stevens  never  forgot 
to  do  was  to  give  credit  where  it  belonged,  even  to  his  humblest  servants ; 
but  this  feat  of  Pearson's  he  mentions  as  showing  the  practicability  of  travel 
in  eastern  Washington.  His  thirteen-year-old  son  Hazard,  who  accompanied 
him  on  this  journey  to  the  Blackfoot  country,  was  sent  as  a  messenger  to  the 
Gros  Ventres  to  bring  them  to  the  council-ground  at  the  mouth  of  Judith 
River,  and  rode  150  miles  from  10  o'clock  of  one  day  to  half-past  2  o'clock  of 
the  next,  without  fatigue.  Stevens  was  detained  beyond  the  time  contem 
plated  by  having  to  wait  for  keel-boats  from  below  on  the  Missouri  River 
with  the  treaty  goods,  the  water  being  low. 


STEVENS'  JOURNEY.  103 

Olympia  through  the  Indian  country,  advices  from 
army  officers  recommending  him  to  go  down  the  Mis 
souri  River,  and  return  to  Washington  territory  by 
the  way  of  New  York.  Instead  of  taking  this  hu 
miliating  advice,  Stevens  at  once  determined  to  push 
forward  at  all  hazards.  Sending  Doty  back  to  Fort 
Benton  for  a  large  supply  of  ammunition,  with  addi 
tional  arms  and  horses,  he  encamped  his  men  to  await 
Doty's  return,  and  on  the  31st,  with  only  A.  H.  Robie 
and  a  Delaware  Indian  interpreter,  started  to  ride 
express  to  Bitter  Root  Valley,  to  communicate  with 
Agent  R.  H.  Lansdale,  in  charge  of  the  Flatheads. 
At  Fort  Owen55  he  overtook  the  Nez  Perce  delega 
tion,  whom  he  found  informed  of  the  war  which  had 
broken  out  in  the  Yakima  country,  and  also  that  a 
portion  of  their  own  tribe  were  disaffected  and  some 
of  them  hostile,  while  all  the  other  tribes  who  had 
been  parties  to  the  treaty  of  Walla  Walla  were  un 
doubtedly  so.  However,  after  a  conference,  the  whole 
party  of  fourteen,  including  the  war-chiefs  Looking 
Glass,  Spotted  Eagle,  and  Three  Feathers,  promised 
friendship,  and  agreed  to  accompany  Stevens  as  a  part 
of  his  escort,  offering  if  he  should  go  through  the 
Nez  Perce  country  to  send  a  large  party  of  young 
men  with  him  to  The  Dalles.  He  halted  but  one 
day,  and  moved  down  to  Hell  Gate  pass  to  wait  for 
Doty,  who  overtook  him  on  the  llth  of  November, 
and  where  he  was  detained  until  the  15th  completing 
preparations  for  the  contemplated  march.  He  crossed 
the  Bitter  Root  Mountains  on  the  20th,  in  three 
feet  of  snow,  the  horses  of  the  train  being  one  night 
without  grass.  When  twenty-five  miles  from  the  Coeur 
d'Alene  Mission,  he  again  travelled  in  advance  of  the 
train,  with  only  Pearson,  Craig,  and  four  of  the  Nez 
Perces. 

Information  had  been  brought  to  Stevens  that  it 

55  Fort  Owen  was  a  stockade,  the  residence  of  John  Oweu  and  his  brother, 
stock-raisers  in  the  Bitter  Root  Valley.  They  had  abandoned  their  place 
previous  to  the  passage  of  the  railroad  expedition  from  fear  of  the  Blackfoot 
tribe,  but  had  reestablished  it. 


104  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

was  the  intention  of  the  hostile  tribes  to  cut  off  his 
return,  and  he  had  no  means  of  knowing  to  what  ex 
tent  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  and  other  tribes  on  his 
route  had  been  influenced  or  brought  into  the  com 
bination  for  war.  But  judging  it  best  to  seem  uncon 
scious  of  danger,  he  did  so,  "throwing  ourselves  into 
the  midst  of  the  Indians  with  our  rifles  in  one  hand, 
and  our  arms  outstretched  on  the  other  side,  we  ten 
dered  them  both  the  sword  and  the  olive-branch." 
To  the  Nez  Perces  he  had  given  instructions  to 
entertain  the  Cceur  d'Alenes  with  stories  of  the 
Blackfoot  council,  and  talk  of  the  advantages  of  the 
treaty  which  would  relieve  them  in  the  future  of  the 
depredations  to  which  they  from  time  immemorial 
had  been  subjected  by  this  people. 

The  plan  succeeded.  The  Coeur  d'Alenes,  taken 
by  surprise,  met  the  governor  and  his  party  with  a 
cordial  welcome;  but  when  the  first  involuntary  pleas 
ure  of  meeting  was  over,  they  began  to  remember 
what  the  emissaries  of  Kamiakin,  who  were  but  five 
days  gone,  had  told  them  of  him,  their  manner  changed, 
and  they  seemed  undecided  whether  to  commit  them 
selves  to  peace  or  war. 

Without  giving  them  time  to  retract,  Stevens  has 
tened  on,  as  soon  as  his  train  had  overtaken  him  to  the 
Spokane  country,  where  he  had  resolved  to  hold  a 
council.  Arrived  at  the  place  of  Antoine  Plante,56 
Indian  runners  were  despatched  to  the  lower  Spokanes, 
Pend  d'Oreilles,  and  Colville  Indians,  and  invitations 
sent  to  Angus  McDonald  at  Fort  Colville,  and  also 
to  the  Jesuit  fathers  Ravelli  and  Joset  of  the  Col 
ville  and  Cceur  d'Alene  missions,  to  bring  them  to 
gether  in  conference. 

Several  days  elapsed  before  all  arrived,  and  when 
they  were  met,  it  seemed  doubtful  if  peace  could  be 
obtained.  "I  had  there,"  said  Stevens  in  his  official 
report,  "one  of  the  stormiest  councils,  for  three  days, 

66  Plants  was  a  half-breed  living  in  the  Spokane  country,  'near  the  prairie 
intermediate  between  them  and  the  Coeur  d'Alenes.' 


DEALINGS  WITH  THE  INDIANS.  105 

that  ever  occurred  in  my  whole  Indian  experience," 
because  he  would  not  promise  the  Indians  that  the 
United  States  troops  should  not  cross  to  the  north 
side  of  the  Snake  River.  "Of  course,"  says  Father 
Joset,  "the  governor  could  not  promise  such  a  thing. 
He  made  several  promises,  but  he  evaded  that  ques 
tion."  57 

But  when  the  Indians  had  heard  a  complete  refu 
tation  of  the  tales  told  them  by  the  agents  of  Kamia- 
kin,  and  been  assured  of  protection  so  long  as  they 
remained  friendly,  they  took  heart  and  appeared 
satisfied;  and  Stevens  conquered,  as  he  had  at  the 
Walla  Walla  council,  by  force  of  personal  will  as  well 
as  argument,  the  chiefs  ending  by  consulting  him  on 
all  points  as  if  he  had  been  their  father,  and  confiding 
to  him  all  their  vexations  and  anxieties. 

But  there  was  another  danger  to  be  encountered. 
The  Spokanes  insisted  that  the  Nez  Perces  were 
hostile,  though  Stevens  had  hitherto  had  entire 
confidence  in  their  good  faith.  Being  put  upon  his 
guard  when  he  was  rejoined  by  the  party  from  the 
Blackfoot  council  under  Looking  Glass,  he  set  his 
interpreter  to  spy  upon  this  chief,  who  was  at  length 
overheard  explaining  to  a  Spokane  chief  a  plan  to 
entrap  the  treaty-maker  when  he  should  arrive  in 
the  Nez  Perce  country,  and  advising  the  Spokanes 
to  a  similar  course.  Says  Stevens:  "I  never  com 
municated  to  Looking  Glass  my  knowledge  of  his 
plans,  but  knowing  them,  I  knew  how  to  meet  them 
in  council.  I  also  knew  how  to  meet  them  in  his 
own  country,  and  it  gave  me  no  difficulty."5 

67 1  was  so  fortunate  as  to  secure,  through  the  industry  of  Mrs  Rowena 
Nichols  of  Whitman  county,  Washington,  a  copy  of  some  of  Joset's  writings, 
in  which  is  a  pretty  full  account  of  this  council  of  Stevens  with  the  Spokanes 
and  others.  It  is  contained  in  a  manuscript  by  Mrs  Nichols,  called  Indian 
Affairs  in  Oregon. 

68  Pac.  R.  R.  Kept,  xii.  225.  This  incident  shows  that  Looking  Glass  was 
no  more  sincere  in  signing  the  treaty  of  Walla  Walla  than  was  Kamiakin  or 
Penpeumoxmox.  Father  Joset  says  that  somebody  having  told  the  Indians 
that  it  was  for  their  interest  to  make  a  treaty,  'as  the  whites  would  have  their 
lands  anyway,'  they  agreed  to  make  a  mock  treaty  in  order  to  gain  time  and 
prepare  for  war.  Nicholn'  Ind.  Aff.,  MS.,  3. 


106  ORGANIZATION  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

The  Spokanes  offered  to  escort  him  through  the 
country  of  the  "hostile  Nez  Perces,"  but  Stevens 
declined,  to  show  that  he  had  no  favors  to  ask,  as  well 
as  to  lessen  the  danger  of  collusion  between  Looking 
Glass  and  the  Spokanes.  He  despatched  Craig  with 
a  part  of  the  Nez  Perce  delegation  to  Lapwai  in  ad 
vance,  to  invite  their  people  to  and  arrange  for  holding 
a  council,  as  also  to  procure  him  an  escort  to  The 
Dalles.  To  enlarge  his  party  of  white  men,  he  organ 
ized  a  battalion  of  miners  and  others  waiting  to  get 
through  the  hostile  country,  called  the  Stevens  Guards 
and  Spokane  Invincibles,  by  which  means  he  added 
twenty  men  to  his  escort  who  wished  to  go  to  The 
Dalles.  When  all  were  mustered  in  he  had  a  company 
of  fifty.  For  these  he  procured  the  best  horses  in  the 
country,  reducing  every  pack  to  eighty  pounds,  in 
order  that  he  might  fight  or  fly59  as  occasion  required; 
and  thus  equipped,  set  out  to  encounter,  for  aught  he 
knew,  the  combined  war  force  of  the  confederated 
tribes.  But  a  forced  march  for  four  days  in  rain  and 
snow  brought  him  to  Lapwai,  where  Craig  was 
awaiting  him,  with  the  Indians  prepared  for  a  council, 
which  was  immediately  called.60 

In  the  midst  of  it  an  Indian  express  arrived  from 
Walla  Walla  with  the  news  of  four  days'  fighting  and 
the  death  of  Peupeumoxmox.  It  had  been  previously 
agreed  that  a  large  force  of  Nez  Perces  should  accom 
pany  Stevens  to  The  Dalles,  but  the  knowledge  of 

59  Ind.  War  Expenses  Speech,  12. 

60  William  Craig  was  born  in  Greenbriar  co.,  Va,  in  1810.     He  entered 
the  service  of  the  American  Fur  Company  in  1830,  and  for  ten  years  led  the 
life  of  a  trapper.     When  the  fur  companies  broke  up,  about  1840,  he  came  to 
Or.,  and  settled  not  long  after  at  Lapwai,  near  Spalding's  mission,  to  which 
he  rendered  valuable  assistance  in  controlling  the  Indians.     He  also  was  of 
much  service  to  Gov.  Stevens  in  making  treaties  with  the  Indians  of  eastern 
Washington.     Stevens  appointed  him  on  his  staff,  with  the  rank  of  lieuten 
ant-colonel,  and  he  was  afterward  appointed  Indian  agent  at  Lapwai,  for' 
which  position  he  was  well  fitted,  and  which  he  held  for  a  long  time.     'But 
for  his  liberality  he  would  have  been  rich,  but  he  has  given  away  enough  to 
make  several  fortunes.'   Walla   Walla  Union,  Oct.  23,   1869.     'He  was  the 
comrade   in   the   mountains   of  Kit   Carson,    J.    L.    Meek,  Robert  Newell, 
Courtenay  Walker,  Thompson,  Rabboin,  and  a  host  of  other  brave  men  whose 
names  are  linked  with  the  history  of  the  country.'    Walla  Walla  Statesman, 
in  Portland  Oregonian,  Oct.  30,  1869. 


STEVENS'  RETURN.  107 

the  occupation  of  the  country  by  the  Oregon  troops 
rendered  this  unnecessary,  and  the  next  day,  accom 
panied  by  sixty-nine  well-armed  Nez  Perce  volunteers, 
in  addition  to  the  Stevens  Guards,  he  set  out  for  The 
Dalles  by  the  way  of  the  seat  of  war. 

Here  are  a  few  men  who  settled  in  Washington  at  an  early  period,  but 
who  had  first  resided  in  Oregon: 

Solomon  Strong,  born  in  Erie  co.,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  11,  1817.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  years  removed  to  Ohio,  thence  to  Iowa,  and  thence,  in  1847,  to  Or., 
with  an  ox-team,  with  his  wife  and  one  child,  George  \V.,  born  in  1845,  in 
Iowa.  Strong  settled  on  a  claim  seven  miles  from  Portland,  residing  there 
until  Sept.  17,  1850,  when  he  took  a  donation  claim  in  Cowlitz  co.,  on  which 
he  has  resided  ever  since.  Mrs.  Strong  was  the  first  white  woman  on  the 
north  side  of  Lewis  river.  He  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  in  1852  in 
what  was  then  Clarke  co.,  and  appointed  co.  commissioner  by  Gov.  Stevens, 
to  which  office  ho  was  afterwards  elected  for  eleven  and  a  halt  years.  On  the 
organization  of  Cowlitz  co.,  was  elected  to  the  same  office  and  soon  resigned. 
He  married,  Jan.  5,  1845,  Miss  Mary  A.  Bozarth,  of  Mo.;  has  ten  children. 

Squire  Bozarth,  born  in  Hardin  co.,  Ky,  Jan.  11,  1792,  married  there,  in 
1810,  Millie  H.  Willis,  a  native  of  Va,  born  1802.  He  removed  to  Mo.  and 
Iowa,  and  in  1845  came  to  Oregon  overland  with  his  wife  and  eight  children, 
namely,  Owen  W.,  Sarah  A.,  Lorana,  Christopher  C.,  Julia  A.,  Squire  Jr, 
Millie  W.,  born  in  Mo.,  and  Emma  C.,  born  in  la.  Three  children,  Elizabeth 
Bozarth  Lantze,  Mrs  Mary  A.  Strong,  and  John  S.  Bozarth,  came  two  years 
later.  Mr  Bozarth  first  settled  in  Washington  co.,  Or.,  but  removed  to  the 
Columbia  river  opp.  Vancouver,  and  again,  in  1850,  to  Lewis  river,  where  he 
took  a  donation  claim  on  the  North  Fork,  where  he  died  March  10,  1853. 

John  S.  Bozarth  settled  on  Lewis  river  in  1852.  In  1852  he  had  married 
Arebreth  Luelling,  a  native  of  111.,  who  came  to  Or.  in  1847.  He  died  in 
March  1882,  leaving  seven  children,  all  born  on  Lewis  river. 

C.  C.  Bozarth,  born  in  Marion  co..  Mo.,  in  1832,  Jan.  1st,  married,  in 
1853,  Mrs  Rhoda  R.  Van  Bobber,  born  in  111.,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  John, 
who  came  to  Or.  in  1852.  He  resided  on  Lewis  river  and  had  four  children. 
Ho  was  engaged  in  farming  until  1881,  when  he  went  to  general  merchan 
dising  at  Woodland,  Cowlitz  Co.  In  1856  was  assessor  of  Clarke  co.,  and 
again  in  18G4  and  18(50,  and  of  Cowlitz  co.  from  1875  to  1879.  He  was  justice 
ot  the  peace  fourteen  years;  was  an  assemblyman  from  Clarke  co.  in  1801-2, 
and  held  the  position  of  postmaster  at  Woodland. 

F.  N.  Gb'rig,  born  in  Germany  in  1824,  came  to  U.  S.  in  1848,  lived  two 
years  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  went  to  111.,  and  in  1853  came  to  Or.,  locating 
on  the  Columbia  river,  near  St  Helen.  In  1805  removed  to  Cowlitz  co., 
Wash.  He  married,  in  1851,  Christine  Heitmaim  of  Germany.  They  had 
seven  sons  and  one  daughter,  their  eldest  being  born  upon  the  journey  to 
Or.,  at  Green  river.  He  owns  over  one  thousand  acres,  and  is  a  wealthy 
citizen  of  Cowlitz  Co. 

Ruben  Lockwood  was  born  in  Springfield,  Vt,  in  1822,  but  reared  in 
Ohio.  He  came  to  W.  T.  in  1852  with  his  wife  and  step-daughter,  Miss 
Anna  C.  Conway,  and  settled  on  the  North  Fork  of  Lewis  river,  in  Clarke  co. 
Being  a  teacher,  he  was  employed  in  Oregon  City,  at  The  Dalles,  and  in  Peta- 
luma,  Gal.,  still  keeping  his  home  in  Wash.  He  was  married  in  1850  to 
Mrs  Mary  C.  Conway,  of  Crawfordsville,  Ind.  Their  children  are  S.  F. 
Lockwood,  born  in  Oregon  City,  and  Lillie  C.  Lockwood.  The  son  married 
Miss  Pauline  Brozer,  a  native  of  Clarke  co. 

William  A.  L.  McCorkle,  born  in  Rockbridge  co.,  Va,  in  1826,  reared  in 
Ohio,  came  to  Cal.  in  1849,  and  to  Cowlitz  Valley  in  1850,  settling  nine  miles 
from  its  mouth.  Married  Diana  Saville,  a  native  of  that  co..  and  has  two 
sous,  John  W.  and  Eugene. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

INDIAN  WARS. 
1855-1856. 

CAUSES  OF  THE  INDIAN  OUTBREAK — DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD  NEAR  FOUT  COL- 
VILLE — YAKIMAS  HOSTILE— EXPEDITIONS  OF  MAJOR  0.  G.  HALLER  INTO 
THE  SNAKE  AND  YAKIMA  COUNTRIES — YAKIMA  CAMPAIGN  OF  1855— 
MOVEMENT  OF  TROOPS  ON  THE  SOUND— ATTACK  ON  SEATTLE — WAR,  VES 
SELS  ON  THE  SOUND — WALLA  WALLA  CAMPAIGN  OF  THE  OREGON  VOLUN 
TEERS — OPERATIONS  OF  THE  SECOND  OREGON  REGIMENT — ATTACK  ON  THE 
CASCADES — COLONEL  CORNELIUS  RETURNS  TO  PORTLAND. 

THE  reader  of  Oregon  history  will  remember  that 
mention  is  made  of  the  massacre  of  the  Ward  train  by 
the  Snake  Indians  near  Fort  Boise  in  the  autumn  of 
1854.  Major  Granville  O.  Haller,  stationed  at  Fort 
Dalles,  made  a  hasty  expedition  into  the  Snake  coun 
try,  intended  to  show  the  Indians  that  the  govern 
ment  would  not  remain  inactive  while  its  citizens  were 
subjected  to  these  outrages.  The  march  served  no 
other  purpose  than  to  give  this  notice,  for  the  guilty 
Indians  had  retired  into  their  mountain  fastnesses, 
and  the  season  being  late  for  recrossing  the  Blue 
Mountains,  Haller  returued  to  The  Dalles.  The  fol 
lowing  summer,  however,  he  led  another  expedition 
into  the  Boise*  Valley,  and  following  up  the  trails, 
finally  captured  and  executed  the  murderers. 

Hardly  had  he  returned  to  Fort  Dalles  when  news 
reached  him  of  trouble  in  the  Yakima  country.  In 
the  spring  of  1855  gold  had  been  discovered  in  the 
region  of  Fort  Colville,  which  caused  the  usual  rush 
of  miners  to  the  gold  fields,  making  it  difficult  for  Gov 
ernor  Stevens  to  restrain  his  escort  from  deserting.1 

1  Pac.  R.  11.  Rept,  201.  (108) 


PIERRE  JEROME  AND  BOLON.  100 

Ho  proceeded  on  his  mission,  informing  the  tribes 
of  the  Upper  Columbia,  Kettle  Falls,  Spokanes,  Pcnd 
d'Oreilles,  and  Coeur  d' Alenes,  that  on  his  return  he 
would  negotiate  with  them  for  the  sale  of  their  lands. 

But  the  Indians  were  not  satisfied  with  their 
treaty,  nor  with  the  influx  of  white  men.  About  the 
first  of  August  Pierre  Jerome,  chief  of  the  Kettle 
Falls  people,  declared  that  no  Americans  should  pass 
through  his  country.  From  Puget  Sound  several 
small  parties  set  forth  for  Colville  by  the  Nisqually 
pass  and  the  trail  leading  through  the  Yakirna  coun 
try  by  the  way  of  the  catholic  mission  of  Ahtanahm, 
and  about  the  middle  of  September  it  was  rumored 
that  some  of  them  had  been  killed  by  the  Yakimas. 
A.  J.  Bolon,  special  agent  for  the  Yakimas,  was  on 
his  way  to  the  Spokane  country,  where  he  expected 
to  meet  Stevens  on  his  return  from  Fort  Benton,  and 
assist  in  the  appointed  councils  arid  treaties  with  this 
and  the  neighboring  tribes.  He  had  passed  The 
Dalles  on  this  errand  when  he  was  met  by  Chief 
Garry  of  the  Spokanes  with  these  reports,  and  he  at 
once  turned  back  to  investigate  them. 

The  catholic  mission,  near  which  was  the  home  of 
Kamiakin,  was  between  sixty  and  seventy  miles  in  a 
north-easterly  direction  from  The  Dalles,  and  to  this 
place  he  determined  to  go  in  order  to  learn  from  Ka 
miakin  himself  the  truth  or  falsity  of  the  stories  con 
cerning  the  Yakimas.2  Unattended  he  set  out  on 
this  business,  to  show  by  his  coming  alone  his  confi 
dence  in  the  good  faith  of  the  tribe,  and  to  disarm 
any  fears  they  might  have  of  the  intentions  of  the 
white  people.3  His  absence  being  protracted  beyond 

2  The  Ahtanahm  mission  was  established  by  the  oblate  fathers  who  came 
to  the  country  in  1847,  and  by  Brouillette.  It  was  in  charge  of  Paudosy  in 
1835,  but  owing  to  the  absence  of  this  priest,  was,  at  the  time  of  Bolon 's 
visit,  temporarily  in  charge  of  Brouiilette.  This  priest  seems  to  have  been 
unfortunate  in  the  matter  of  being  housed  by  American-killing  Indians. 

8  Gibbs  says  that  Kamiakin  had  avoided  meeting  Bolon  since  the  treaty, 
but  that  Skloom,  his  brother,  had  told  Bolon  that  a  war  council  had  been  held 
in  the  Grand  Rond  Valley,  and  that  he,  Skloom,  had  spoken  against  war; 
and  that  Lawyer  also  informed  Bolon  of  this  council.  Bolon  must  have 
hoped  to  influence  Kamiakin.  Swan's  N.  W.  Coast,  426. 


110  INDIAN  WARS. 

the  time  required,  Nathan  Olney,  agent  at  The 
Dalles,  sent  out  an  Indian  spy,  who  returned  with 
the  information  that  Bolon  had  been  murdered  while 
returning  to  The  Dalles,  by  the  order  of  Kamiakin, 
and  by  the  hand  of  his  nephew,  a  son  of  Owhi,  his 
half-brother,  and  a  chief  of  the  Uinatillas,  who  shot  him 
in  the  back  while  pretending  to-escort  him  on  his  home 
ward  journey,  cut  his  throat,  killed  his  horse,  and 
burned  both  bodies,  together  with  whatever  property 
was  attached  to  either. 

All  this  Kamiakin  confessed  to  the  Des  Chutes 
chief,  who  acted  as  spy,  saying  that  he  was  deter 
mined  on  war,  which  he  was  prepared  to  carry  on,  if 
necessary,  for  five  years;4  that  no  Americans  should 
come  into  his  country;  that  all  the  tribes  were  invited 
to  join  him,  and  that  all  who  refused  would  be  held 
to  be  foes,  who  would  be  treated  in  the  same  manner 
as  Americans — the  adults  killed,  and  the  children  en 
slaved.  The  report  of  the  spy  was  confirmed  by  a 
letter  from  Brouillette,  who  wrote  to  Olney  that  war 
had  been  the  chief  topic  among  the  Yakimas  since 
their  return  from  the  council.5  It  was  now  quite  cer 
tain  that  an  Indian  war,  more  or  less  general,  was  at 
hand. 

Without  any  authoritative  promulgation,  the  rumor 
of  the  threatened  coalition  spread,  and  about  the  20th 
of  September  returning  miners  brought  the  report 
that  certain  citizens  had  been  killed  in  passing  through 
the  Yakima  country.  As  soon  as  it  became  certainly 

4  This  boast  was  not  an  idle  one.  Gibbs  says  that  the  Yakimas  had  laid 
in  large  stores  of  powder,  and  that  Qualchin,  the  son  of  Owhi,  had  pur 
chased  300  pounds  at  The  Dalles  some  time  before  the  war  commenced. 
He  further  says  that  Kamiakin  did  not  intend  to  begin  the  war  so  soon, 
but  meant  to  wait  until  the  Columbia  should  be  frozen,  so  that  no  succor 
could  reach  the  people  at  The  Dalles  and  elsewhere.  Swan's  N.  \V.  Coa*t, 
427-8. 

5Letter  of  0.  Humason  in  Or.  Statesman,  Oct.  6,  1855;  Armstrong's  Or., 
108;  Don-ell's  Scrap-nook,  89,  96,  100;  Pnrrixh's  Or.  Anecdote*,  MS.,  80; 
Gray's  Hist.  Or.,  95;  Strong's  Hist.  Or.,  MS.,  50,  60;  Valmer's  rept  to  com. 
of  Ind.  aff.,  in  U.  8.  II.  Ex.  Doc.,  93,  pp.  55-01,  34th  cong.  1st  sess.,  Ind. 
Aff.,  vol.  34;  letter  of  Supt  Palmer,  in  Or.  Statesman,  Oct.  13,  1855;  U.  S. 
II.  Ex.  Doc.,  1,  p.  335,  512-15,  vol.  i.,  part  i.,  34th  cong.  1st  sess.;  Ibid., 
p.  73-89,  vol.  i.,  part  ii. ;  Stevens'  Speech  on  War  Claims,  6,  16. 


RAINES  AND  HALLER. 

known,6  Acting  Governor  Mason  made  a 
upon  forts  Vancouver  and  Steilacoom  for  troops  to 
protect  travellers  by  that  route,  and  also  intimated  to 
the  commanding  officers  that,  as  Governor  Stevens 
expected  to  be  in  the  Spokane  country  in  September, 
under  the  circumstances  a  detachment  of  soldiers 
might  be  of  assistance  to  him. 

Meanwhile  Major  Raines,  who  regarded  Kamiakin 
and  Peupeumoxrnox  as  the  chiefs  most  to  be  dreaded, 
ordered  eighty-four  men  under  Haller  from  Fort  Dalles 
to  pass  into  the  Yakima  country  and  cooperate  with 
a  force  sent  from  Steilacoom.  Haller  set  forth  on 
the  3d  of  October.  His  route  lay  over  a  gradual 
elevation  for  ten  miles  north  of  the  Columbia  to  the 
summit  of  the  bald  range  of  hills  constituting  the 
Klikitat  Mountains.  Beyond  these  was  the  Kliki- 
tat  Valley,  fifteen  miles  in  width,  north  of  which 
stretched  the  timbered  range  of  the  Simcoe  Mountains, 
beyond  which  again  was  the  Sirncoe  Valley,  on  the 
northern  boundary  of  which,  about  sixty  miles  from 
The  Dalles,  was  the  home  of  Kamialdn  and  the 
Ahtanahm  mission,  the  objective  point  of  the  expedi 
tion. 

It  was  not  until  the  third  day,  and  when  the  troops 
were  descending  a  long  hill  to  a  stream  skirted  with 
dense  thickets  of  small  trees,  that  any  Indians  were 
seen.  At  this  point,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon,  the  Indians  attacked,7  being  concealed  in  the 
thick  undergrowth  mentioned.  There  was  a  sharp  en 
gagement  lasting  until  nightfall,  when  the  Yakimas 
withdrew,  leaving  Haller  with  eight  killed  and 

6  The  first  person  known  to  be  killed  by  the  Yakimas  was  Henry  Mattice 
of  Olympia.     One  of  the  Batons,  the  first  settlers  east  of  Tumwater,  was 
also  killed,  and  other  citizens  of  Puget  Sound,  to  the  number  of  about  20, 
among  whom  were  Fan  joy,  Walker,  and  Jemison  of  Seattle. 

7  Cram,  in  his  Top.  Mem.,  90,  says  that  Haller  attacked  the  Indians  with 
out  authority   from  his  commanding   officer,  quoting  from  Raines'  official 
address  to  the  Yakimas  to  prove  it,  which  runs  as  follows:  'I  sent  this  hand 
ful  of  soldiers  into  your  country  to  inquire  into  the  facts  of  the  murder  of 
Indian  agent  Bolon;  it  was  not  expected  that  they  should  fight  you. '    Haller, 
in  his  report,  says  he  was  attacked,  and  Raines'  reproof  of  the  Yakimas 
shows  that  he  was.     No  other  version  was  ever  given  until  Cram  undertook 
to  vindicate  the  course  of  Gen.  Wool. 


112  INDIAN  WARS. 

wounded  men.  That  night  the  troops  lay  upon  their 
arms.  In  the  morning  the  attack  was  renewed,  the 
Indians  endeavoring  to  surround  Haller  as  he  moved 
to  a  bold  eminence  at  the  distance  of  a  mile.  Here  the 
troops  fought  all  day  without  water  and  with  little  food. 
It  was  not  until  after  dark  that  a  messenger  was  de- 

o 

spatched  to  The  Dalles  to  apprise  Raines  of  the  situ 
ation  of  the  command  and  obtain  reinforcements. 

The  cavalry  horses  and  pack-animals,  being  by  this 
time  in  a  suffering  state,  were  allowed  to  go  free  at 
night  to  find  water  and  grass,  except  those  necessary 
to  transport  the  wounded  and  the  ammunition.  To 
ward  evening  of  the  third  day  the  troops  moved 
down  to  the  river  for  water,  and  not  meeting  with 
any  resistance,  Haller  determined  to  fall  back  toward 
The  Dalles  with  his  wounded.  The  howitzer  was 
spiked  and  buried,  and  such  of  the  baggage  and  pro 
visions  as  could  not  be  transported  was  burned.  The 
command  was  organized  in  two  divisions,  the  advance 
under  Haller  to  take  care  of  the  wounded,  and  the  rear 
under  Captain  Russell  to  act  as  guard.  In  the  dark 
ness  the  guide  led  the  advance  off  the  trail,  on  discov 
ering  which  Haller  ordered  fires  to  be  lighted  in  some 
fir  trees  to  signal  to  the  rear  his  position,  at  the  same 
time  revealing  it  to  the  Indians,  who,  as  soon  as  day 
light  came,  swarmed  around  him  on  every  side,  fol 
lowing  and  harassing  the  command  for  ten  miles. 
On  getting  into  the  open  country  a  stand  was  made, 
and  Haller 's  division  fought  during  the  remainder  of 
the  day,  resuming  the  march  at  night,  Russell  failing 
to  discover  his  whereabouts.  When  twenty-five  miles 
from  The  Dalles  Haller  was  met  by  Lieutenant  Day 
of  the  3d  artillery  with  forty-five  men,  who,  finding 
the  troops  in  retreat,  proceeded  to  the  border  of  the 
Yakima  country  merely  to  keep  up  a  show  of  activity 
on  the  part  of  the  army.  Lieutenant  W.  A.  Slaughter 
with  fifty  men  had  crossed  the  Cascades  by  the  Nachess 
pass,  with  the  design  of  reenforcing  Haller,but  finding  a 
large  number  of  Indians  in  the  field,  and  hearing  that 


RAISING  TROOPS.  113 

Haller  was  defeated,  prudently  fell  back  to  the  west 
side  of  the  mountains. 

Such  were  the  main  incidents  of  Haller's  Yakima 
campaign,  in  which  five  men  were  killed,  seventeen 
wounded,  and  a  large  amount  of  government  property 
destroyed,  abandoned,  and  captured.8  The  number  of 
Indians  killed  was  unknown,  but  thought  to  be  about 
forty. 

Preparations  for  war  were  now  made  in  earnest, 
both  by  the  military  and  the  citizens,  though  not 
without  the  usual  attendant  bickerings:  A  proclama- 
ation  was  issued,  calling  for  one  company  to  be  en 
rolled  in  Clarke  county,  at  Vancouver,  and  one  in 
Thurston  county,  at  Olympia,  to  consist  of  eighty- 
seven  men,  rank  and  file,  with  orders  to  report  to 
the  commanding  officers  of  Steilacoom  and  Vancouver, 
and  as  far  as  possible  to  provide  their  own  arms  and 
equipments.  The  estimated  number  of  hostile  Ind 
ians  in  the  field  was  1,500.  Application  for  arms 
was  made  by  Mason  through  Tilton,  the  lately  arrived 
surveyor-general,  to  Sterrett  and  Pease,  commanders 
respectively  of  the  sloop  of  war  Decatur  and  the 
revenue-cutter  Jefferson  Davis,  then  in  the  Sound,  and 
the  request  granted. 

There  was  organized  at  Olympia  the  Puget  Sound 
Mounted  Volunteers,  Company  B,  with  Gilmore  Hays 
as  captain,  James  S.  Hurd  1st  lieutenant,  William 
Martin  2d  lieutenant,  Joseph  Gibson,  Henry  D.  Cock, 
Thomas  Prather,  and  Joseph  White  sergeants;  Joseph 
S.  Taylor,  Whitfield  Kirtley,  T.  Wheelock,  and  John 
Scott  corporals — who  reported  themselves  to  Cap  tail* 
Maloney,  in  command  of  Fort  Steilacoom,  on  the  20th, 
and  on  the  21st  marched  under  his  command  for  White 
River  to  reenforce  Slaughter,  quartermaster  at  Steila 
coom,  who  had  gone  through  the  Nachess  pass  into  the 

8  A  herd  of  cattle  being  driven  out  for  the  troops  was  captured.  Two 
young  men,  Ives  and  Ferguson,  escaped  by  flight  and  stratagem,  suffering 
tei-ribly  from  wounds  and  famine,  one  of  them  being  two  weeks  in  getting  to 
The  Dalles. 

HIST.  WASH.— 8 


114  INDIAN  WARS. 

hostile  country  with  forty  men,  and  had  fallen  back  to 
the  upper  prairies,  but  who  awaited  the  organization  of 
an  army  of  invasion  to  return  to  the  Yakima  country. 

After  due  proclamation,  Mason  issued  a  commis 
sion  to  Charles  H.  Eaton  to  organize  a  company  of 
rangers,  to  consist  of  thirty  privates  and  a  comple 
ment  of  officers.9  The  company  was  immediately 
raised,  and  took  the  field  on  the  23d  to  act  as  a  guard 
upon  the  settlements,  and  to  watch  the  passes  through 
the  mountains.  On  the  22d  a  proclamation  was 
issued  calling  for  four  companies,  to  be  enrolled  at 
Vancouver,  Cathlamet,  Olympia,  and  Seattle,  and  to 
hold  themselves,  after  organizing  and  electing  their 
officers,  in  reserve  for  any  emergency  which  might 
arise.  James  Tilton  was  appointed  adjutant-general 
of  the  volunteer  forces  of  the  territory,  and  Major 
Raines,  who  was  about  to  take  the  field  against  the 
Yakimas,  brigadier-general  of  the  same  during  the 
continuance  of  the  war.  Company  A  of  the  Mounted 
Volunteers  organized  in  Clarke  county  was  com 
manded  by  William  Strong,  and  though  numbering 
first,  was  not  fully  organized  until  after  Company  B 
had  been  accepted  and  mustered  into  the  service  of 
the  United  States.  Special  Indian  agent  B.  F. 
Shaw,  who  took  the  place  of  Bolon,  was  instructed 
by  Mason  to  raise  a  company  and  go  and  meet  and 
escort  back  Governor  Stevens.  Several  companies 
wrere  raised  in  Oregon,  as  I  have  elsewhere  related, 
J.  W.  Nesmith  being  placed  in  command,  with  orders 
to  proceed  to  the  seat  of  war  and  cooperate  with 
Raines. 

On  the  30th  of  October  Raines  marched  for  the 
Yakima  country,  having  been  reenforced  by  128  regu 
lars  and  112  volunteers  from  Washington,  including 
Strong's  company  of  63  and  Robert  Ne well's  company 

'The  rangers  were  officered  by  C.  H.  Eaton,  captain;  James  McAllister, 
James  Tullis,  A.  M.  Poe,  lieutenants;  Johu  Harold,  Charles  E.  Weed, 
W.  W.  Miller,  S.  Phillips,  sergeants;  S.  D.  Rheinhart,  Thomas  Bracken, 
S.  Hodgdon,  James  Hughes,  corporals.  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  Oct.  20, 
1855. 


NESMITH'S  CAMPAIGN.  115 

of  35  men,  making  a  force  of  about  700.  On  the  4th 
of  November  Nesmith,  with  four  companies  of  Oregon 
volunteers,  overtook  Raines'  command,  proceeding 
with  it  to  the  Simcoe  Valley,  where  they  arrived  on 
the  7th.  Little  happened  worth  relating.  There 
was  a  skirmish  on  the  8th,  in  which  the  Oregon  vol 
unteers  joined  with  the  regulars  in  fighting  the 
Indians,  who,  now  that  equal  numbers  were  opposed 
to  them,  were  less  bold.  When  it  came  to  pursuit, 
they  had  fresh  horses  and  could  always  escape.10 
They  were  followed  and  driven  up  the  Yakima,  to  a 
gap  through  which  flows  that  stream,  and  where  the 
heights  had  been  well  fortified,  upon  which  they  took 
their  stand;  but  on  being  charged  upon  by  the  regu 
lars,  under  Haller  and  Captain  Augur,  fled  down  the 
opposite  side  of  the  mountain,  leaving  it  in  possession 
of  the  troops,11  who  returned  to  camp.  The  Indians 
showing  themselves  again  on  the  10th,  Major  Arm 
strong  of  the  volunteers,  with  the  company  of  Captain 
Hayden  and  part  of  another  under  Lieutenant  Hanna, 
passed  through  the  defile  and  attempted  to  surround 
them  and  cut  off  their  retreat;  but  owing  to  a  mis 
understanding,  the  charge  was  made  at  the  wrong 
point,  and  the  Indians  escaped  through  the  gap,  scat 
tering  among  the  rocks  and  trees.  On  the  10th  all 
the  forces  now  in  the  Yakima  country  moved  on 
toward  the  Ahtanahm  mission,  skirmishing  by  the  way 
and  capturing  some  of  the  enemy's  horses,  but  find 
ing  the  country  about  the  mission  and  the  mission 
itself  quite  deserted.  After  a  few  more  unimportant 
movements  Nesmith  proceeded  to  Walla  Walla,  to 

10  Lieut  Philip  Sheridan,  escorting  Lieut  R.  S.  Williamson  of  the  topo 
graphical  engineers,  who  happened  to  be  at  Vancouver,  was  present  with  a 
detatchment   of  dragoons.  Jtcpt  of  Major-General   Raines   to   Adjt-Gencral 
Thomas,  in  military  archives  at  Vancouver.     I  will  here  remark,  that  every 
facility  has  been  afforded  me  by  the  military  department  of  Oregon  for  seeing 
and  copying  documents  and  reports.     Special  courtesy  has  been  shown  by 
generals  Clark,  Jeff.  C.  Davis,  and  0.  0.  Howard,  and  their  staff-oiiicers,  for 
which  I  here  make  my  grateful  acknowledgments. 

11  In  crossing  the  Yakima  River  two  soldiers  were  drowned;  and  in  a 
skirmish  which  the  volunteers  under  Captain  Cornelius  had  with  the  Indians, 
George  Holmes  of  Clackamas  county  and  Stephen  Waymire  of  Polk  county 
were  wounded.  Letter  of  Marion  Co.  Volunteer,  in  Or.  Statesman,  Nov.  24,  1855. 


116  INDIAN  WARS. 

hold  that  valley  against  hostile  tribes,  while  Raines, 
leaving  his  force  to  build  a  block-house  on  the  south 
ern  border  of  the  Yakirna  country,  reported  in  person 
to  General  Wool,  who  had  just  arrived  at  Vancouver 
with  a  number  of  officers,  fifty  dragoons,  4,000  stand 
of  arms,  and  a  large  amount  of  ammunition.  Wool 
ordered  the  troops  in  Oregon  to  be  massed  at  The 
Dalles  to  await  his  plan  of  operations,  which,  so  far  as 
divulged,  was  to  establish  a  post  at  the  Walla  Walla 
to  keep  in  check  the  other  tribes  while  prosecuting 
war  against  the  Yakimas.  An  inspection  of  the 
troops  and  horses,  however,  revealed  the  fact  that 
many  of  the  soldiers  were  without  sufficient  clothing, 
and  that  few  of  their  animals  were  fit  for  service. 
The  quartermaster  was  then  directed  to  procure 
means  of  transportation  from  the  people  of  the  Wil 
lamette,  but  owing  to  the  heavy  drain  made  upon  them 
in  furnishing  the  volunteer  force,  wagons  and  horses 
were  not  to  be  had,  and  they  were  ordered  from 
Benicia,  California,  and  boats  and  forage  from  San 
Francisco.  Before  these  could  arrive  the  Columbia 
was  frozen  over,  and  communication  with  the  upper 
country  completely  severed;  but  not  before  Major 
Fitzgerald  with  fifty  dragoons  from  Fort  Lane  had 
arrived  at  The  Dalles,12  and  Keyes'  artillery  company 
had  been  sent  to  Fort  Steilacoom  to  remain  in  garri 
son  until  the  return  of  milder  weather. 

The  ice  remained  in  the  lower  Columbia  but  three 
weeks,  and  on  the  llth  of  January,  1856,  the  mail- 
steamer  brought  despatches  informing  Wool  of  Indian 
disturbances  in  California  and  southern  Oregon,  which 
demanded  his  immediate  return  to  San  Francisco. 
While  passing  down  the  river  he  met  Colonel  George 
Wright,  with  eight  companies  of  the  9th  infantry  regi 
ment,  to  whom  he  assigned  the  command  of  the  Colum 
bia  River  district ;  and  at  sea  he  also  met  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Silas  Casey,  with  two  companies  of  the  same 

12  At  the  moment  of  Haller's  defeat  Fitzgerald  had  been  ordered  to  the 
Yakima  country,  but  owing  to  troubles  in  southern  Oregon,  of  which  at  the 
time  ICaines  was  not  informed,  was  unable  to  obey  the  order  at  oiice. 


MILITARY  QUARRELS.  117 

regiment,  whom  he  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
Puget  Sound  district. 

Colonel  Wright  was  directed  to  establish  his  head 
quarters  at  The  Dalles,  where  all  the  troops  intended 
to  operate  in  the  upper  country  would  be  concentrated ; 
and  as  soon  as  the  ice  was  out  of  the  river,  and  the 
season  would  permit,  to  establish  a  post  in  the  neioii- 
borhood  of  Fort  Walla  Walla,  and  another  at  the 
fishery  on  the  Yakirna  River,  near  the  crossing  of  the 
road  from  Walla  Walla  to  Fort  Steilacooin  ;  and  also 
an  intermediate  post  between  the  latter  and  Fort 
Dalles,  the  object  of  the  latter  two  posts  being  to  pre 
vent  the  Indians  taking  fish  in  the  Yakirna  or  any  of  its 
tributaries,  or  the  tributaries  of  the  Columbia.  The  oc 
cupation  of  the  country  between  the  Walla  Walla  and 
Snake  rivers,  and  on  the  south  side  of  the  Columbia, 
it  was  believed,  would  soon  bring  the  savages  to  terms. 

During  this  visit,  as  indeed  on  some  other  occasions 
both  before  and  after,  Wool  did  not  deport  himself 
as  became  a  man  occupying  an  important  position. 
He  censured  everybody,  not  omitting  Raines  and 
Haller,  but  was  particularly  severe  upon  territorial 
officers  and  volunteers.  He  ordered  disbanded  the 
company  raised  by  order  of  Mason  to  go  to  the  relief 
of  Governor  Stevens  returning  from  the  Blackfoot 
country/3  although  Raines  put  forth  every  argument 
to  induce  him  to  send  it  forward.  This  conduct  of 
Wool  was  bitterly  resented  by  Stevens,  who  quoted 
the  expressions  used  by  Wool  in  his  report  to  the  de 
partments  at  Washington,  and  in  a  letter  to  the  gen 
eral  himself.14  The  effect  of  Wool's  course  was  to 
raise  an  impassable  barrier  between  the  regular  and 

"Letter  of  Nesmith  to  Curry,  Nov.  30,  1855,  in  Evans1  Military  Organ 
ization,  84;  Dalles  corn,  Or.  Statesman,  Nov.  10,  18.15. 

uSen.  Ex.  Doc.,  66,  45,  34th  cong.  1st  sess.,  Incl.  aff.  34.  Official  van 
ity  and  jealousy  are  said  by  James  G.  Swan  to  have  been  at  the  bottom  of 
Wool's  hostility  to  Stevens.  According  to  Swan,  Wool  and  Stevens  met  at 
the  Rasette  House  in  San  Francisco  in  1854,  when  Wool  related  an  incident 
of  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  taking  all  the  glory  upon  himself.  Stevens 
reminded  him  that  Taylor  \vaa  chief  in  command  and  Wool  second.  The 
rebuke  displeased  Wool,  who  revenged  himself  when  he  found  an  opportu 
nity.  Letter  in  Olympia  Transcript,  May  9,  1808. 


113  INDIAN  WARS. 

volunteer  officers,  and  to  leave  the  conduct  of  the  war 
practically  in  the  hands  of  the  latter. 

Meanwhile  affairs  on  the  Sound  were  not  altogether 
quiet.  From  the  rendezvous  at  Nathan  Eaton's 
house,  on  the  24th  of  October,  1855,  went  nineteen 
rangers  under  Captain  Charles  Eaton  to  find  Leschi, 
a  Yakima-Nisqually  chief,  who  was  reported  disaf 
fected;  but  the  chief  was  not  at  home.  Encamping 
at  the  house  of  Charles  Baden,  Eaton  divided  his 
company  and  examined  the  country,  sending  Quarter 
master  Miller15  to  Fort  Steilacoom  for  supplies. 
While  reconnoitring,  Lieutenant  McAllister  and  M. 
Connell,16  of  Council's  prairie,  were  killed,  and  the 
party  took  refuge  in  a  log-house,  where  they  defended 
themselves  till  succor  came. 

Elsewhere  a  more  decisive  blow  was  struck.  As 
early  as  the  1st  of  October  Porter  had  been  driven 
from  his  claim  at  the  head  of  White  River  Valley, 
and  soon  afterward  all  the  farmers  left  their  claims  and 
fled  to  Seattle  with  their  families,  where  a  block-house 
was  erected.  Soon  after  the  sloop  of  war  Decatur 
anchored  in  front  of  Seattle,  the  commander  offering 
his  services  to  assist  and  defend  the  people  in  case  of 
an  occasion  arriving;  Acting-governor  Mason,  who 
had  made  a  tour  of  White  Valley  without  meeting 
any  signs  of  a  hostile  demonstration,  endeavoring  to 
reassure  the  settlers,  they  thereupon  returning  to 
gather  their  crops,  of  which  they  stood  much  in  need. 

The  Indians,  who  were  cognizant  of  all  these  move 
ments,  preserved  a  deceitful  quiet  until  Maloney  and 
Hays  had  left  the  valley  for  the  Yakima  country,  be 
lieving  that  they  were  doomed  to  destruction,  while  the 

15  W.  W.  Miller  was  a  native  of  Ky,  but  had  spent  his  youth  in  Mo.  and 
111.,  and  came  to  Wash,  in  1852,  where  he  resided  in  Olympia  to  Jan.  24, 
1876,  when  ho  died,  at  the  age  of  54.     He  was  appointed  surveyor  of  customs 
by  the  president,  and  quartermaster-general  by  Gov.  Mason.     In  later  ycai-s 
he  was  twice  mayor  of  Olympia.  and  was  known  as  a  successful  man  in  busi 
ness.     He  married  a  daughter  of  Judge  McFadden. 

16  Connell  was  a  discharged  soldier,  but  a  man  of  good  reputation,  and  had 
been  employed  as  mail  carrier  between  Olympia  and  Steilacoom.   Olympia 
Pioneer  and  Dem.,  Nov.  9,  1855. 


WHITE  RIVER  MASSACRE.  119 

inhabitants  left  behind  were  to  become  an  easy  prey. 
On  the  morning  of  the  28th,  Sunday,  they  fell  upon 
the  farming  settlements,  killing  three  families  of  the 
immigration  of  1854,  H.  H.  Jones  and  wife,  George 
E.  King  and  wife,  W.  H.  Brannan,  wife  and  child, 
Simon  Cooper,  and  a  man  whose  name  was  unknown. 
An  attack  was  made  upon  Cox's  place,  and  Joseph 
Lake  wounded,  but  not  seriously.  Cox,  with  his  wife 
and  Lake,  fled  and  escaped,  alarming  the  family  of 
Moses  Kirkland,  who  also  escaped,  these  being  all  the 
settlers  who  had  returned  to  their  homes.  The  attack 
occurred  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  about 
the  same  hour  in  the  evening  the  fugitives  arrived  at 
Seattle,  twenty-five  miles  distant.  On  the  following 
morning  a  friendly  Indian  brought  to  the  same  place 
three  children  of  Mr  Jones,  who  had  been  spared,  and 
on  the  same  day  C.  C.  Hewitt,  with  a  company  of 
volunteers,  started  for  the  scene  of  the  massacre  to 
bury  the  dead,  and  if  possible,  rescue  some  living. 

That  the  settlers  of  the  Puyallup  below  the  cross 
ing  did  not  share  the  fate  of  those  on  White  River 
was  owing  to  the  warning  of  Kitsap  the  elder,17  who, 
giving  the  alarm,  enabled  them  to  escape  in  the  night, 
even  while  their  enemies  prowled  about  waiting  for 
the  dawn  to  begin  their  work  of  slaughter.  From 
the  Nachess  River  Captain  Maloney  sent  despatches 
to  Governor  Mason  by  volunteers  William  Tidd  and 
John  Bradley,  who  were  accompanied  by  A.  B.  Moses, 
M.  P.  Burns,  George  Bright,  Joseph  Miles,  and  A. 
B.  Rabbeson.  They  were  attacked  at  several  points 
on  the  route,  Moses18  and  Miles19  losing  their  lives, 
and  the  others  suffering  great  hardships. 

17  Kitsap  county  was  named  after  this  Indian. 

18  A.  Benton  Moses  was  born  in  Charleston,  S.  C.     He  enlisted  as  a  volun 
teer  in  the  Mexican  war,  serving  under  Scott  and  Taylor,  being  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  lieut.     He  served  under  Lt-col  Weller  at  Monterey  and  Marin, 
and  afterward  as  aide-de-camp  to  Gen.  Childs.     After  the  Mexican  war  he 
came  to  Cal.,  and  went  on  an  expedition  against  the  southern  Cal.  Indians; 
and  subsequently  was  deputy  to  Col  Jack  Hays,  sheriff  of  S.  F.,  until  his 
brother  was  appointed  collector  of  the  district  of  Puget  Sound,  when  he  ac 
companied  him  to  Washington. 

"Joseph  Miles  held  the  rank  of  lieut-col  of  the  Thurstou  co.  militia,  and 


120  INDIAN  WARS. 

In  the  interim,  Captain  Maloney,  still  in  ignorance 
of  these  events,  set  out  with  his  command  to  return  to 
Steilacoom,  whence,  if  desired,  he  could  proceed  by 
the  way  of  The  Dalles  to  the  Yakima  Valley.  On 
reaching  Connell's  prairie,  November  2d,  he  found  the 
house  in  ashes,  and  discovered,  a  mile  away  from  it,  the 
body  of  Lieutenant  McAllister.  On  the  morning  of 
the  3d  fifty  regulars  under  Slaughter,  with  fifty  vol 
unteers  under  Hays,  having  ascertained  the  where 
abouts  of  the  main  body,  pursued  them  to  the  crossing 
of  White  River,  where,  being  concealed,  they  had  the 
first  fire,  killing  a  soldier  at  the  start.  The  troops 
were  unable  to  cross,  but  kept  up  a  steady  firing  across 
the  river  for  six  hours,  during  which  thirty  or  more 
Indians  were  killed  and  a  number  wounded.  One 
soldier  was  slightly  wounded,  besides  which  no  loss 
was  sustained  by  the  troops,  regular  or  volunteer. 

Maloney  remained  at  Camp  Connell,  keeping  the 
troops  moving,  for  some  days.  On  the  6th  Slaughter 
with  fifty  of  Hays'  volunteers  was  attacked  at  the 
crossing  of  the  Puyallup,  and  had  three  men  mortally 
wounded,20  and  three  less  severely. 

The  officer  left  in  command  of  Fort  Steilacoom 
when  Maloney  took  the  field  was  Lieutenant  John 
Nugen.  Upon  receiving  intelligence  of  the  massacre 
on  White  River,  he  made  a  call  upon  the  citizens  of 
Pierce  county  to  raise  a  company  of  forty  volunteers, 
who  immediately  responded,  a  company  under  Cap 
tain  W.  H.  Wallace  reporting  for  service  the  last  of 
October. 

By  the  middle  of  November  the  whole  country 
between  Olympia  and  the  Cowlitz  was  deserted,  the 

justice  of  the  peace  of  Olympia.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  had  a  contract 
for  erecting  the  capitol  at  that  place.  He  -was  a  good  citizen  and  useful 
man.  Evans,  in  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  Nov.  9,  1853. 

20  The  shot  that  killed  John  Edgar  passed  through  his  lungs,  and  severely 
wounded  Addison  Perham  of  Pierce  co.  The  third  was  a  soldier  named 
Kellett.  Three  others,  Andrew  Burge,  Corporal  Mogek,  and  one  of  the  regu 
lars,  were  also  wounded  severely,  fiept  Lieut  John  Nugen,  in  Wash.  Mess. 
Gov.,  18o7,  188. 


SPECIAL  AGENTS.  121 

inhabitants,  except  the  volunteers,  comprising  half 
the  able-bodied  men  in  the  territory,  having  shut 
themselves  up  in  block-houses,  and  taken  refuge  in 
the  towns  defended  by  home-guards.21 

Special  Indian  agent  Simmons  published  a  notice 
on  the  12th  of  November,  that  all  the  friendly  Indians 
within  the  limits  of  Pugct  Sound  district  should  ren 
dezvous  at  the  head  of  North  Bay,  Steilacoom,  Gig 
Harbor,  Nisqually,  Vashon  Island,  Seattle,  Port 
Orchard,  Penn  Cove,  and  Oak  Harbor;  J.  B.  Webber 
being  appointed  to  look  after  all  the  encampments  above 
Vashon  Island;  D.  S.  Maynard  to  look  after  those  at 
Seattle  and  Port  Orchard;  R.  C.  Fay  and  N.  D. 
Hill  to  take  in  charge  those  on  Whidbey  Island,  as 
special  agents.  H.  H.  Tobin  and  E.  C.  Fitzhugh 
were  also  appointed  special  agents.  The  white  inhab 
itants  were  notified  that  it  misfht  become  necessarv  to 

O  «/ 

concentrate  the  several  bands  at  a  few  points,  and 
were  requested  to  report  any  suspicious  movements 
on  the  part  of  the  Indians  to  the  agents.  By  this 
means  it  was  hoped  to  separate  the  friendly  from  the 
hostile  Indians  to  a  great  extent,  and  to  weaken  the 
influence  of  the  latter.  At  this  critical  juncture,  also, 
Governor  Douglas,  of  Vancouver  Island,  sent  to  Nis- 

21  There  weva  22  block-houses  or  stockades  erected  by  the  settlers  during 
the  war,  as  follows:  at  Davis',  Skookum  Chuck,  Henness,  near  Mound  prairie, 
on  Tuaalcut  prairie,  at  Nathan  Eaton's,  two  on  Chambers'  prairie,  one  at 
Bush's,  Goodell's,  Ruddell's,  Rutledge's,  two  at  Tunnvater,  one  at  Doffle- 
meyer's,  one  on  Whidbey  Isl.,  one  at  Port  Gamble,  one  on  the  Cowlitz  (Fort 
Arkansas),  one  on  Mime  prairie,  one  at  Port  Ludlow,  one  at  Mcigs'  Mill,  two  at 
the  Cascades,  one  at  Boisford  prairie.  Kept  of  W.  W.  De  Lacy,  capt.  eng. 
"\Y.  T.  V.,  in  Wash.  Mess.  Gov.,  1857,  55.  Others  were  subsequently  erected 
by  the  volunteers  and  troops,  to  the  number  of  35  by  the  former  and  4  by 
the  latter,  or  G2  in  alL  One  at  Cowlitz  landing,  French  settlement  near 
Cowlitz  farm,  Chehalis  River,  below  the  Skookum  Chuck,  Teualcut  plain 
(Fort  Miller),  Yelm  prairie  (Fort  Stevens),  Lowe's,  on  Chambers'  prairie, 
two  at  01}:mpia,  one  at  Packwood's  ferry  (Fort  Raglan),  two  at  Mont 
gomery's  crossing  of  the  Puyallup  (Fort  White),  two  at  Council's  prairie, 
two  at  crossing  of  White  River,  South  prairie  (Fort  McAllister),  on  the 
Dwamish  (Fort  Lander),  Lone  Tree  point,  on  the  Snohomish  (Fort  Ebey), 
on  the  Snoqualimich  below  the  falls  (Fort  Tiltou),  on  the  Snoqualimich 
above  the  falls  (Fort  Alden),  Port  Townsend,  Wilson's  Point,  Bellingham 
Bay,  Skookum  Chuck,  Vancouver,  Fourth  prairie  (near  Vancouver),  Washou-- 
gal,  Lewis  River,  Walla  Walla  (Fort  Mason),  Michel's  fork  of  Nisqually 
(Fort  Preston),  Klikitrt  prairie,  near  Cowlitz.  The  regular  companies  built 
Fort  Slaughter,  on  Muckleshoot  prairie;  Fort  Maloney,  on  Puyallup  river; 
Fort  Thomas,  on  Green  river;  and  a  block-house  on  Black  River.  Id. 


122  INDIAN  WARS. 

qually  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  steamer  Otter, 
an  armed  vessel,  to  remain  for  a  time,  and  by  her  also 
fifty  stand  of  arms  and  a  large  supply  of  ammunition 
to  General  Tilton,  in  compliance  with  a  request  for 
warded  by  Acting-governor  Mason,  November  1st. 

The  volunteer  forces  called  out  or  accepted  having 
all  reported  for  service,  Captain  Maloney  arranged  a 
campaign  which  was  to  force  the  friendly  Indians  upon 
their  reserves,  and  to  make  known  the  lurking-places 
of  their  hostile  brethren.  Lieutenant  Slaughter  was 
directed  to  proceed  with  his  company  to  White  and 
Green  rivers;  Captain  Hewitt,  who  was  at  Seattle 
with  his  volunteers,  was  ordered  to  march  up  White 
arid  Green  rivers  and  place  himself  in  communication 
with  Slaughter;  while  Captain  Wallace  occupied  the 
Puyallup  Valley  within  communicable  distance,  and 
Captain  Hays  took  up  a  position  on  the  Nisqually 
River,  at  Muck  prairie,  and  awaited  further  orders. 
Lieutenant  Harrison,  of  the  revenue-cutter  Jefferson 
Davis,  accompanied  the  expedition  as  first  lieutenant 
to  Slaughter's  command.  Upon  the  march,  which  be 
gan  on  the  24th  of  November,  Slaughter  was  attacked 
at  night  at  Bidding's  prairie,  one  mile  from  the  Puy 
allup,  and  sustained  a  loss  of  forty  horses  during  a 
heavy  fog  which  concealed  the  movements  of  the  Ind 
ians.  On  the  morning  of  the  2Gth  E.  G.  Price  of  Wal 
lace's  company,  while  attending  to  camp  duty,  was  shot 
and  killed  by  a  lurking  foe.  The  chiefs  who  commanded 
in  the  attack  on  the  night  of  the  25th  were  Kitsap 
and  Kanascut  of  the  Klikitats,  Quiemuth  and  Klow- 
owit  of  the  Nisquallies,  and  Nelson  of  the  Green 
River  and  Niscope  Indians.  During  two  nights  that 
the  troops  were  encamped  on  this  prairie  the  Indians 
continually  harassed  them  by  their  yells,  and  by 
crawling  up  out  of  the  woods  which  surrounded  the 
little  plain,  and  under  cover  of  the  fog  coming  close 
enough  to  fire  into  camp  in  spite  of  the  sentries,  who 
discharged  their  pieces  into  the  surrounding  gloom 
without  effect.  Being  reenforced  on  the  26th  with 


DEATH  OF  LIEUTENANT  SLAUGHTER.  123 

twenty-five  men  of  the  4th  artillery,  just  arrived  at 
Fort  Steilacoom,  Slaughter  divided  his  force,  Wal 
lace's  company  encamping  at  Morrison's  place,  on  the 
Stuck,  where  they  remained  making  sorties  in  the 
neighborhood,  while  the  main  command  were  occupied 
in  other  parts  of  the  valley,  no  engagement  taking 
place,  as  the  Indians  kept  out  of  way  in  the  day-time, 
which  the  heavy  forest  of  the  Puyallup  bottoms  ren 
dered  it  easy  to  do. 

Thus  passed  another  week  of  extremely  disagreeable 
service,  the  weather  being  both  cold  and  rainy.  On 
the  3d  of  December  Lieutenant  Slaughter,  with  sixty 
men  of  his  own  command  and  five  of  Wallace's,  left 
Morrison's  for  White  River,  to  communicate  with 
Captain  Hewitt,  and  encamped  at  the  forks  of  White 
and  Green  rivers,  on  Brannan's  prairie,  taking  posses 
sion  of  a  small  log  house  left  standing,  and  sending 
word  to  Hewitt,  who  was  encamped  two  or  three 
miles  below,  to  meet  him  there.  While  a  conference 
was  being  held,  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  of 
the  4th,  the  troops  permitting  themselves  a  fire  beside 
the  door  to  dry  their  sodden  clothing,  the  Indians, 
guided  by  the  light,  sent  a  bullet  straight  to  the  heart 
of  Slaughter,  sitting  inside  the  doorway,  who  died 
without  uttering  a  word.  They  then  kept  up  a  con 
tinuous  firing  for  three  hours,  killing  two  non-com 
missioned  officers,  and  wounding  six  others,  one  mor 
tally.2-  Nothing  that  had  occurred  during  the  war 
cast  a  greater  gloom  over  the  community  than  the 
death  of  the  gallant  Slaughter. 

Captain  E.  D.  Keyes,  whom  Wool  had  left  in  com 
mand  at  Fort  Steilacoom,  now  notified  Mason  that  it 
was  found  necessary  to  withdraw  the  troops  from  the 
field,  as  the  pack-horses  were  worn  down,  and  many  of 
the  men  sick.  This  announcement  put  an  end  for  the 

22 The  officers  killed  were  Corporal  Barry,  4th  inf.,  Cor.  Clarendon  of 
Wallace's  co.;  mortally  wounded,  an  artilleryman  of  Keyes'  co.;  and  severely 
wounded,  privates  Beck,  Nolan,  McMahon,  and  Grace.  Olympia  Pioneer  and 
Dem.,  Dec.  14,  1855.  Slaughter's  remains  were  taken  down  White  River  to 
Seattle,  and  sent  to  Steilacoom,  where  was  his  family. 


124  INDIAN  WARS. 

time  to  active  operations  against  the  Indians,  and  the 
troops  went  into  garrison  at  such  points  as  promised 
to  afford  the  best  protection  to  the  settlers,  while  the 
volunteers  remained  at  places  where  they  might  assist, 
waiting  for  the  next  turn  in  affairs. 

The  snow  being  now  deep  in  the  mountain  passes, 
communication  with  the  Indians  east  of  the  Cascades 
was  believed  to  be  cut  off;  and  as  the  Indians  west  of 
the  mountains  had  ceased  to  attack,  there  seemed 
nothing  to  do  but  to  wait  patiently  until  spring,  when 
General  Wool  had  promised  to  put  troops  enough  into 
the  field  to  bring  the  war  to  a  speedy  termination. 
Thus  matters  moved  along  until  the  companies  mus 
tered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  on  the 
Sound  were  disbanded,  their  three  months'  time  hav 
ing  expired. 

For  several  weeks  the  citizens  of  Seattle  had  been 
uneasy,  from  the  belief  that  the  friendly  Indians  gath 
ered  near  that  place  were  being  tampered  with  by 
Leschi.  About  the  1st  of  January,  1856,  it  was  dis 
covered  that  he  was  actually  present  at  the  reserve, 
making  boasts  of  capturing  the  agent;  and  as  the 
authorities  very  much  desired  to  secure  his  arrest, 
Keyes  secured  the  loan  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany's  steamer  Beaver,  and  sent  Maloneyandhis  com 
pany  to  seize  and  bring  him  to  Fort  Steilacoom.  But 
as  the  leaver  approached  the  shore  to  effect  a  landing, 
Leschi  drew  up  his  forces  in  battle  array  to  meet  the 
troops,  who  could  only  land  in  squads  of  three  or  four 
from  a  small  boat.  Finding  that  it  would  not  be  safe 
to  expose  his  men  in  such  a  manner,  and  having  no 
cannon  to  disperse  the  Indians,  Maloney  was  com 
pelled  to  return  to  Steilacoom  without  accomplishing 
the  object  of  the  expedition. 

Keyes  then  determined  to  make  another  effort  for 
the  capture  of  Leschi,  and  embarking  for  Seattle  in 
the  surveying  steamer  A ctive,  James  Alden  command 
ing,  endeavored  to  borrow  the  howitzer  and  launch  of 
the  Decatur,  which  was  refused  by  the  new  commander, 


GAXSEVOORT'S  CAMPAIGN.  125 

Gansevoort,  upon  the  ground  that  they  were  essential 
to  the  protection  of  the  town,  and  must  not  go  out  of 
the  bay.  Keyes  then  returned  up  the  Sound  to  pro 
cure  a  howitzer  from  the  fort,  when  Leschi,  divining 
that  his  capture  had  been  determined  upon,  withdrew 
himself  to  the  shades  of  the  Puyallup,  where  shells 
could  not  reach  him. 

Captain  Gansevoort  took  command  of  the  Decatur 
on  the  10th  of  December,  1855,  three  days  after  she 
had  received  an  injury  by  striking  on  a  reef,  then  un 
known,  near  Bainbridge  Island,  and  it  became  neces 
sary  to  remove  her  battery  on  shore  while  repairing 
her  keel,  a  labor  which  occupied  nearly  three  weeks, 
or  until  January  19th,  when  her  guns  were  replaced. 
Very  soon  after  a  young  Dwamish,  called  Jim,  noti 
fied  Gansevoort  that  Indians  from  the  east  side  of  the 
mountains,  under  Owhi,  had  united  with  those  on  the 
west  side  under  Coquilton,  with  the  design  of  dividing 
their  forces  into  two  columns,  and  making  a  simulta- 

*  o 

neous  attack  on  Steilacoom  and  Seattle,  after  destroy 
ing  which  they  expected  to  make  easy  work  of  the 
other  settlements. 

The  plan  might  have  succeeded  as  first  conceived, 
Hewitt's  company  being  disbanded  about  this  time, 
and  the  Decatur  being  drawn  up  on  the  beach;  but 
some  Indian  scout  having  carried  information  of  the 
condition  of  the  man-of-war  to  the  chiefs,  it  was  de 
cided  that  the  capture  of  the  ship,  which  was  supposed 
to  be  full  of  powder,  would  be  the  quickest  means  of 
destroying  the  white  race,  and  into  this  scheme  the 
so-called  friendly  Indians  had  entered  with  readiness. 

Gansevoort,  feeling  confident  that  he  could  rely 
upon  Jim's  statement,  prepared  to  meet  the  impend 
ing  blow.  The  whole  force  of  the  Decatur  was  less 
than  150  men  and  officers.  Of  these  a  small  company 
was  left  on  board  the  ship,  while  96  men,  eighteen 
mariners,  and  five  officers  did  guard  duty  on  shore. 

Seattle  at  this   time   occupied  a  small   peninsula 


123  INDIAN  WARS. 

formed  by  the  bay  in  front,  and  a  wide  and  deep 
swamp  at  the  foot  of  the  heavily  wooded  hills  behind. 
The  connection  of  the  peninsula  with  the  country 
back  was  by  a  narrow  neck  of  land  at  the  north  end 
of  the  town,  and  the  Indian  trail  to  lakes  Washington 
and  Union  came  in  almost  directly  opposite  Yesler's 
mill  and  wharf,  where  a  low  piece  of  ground  had  been 
filled  in  with  sawdust.  The  only  other  avenue  from 
the  back  country  was  by  a  narrow  sand-spit  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Marsh,  which  was  separated  from 
the  town  only  by  a  small  stream.  Thus  the  longer 
line  of  defence  was  actually  afforded  by  the  swamp, 
and  the  points  requiring  a  guard  were  those  in  front 
of  the  sand-spit  and  the  lake  trail;  and  it  was  thus 
that  Gansevoort  disposed  of  his  force,  three  divisions 
being  placed  to  guard  the  southern  entrance,  which 
was  most  exposed,  and  one  directly  across  the  northern 
trail. 

For  two  nights  guard  had  been  maintained,  when 
on  the  24th  the  Active  reappeared  at  Seattle,  having 
on  board  Captain  Keyes,  Special  Agent  Simmons,  and 
Governor  Stevens,  just  arrived  from  east  of  the  moun 
tains  after  his  escape  from  the  hostile  combination  in 
that  country.  It  does  not  appear  in  the  narratives 
whether  or  not  they  had  a  howitzer  on  board.  Leschi, 
at  all  events,  had  already  left  the  reservation.  Next 
day  the  Active  proceeded  down  the  Sound  to  visit  the 
other  reservations,  and  learn  the  condition  and  temper 
of  the  Indians  under  the  care  of  agents,  and  Captain 
Gansevoort  continued  his  system  of  guard-posting. 

On  the  beach  above  Yesler's  mill,  and  not  far  from 
where  the  third  division,  under  Lieutenant  Phelps, 
was  stationed,  was  the  camp  of  a  chief  of  the  Dwa- 
mish  tribe,  known  to  the  white  settlers  as  Curley, 
though  his  proper  name  was  Suequardle,  who  pro 
fessed  the  utmost  friendship  for  his  civilized  neigh 
bors,  and  was  usually  regarded  as  honest  in  his  pro 
fessions,  the  officers  of  the  Decatur  reposing  much 
confidence  in  him.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  25th 


SEATTLE  IN  DANGER. 


127 


a.  North  Block  House. 
6.  Mrs.  Holgute's  House. 

c.  Yeslor's  Mill. 

d.  \ enter's  House. 

e.  ^ladamc  Damnable. 

f.  Plumnicr's  House. 

g.  Plumnicr's  Hen  House. 
h.  Howitzer. 

{.  South  Block  House. 
k.  Tom  Pepper's  House. 
I.  Esplanade  House. 
m.Yesler's  Wharf. 
H.  Barricades. 


ATTACK  ON  SEATTLE. 


128  INDIAN  WARS. 

another  chief  from  the  lake  district  east  of  Seattle, 
called  Tecumseh,  came  into  town  with  all  his  people, 
claiming  protection  against  the  hostile  Indians,  who, 
he  said,  threatened  him  with  destruction  should  he 
not  join  them  in  the  war  upon  the  settlers.  He  was 
kindly  received,  and  assigned  an  encampment  at  the 
south  end  of  town,  not  far  from  where  the  first,  sec 
ond,  and  fourth  divisions  were  stationed,  under  lieu 
tenants  Drake,  Hughes,  and  Morris,  respectively. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  Decatur  crew 
repaired  to  their  stations,  and  about  eight  o'clock 
Phelps  observed,  sauntering  past,  two  unknown  Ind 
ians,  of  whom  he  demanded  their  names  and  purpose, 
to  which  they  carelessly  answered  that  they  were  Lake 
Indians,  and  had  been  visiting  at  Curley's  encamp 
ment.  They  were  ordered  to  keep  within  their  own 
lines  after  dark,  and  dismissed.  But  Phelps,  not  being 
satisfied  with  their  appearance,  had  his  suspicions  still 
further  aroused  by  the  sound  of  owl-hootings  in  three 
different  directions,  which  had  the  regularity  of  sig 
nals,  and  which  he  decided  to  be  such.  This  impres 
sion  he  reported  to  headquarters  at  Yesler's  house, 
and  Curley  was  despatched  to  reconnoitre.  At  ten 
o'clock  he  brought  the  assurance  that  there  were  no 
Indians  in  the  neighborhood,  and  no  attack  need  be 
apprehended  during  that  night. 

Two  hours  after  this  report  was  given,  a  conference 
was  held  at  Curley's  lodge,  between  Leschi,  Owhi, 
Tecumseh,  and  Yark-Keman,  or  Jim,  in  which  the 
plan  was  arranged  for  an  immediate  attack  on  the 
town,  the  'friendly'  Indians  to  prevent  the  escape  of 
the  people  to  the  ships  in  the  bay,23  while  the  warriors, 
assembled  to  the  number  of  more  than  a  thousand  in 
the  woods  which  covered  the  hills  back  of  town,  made 
the  assault.  By  this  method  they  expected  to  be 
able  to  destroy  every  creature  on  shore  between  two 
o'clock  and  daybreak,  after  which  they  could  attack 
the  vessels. 

23  The  bark  Brontes  was  lying  opposite  the  south  end  of  the  town. 


JIM  SAVES  THE  TOWN.  129 

Fortunately  for  the  inhabitants  of  Seattle  and  the 
Decaturs  crew,  Jim  was  present  at  this  council  as  a 
spy,  and  not  as  a  conspirator.  He  saw  that  he  needed 
time  to  put  Gansevoort  on  his  guard,  and  while  pre 
tending  to  assent  to  the  general  plan,  convinced  the 
other  chiefs  that  a  better  time  for  attack  would  be 
when  the  Decaturs  men,  instead  of  being  on  guard, 
had  retired  to  rest  after  a  night's  watch.  Their  plans 
being  at  length  definitely  settled,  Jim  found  an  oppor 
tunity  to  convey  a  warning  to  the  officers  of  the  De- 
catur.  The  time  fixed  upon  for  the  attack  was  ten 
o'clock,  when  the  families,  who  slept  at  the  block 
house,  had  returned  to  their  own  houses  and  were  de 
fenceless,  "with  the  gun  standing  behind  the  door,"  24 
as  the  conspirators,  who  had  studied  the  habits  of  the 
pioneers,  said  to  each  other. 

During  the  hours  between  the  conference  at  Cur- 
ley's  lodge  and  daylight,  the  Indians  had  crept  up  to 
the  very  borders  of  the  town,  and  grouped  their  ad 
vance  in  squads  concealed  near  each  house.  At  7 
o'clock  the  Decaturs  men  returned  to  the  ship  to 
breakfast  and  rest.  At  the  same  time  it  was  observed 
by  Phelps  that  the  non-combatants  of  Curley's  camp 
were  hurrying  into  canoes,  taking  with  them  their 
property.  On  being  interrogated  as  to  the  cause  of 
their  flight,  the  mother  of  Jim,  apparently  in  a  great 
fright,  answered  in  a  shrill  scream,  "Hiu  Klikitat 
copa  Tom  Pepper's  house!  hi-hi-hiu  Klikitat!" — that 
is  to  say,  "There  are  hosts  of  Klikitats  at  Tom  Pep 
per's  house,"  which  was  situated  just  at  the  foot  of 
the  hills  where  the  sand-spit  joined  the  mainland, 
and  which  was  within  range  of  Morris'  howitzer. 

Instead  of  being  allowed  to  breakfast,  the  men  were 
immediately  sent  ashore  again,  and  given  leave  to  get 
what  rest  they  could  in  the  loft  of  Yesler's  mess-house, 
where  refreshments  were  sent  to  them,  while  Captain 
Gansevoort  ordered  a  shell  dropped  into  Tom  Pepper's 

"  Hartford's  Ind.  War,  MS.,  9-16;  Yesler's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  9-11;  Phelps' 
Rem.  Statute,  6-14. 

HIBT.  WASH.— 9 


130  INDIAN  WARS. 

house,  to  make  the  Indians  show  themselves  if  there. 
The  effect  was  all  that  could  have  been  anticipated. 
The  boom  of  the  gun  had  not  died  away  when  the 
blood-curdling  war-whoop  burst  from  a  thousand 
stentorian  throats,  accompanied  by  a  crash  of  mus 
ketry  from  the  entire  Indian  line.  Instantly  the  four 
divisions  dashed  to  their  stations,  and  the  battle  was 
begun  by  Phelps'  division  charging  up  the  hill  east  of 
Yesler's  mill,  while  those  at  the  south  end  of  town 
were  carrying  on  a  long-range  duel  across  the  creek 
or  slough  in  that  quarter.  Those  of  the  citizens  who 
were  prepared  also  took  part  in  the  defence  of  the 
place.  Astonished  by  the  readiness  of  the  white  men 
and  the  energy  of  the  charge'  the  Indians  were  driven 
to  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  the  men  had  time  to  re 
treat  to  their  station  before  the  enemy  recovered  from 
their  surprise. 

Had  not  the  howitzer  been  fired  just  when  it  was, 
in  another  moment  the  attack  would  have  been  made 
without  warning,  and  all  the  families  nearest  the  ap 
proaches  butchered  before  their  defenders  could  have 
reached  them;  but  the  gun  provoking  the  savage  war- 
cry  betrayed  their  close  proximity  to  the  homes  of  the 
citizens,  who,  terrified  by  the  sudden  and  frightful 
clamor,  fled  wildly  to  the  block-house,  whence  they 
could  see  the  flames  of  burning  buildings  on  the 
outskirts.  A  lad  named  Milton  Holgate,  brother  of 
the  first  settler  of  King  county,  was  shot  while  stand 
ing  at  the  door  of  the  block-house  early  in  the  action, 
and  Christian  White  at  a  later  hour  in  another  part 
of  the  town.  Above  the  other  noises  of  the  battle 
could  be  heard  the  cries  of  the  Indian  women,  urging 
on  the  warriors  to  greater  efforts;  but  although  they 
continued  to  yell  and  to  fire  with  great  persistency, 
the  range  was  too  long  from  the  points  to  which  the 
Decaturs  guns  soon  drove  them  to  permit  of  their 
doing  any  execution;  or  if  a  few  came  near  enough 
to  hit  one  of  the  Decaturs  men,  they  were  much 
more  likely  to  be  hit  by  the  white  marksmen. 


ASSAULT  REPULSED.  131 

About  noon  there  was  a  lull,  while  the  Indians 
rested  and  feasted  on  the  beef  of  the  settlers.  Dur 
ing  this  interval  the  women  and  children  were  taken 
on  board  the  vessels  in  the  harbor,  after  which  an  at 
tempt  was  made  to  gather  from  the  suddenly  deserted 
dwellings  the  most  valuable  of  the  property  contained 
in  them  before  the  Indians  should  have  the  opportu 
nity,  under  the  cover  of  night,  of  robbing  and  burning 
them.  This  attempt  was  resisted  by  the  Indians,  the 
board  houses  being  pierced  by  numerous  bullets  while 
visited  for  this  purpose;  and  the  attack  upon  the 
town  was  renewed,  with  an  attempt  on  the  part  of 
Coquilton  to  bear  down  upon  the  third  division  in 
such  numbers  as  to  annihilate  it,  and  having  done 
this,  to  get  in  the  rear  of  the  others.  At  a  precon 
certed  signal  the  charge  was  made,  the  savages  plung 
ing  through  the  bushes  until  within  a  few  paces  be 
fore  they  fired,  the  volley  delivered  by  them  doing  no 
harm,  while  the  little  company  of  fourteen  marines 
met  them  so  steadily  that  they  turned  to  shelter 
themselves  behind  logs  and  trees,  in  their  character 
istic  mode  of  fighting.  Had  they  not  flinched  from 
the  muzzles  of  those  fourteen  guns — had  they  thrown 
themselves  on  those  few  men  with  ardor,  they  would 
have  blotted  them  out  of  existence  in  five  minutes  by 
sheer  weight  of  numbers.  But  such  was  not  to  be, 
and  Seattle  was  saved  by  the  recoil. 

As  if  .to  make  up  for  having  lost  their  opportunity, 
the  Indians  showered  bullets  upon  or  over  the  heads 
of  the  man-of-war's  men,  to  whose  assistance  during 
the  afternoon  came  four  young  men  from  Meigs'  mill, 
the  ship's  surgeon,  Taylor,  and  two  others,  adding  a 
third  to  this  command,  besides  which  a  twelve-pounder 
field-gun  was  brought  into  position  on  the  ground,  a 
discharge  from  which  dislodged  the  most  troublesome 
of  the  enemy  in  that  quarter. 

In  the  midst  of  the  afternoon's  work,  Curley,  who 
had  been  disappointed  so  far  of  his  opportunity  to 
make  himself  a  place  in  history,  and  becoming  excited 


132  INDIAN  WARS. 

by  the  din  of  battle,  suddenly  appeared  upon  the  scene, 
arrayed  in  fighting  costume,  painted,  armed  with  a 
musket  and  a  bow  in  either  hand,  which  he  held  ex 
tended,  and  yelling  like  a  demon,  pranced  oddly  about 
on  the  sawdust,  more  ludicrous  than  fear-inspiring, 
until,  having  exhausted  some  of  his  bravado,  he  as 
suddenly  disappeared,  thus  giving  testimony  that  his 
friendship  for  the  white  race  was  no  greater  than  his 
courage. 

This  defiance  of  his  quondam  friends  came  from 
anticipating  an  occasion  to  distinguish  himself  at  a 
later  hour  of  the  day.  Toward  evening  the  assailing 
Indians  were  discovered  placing  bundles  of  inflam 
mable  materials  under  and  about  the  deserted  houses, 
preparatory  to  a  grand  conflagration  in  the  evening, 
by  the  light  of  which  the  Indians  on  the  reservation 
and  those  in  the  two  camps  on  the  beach  at  Seattle 
were  to  assist  in  attacking  and  destroying  the  block 
house  with  its  inmates.  This  information,  being 
gathered  by  scouts,  was  brought  to  Gansevoort  in  time, 
who  resorted  to  shelling  the  town  as  a  means  of  dis 
persing  the  incendiaries,  which  proved  successful,  and 
by  ten  o'clock  at  night  firing  had  ceased  on  both  sides. 

Shells  had  much  more  influence  with  the  savages 
than  cannon-balls;  for  they  could  understand  how  so 
large  a  ball  might  fell  a  tree  in  their  midst,  but  they 
could  not  comprehend  how  a  ball  which  had  alighted 
on  the  ground,  and  lain  still  until  their  curiosity 
prompted  an  examination,  should  ' shoot  again'  of  it 
self  with  such  destructive  force.25  What  they  could 
not  understand  must  be  supernatural,  hence  the  evil 
spirits  which  they  had  invoked  against  the  white 
people  had  turned  against  themselves,  and  it  was  use 
less  to  resist  them.  In  short,  they  felt  the  heavy 
hand  of  fate  against  them,  and  bowed  submissive  to 
its  decree.  When  the  morning  of  the  27th  dawned 

25  No  report  of  the  number  of  Indians  killed  ever  appeared,  nor  could  it  be 
known.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  many  were  killed  and  carried  off  by 
their  friends.  Numerous  guesses  have  been  made,  varying  from  10  to  50. 


FORTIFICATIONS  AT  SEATTLE.  133 

the  hostile  force  had  disappeared,  taking  what  cattle 
they  could  find;  "the  sole  results,"  says  Phelps,  whom 
I  have  chiefly  followed  in  the  narration  of  the  attack 
on  Seattle,  "of  an  expedition  which  it  had  taken 
months  to  perfect,  and  looking  to  the  utter  annihi 
lation  of  the  white  settlers  in  that  section  of  the 
country."  I-  have  it  from  the  same  authority  that 
news  of  the  attack  was  received  at  Bellingham  Bay,  a 
hundred  miles  distant,  in  seven  hours  from  its  com 
mencement,  showing  the  interest  taken  in  the  matter 
by  the  tribes  all  along  the  Sound.  Their  combination 
was  to  depend  upon  the  success  of  the  movement  by 
Leschi  and  Owhi,  and  it  failed;  therefore  they  con 
cealed  their  complicity  in  it,  and  remained  neutral. 

Leschi,  however,  affected  riot  to  be  depressed  by  the 
reverse  he  had  sustained,  but  sent  a  boastful  message 

7  o 

to  Captain  Gansevoort  that  in  another  month,  when 
he  should  have  replenished  his  commissary  depart 
ment,  he  would  return  and  destroy  Seattle.  This 
seeming  not  at  all  improbable,  it  was  decided  to  erect 
fortifications  sufficiently  ample  to  prevent  any  sudden 
attack;  whereupon  H.  L.  Yesler  contributed  a  cargo 
of  sawed  lumber  with  which  to  erect  barricades  be 
tween  the  town  and  the  wooded  hills  back  of  it. 
This  work  was  commenced  on  the  1st  of  February, 
and  soon  completed.  It  consisted  of  two  wooden  walls 
five  feet  in  height  and  a  foot  and  a  half  apart,  filled 
with  earth  and  sawdust  solidly  packed  to  make  it 
bullet-proof.28  A  second  block-house  was  also  erected 
on  the  summit  of  a  ridge  which  commanded  a  view  of 
the  town  and  vicinity,  and  which  was  armed  with  a 
rusty  cannon  taken  formerly  from  some  ship,  and  a 
six-pounder  field-piece  taken  from  the  Active,  which 
returned  to  Seattle  on  hearing  of  the  attack.  An 
esplanade  was  constructed  at  the  south  end  of  the  town, 
in  order  to  enable  the  guns  stationed  there  to  sweep 
the  shore  and  prevent  approach  by  the  enemy  from  the 
water-front;  clearing  and  road-building  being  carried 

26  Tester's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  9. 


134  INDIAN  WARS. 

on  to  make  the  place  defensible,  which  greatly  im 
proved  its  appearance  as  a  town. 

On  the  24th  of  February,  1856,  the  United  States 
steamer  Massachusetts  arrived  in  the  Sound,  com 
mander  Samuel  Swartwout  assuming  the  direction 
of  naval  matters,  and  releasing  the  Active  from  de 
fensive  service  at  Seattle,  where  for  three  weeks  her 
crew  under  Johnson  had  assisted  in  guarding  the 
barricades.  About  a  month  later  another  United 
States  steamer,  the  John  Hancock,  David  McDougall 
commander,  entered  the  Sound,  making  the  third 
man-of-war  in  these  waters  during  the  spring  of  1856. 
The  Decatur  remained  until  June.  In  the  mean  time 
Patkanim  had  stipulated  with  the  territorial  author 
ities  to  aid  them  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war  against 
the  hostile  tribes.  For  every  chief  killed,  whose 
head  he  could  show  in  proof,  he  was  to  be  paid  eighty 
dollars,  and  for  every  warrior,  twenty.  The  heads  were 
delivered  on  board  the  Decatur,  whence  they  were 
forwarded  to  Olympia,  where  a  record  was  kept.27 

In  April  a  large  body  of  Stikines  repaired  to  the 
waters  of  the  gulf  of  Georgia,  within  easy  distance  of 
the  American  settlements,  and  made  their  sorties 
with  their  canoes  in  any  direction  at  will.  On  the 
8th  the  John  Hancock,  being  at  Port  Townsend,  ex 
pelled  sixty  from  that  place,  who  became  thereby 
much  offended,  making  threats  which  alarmed  the 
inhabitants,  and  which  were  the  occasion  of  a  public 
meeting  on  the  following  day  to  request  the  governor 
and  Commander  Swartwout  to  send  a  war-steamer  to 
cruise  between  Bellingharn  Bay  and  the  other  settle 
ments  on  the  lower  Sound  and  Fuca  Sea.23  During 

27  Phelps  describes  Patkanim  as  he  returned  from  Olympia  with  his  com 
pany  after   being   paid   off,  in   April,  'arrayed   in  citizen's  garb,  including 
congress  gaiters,  white  kid  gloves,  and  a  white  shirt  with  standing  collar 
reaching  half-way  up  his  ears,  and  the  whole  finished  off  with  a  flaming  red 
necktie.'     Patkanim  had  80  warriors  of  the  Snoqualimich  and  iSkokomish 
tribes,  and  was  assisted  by  a  chief  called  John  Taylor. 

28  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  April  25,  1856.     I  find  in  the  journal  kept 
by  W.  S.  Ebey,  who  lived  on  Whidbcy  Island,  frequent  reference  to  the 
depredations  of  the  northern  Indians.     They  visited  the  island  on  the  morn 
ing  of  Jan.  1'Jth,  committing  a  number  of  thefts,  taking  the  property  of  settlers, 


HOSTILITIES  OX  THE  SOUND.  135 

the  whole  summer  a  feeling  of  insecurity  and  alarm 
prevailed,  only  alleviated  by  the  cruising  of  the  men-of- 
war.  That  they  still  infested  these  waters  at  mid 
summer  is  shown  by  the  account  of  Phelps  of  the 
departure  of  the  Decatur  from  the  Sound  in  June, 
which  he  says  was  "escorted  by  our  Indian  friends, 
representatives  from  the  Tongas,  Hyd ah,  Stickene,  and 
Shineshean  tribes,"  until  abreast  of  Victoria.  They 
were  glad  to  see  the  vessel  depart. 

In  October  a  small  party  of  Stikines  attacked  a 
small  schooner  belonging  to  one  Valentine,  killing  one 
of  his  crew  in  an  attempt  to  board  the  vessel,  and 
severely  wounding  another.  They  were  pursued  by 
the  Massachusetts,  but  escaped.  At  the  same  time 
other  predatory  detachments  of  a  large  party  landed 
at  different  points,  robbing  the  houses  temporarily 
vacated  by  the  owners,  and  not  long  afterward  visited 
the  Indian  reservation  near  Steilacoom  and  carried 
off  the  potatoes  raised  by  the  reserve  Indians.  At 
the  second  visit  of  the  robbers  to  the  reservation,  the 
Nisquallies  killed  three  of  the  invaders,  in  conse 
quence  of  which  much  alarm  existed. 

Swartwout  then  determined  to  drive  them  from 
the  Sound,  and  overtaking  them  at  Port  Gamble  on 
the  20th,  found  them  encamped  there  in  force.  Wish 
ing  to  avoid  attacking  them  without  sufficient  appar 
ent  provocation,  he  sent  a  detachment  under  Lieu 
tenant  Young  in  a  boat  to  request  them  to  leave  the 
Sound,  offering  to  tow  their  canoes  to  Victoria,  and  in- 

7  O  ' 

viting  a  few  of  the  principal  chiefs  to  visit  the  ship. 
To  these  proposals  they  returned  insolent  answers,  ges 
ticulating  angrily  at  the  officers  and  men,  challenging 
them  to  come  ashore  and  fight  them,  which  Young 
was  forbidden  to  do. 

and  also  articles  belonging  to  the  revenue-cutter  Rival.  Ebey  mentions  that 
in  Feb.  the  people  on  the  mainland  were  apprehensive  of  an  attack,  and  were 
collecting  at  Bellingham  Bay,  where  a  company  was  organizing  for  ilc-fcnce. 
The  Chimakums  near  Fort  Townsend  fled  to  the  island  for  protection  from 
t'.ie  northern  Indians,  of  whom  they  were  much  afraid.  Ebey's  Journal,  MS., 
iii.  226-9,  '253-4,  25o;  Halloa's  Adventures,  MS.,  10. 


136  INDIAN  WARS. 

A  second  and  larger  expedition  was  fitted  out  to 
make  another  attempt  to  prevail  upon  the  Indians  to 
depart,  by  a  display  of  strength  united  with  mildness 
and  reason,  but  with  no  better  effect,  the  deputation 
being  treated  with  increased  contempt.  The  whole 
of  the  first  day  was  spent  in  useless  conciliation,  when, 
finding  his  peaceable  overtures  of  no  avail,  Swartwout 
drew  the  Massachusetts  as  close  as  possible  to  their 
encampment,  and  directly  abreast,  and  stationed  the 
Traveller,  a  small  passenger-steamer  running  on  the 
Sound  at  this  time,29  commanded  for  this  occasion  by 
Master's  mate  Cummings,  with  the  launch  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Forrest,  both  hav 
ing  field-pieces  on  board, above  the  Indian  encampment, 
where  their  guns  would  have  a  raking  fire  upon  it. 
Early  in  the  following  morning  Lieutenant  Semmes 
was  ordered  to  take  a  flag  of  truce  and  reiterate  his 
demand  of  the  day  before,  pointing  out  to  the  Indians 
the  preparations  made  to  attack  them,  and  the  folly 
of  further  resistance.  They  were  still  determined  to 
defy  the  power  which  they  underrated  because  it 
appeared  suppliant,  and  preparations  were  made  for 
charging  them  and  using  the  howitzer,  which  was 
carried  on  shore  by  the  men  in  the  launch  wading 
waist-deep  in  water.  Even  after  the  landing  of  the 
men  and  gun  they  refused  to  consider  any  propositions 
looking  to  their  departure,  but  retired  to  the  cover  of 
logs  and  trees  with  their  arms,  singing  their  war- 
songs  as  they  went. 

When  there  could  no  longer  be  any  doubt  of  their 
warlike  purpose,  an  order  was  given  to  fire  the  Travel 
ler  s  field-pieces,  which  were  discharged  at  the  same 
instant  that  a  volley  blazed  out  of  the  muzzles  of  sixty 
guns  in  the  hands  of  the  Indians.  The  ship's  battery 

29  J.  G.  Parker  owned  the  Traveller.  It  was  a  small  iron  steamer,  which 
in  1855  was  shipped  from  S.  F.  on  the  brig  J.  B.  hrown,  and  run  for  two 
years  carrying  the  mail.  It  was  afterward  sold  to  Cu.pt.  Horton,  who 
chartered  it  to  the  Indian  department,  and  was  lost  at  Foulweather  Bluff. 
Parker  continued  in  the  steamboat  business,  and  ran  the  Mc-sscnyfr  for  some 
time  between  Olympia  and  Seattle.  In  his  Puget  Sound,  MS.,  6-14,  is  a  his 
tory  of  early  steamboating,  complete  and  valuable. 


KILLING  OF  EBEY.  137 

was  then  directed  against  them,  and  under  cover  of 
the  guns,  the  marines  and  sailors  on  shore,  led  by 
Forrest  and  Semmes,  charged  the  Indian  encamp 
ment  situated  at  the  base  of  a  high  and  steep  hill 
surrounded  by  a  dense  undergrowth  and  by  a  living 
and  dead  forest  almost  impenetrable.  The  huts  and 
property  of  the  Indians  were  destroyed,  although  a 
desperate  resistance  was  made,  as  futile  as  it  was 
determined.  After  three  hours  the  detachment  re 
turned  on  board  ship,  firing  being  kept  up  all  day 
whenever  an  Indian  was  seen.  During  the  afternoon 
a  captive  woman  of  the  Stikines  was  sent  on  shore 
to  offer  them  pardon,  on  condition  that  they  would 
surrender  and  go  to  Victoria  on  the  Massachusetts, 
their  canoes  being  destroyed;  but  they  answered  that 
they  would  fight  as  long  as  one  of  them  was  left 
alive.  However,  on  the  morning  of  the  22d  the 

'  O 

chiefs  made  humble  overtures  of  surrender,  saying 
that  out  of  117  fighting  men  27  had  been  killed  and 
21  wounded,  the  rest  losing  all  their  property  and 
being  out  of  provisions.  They  were  then  received 
on  board  the  Massachusetts,  fed,  and  carried  to  Victoria, 
whence  their  passage  home  was  assured. 

Svvartwout  in  his  report  to  the  navy  department 
expressed  the  conviction  that  after  this  severe  chas 
tisement  the  northern  Indians  would  not  again  visit 
the  Sound.  In  this  belief  he  was  mistaken.  On  the 
night  of  the  llth  of  August,  1857,  they  landed  on 
Whidbey  Island,  went  to  the  house  of  I.  N.  Ebey, 
shot  him,  cut  off  his  head,  robbed  the  premises,  and 
escaped  before  the  alarm  could  be  given.  This  was 
done,  it  was  said,  in  revenge  for  the  losses  inflicted 
by  the  Massachusetts,  they  selecting  Ebey  because  of 
his  rank  and  value  to  the  community.30 

30  Ebey  was  in  his  house  on  the  island  with  his  wife,  his  three  children,  and 
George  W.  Corliss  and  wife.  At  one  o'clock  he  was  awakened  by  the  bark 
ing  of  dogs,  and  going  to  the  door,  opened  it.  The  other  inmates  of  the  house 
heard  two  shots  iired,  and  soon  after  Mrs  P]bey  saw  her  husband  at  the  win 
dow  of  her  room  with  his  hand  pressed  to  his  head.  She  called  to  him  to 
come  in  through  the  window,  but  he  appeared  not  to  hear  or  understand. 
Two  other  shots  were  then  fired,  when  he  fell.  The  Indians  being  for  the 


138  INDIAN  WARS. 

Numerous  depredations  were  committed  by  them, 
which  nothing  could  prevent  except  armed  steamers 
to  cruise  in  the  Fuca  strait  and  sea.al  Expeditions 
to  the  Sound  were  made  in  January,  and  threats  that 
they  would  have  five  heads  before  leaving  it,  and 
among  others  that  of  the  United  States  inspector  at 
San  Juan  Island,  Oscar  Olney.  They  visited  the 
Pattle  coal  mine  at  Bellinghani  Bay,  where  they 
killed  two  men  and  took  away  their  heads.  They 
visited  Joel  Clayton,  the  discoverer  of  the  Mount 
Diablo  coal  mines  of  California,  living  at  Bellinghani 
Bay  in  1857,  who  narrowly  escaped,  and  abandoned 
his  claim  on  account  of  them.32  Several  times  they 
reconnoitred  the  block-house  at  that  place,  but  with 
drew  without  attacking.  These  acts  were  retaliatory 
of  the  injury  suffered  in  1856.33 

moment  busy  with  their  victim,  Mrs  Corliss  sprang  out  of  the  window,  which 
opened  on  a  piazza,  followed  by  Airs  Ebey  and  the  children,  and  a  moment 
after  by  Corliss,  who  had  remained  to  hold  fast  the  door  between  them  and 
the  hall  of  the  house  which  the  Indians  were  entering.  He  then  retreated 
through  the  window,  and  fleeing  to  the  woods,  all  escaped  the  bullets  sent 
after  them  in  the  darkness.  Mrs  Corliss,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Jiulson, 
who  settled  on  Commencement  Bay  in  1853,  ran  to  the  house  of  R.  C.  Hill, 
over  half  a  mile  away,  and  gave  the  alarm.  Believing  that  a  descent  of  the 
northern  Indians  upon  the  settlements  of  the  lower  sound,  such  as  they  had 
long  dreaded,  had  been  begun,  the  women  and  children  were  hurriedly 
gathered  at  the  house  of  Harmon,  and  preparations  made  for  defence.  "When 
daylight  came  the  murderers  were  gone,  and  with  them  the  head  of  Ebey, 
from  which  they  took  the  scalp,  afterward  recovered  by  the  H.  B.  Co.,  and 
placed  in  possession  of  his  niece,  Mrs  Almira  N.  Enos  of  S.  F.  Victoria 
Gazette,  Nov.  4,  1858;  Pnyct  Sound  Herald,  Dec.  9,  1859;  Ebcy's  Journal, 
MS.,  vi.  282;  If.  Ex.  Doc.,  39,  11-12,  35th  cong.  Istsess. ;  Overland  Monthly, 
xi.  205. 

31  As  early  as  January  following  the  chastisement  given  by  the  Massa 
chusetts,  these  Indians  visited  the  Sound.     At  Whidbey  Island  they  created  so 
much  alarm  that  a  company  of  35  men  was  organized  in  April,  with  R.  V. 
Peabody  captain  and  George  W.  Beam  and  C.  C.  Vail  lieutenants,  to  defend 
the  settlements.  Ebey' s  Journal,  MS.,  v.  29.     In  May  several  families  aban 
doned  their  houses  through  fear  of  them.     In  June  1858  they  attacked  a 
party  of  miners  six  miles  from  Whatcom,  killing  all  but  two,  who  escaped. 
Several  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  goods  were  taken.    Joseph  Foster  of  Seattle 
was  among  the  killed.  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  June  18,  1858. 

32  Roder'x  BeUinyliam  Bay,  MS.,  22-4. 

33  The  various  mounted  volunteer  companies  engaged  in  war  or  defence 
during  Mason's  administration  were  the  following:  Companies  A,  Capt.  Wil 
liam  Strong,  and  B,  Capt.  Gilmore  Hays,  were  mustered  into  the  regular  service 
and  furnished  their  own  horses;  companies  E,  Capt.  Isaac  Hays,  F,  Capt.  B. 
S.  Henness,  K,  Capt.  John  R.  Jackson;  Cowlitz  Rangers,  Capt.  H.  W.  i'eers, 
Lewis  River  Rangers,  Capt.  William  Bratton,  in  the  service  of  the  territory, 
furnished  their  own  horses;  Stevens  Guards.  Capt.  Higgins,  were  furnished 
horses  by  gov.j  Spokane  Inviucibles,  Capt.  Yantis,  horses  partly  furnished 


PEUPEUMOXMOX  HOSTILE.  139 

Immediately  on  learning  what  had  occurred  in  the 
Yakima  country,  in  October  1855,  Indian  agent 
Olney,  at  The  Dalles,  hastened  to  Walla  Walla  in 
order,  if  possible,  to  prevent  a  combination  of  the 
Oregon  Indians  with  the  Yakimas,  rumors  being  in 
circulation  that  the  Cayuses,  Walla  Wallas,  and  Des 
Chutes  were  unfriendly.  He  found  Peupeumoxmox 
encamped  on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia,  a  circum 
stance  which  he  construed  as  unfavorable,  although  by 
the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  Walla  W^alla  the  chief  pos 
sessed  the  right  for  five  years  to  occupy  a  trading 
post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yakima  River,  or  any  tract 
in  possession  for  the  period  of  one  year  from  the  rati 
fication  of  the  treaty,  which  had  not  yet  taken  place.34 

Olney  declared  in  his  official  communications  to  R. 
R.  Thompson  at  this  time,  that  all  the  movements  of 
Peupeumoxmox  indicated  a  determination  to  join  in 
a  war  with  the  Yakimas.  Thompson  was  not  sur 
prised,  because  in  September  he  had  known  that 
Peupeumoxmox  denied  having  sold  the  Walla  Walla 
Valley,  and  was  aware  of  other  signs  of  trouble  with 
this  chief.35 

At  this  critical  juncture  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany's  officers,  McKinlay,  Anderson,  and  Sinclair, 

by  gov.  and  partly  by  volunteers;  Puget  Sound  Rangers,  Capt.  Charles 
Eaton,  furnished  their  own  horses;  Nez  Perce  Volunteers,  Capt.  Spotted 
Eagle,  furnished  their  own  horses  and  equipments.  Inf.  companies:  C, 
George  B.  Goudy,  D,  Capt.  W.  II.  Wallace  (part  of  them  mounted),  G,  Capt. 
W.  A.  S.  McCorckle,  M,  Capt.  C.  C.  Hewitt,  I,  Capt.  I.  K  Ebey,  J,  Capt, 
A.  A.  Plummer,  Nisqually  Ferry  guards,  Serg.  William  Packwood.  Adj.- 
Gcn.  Kept,  in  Wanh.  Mess.  G'ov.,  1857.  See  also  Jioder's  Uel/inr/ham  Bay,  MS.; 
Ebfy's./ournaf,'MS,;  Morris*  Wank.  Ter.,  MS.;  Gallon's  Adv., 'MS. ;  Hanford's 
Lid.  War,  MS.;  Tester's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.;  Parker's  Puget  Sound,  MS., 
passim. 

31  Palmer,  in  //.  Ex.  Doc.,  93,  22,  34th  cong.  1st  sess.;  Ind.  Aff.  Kept, 
vol.  34. 

35  Portland  Times,  Oct.  21,  1835.  There  were  in  all  about  60  white  men, 
women,  and  children  in  the  country  on  the  Walla  AValla  and  Umatilla  riv 
ers.  Lloyd  Brooks,  who  came  to  Vancouver  in  1849  as  chief  clerk  to 
quartermaster  Captain  Rufus  Ingalls,  was  one.  In  185:>  he  went  to  the  Walla 
Walla  Valley  to  raise  cattle.  U.  <V.  Ev.  If.  B.  Co.  Claims,  127.  He  returned 
to  Vancouver,  married  a  daughter  of  Gen.  E.  Hamilton,  ter.  sec.  under 
Gaines,  and  resided  in  Portland  after  1862.  Other  Americans  were  Bromford, 
Noble,  Victor  Trevitt,  W.  H.  Barnhart,  Wolf,  and  Whitney.  There  were, 
besides  these,  the  II.  B.  Co.'s  few  people  at  the  fort,  and  the  French  and  half- 
breed  settlers  about  the  catholic  mission  of  Father  Cherouse,  near  Waiilatpu. 


140  INDIAN  WARS. 

the  latter  in  charge  of  the  fort,  in  conference  with 
Olney,  decided  to  destroy  the  ammunition  stored  at 
Walla  Walla  to  prevent  its  falling  into  the  hands  of 
the  Indians;  accordingly  a  large  amount  of  powder 
and  ball  was  thrown  into  the  river,  for  which  Olney 
gave  an  official  receipt,  relieving  Sinclair  of  all  re 
sponsibility.  He  then  ordered  all  the  white  inhab 
itants  out  of  the  country,  including  Sinclair,  who  was 
compelled  to  abandon  the  property  of  the  company 
contained  in  the  fort,36  valued  at  $37,000,  to  the 
mercy  of  the  Indians,  together  with  a  considerable 
amount  of  government  stores  left  there  by  the  Indian 
commissioners  in  June,  and  other  goods  belonging  to 
American  traders  and  settlers. 

Colonel  Nesmith,  of  the  Oregon  Mounted  Volun 
teers,  on  returning  to  The  Dalles,  reported  against  a 
winter  campaign  in  the  Yakima  Valley,  saying  that 
the  snow  covered  the  trails,  that  his  animals  were 
broken  down  and  many  of  his  men  frost-bitten  and 
unfit  for  duty,  so  that  125  of  them  had  been  dis 
charged  and  allowed  to  return  to  their  homes.  In 
the  mean  time  the  left  column  of  the  regiment  had 
congregated  at  The  Dalles,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel 
James  K.  Kelly,  and  Governor  Curry  ordered  for 
ward  Major  M.  A.  Chinn  to  Walla  Walla,  where  he 
expected  to  meet  Nesmith  from  the  Yakima  country. 

On  learning  of  the  general  uprising,  while  en  route, 
Chinn  concluded  it  impossible  to  enter  the  country, 
or  form  a  junction  with  Nesmith  as  contemplated; 

36  Evidence  of  William  Charles,  in  H.  B.  Co.  Ev.  H.  B.  Co.  Claims,  173. 
This  was  the  end  of  the  company's  occupation  at  Walla  Walla,  later  known 
as  Wallula.  The  end  of  their  occupation  of  forts  Hall  and  Bois<$  occurred 
about  the  same  time— Fort  Boisd  a  little  earlier,  and  Fort  Hall  a  little  later. 
The  Indians  about  the  former  post  were  imbittered,  seeing  the  company's 
agent  on  good  terms  with  Major  Haller  and  the  American  soldiers,  and  be 
cause  he  refused  to  sell  them  ammunition.  Fort  Hall  was  abandoned  because 
it  could  not,  on  account  of  the  Indian  hostilities,  be  communicated  with  in 
the  usual  way,  which  was  by  Walla  Walla  and  Boise  from  Vancouver.  'Our 
two  expressmen,  Boisclere  and  Desjardins,  had  been  killed  between  Fort  Hall 
and  Walla  Walla.  I  had  orders  'from  Chief  Factor  McTavish  to  have  the 
company's  effects  at  Fort  Hall,  men  and  property,  withdrawn  to  the  Flathead 
post  by  a  party  sent  from  there  for  them,  which  was  done,  the  active  theatre 
of  hostilities  not  being  so  much  in  the  direct  coarse  of  that  party.'  Angus 
McDonald,  in  H.  B.  Co.  Ev.  H.  B.  Co.  Claims,  102. 


END  OF  THE  WALLA  WALLA  CHIEF.  141 

hence  he  determined  to  fortify  the  Umatilla  agency, 
whose  buildings  had  been  burned,  and  there  await  re- 
enforce  men  ts.  Arriving  there  on  the  18th  of  No 
vember,  a  stockade  was  erected  and  named  Fort 
Henrietta,  after  Major  Haller's  wife.  In  due  time 
Kelly  arrived  and  assumed  command,  late  reenforce- 
ments  giving  him  in  all  475  men. 

With  339  men  Kelly  set  forth  for  Walla  Walla  on  the 
night  of  December  2d.  On  the  way  Peupeumoxmox 
was  met  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  warriors  displaying 
a  white  flag.  After  a  conference  the  Indians  were 
held  as  prisoners  of  war;  the  army  marched  forward 
toward  Waiilatpu,  and  in  an  attack  which  followed 
the  prisoners  were  put  to  death.  Thus  perished  the 
the  wealthy  and  powerful  chief  of  the  Walla  Wallas.37 

A  desultory  fight  was  kept  up  during  the  7th  and 
8th,  and  on  the  9th  the  Indians  were  found  to  have 
rather  the  best  of  it.33  On  the  10th,  however,  Kelly 
was  reenforced  from  Fort  Henrietta,  and  next  day  the 
Indians  retired,  the  white  men  pursuing  until  night 
fall.  A  new  fortification  was  erected  by  Kelly,  two 
miles  above  Waiilatpu,  and  called  Fort  Bennett. 

It  was  now  about  the  middle  of  December,  and 
Kelly,  remembering  the  anxiety  of  Governor  Curry 
to  have  him  take  his  seat  in  the  council,  began  to  pre 
pare  for  returning  to  civil  duties.  Before  he  could 

37  Though  coming  to  them  under  color  of  peace,  it  was  charged  upon  the 
chief  that  he  intended  to  entrap  them.  However  this  may  have  been,  the  vol 
unteers,  not  content  with  putting  so  powerful  an  enemy  out  of  the  way, 
amused  themselves  that  evening  in  camp  by  cutting  off  bits  of  his  scalp  as 
trophies;  and  when  the  scalp  was  entirely  gone,  the  assistant  surgeon  of  the 
regiment  cut  off  his  ears,  and  it  was  said  that  some  of  his  fingers  were  taken 
off.  Parrish  probably  exaggerates  somewhat  when  he  says:  'They  skinned 
him  from  head  to  foot,  and  made  razor-straps  of  his  skin.'  Or.  Anec.,  MS.,  87. 

sa  Killed:  Capt.  Charles  Bennett  of  Co.  F,  the  same  who  was  connected 
with  James  Marshall  in  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cal. ;  2d  Lieut  J.  M.  Burrows, 
Co.  H,  Simon  S.  Van  Hagerman,  Co.  I.  Mortally  wounded,  who  lived  but  a 
few  hours:  E.  B.  Kelsey,  Co.  A;  Henry  Crow  and  Casper  Snook,  Co.  H; 
Joseph  Sturdevant,  Co.  B;  Jesse  Flemming,  Co.  A.  Dangerously  wounded: 
Capt.  Layton,  and  privates  T.  J.  Payne,  Nathan  Fry,  and  F.  Crabtree,  Co. 
H;  J.  B.  Gervias,  Co.  K.  Severely  wounded:  Capt.  A.  V.  Wilson,  Co.  A; 
Capt.  L.  Munson,  Co.  I;  Ser.-Maj.  Isaac  Miller,  Co.  H;  Private  G.  \V.  Smith, 
Co.  B.  Slightly  wounded:  Privates  A.  M.  Addington,  Co.  H;  Franklin  Duval, 
Co.  A.  Evanx,  Or.  Mil.  Or/janization ,  90.  On  the  9th  and  10th,  wounded,  A. 
Shepard,  Ira  Allen,  and  John  Smith.  Estimated  Lid.  killed  and  wounded,  100. 


142  INDIAN  WARS. 

leave  the  command  he  received  intelligence  of  the 
resignation  of  Nesmith,  and  immediately  ordered  an 
election  for  colonel,  which  resulted  in  the  elevation  to 
the  command  of  Thomas  R.  Cornelius,  and  to  the  office 
vacated  by  himself  of  Davis  Lay  ton.  The  place  of 
Captain  Bennett  was  filled  by  A.  M.  Fellows,  whose 
rank  in  his  company  was  taken  by  A.  Shepard,  whose 
office  fell  to  B.  A.  Barker.  With  this  partial  reorgan 
ization  ended  the  brief  first  chapter  in  the  volunteer 
campaign  in  the  Walla  Walla  Valley. 

On  the  evening  of  the  20th  Governor  Stevens 
entered  the  camp,  having  made  his  way  safely  through 
the  hostile  country,  as  related  in  the  preceding 
chapter.  His  gratitude  to  the  Oregon  regiment 
was  earnest  and  cordial,  without  that  jealousy  which 
might  have  been  felt  by  him  on  having  his  terri 
tory  invaded  by  an  armed  force  from  another.39 
He  remained  ten  days  in  the  Walla  Walla  Valley,  and 
finding  Agent  Shaw  on  the  ground,  who  was  also 
colonel  of  the  Washington  militia,  a  company  of 
French  Canadians  was  organized  to  act  as  home-guards, 
with  Sidney  S.  Ford  captain,  and  Green  McCafferty 
1st  lieutenant.  Shaw  was  directed  to  have  thrown 
up  defensive  works  around  the  place  already  selected 
by  Kelly  as  the  winter  camp  of  the  friendly  Indians 
and  French  settlers,  and  to  protect  in  the  same  man 
ner  the  settlers  at  the  Spokane  and  Colville,  while 
cooperating  with  Colonel  Cornelius  in  any  movement 
defensive  or  offensive  which  he  might  make  against 
the  Indians  in  arms.  He  agreed  with  the  Oregon 
officers  that  the  Walla  Walla  should  be  held  by  the 
volunteers  until  the  regular  troops  were  ready  to  take 
the  field,  and  that  the  war  should  be  prosecuted  with 
vigor. 

Before  leaving  Walla  Walla,  Governor  Stevens  ap 
pointed  William  Craig  his  aid  during  the  Indian  war, 
and  directed  him  to  muster  out  of  the  service,  on  re 
turning  to  their  country,  the  sixty-nine  Nez  Perce" 

39  See  Stevens'  Speech  on  the  War  Debt,  May  13,  1858. 


KELLY'S  RECEPTION.  143 

volunteers  enrolled  at  Lapwai,  with  thanks  for  their 
good  conduct,  and  to  send  their  muster-rolls  to  the 
adjutant-general's  office  at  Olympia.  Craig  was  di 
rected  to  take  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  Nez 
Perces  against  any  incursions  of  the  hostile  Indians, 
all  of  which  was  a  politic  as  well  as  war  measure,  for 
so  long  as  the  Nez  Perces  were  kept  employed,  and 
flattered,  with  a  prospect  of  pay  in  the  future,  there 
was  comparatively  little  danger  of  an  outbreak  among 
them.  Pleased  with  these  attentions,  they  offered  to 
furnish  all  the  fresh  horses  required  to  mount  the 
Oregon  volunteers  for  the  further  prosecution  of  the 
campaign. 

Kellv  resigned  and  returned   to   Oregon,  though. 

J  O 

afterward  again  joining  his  command.  Stevens  has 
tened  to  Olympia,  where  he  arrived  the  19th  of  Jan 
uary,  finding  affairs  in  a  deplorable  condition,  all 
business  suspended,  and  the  people  living  in  block 
houses.40  He  was  received  with  a  salute  of  thirty- 
eight  guns. 

The  two  companies  under  Major  Armstrong,  whom 
Colonel  Nesmith  had  directed  to  scour  the  John  Day 
and  Des  Chutes  country,  while  holding  themselves  in 
readiness  to  reenforce  Kelly  if  needed,  employed 
themselves  as  instructed,  their  services  amounting  to 
little  more  than  discovering  property  stolen  from  im 
migrants,  and  capturing  'friendly'  Indians  who  were 
said  to  be  acting  as  go-betweens. 

During  the  remainder  of  December  the  companies 
stationed  in  the  vicinity  of  The  Dalles  made  fre 
quent  sorties  in  the  direction  of  the  Des  Chutes  and 
John  Day  countries,  and  were  thus  occupied  when 
Kelly  resigned  his  command,  who  on  returning  to 
Oregon  City  was  received  with  acclamations  by  the 
people,  who  escorted  him  in  triumph  to  partake  of  a 
public  banquet  in  his  honor,  regarding  him  as  a  hero 

40 Kept  of  I.  I.  Stevens  to  the  sec.  war,  in  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.,  66,  6-8,  34th 
cong.  1st  sess.;  Ind.  Aff.  Repl,  vol.  34;  Or.  Argus,  Jan.  12,  1856;  Growr's 
Pub.  Life,  MS.,  58. 


144  INDIAN  WARS. 

who  had  severed  a  dangerous  coalition  between  the 
hostile  tribes  of  southern  Oregon  then  in  the  field 
and  those  of  Puget  Sound  and  northern  Washington. 

As  many  of  the  1st  regiment  of  Oregon  Mounted 
Volunteers  who  had  served  in  the  Yakirna  and  Walla 
Walla  campaigns  were  anxious  to  return  to  their 
homes,  Governor  Curry  issued  a  proclamation  on 
the  6th  of  January,  1856,  for  a  battalion  of  five  com 
panies  to  be  raised  in  Linn,  Marion,  Yamhill,  Polk, 
and  Clackmas  counties,  and  a  recruit  of  forty  men 
to  fill  up  Captain  Conoyer's  company  of  scouts,  all 
to  remain  in  service  for  three  months  unless  sooner 
discharged.  Within  a  month  the  battalion  was 
raised,  and  as  soon  as  equipped  set  out  for  Walla 
Walla,  where  it  arrived  about  the  first  of  March. 

Colonel  Cornelius,  now  in  command,  set  out  on  the 
9th  of  March  with  about  600  men  to  find  the  enemy. 
A  few  Indians  were  discovered  on  Snake  River,  and 
along  the  Columbia  to  the  Yakima  and  Palouse, 
which  latter  stream  was  ascended  eight  miles,  the  army 
subsisting  on  horse-flesh  in  the  absence  of  other  provis 
ions.  Thence  Cornelius  crossed  to  Priest's  Rapids, 
and  followed  down  the  east  bank  of  the  Columbia  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Yakima,  where  he  arrived  the  30th, 
still  meeting  few  Indians.  Making  divers  disposition 
of  his  forces,  with  three  companies  on  the  31st  Corne 
lius  crossed  the  Columbia,  intending  to  march  through 
the  country  of  Kamiakin  and  humble  the  pride  of  this 
haughty  chief,  when  he  received  news  of  a  most  star 
tling  nature.  The  Yakimas  had  attacked  the  settle 
ments  at  the  Cascades  of  the  Columbia. 

Early  in  March  Colonel  Wright,  now  in  command 
at  Vancouver,  commenced  moving  his  force  to  The 
Dalles,  and  when  General  Wool  arrived  in  Oregon 
about  the  middle  of  the  month,  he  found  but  three 
companies  of  infantry  at  Vancouver,  two  of  which  he 
ordered  to  Fort  Steilacoom,  a  palpable  blunder,  when 


TROUBLE  AT  THE  CASCADES.  145 

it  is  recollected  that  there  was  a  portage  of  several 
miles  at  The  Cascades  over  which  all  the  government 
stores,  ammunition,  and  other  property  were  compelled 
to  pass,  and  where,  owing  to  lack  of  transportation 
above,  it  was  compelled  to  remain  for  some  length  of 
time,  this  circumstance  offering  a  strong  motive  for 
the  hostile  Klikitats  and  Yakimas,  whose  territory 
adjoined,  to  make  a  descent  upon  it.  So  little  atten 
tion  was  given  to  this  evident  fact  that  the  company 
stationed  at  The  Cascades  was  ordered  away  on  the 
24th  of  March,  and  the  only  force  left  was  a  detach 
ment  of  eight  men,  under  Sergeant  Matthew  Kelly, 
of  the  4th  infantry,  which  occupied  the  block-house 
erected  about  midway  between  the  upper  and  lower 
settlements,  by  Captain  Wallen,  after  the  outbreak 
in  October.41  A  wagon-road  connected  the  upper 
and  lower  ends  of  the  portage,  and  a  wooden  railway 
was  partly  constructed  over  the  same  ground,  an  im 
provement  which  the  Indian  war  had  rendered  neces 
sary  and  possible.  On  Rock  Creek,  at  the  upper  end 
of  the  portage,  was  a  saw-mill,  and  a  little  below,  a 
village  of  several  families,  with  the  store,  or  trading- 

o  *  *  o 

house,  of  Bradford  &  Co.  fronting  on  the  river,  near 
which  a  bridge  was  being  built  connecting  an  island 
with  the  mainland,  and  also  another  bridge  on  the 
railroad.  At  the  landing  near  the  mouth  of  Rock 
Creek  lay  the  little  steamer  Mary,  the  consort  of  the 
Wasco,  and  the  first  steamboat  that  ran  on  the  Co 
lumbia  between  The  Cascades  and  The  Dalles.  At 
the  lower  end  of  the  portage  lived  the  family  of  W. 
K.  Kilborn,  and  near  the  block-house  the  family  of 
George  Griswold. 

All  that  section  of  country  known  in  popular 
phraseology  as  The  Cascades,  and  extending  for  five 
miles  along  the  north  bank  of  the  Columbia  at  the 
rapids,  is  a  shelf  of  uneven  ground  of  no  great  width 
between  the  river  and  the  overhanging  cliffs  of  the 
mountains,  split  in  twain  for  the  passage  of  the 

41  Portland  West  Shore,  January  1878,  72. 
HIST.  WASH.— 10 


146  INDIAN  WARS. 

mighty  River  of  the  West.  Huge  masses  of  rock  lie 
scattered  over  it,  interspersed  with  clumps  of  luxu 
riant  vegetation  and  small  sandy  prairies.  For  the 
greater  part  of  the  year  it  is  a  stormy  place,  subject 
to  wind,  mist,  snow,  and  rain,  but  sunny  and  delight 
ful  in  the  summer  months,  and  always  impressively 
grand  and  wild. 

At  half-past  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
26th  of  March,  General  Wool  having  returned  to 
California  and  Colonel  Wright  having  marched  his 
whole  force  out  from  The  Dalles,  leaving  his  rear  un 
guarded,  the  Yakimas  and  Klikitats,  having  waited 
for  this  opportunity  to  sweep  down  upon  this  lonely 
spot,  suddenly  appeared  at  the  upper  settlement  in 
force.  The  hour  was  early  and  the  Mary  had  not  yet 
left  her  landing,  her  crew  being  on  their  way  to  the 
boat.  At  the  mill  and  the  bridges  men  were  at 
work,  and  a  teamster  was  hauling  timber  from  the 
mill. 

Upon  this  scene  of  peaceful  industry,  in  a  moment 
of  apparent  security,  burst  the  crack  of  many  rifles, 
a  puff  of  blue  smoke  from  every  clump  of  bushes 
alone  revealing  the  hiding-places  of  the  enemy,  who 
had  stationed  themselves  before  daylight  in  a  line 
from  Rock  Creek  to  the  head  of  the  rapids,  where  the 
workmen  were  engaged  on  the  bridges.  At  the  first 
fire  several  were  wounded,  one  mortally.  Then  began 
the  demoniacal  scene  of  an  Indian  massacre,  the 
whoops  and  yells  of  the  attacking  party,  the  shrieks 
of  their  victims  as  their  hurried  flight  was  inter 
rupted  by  the  rifle-ball,  or  their  agonies  were  cut 
short  by  the  tomahawk.  At  the  mill,  B.  W.  Brown, 
his  wife,  a  girl  of  eighteen  years,  and  her  young 
brother  were  slain,  scalped,  and  their  bodies  thrown 
into  the  stream.  So  well  concerted  and  rapid  was 
the  work  of  destruction  that  it  was  never  known  in 
what  order  the  victims  fell.  Most  of  the  men  at 
work  on  the  bridges,  and  several  families  in  the  vicin 
ity,  escaped  to  Bradford's  store,  which  being  con- 


SIEGE  OF  THE  CASCADES.  147 

structed  of  logs  afforded  greater  security  than  board 
houses. 

It  chanced  that  only  an  hour  before  the  attack 
nine  government  rifles  and  a  quantity  of  ammunition 
had  been  left  at  Bradford's  to  be  sent  back  to  Van 
couver.  With  these  arms  so  opportunely  furnished, 
the  garrison,  about  forty  in  number,  eighteen  of 
whom  were  capable  of  defence,  made  preparations  for 
a  siege.  The  Indians,  having  taken  possession  of  a 
bluff,  or  bench  of  land,  back  of  and  higher  than  the 
railroad  and  buildings,  had  greatly  the  advantage,  be 
ing  themselves  concealed,  but  able  to  watch  every 
movement  below. 

In  order  to  counteract  this  disadvantage,  the  stairs 
being  on  the  outside  of  the  building,  an  aperture  was 
cut  in  the  ceiling,  through  which  men  were  passed  up 
to  the  chamber  above,  where  by  careful  watching  they 
were  able  to  pick  off  an  Indian  now  and  then.  A 
few  stationed  themselves  on  the  roof,  which  was 
reached  in  the  same  way,  and  by  keeping  on  the 
river  side  were  able  to  shelter  themselves,  and  get  an 
occasional  shot.42  Embrasures  were  cut  in  the  walls, 
which  were  manned  by  watchful  marksmen,  and  the 
doors  strongly  barricaded. 

While  these  defences  were  being  planned  and  exe 
cuted,  James  Sinclair  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
who  happened  to  be  at  The  Cascades,  the  door  being 
opened  for  an  instant,  was  shot  and  instantly  killed 
by  the  lurking  enemy.43  A  welcome  sound  was  the 
'Toot,  toot!'  of  the  Marys  whistle,  now  heard  above 
the  din  of  war,  showing  that  the  steamer  had  not 
been  captured,  as  it  was  feared — for  upon  this  de 
pended  their  only  chance  of  obtaining  succor  from 
The  Dalles. 

42  The  first  Indian  killed  was  by  Bush,  who  shot  just  as  the  savage  was 
about  to  fire  on  Mrs  Watkins,  who  was  running  to  Bradford's.  Letter  of 
L.  W.  Coe,  in  Historical  Correspondence. 

"Sinclair  became  a  naturalized  citizen  of  the  United  States  in  1849. 
Congress  in  1 875,  at  the  prayer  of  his  widow,  granted  her  a  land  claim  of  G40 
acres  in  the  Walla  Walla  Valley.  U.  S.  Statutes,  1875-6,  Priv.  Acts,  3-4. 


148  INDIAN  WARS. 

The  escape  of  the  Mary  was  indeed  a  remarkable 
episode  in  that  morning's  transactions.  Her  fires  were 
out,  only  a  part  of  her  crew  on  board,  and  the  remain 
der  on  their  way  to  the  landing,  when  the  Indians 
fired  the  first  volley.  Those  on  shore  were  James 
Thompson,  John  Woodard,  and  James  Herman. 
Holding  a  hurried  consultation,  Thompson  and 
Woodard  determined  on  an  effort  to  save  the  boat, 
while  Herman  ran  to  the  shelter  of  the  woods  and  up 
the  bank  of  the  river.  While  hauling  on  the  lines  to 
get  the  boat  out  into  the  stream,  the  Indians  pressed 
the  two  gallant  men  so  closely  that  they  were  forced 
to  quit  their  hold  and  seek  the  concealment  of  the 
neighboring  thickets.  The  steamer  was  then  attacked, 
the  fireman,  James  Linsay,  being  shot  through  the 
shoulder;  and  the  cook,  a  negro,  being  wounded,  in 
his  fright  jumped  overboard  and  was  drowned.  The 
engineer,  Buckminster,  having  a  revolver,  shot  an 
Indian,  and  the  steward's  boy,  John  Chance,  finding 
an  old  dragoon  pistol  on  board,  also  despatched  an 
Indian,  firing  from  the  hurricane-deck. 

In  the  midst  of  these  stirring  scenes  the  steamer's 
fires  were  started,  and  Hardin  Chenoweth,  going  up 
into  the  pilot-house  and  lying  flat  upon  the  floor, 
backed  the  boat  out  into  the  river,  though  the  wind 
was  blowing  hard  down  stream.  It  was  at  this 

O 

moment  of  success  that  the  Marys  whistles,  sharp 
and  defiant,  notified  the  people  in  the  store  that  she 
was  off  to  The  Dalles  for  help,  and  which  sustained 
their  spirits  through  the  many  trying  hours  which 
followed.  The  boat  picked  up  the  families  of  Vander- 
pool  and  Sheppard,  who  came  out  to  her  in  skiffs,  and 
also  Herman  of  their  own  crew,  after  which  she 
steamed  rapidly  up  the  river. 

When  the  men  on  the  bridges  rushed  into  Brad 
ford's  store  three  men  were  left  upon  the  island,  who 
afterward  attempted  to  reach  that  refuge  without 
being  discovered  by  the  Indians.  Those  on  the  look 
out  in  the  store  could  see  that  it  was  impossible,  and 


A  DAY  OF  TERROR.  149 

shouted  to  them  to  lie  down  behind  the  rocks.  Find- 
lay,  the  first  man  admonished,  obeyed.  The  Indians 
had  now  reached  the  island;  and  as  Bailey,  another 
workman  who  had  not  heard  or  not  obeyed  the  caution, 
came  running,  he  was  mistaken  for  one  of  the  enemy 
pursuing  Findlay,  and  fired  on,  receiving  a  wound  in 
the  leg  and  arm.  Both,  however,  sprang  into  the 
water;  and  although  Bailey  came  near  being  carried 
over  the  falls,  they  reached  the  landing  in  front  of  the 
store  and  were  hastily  admitted.  The  third  man, 
James  Watkins,  in  attempting  to  follow,  was  discovered 
and  shot  through  the  arm.  He  dropped  behind  a 
rock,  his  friends  shouting  to  him  to  lie  still  and  they 
would  rescue  him;  but  they  were  not  able  to  do  so, 
and  his  wounds  being  too  long  neglected,  he  died. 

In  the  mean  time  the  mill,  lumber-yard,  and  several 
houses  had  been  burned,  and  the  assailants  endeavored 
to  fire  the  store  by  projecting  upon  it  brands  of  pitch- 
wood  and  hot  irons.  They  also  threw  stones  and  mis 
siles  of  various  kinds  to  dislodge  the  men  on  the  roof, 
but  the  distance  from  which  these  missiles  were  sent 
rendered  them  comparatively  harmless,  the  occasional 
fire  which  took  in  the  shingles  being  promptly  ex 
tinguished  by  brine  from  a  pork-barrel  carefully 
poured  on  with  a  tin  cup,  no  water  being  obtainable. 

In  a  few  hours  the  want  of  water  became  a  fresh 
source  of  torment.  Of  the  forty  persons  shut  up  in 
the  small  compass  of  the  lower  story  of  the  building, 
four  were  wounded,  one  dead,  and  the  majority  of  the 
whole  were  women  and  children.  The  only  liquids  in 
the  place  were  two  dozen  bottles  of  ale  and  a  few 
bottles  of  whiskey,  which  were  exhausted  in  the 
course  of  the  day,  and  all  were  waiting  impatiently  for 
the  cover  of  darkness  to  bring  some  water  from  the 
river.  But  the  Indians  had  reserved  a  new  ware 
house  and  some  government  property  to  be  burned 
during  the  night  to  furnish  light  for  their  operations, 
and  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  besieged.  In  this 
extremity  a  Spokane,  brought  up  by  Mr  Sinclair, 


150  INDIAN  WARS. 

volunteered  to  procure  the  needed  water.  Strip 
ping  himself  naked,  he  threw  himself  on  the  slide  used 
for  loading  boats,  and  slipping  down  to  the  river,  re 
turned  with  a  bucketful  for  the  wounded.  The  second 
day  and  night  were  passed  like  the  first,  no  more 
water  being  procured  until  the  morning  of  the  28th, 
when,  the  fires  of  the  enemy  having  died  out,  the 
Spokane  again  ventured  to  the  river,  and  this  time 
filled  two  barrels,  going  and  coming  with  incredible 
swiftness.  The  steamer  not  yet  having  returned,  and 
fears  being  entertained  of  her  capture,  the  body  of 
Sinclair  was  shoved  down  the  slide  into  the  river  by 
the  same  faithful  servant. 

While  these  scenes  were  being  performed  at  the 
upper  Cascades,  the  people  below  were  also  experi 
encing  a  share  in  the  misfortunes  of  their  neighbors. 
The  first  intimation  of  an  attack  at  the  block-house 
was  hearing  a  few  shots,  and  the  shouts  of  men  run 
ning  from  above  warning  others.  Five  of  the  little 
garrison  of  nine  were  in  the  fort  at  that  moment. 
Hastening  down-stairs  they  found  one  of  their  com 
rades  at  the  door,  shot  through  the  hip.  The  em 
brasures  were  opened,  and  the  cannon  run  out  and  fired 
at  the  Indians,  who  could  be  seen  on  a  hill  in  front. 
Immediately  afterward  the  citizens  came  fleeing  to  the 
fort  for  protection,  drawing  the  fire  of  the  Indians, 
which  was  returned  by  the  soldiers  until  all  left  alive 
were  sheltered.  Firing  from  both  sides  continued  for 
four  hours,  when,  seeing  that  the  Indians  were  about  to 
burn  a  large  building,  Sergeant  Kelly  again  dispersed 
them  with  the  cannon.  Toward  night  a  soldier  who 
had  been  wounded  near  the  block-house  in  the  morn 
ing  made  his  way  in  and  was  rescued.  During  the 
night  the  Indians  attempted  to  fire  the  block-house, 
without  success,  prowling  about  all  night  without  do 
ing  much  damage.  During  the  forenoon  of  the  27th 
three  soldiers  made  a  sortie  to  a  neighboring  house, 
and  returned  safely  with  some  provisions.  In  the 


AT  THE  LOWER  CASCADES.  151 

afternoon  the  cannon  was  again  fired  at  a  large  party 
of  Indians  who  appeared  on  the  Oregon  side  of  the 
river,  which  served  the  purpose  of  scattering  them, 
when  four  of  the  soldiers  and  some  of  the  citizens 
sallied  out  to  bring  in  the  dead  and  wounded,  and  to 
search  the  deserted  houses  for  arms  and  ammunition.44 
At  the  lower  Cascades  no  lives  were  lost  in  the 
attack.  On  the  morning  of  the  26th  W.  K.  Kilborn, 
who  owned  and  ran  an  open  freight-boat  on  the  Co 
lumbia,  walked  up  to  the  lower  end  of  the  portage 
railroad  to  look  for  a  crew  of  the  Cascade  Indians  to 
take  his  boat  up  the  rapids  to  that  point,  but  was  met 
by  a  half-Spanish  Indian  boy  whom  he  had  known  on 
French  Prairie  in  the  Willamette  Valley,  and  who 
endeavored  to  show  him  that  it  was  unsafe  for  him  to 
be  in  the  neighborhood,  because  the  Yakimas  and 
Klikitats  had  been  about  the  lodges  of  the  local 
Indians  the  night  before.  Kilborn  took  the  lad  with 
him  to  the  office  of  Agent  G.  B.  Simpson,  close  by, 
where  he  still  persisted  in  imploring  them  to  fly, 
telling  them  they  were  surrounded  by  hostile  Indians 
on  every  side.  At  that  instant  came  the  boom  of  the 
cannon  at  the  block-house  above,  and  the  half-breed 
darted  down  the  road  to  give  the  alarm  to  the  families 
below,  followed  by  Kilborn,  who  was  soon  overtaken 
by  a  mounted  man  crying,  "Run  for  your  lives,  they 
are  fighting  at  the  block-house!"45  On  reaching  his 
boat  he  found  his  family  and  that  of  Hamilton  already 
on  board,  and  instantly  put  off,  a  few  men  who  had 
guns  remaining  to  protect  their  property.  As  he  was 
about  to  land  for  some  purpose  a  short  distance  below, 
these  men  shouted  to  him,  "Do  not  land;  here  they 

44  The  names  of  the  garrison  at  the  block-house  were  M.  Kelly,  Frederick 
Beman,  Owen  McManus,  Lawrence  Eoouey  (killed  in  the  first  attack),  Smiley, 
Houser,  Williams,  Roach,  and  Sheridan;  the  latter  four  being  those  who 
went  out  to  bring  in  the  dead  and  wounded  on  the  second  day.  Indian  Hos 
tilities  in  Oregon  and  Washington  Territories,  11-12,  being  a  compilation  of 
correspondence  on  the  subject  transmitted  to  congress  by  the  president  of  the 
U.  S.  in  July  1856. 

45  This  was  one  of  3  carpenters  at  work  who  ran  for  the  block-house, 
overtook  the  cars  on  the  way,  cut  the  mules  loose,  and  mounting  them,  spread 
the  alarm.  Letter  of  L.  W.  Coe,  in  Historical  Correspondence. 


152 


INDIAN  WARS. 


come!"  and  hearing  the  report  of  small  arms,  he  kept 
on  down  the  river,  arriving  at  Vancouver  before  dark 
with  the  news  of  the  outbreak. 

In  the  mean  time  the  men  who  had  remained  to 
protect  their  property  were  in  a  perilous  situation. 
They  at  first  entertained  the  idea  of  barricading  the 
government  wharf-boat,  but  having  no  ammunition, 
were  obliged  to  abandon  it.  They  remained  on  guard, 
however,  until  the  Indians,  having  marauded  their 
way  down,  began  firing  on  them  from  the  roof  of  a 
zinc  house,  which  afforded  a  good  position,  when,  find 
ing  it  useless  to  remain  longer,  they  pushed  out  into 
the  river  with  a  schooner  and  some  bateaux  lying  at 


UPPER  AND  LOWER  CASCADES. 

the  landing,  Thomas  Pierce  being  wounded  before 
attaining  a  safe  distance,  and  proceeded  down  the 
river.  Two  men  who  at  the  first  alarm  fled  to  the 
mountains  stole  down  at  night  and  escaped  in  an  old 
boat  which  they  found  at  the  landing  to  the  south  side 
of  the  river,  where  they  lay  hidden  in  the  rocks  until 
relief  came. 

When  the  news  of  the  attack  on  The  Cascades  was 
received  at  Vancouver  great  consternation  prevailed, 
it  being  reported  that  Vancouver  was  the  objective 


ALARM  AT  VANCOUVER.  153 

point  of  the  Yakimas,  arid  there  were  not  men  enough 
at  that  post  to  make  a  good  defence  after  sending  the 
succor  demanded  at  The  Cascades.  As  there  had 
been  no  communication  between  the  upper  and  lower 
towns,  the  extent  of  the  injury  done  at  the  former 
place  could  only  be  conjectured.  The  commanding 
officer,  Colonel  Morris,  removed  the  women  and  chil 
dren  of  the  garrison,  the  greater  part  of  the  ammu 
nition,  and  some  other  property  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company's  fort  for  greater  safety,  while  he  refused 
arms  to  the  captain  of  the  volunteer  home-guard,46  in 
obedience  to  the  orders  of  General  Wool. 

At  an  early  hour  of  the  27th  the  steamboat  Belle 
was  despatched  to  The  Cascades,  conveying  Lieuten 
ant  Philip  Sheridan  with  a  detachment  of  the  single 
company  left  by  Wool  at  Vancouver.  Meeting  on 
the  way  the  fugitives  in  the  schooner  and  bateaux, 
they  volunteered  to  return  and  assist  in  the  defence 
of  the  place,  and  were  taken  on  board  the  steamer. 
At  ten  o'clock  the  Belle  had  reached  the  landing  at 
the  lower  end  of  the  portage,  stopping  first  on  the 
Oregon  side,  where  Sheridan  and  a  part  of  his  com 
mand  proceeded  up  the  river  on  foot  to  a  point 
opposite  the  upper  town  to  reconnoitre,  where  he 
learned  from  the  Cascade  Indians  the -state  of  affairs 
at  that  place,  and  also  that  the  block-house  had  been 
attacked.  Sheridan  returned  and  landed  his  men  on 
the  Washington  side,  despatching  a  canoe  to  Vancouver 
for  more  ammunition. 

The  Indians  did  not  wait  to  be  attacked.  While 
the  troops  and  howitzer  were  disembarking  on  a 
large  sand  island,  Sheridan  had  two  men  shot  down, 
and  was  compelled  to  retreat  some  distance  from  the 
cover  of  the  Indians,  the  steamer  dropping  down  in 

46 1  take  this  statement  from  a  correspondent  of  the  Otympia  Pioneer  and 
Democrat  of  April  25,  1856,  who  says  that  Kelly  of  the  volunteers  went  to 
the  officer  in  command  at  that  post,  and  requested  to  be  furnished  with  arms, 
as  all  the  arms  in  the  county  had  gone  to  furnish  a  company  in  the  field — 
Captain  Maxon's.  'He  was  insulted — told  to  mind  his  own  business.'  A  few 
days  later  a  consignment  of  arms  from  the  east  arrived,  for  the  use  of  the 
territory,  and  the  settlers  were  furnished  from  that  supply.  . 


154  INDIAN  WARS. 

company.  A  council  of  war  was  then  held,  and  it 
was  decided  to  maintain  their  ground,  which  was 
done  with  much  difficulty,  through  the  remainder  of 
the  day,  the  troops  not  being  able  to  advance  to  the 
relief  of  the  block-house,  although  the  diversion 
created  by  the  arrival  of  troops  caused  a  lull  in  the 
operations  of  the  Indians  against  that  post. 

A  company  of  thirty  men  was  raised  in  Portland 
on  the  evening  of  the  26th,  by  A.  P.  Dennison  and 
Benjamin  Stark,  aids  to  Governor  Curry,  which  was 
augmented  at  Vancouver  by  an  equal  number  of 
volunteers,  and  proceeded  to  the  lower  Cascades  in 
the  steamer  Fashion,  arriving  somewhat  later  than 
the  Belle,  and  being  unable  to  render  any  assistance, 
for  the  same  reason  which  prevented  the  regular 
troops  from  advancing — too  numerous  an  enemy  in 
front.  They  landed,  however,  and  sent  the  steamer 
back,  which  returned  next  day  with  forty  more  volun 
teers,  and  a  recruit  of  regulars,  all  eager  for  a  fight. 

The  boat  also  brought  a  supply  of  ammunition 
from  Vancouver,  "which  being  placed  upon  a  bateau 
was  taken  up  opposite  the  block-house  where  Sheri 
dan  intended  to  cover  his  men  while  they  landed,  with 
the  howitzer.  But  just  at  this  moment  a  new  factor 
entered  into  the  arrangement  of  the  drama,  which 
gave  to  all  a  surprise. 

When  the  Mary  arrived  at  The  Dalles  on  the  26th, 
Colonel  Wright  had  already  moved  from  the  post,  and 
was  encamped  at  Five-Mile  Creek,  so  that  informa 
tion  of  the  attack  on  the  Cascades  did  not  reach  him 
before  midnight.  At  daylight  he  began  his  march 
back  to  The  Dalles,  with  250  men,  rank  and  file,  and 
by  night  they  were  on  board  the  steamers  Mary  and 
Wasco,  but  did  not  reach  the  Cascades  before  daylight 
of  the  28th,  on  account  of  an  injury  to  the  steamer's 
flues,  through  having  a  new  fireman  since  the  wound 
ing  of  Lindsay  on  the  26th. 

Just  as  the  garrison  in  the  store  were  brought  to 


RELIEF  FROM  THE  DALLES.  155 

the  verge  of  despair,  believing  the  Mary  had  been 
captured,  not  knowing  of  Sheridan's  arrival  at  the 
lower  Cascades,  having  but  four  rounds  of  ammunition 

7  O 

left,  and  having  agreed  among  themselves,  should  the 
Indians  succeed  in  firing  the  house,  to  get  on  board  a 
government  flat-boat  lying  in  front  of  Bradford's  and 
go  over  the  falls  rather  than  stay  to  be  butchered — 
at  this  critical  moment  their  eyes  were  gladdened  by 
the  welcome  sight  of  the  Mary  and  Wasco,  steaming 
into  the  semicircular  bay  at  the  mouth  of  Rock  Creek, 
loaded  with  troops.  A  shout  went  up  from  forty 
persons,  half  dead  with  fatigue  and  anxiety,  as  the 
door  of  their  prison  was  thrown  open  to  the  fresh  air 
and  light  of  day. 

No  sooner  had  the  boats  touched  the  shore  than 
the  soldiers  sprang  up  the  bank  and  began  beating 
the  bushes  for  Indians,  the  howitzer  belching  forth 
shot  over  their  heads.  But  although  the  Indians  had 
fired  a  volley  at  the  Mary  as  she  stranded  for  a  few 
moments  on  a  rock  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  they 
could  not  be  found  when  hunted,  and  now  not  a  Ya- 
kima  or  Klikitat  was  to  be  seen. 

Colonel  Wright  then  organized  a  force,  consisting  of 
the  companies  of  captains  Winder  and  Archer,  9th 
infantry,  and  a  detachment  of  dragoons  under  Lieu 
tenant  Tear,  3d  artillery,  with  a  howitzer  under  Lieu 
tenant  Piper,  the  whole  under  Colonel  Steptoe,  which 
was  ordered  to  advance  to  the  block-house  and  thence 
to  the  lower  landing.  Just  at  the  moment  when 

O 

Sheridan  was  approaching  the  shore  lined  with  hos 
tile  Indians,  with  the  suspected  Cascade  Indians  on 
an  island  on  the  other  side  of  his  bateau,  and  when 
the  attention  of  the  savages  was  divided  between 
their  morning  meal  and  the  approach  of  the  soldiers, 
a  bugle  was  heard  in  the  direction  of  the  upper  Cas 
cades,  and  Sheridan  beheld  descending  a  hill  Steptoe's 
column.  The  Indians  being  thus  particularly  notified 
of  the  army's  advance,  the  opportunity  for  a  surprise 
was  destroyed,  and  in  another  instant  the  enemy  had 


156  INDIAN  WARS. 

vanished  out  of  sight  like  ants  in  a  sand  mound. 
One  Indian  only  was  killed  by  Steptoe's  command, 
and  a  soldier's  life  paid  for  that.  This  tragedy  ended 
with  the  execution  of  nine  Indians  concerned  in  the 
massacre. 

After  a  few  brushes  with  the  enemy,  Cornelius, 
leaving  his  command  in  the  Klikitat  Valley,  went  to 
Portland  to  confer  with  Governor  Curry,  when  the 
northern  regiment  was  disbanded,  two  companies  be 
ing  organized  out  of  it,  one  to  serve  in  the  Walla 
Walla  country,  and  one  in  the  Tyghe  Valley,  which 
latter  force  was  increased  to  two  companies  in  May. 
About  the  same  time  Colonel  Wright  marched  through 
the  Klikitat  and  Yakima  country,  but  without  effect 
ing  anything  decisive.47 

47  Major,  now  Colonel,  Granville-Owen  Haller  has  been  too  intimately 
connected  with  the  history  of  Washington  for  many  years  to  be  here  dis 
missed  without  further  notice.  He  was  born  in  York,  Penn.,  Jan.  31,  1819, 
and  educated  in  the  private  schools  of  the  town.  In  1839  he  was  an  appli 
cant  for  a  scholarship  at  West  Point,  but  on  examination  before  a  board  of 
military  officers  at  Washington,  received  a  commission  as  2d  lieutenant,  4th 
U.  S.  infantry,  to  date  from  Nov.  17,  1839.  He  served  in  the  Indian  terri 
tory  and  Florida  in  1840-41,  and  in  the  Mexican  war  in  1846.  He  was  or 
dered  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1852,  arriving  by  sea  in  1853,  and  being  stationed 
at  The  Dalles  until  1856.  When  the  southern  states  seceded  he  was  ordered 
east  and  placed  in  active  service  with  the  army  of  the  Potomac.  Upon  Lee's 
invasion  of  Pennsylvania,  he  was  placed  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Couch,  and 
assigned  to  York  and  Adams  counties  to  keep  the  general  informed  of  the 
movements  of  the  enemy.  Soon  after  Lee's  defeat  at  Gettysburg,  and  while 
making  out  reports  of  the  services  performed  by  volunteers,  and  the  expenses 
incurred,  an  order  was  sent  Gen.  Couch  to  relieve  Major  Haller,  who  on  re 
porting  for  orders  found  himself  dismissed.  This  wrong,  which  was  the  work 
of  an  unknown  enemy,  was  a  painful  blow  to  Haller.  After  many  efforts  to 
obtain  a  hearing  he  returned  to  Washington,  settling  at  Coupeville  on  Wliidbey 
Island.  Here,  after  sixteen  years  of  waiting  for  justice,  he  received  tidings  of 
a  joint  resolution  by  congress  ordering  a  court  of  inquiry  in  his  case.  The 
court  found  that  the  dismissal  was  based  on  charges  of  disloyalty  by  a  single 
officer,  and  not  made  by  the  president,  but  by  the  secretary  of  war.  Ihe 
testimony  in  the  case,  both  of  military  and  civil  witnesses,  completely  refuted 
the  charges,  and  the  dismissal  was  pronounced  wrongful,  Major  Haller  being 
restored  to  the  service  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  but  the  restoration  of  rank 
carried  with  it  no  back  pay.  Gen.  Couch's  testimony  was,  "I  do  not  think 
there  were  any  fighting  generals  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  if  they  had  been 
in  York  in  the  position  of  Major  Haller,  that  could  have  done  any  better 
than  he  did.  I  thought  so  at  the  time,  and  I  think  so  no\v."  Col  Haller  is 
now  a  resident  of  Seattle,  and  having  passed  his  63d  year,  is  retired. 

Col  Haller  is  the  author  of  a  valuable  MS.  entitled  Kamiakin  in  History, 
also  of  The  San  Juan  Imbroglio,  of  which  he  knew  more  than  any  one.  His 
wife  was  Miss  Henrietta  M.  Cox  of  Baltimore,  by  whom  he  has  live  children, 
two  daughters,  and  three  sons. 


CHAPTEB  V. 

INDIAN  WARS. 

1856-1858. 

ACTION  OP  THE  GOVERNOR — DISPOSITION  OF  FORCES — NEW  BATTALIONS — 
PLAN  OF  CAMPAIGN — BATTLE  OF  WHITE  RIVER — Ox  THE  SOUND — MAR 
TIAL  LAW — FIGHTING  AT  JOHN  DAY  RIVER  AND  GRAND  ROND — EAST  OF 
THE  CASCADE  RANGE — STEVENS  IN  THE  HOSTILE  COUNTRY — FAILURE  OF 
HIS  COUNCIL — LESCHI'S  BETRAYAL,  ARREST,  TRIALS,  AND  EXECUTION — 
ASSASSINATION  OF  QUIEMUTH — TERMINATION  OF  HOSTILITIES  ON  THE 
SOUND — RESULT— WAR  DEBT — CLARKE  AND  WRIGHT'S  CAMPAIGN — 
DEFEAT  OF  STEPTOE — BATTLES  OF  FOUR  LAKES  AND  SPOKANE  PLAINS  IN 
THE  YAKIMA  COUNTRY — WALLA  WALLA  COUNTRY  REOPENED. 

WHEN  Governor  Stevens  returned  to  his  capital 
from  the  Blackfoot  country,  he  was  to  some  extent 
deceived  as  to  the  perils  which  threatened  the  Puget 
Sound  region.  He  approved  of  the  energetic  course 
of  Mason,  and  advocated  the  vigorous  prosecution  of 
the  war.  But  from  what  he  had  seen  east  of  the  Cas 
cades,  and  from  what  he  knew  of  the  indolent  habits 
of  the  tribes  on  the  Sound,  he  was  disposed  to  think 
the  war  was  to  be  carried  on  in  the  Yakima  and 
Walla  Walla  valleys  rather  than  at  home. 

In  a  special  message  delivered  extemporaneously  to 
the  legislative  assembly,  January  21,  1856,  three  days 
after  arriving  in  Olympia,  he  recited  the  history  of 
the  war  as  he  understood  it.  The  people  of  the  ter 
ritory,  he  said,  had  urged  upon  congress  the  impor 
tance  to  them  of  extinguishing  the  Indian  title  to  the 
country.  To  this  the  Indians  consented  with  appar 
ent  willingness.  Being  appointed  a  commissioner  to 
treat  with  them,  he  had  applied  himself  to  the  duty, 

(157) 


158  INDIAN  WARS. 

and  successfully  treated  with  the  different  tribes,  ex 
plaining  to  them  with  the  most  minute  care  the  terms 
to  which  they  had  agreed.  But  the  Indians  had 
acted  treacherously,  inasmuch  as  it  was  now  well 
known  that  they  had  long  been  plotting  against  the 
white  race,  to  destroy  it.  This  being  true,  and  they 
having  entered  upon  a  war  without  cause,  however  he 
might  sympathize  with  the  restlessness  of  an  inferior 
race  who  perceived  that  destiny  was  against  them,  he 
nevertheless  had  high  duties  to  perform  toward  his 
own,  and  the  Indians  must  be  met  and  resisted  by 
arms,  and  that  without  delay,  for  seed-time  was  com 
ing,  when  the  farmers  must  be  at  the  plough.  The 
work  remaining  to  be  done,  he  thought,  was  compara 
tively  small.  Three  hundred  men  from  the  Sound  to 
push  into  the  Indian  country,  build  a  depot,  and  op 
erate  vigorously  in  that  quarter,  with  an  equal  force 
from  the  Columbia  to  prosecute  the  war  east  of  the 
Cascades,  in  his  opinion  should  be  immediately  raised. 
The  force  east  of  the  mountains  would  prevent  ree'n- 
forcements  from  joining  those  on  the  west,  and  vice 
versa,  while  their  presence  in  the  country  would  pre 
vent  the  restless  but  still  faltering  tribes  farther  north 
from  breaking  out  into  open  hostilities.  There  should 
be  no  more  treaties;  extermination  should  be  the  re 
ward  of  their  perfidy. 

On  the  1st  of  February,  in  order  to  facilitate  the 
organization  of  the  new  regiment,  Stevens  issued  an 
order  disbanding  the  existing  organization,  arid  revok 
ing  the  orders  raised  for  the  defence  of  particular  lo 
calities.  The  plan  of  block-houses  was  urged  for  the 
defence  of  settlements  even  of  four  or  five  families,1 
the  number  at  first  erected  being  doubled  in  order 
that  the  farmers  might  cultivate  their  land;  and  in 

1  At  Nathan  Eaton's  the  defences  consisted  of  16  log  buildings  in  a  square 
facing  inwards,  the  object  being  not  only  to  collect  the  families  for  protection, 
but  to  send  out  a  scouting  party  of  some  size  when  marauders  were  in  the 
vicinity.  Stevens,  in  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.,  66,  32,  34th  cong.  1st  sess. ;  Ind.  Aff. 
Rept,  34.  Fort  Henness,  on  Mound  prairie,  was  a  large  stockade  with  block 
houses  at  the  alternate  corners,  and  buildings  inside  the  enclosure.  On 
Skookum  Bay  there  was  an  establishment  similar  to  that  at  Eaton's. 


REORGANIZATION  OF  TROOPS.  159 

addition  to  the  other  companies  organized  was  one  of 
pioneers,  whose  duty  it  was  to  open  roads  and  build 
block-houses. 

The  first  regiment  being  disbanded,  the  reorganiza 
tion  progressed  rapidly,  and  on  the  25th  the  second 
regiment  was  organized  into  three  battalions,  desig 
nated  as  the  northern,  central,  and  southern;  the 
northern  battalion  to  rendezvous  at  the  falls  of  the 
Snoqualimich  and  elect  a  major,  the  choice  falling 
upon  Captain  J.  J.  H.  Van  Bokelin.2  It  numbered 
about  ninety  men,  supported  by  Patkanim  and  his 
company  of  Indian  allies,  and  built  forts  Tilton  and 
Alden  below  and  above  the  falls.3  The  central  bat 
talion  was  commanded  by  Major  Gilmore  Hays,  and 
had  its  headquarters  on  Council's  prairie,  White 
River,4  communicating  with  the  rear  by  a  ferry  and 
block-house  on  the  Puyallup,  and  block-houses  at 
Montgomery's,  and  on  Yelm  prairie,  besides  one  at 
the  crossing  of  White  River,  communicating  with  the 
regular  forces  at  Muckleshoot  prairie  and  Porter's 
prairie,  farther  up  the  valley. 

The  southern  battalion,  organized  by  Lieutenant- 
colonel  B.  F.  Shaw,  was  raised  upon  the  Columbia 
River,  and  partly  of  Oregon  material,5  obtained  by 

3  The  northern  battalion  consisted  of  Company  G  (Van  Bokelin's),  com 
manded  by  Daniel  Smalley,  elected  by  the  company;  Company  I,  Capt.  S.  D. 
Howe,  who  was  succeeded  by  Capt.  G.  W.  Beam;  and  a  detachment  of  Com 
pany  H,  Capt.  Peabody.  Wash.  Mess.  Gov.,  1857,  38-41. 

*To  I.  N.  Ebey  belongs  the  credit  of  making  the  first  movement  to  block 
ade  the  Snoqualimich  pass  and  guard  the  settlements  lying  opposite  oil  Whid- 
bey  Island.  This  company  of  rangers  built  Fort  Ebey,  8  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Snohomish  River.  He  was  removed  from  his  office  of  collector, 
the  duties  of  which  were  discharged  by  his  deputy  and  brother,  W.  S.  Ebey, 
during  the  previous  winter  while  he  lived  in  camp,  through  what  influence  I 
am  not  informed.  M.  H.  Frost  of  Seattle  was  appointed  in  his  stead.  This 
change  in  his  affairs,  with  the  necessity  of  attending  to  private  business,  prob 
ably  determined  him  to  remain  at  home.  George  W.  Ebey,  his  cousin,  was 
2d  lieut  in  Smalley's  company. 

*  The  central  battalion  was  composed  of  Company  B,  Capt.  A.  B.  Rabbe- 
son;  Company  C,  Capt.  B.  L.  Henness'  mounted  rangers;  a  train  guard  under 
Capt.  O.  Shead;  the  pioneer  company  under  Capt.  Joseph  A.  White,  1st  lieut 
Urban  E.  Hicks;  and  Company  F,  a  detachment  of  scouts  under  Capt.  Calvin 
W.  Swindal.  Wash.  Mess.  Gov.,  1857,  38. 

&The  southern  battalion  consisted  of  the  Washington  Mounted  Rifles, 
Capt.  H.  J.  G.  Maxon,  Company  D,  Capt.  Achilles,  who  was  succeeded  by 
Lieut  Powell,  and  two  Oregon  companies,  one  company,  K,  under  Francis  M. 


160  INDIAN  WARS. 

advertising  for  volunteers  in  the  Oregon  newspapers. 
Other  companies  were  accepted  from  time  to  time  as 
the  exigencies  of  the  service  required,  until  there  were 
twenty-one  in  the  field,6  the  whole  aggregating  less 
than  a  thousand  men.  The  regiment  was  assigned 
to  duty,  and  furnished  with  supplies  with  military 
skill  by  the  commander-in-chief,  whose  staff-officers, 
wisely  chosen,7  kept  the  machinery  of  war  in  motion, 
the  detention  of  which  so  often  paralyzed  the  arms 
of  Governor  Curry's  volunteers.  Between  Curry 
and  Stevens  there  was  perfect  harmony,  the  latter 
often  being  assisted  by  the  governor  of  Oregon  in 
the  purchase  of  supplies,  a  service  which  was  always 
gratefully  acknowledged. 

The  plan  of  the  campaign  as  announced  by  Stevens 
was  to  guard  the  line  of  the  Snohomish  and  Snoqual- 
imich  pass  by  the  northern  battalion,  to  drive  the 
enemy  into  the  Yakima  country  with  the  central 
battalion  by  the  Nachess  pass,  and  to  operate  east  of 

P.  Goff,  of  Marion  co.,  and  nnother,  Company  J,  under  Bluford  Miller  of 
Polk  co.  Or.  Statesman,  March  11  and  May  20,  1856. 

6  For  convenience  of  reference,  they  are  named  here:  Co.  A,  organized  and 
commanded  by  Lieut-col  Edward  Lander;  the  Walla  Walla  Co.,  organized 
out  of  friendly  Chehalis   and   Cowlitz  Indians  by   Sidney  S.  Ford,  capt. ; 
Clarke  Co.  Rangers,  organized  by  Capt.  William  Kelly;  Co.  E,  Capt.  C.  W. 
Riley,  succeeded  by  Lieut  J.  Q.  Cole;  Co.  H,  Capt.  R.  V.  Peabody;  Co.  L, 
Capt.  E.  D.  War  bass;  Co.  N,  Capt.  Richards,  succeeded  by  Capt.  Williams; 
Co.  M,  consisting  of  10  white  men  and  43  Nez  Perec's,  Henri  M.  Chase,  capt.; 
a  co.  of  Squaxon  scouts  under  Lieut.  Gosnell;  and  a  company  of  Cowlitz  Ind 
ians  under  Pierre  Charles. 

7  Lieut-col   Lander  was   retained   on  the  governor's  staff,  and   Jared  S. 
Kurd,  E.  C.  Fitzhugh,  and  H.  R.  Crosbie  were  also  appointed  aids,  with  the 
rank  of  lieut-col,  in  addition  to  the  appointments  made  in  Dec.,  of  Craig  and 
Doty.     Edward  Gibson  was  appointed  extra  aid.     B.  F.  Shaw  was  elected 
lieut-col  of  the  2d  regiment  in  April.     W.  W.  Miller  still  held  the  office  of 
quartermaster  and    commissary-general  at  Olympia.      Warren   Grove    was 
appointed    quartermaster  and    commissary  at    Steilacoom,    F.    Mathias  at 
Seattle,  A.  H.  Robie  at  The  Dalles,  Charles  E.  Weed  at  Olympia,  R.  M. 
Hathaway  at  Vancouver,  and  R.  S.  Robinson  for  the  northern  battalion,  at 
Port  Townsend,  and  C.  C.  Pagett  in  Lewis  county.     Commanding  officers 
chose  their  own  adjutants.     Tilton  remained  adjutant-general,  C.  H.  Arm 
strong  regimental  quartermaster  and  commissary  with  the  right  wing  of  the 
2d  regiment  in   the  field;   and   Lieut-col  Hurd  supt  of  all  business  on  the 
Columbia.     W.  W.  De  Lacy  was  appointed  adjutant  of  the  southern  bat 
talion,    Humphrey   Hill   of  the  northern,    and   B.  F.    Ruth  of  the  central 
battalion.     G.  K.  Willard  was  surgeon  and  purveyor  of  medicine  and  medi 
cal  stores  at  headquarters;  M.  P.  Burns  surgeon  of  central  battalion,  D.  R. 
Bigelow  of  northern  battalion.     Other  surgeons  were  Justin  Millard,  Albert 
Eggers,  and  U.  G.  Warbass. 


PRISONERS  HANGED.  161 

the  Cascade  Range  with  the  southern  battalion. 
On  the  occasion  of  the  governor's  reconnoissance  of 
the  Sound,  which  took  place  in  January,  the  Snoqual- 
imich  chief  Patkanim  tendered  his  services  as  an  ally, 
and  upon  consultation  with  Agent  Simmons  was  ac 
cepted.  He  at  once  took  the  field  with  fifty-five  well- 
armed  warriors,  accompanied  by  Simmons,  L.  M.  Col 
lins,  and  T.  H.  Fuller.  On  the  8th  of  February  they 
reached  Wappato  prairie,  five  miles  below  the  falls  of 
the  Snoqualimich,  and  learning  that  there  was  an  en 
campment  of  the  hostile  Indians  at  the  falls,  Patkanim 
prepared  to  attack  them,  which  he  did,  capturing  the 
whole  party.  An  investigation  showed  them  to  be 
Snoqualirnichs,  with  the  exception  of  three  Klikitat 
emissaries  engaged  in  an  endeavor  to  enlist  them  on 
the  side  of  the  hostile  combination.  Patkanim,  how 
ever,  now  that  he  had  entered  upon  duty  as  an  ally 
of  the  white  people,  carried  his  prisoners  to  camp  at 
Wappato  prairie  and  tried  them  each  and  every  one,  the 
trial  resulting  in  the  discharge  of  the  Snoqualimichs, 
and  one  of  the  Klikitats,  whose  evidence  convicted  the 
other  two  and  caused  them  to  be  hanged.  Their 
heads  were  then  cut  off  and  sent  to  Olyinpia,  where  a 
price  was  to  be  paid. 

From  the  Klikitat  who  was  allowed  to  live  it  was 
ascertained  that  there  were  four  different  camps  of 
the  enemy  on  the  east  side  of  White  River,  at  no 
great  distance  apart,  above  the  point  where  the  mili 
tary  road  crossed  it,  and  that  Leschi  was  at  one  of 
them,  while  the  crossing  of  the  river  was  guarded 
above  and  below.  This  information  was  immediately 
sent  to  Olympia. 

Patkanim  at  once  proceeded  to  White  River  to  at 
tack  Leschi,  whom  it  was  much  desired  by  the  gov 
ernment  to  arrest.  But  when  he  arrived  there  he 
found  that  wily  chief  alert  and  on  his  guard.  Being 
strongly  posted  in  the  fork  of  a  small  tributary  of 
White  River,  a  sharp  engagement  followed,  resulting 
in  considerable  loss.  Of  the  number  killed  by  Pat- 


HIBT.  WASH.— 11 


162  INDIAN  WARS. 

kanim,  all  but  two  were  on  the  farther  side  of  the 
stream,  and  he  was  able  to  obtain  but  two  heads, 
which  were  also  forwarded  to  Olympia,  He  returned 
after  this  battle  to  Holme  Harbor,  Whidbey  Island, 
to  prepare  for  further  operations,  it  now  being  con 
sidered  that  he  had  fully  committed  himself  to  the 
cause  of  the  white  people.  He  remained  faithful, 
and  was  of  some  further  assistance,  but  objected  to 
be  commanded  by  white  officers,  preferring  his  own 
mode  of  fighting. 

About  the  13th  of  February  Captain  Maloney  left 
Fort  Steilacoom  with  lieutenants  Davis  and  Flem 
ing  and  125  men,  for  the  Puyallup,  where  he  con 
structed  a  ferry  and  block-house,  after  which  he  moved 
on  to  White  River,  Colonel  Casey,  who  had  arrived 
on  the  steamship  Republic  in  command  of  two  com 
panies  of  the  regular  9th  infantry,  following  a  few  days 
later  with  about  an  equal  number  of  men. 

On  the  22d  Captain  Ford  of  the  volunteers  left 
Steilacoom  for  White  River  with  his  company  of 
Chehalis  scouts,  in  advance  of  Hays'  company,  and 
White's  pioneers,  who  followed  after,  establishing 
depots  at  Yelm  prairie  and  Montgomery's,  and  mov 
ing  on  to  the  Puyallup,  where  they  built  a  block 
house  and  ferry,  after  which,  on  the  29th,  they  pro 
ceeded  to  the  Muckleshoot  prairie,  Henness  following 
in  a  few  days  with  his  company,  a  junction  being 
formed  with  Casey's  and  Maloney's  commands  at  that 
place,  Governor  Stevens  himself  taking  the  field  on 
the  24th,  when  the  volunteers  moved  to  the  Puyallup. 

Up  to  this  date  the  war  had  been  confined  to  the 
country  north  of  Steilacoom,  although  a  wide-spread 
alarm  prevailed  throughout  the  whole  country.  But 
the  watchful  savages  were  quick  to  perceive  that  by 
the  assemblage  of  the  regular  and  volunteer  forces  in 
the  White  River  country  they  had  left  their  rear 
comparatively  unguarded,  and  on  the  24th  attacked 
and  killed,  near  Steilacoom,  William  Northcraft,  in  the 
service  of  the  territory  as  a  teamster,  driving  off  his 


FIGHT  AT  WHITE  RIVER.  163 

oxen  and  the  stock  of  almost  every  settler  in  the 
vicinity.  On  the  2d  of  March  they  waylaid  William 
White,  a  substantial  farmer  living  near  Nathan 
Eaton's  place,  which  was  subsequently  fortified,  kill 
ing  him  and  shooting  at  his  family,  who  were  saved 
by  the  running-away  of  the  horses  attached  to  a 
wagon  in  which  all  were  returning  from  church.  A 
family  was  also  attacked  while  at  work  in  a  field,  and 
some  wounds  received.  These  outrages  were  perpe 
trated  by  a  band  of  forty  savages  under  the  leadership 
of  chiefs  Stahi  and  Quiemuth,  who  had  flanked  the 
troops  in  small  detachments,  and  while  Casey's  at 
tention  was  diverted  by  the  voluntary  surrender  of 
fifty  of  their  people,  most  of  whom  were  women  and 
children,  whom  it  was  not  convenient  to  support  while 
at  war,  but  which  were  taken  in  charge  by  the  Indian 
department.  This  new  phase  of  affairs  caused  the 
governor's  return  to  Olympia,  whence  he  ordered  a 
part  of  the  southern  battalion  to  the  Sound.  On 
the  4th  of  March,  a  detachment  of  regulars  under 
Lieutenant  Kautz,  opening  a  road  from  the  Puyallup 
to  Muckleshoot  prairie,  when  at  no  great  distance 
from  White  River,  discovered  Indians  and  attacked 
them,  Kautz  sheltering  his  men  behind  piles  of  drift 
wood  until  Keyes  reenforced  him,  when  the  battle 
was  carried  across  the  river  and  to  the  Muckleshoot 
prairie,  where  a  charge  being  made,  the  Indians  scat 
tered.  There  were  over  a  hundred  regulars  in  the 
engagement,  one  of  whom  was  killed  and  nine 
wounded,  including  Lieutenant  Kautz.  The  loss  of 

7  o 

the  Indians  was  unknown. 

In  the  interim  the  volunteers  of  the  central  battal 
ion  had  reached  Connell's  prairie,  where  an  encamp 
ment  was  formed.  On  the  morning  of  the  8th 
Major  Hays  ordered  Captain  White's  company  of 
pioneers,  fifty  strong,  to  the  crossing  of  White  River, 
to  erect  a  block-house  and  construct  a  ferry,  sup 
ported  only  by  Captain  Swindal  with  a  guard  of  ten 
men.  They  had  not  proceeded  more  than  a  mile  and 


164  INDIAN  WARS. 

a  half  from  camp  before  the  advance  under  Lieuten 
ant  Hicks  was  attacked  by  150  warriors,  who  made 
a  furious  assault  just  as  the  detachment  entered  the 
woods  that  covered  the  river-bottoms,  and  were  de 
scending  a  hill.  Almost  simultaneously  the  main 
company  received  a  heavy  fire,  and  finding  the  odds 
against  him,  White  despatched  a  messenger  to  camp, 
when  he  was  reenforced  by  Henness  writh  twenty 
men,  and  soon  after  by  Martin  with  fifteen.  The 
battle  continuing,  and  the  Indians  making  a  flank 
movement  which  could  be  seen  from  camp,  Van  Ogle 
was  despatched  with  fifteen  men  to  check  it.  So 
rapid  were  their  manoeuvres  that  it  required  another 
detachment  of  twelve  men  under  Rabbeson  to  arrest 
them. 

The  Indians  had  a  great  advantage  in  position, 
and  after  two  hours  of  firing,  a  charge  was  ordered 
to  be  made  by  a  portion  of  the  volunteers,  while 
White's  company  and  Henness'  detachment  held  their 
positions.  The  charge  was  successful,  driving  one 
body  of  the  Indians  through  a  deep  marsh,  or  stream, 
in  their  flight,  and  enabling  Swindal  to  take  a  posi 
tion  in  the  rear  of  the  main  body  on  a  high  ridge. 
It  being  too  dangerous  to  charge  them  from  their 
front,  where  White  and  Henness  were  stationed, 
they  being  well  fortified  behind  fallen  timber  on 
the  crest  of  a  hill,  Rabbeson  and  Swindal  were 
ordered  to  execute  a  flank  movement,  and  attack 
the  enemy  in  the  rear.  A  charge  being  made 
simultaneously  in  front  and  rear,  the  Indians  were 
completely  routed,  with  a  loss  of  between  twenty-five 
and  thirty  killed  and  many  wounded.  The  loss  of 
the  volunteers  was  four  wounded. 

This  battle  greatly  encouraged  the  territorial 
troops.  The  Indians  were  in  force,  outnumbering 
them  two  to  one;  they  had  chosen  their  position,  and 
made  the  attack,  and  were  defeated  with  every  cir 
cumstance  in  their  favor.8 

8  Kept  of  Major  Hays,  in  Wash.  Mess.  Oov.,  1857,  290-2. 


DESULTORY  WARFARE.  165 

This  affair  was  the  most  decisive  of  the  spring  cam 
paign  of  1856  on  the  Sound.  After  it  the  Indians  did 
not  attempt  to  make  a  stand,  but  fought  in  small 
parties  at  unexpected  times  and  in  unexpected  places. 
It  would  indeed  have  been  difficult  for  them  to  have 
fought  a  general  engagement,  so  closely  were  they 
pursued,  and  so  thickly  was  the  whole  country  on  the 
east  side  dotted  over  with  block-houses  and  camps. 
The  block-house  at  the  crossing  of  White  River  was 
completed,  the  Indians  wounding  one  of  the  construc 
tion  party  by  firing  from  a  high  bluff  on  the  opposite 
bank.  A  station  was  made  at  Council's  prairie,  called 
Fort  Hays,  by  the  volunteers,  and  another,  called  Fort 
Slaughter,  on  the  Muckleshoot  prairie,  by  the  regu 
lars.  A  block-house  was  established  at  Lone  Tree 
point,  three  miles  from  the  Dwamish,  where  Riley's 
company  was  stationed  to  guard  the  trail  to  Seattle. 
Later  Lieutenant-colonel  Lander  with  company  A 
erected  a  block-house  on  the  Dwamish,  fifteen  miles 
from  Seattle.  Captain  Maloney  erected  one  on  Por 
ter's  prairie,  and  Captain  Dent  another  at  the  mouth 
of  Cedar  River.  The  northern  battalion,  after  com 
pleting  their  works  on  the  Snoqualirnich  and  leav 
ing  garrisons,  marched  across  the  country  to  join  the 
central  battalion  by  order  of  the  commander-in-chief; 
and  Colonel  Shaw  of  the  southern  battalion  added 
his  force  to  the  others  about  the  last  of  the  month. 

At  this  juncture  Governor  Stevens  proclaimed 
martial  law;  his  forces  were  readjusted,  and  a  desul 
tory  warfare  kept  up  throughout  the  entire  region. 
On  John  Day  River,  where  the  enemy  had  congre 
gated  in  numbers,  Major  Layton  of  the  Oregon  vol 
unteers  captured  thirty-four  warriors  in  June,  and  in 
July  there  was  some  fighting,  but  nothing  decisive. 
Colonel  Shaw  also  did  some  fighting  in  the  Grand  Rond 
country,  but  there,  as  elsewhere,  the  Indians  kept  the 
army  on  the  move  without  definite  results. 

In  these  white  raids  many  Indian  horses  were  taken, 
and  all  government  supplies  stopped.     Obviously  no 


166  INDIAN  WARS. 

more  effective  method  of  subduing  the  Indians  could 
be  adopted  than  to  unhorse  them  and  take  away  their 
supplies.  The  march  of  the  several  detachments  of 
regulars  and  volunteers  through  the  Indian  country 
forced  the  neutral  and  needy  Indians  to  accept  the 
overtures  of  the  United  States  government  through 
the  Indian  and  military  departments,  and  they  now 
surrendered  to  the  agents  and  army  officers,  to  the 
number  of  923,  comprising  the  Wasco,  Tyghe,  Des 
Chutes,  and  a  portion  of  the  John  Day  tribes,  all  of 
whom  were  partially  subsisted  by  the  government. 
About  400  of  the  Yakimas  and  Klikitats  who  sur 
rendered  to  Colonel  Wright  during  the  summer  were 
also  assisted  by  the  government  agents. 

Soon  after  a  battle  on  the  Grand  Rond,  Major 
Laytoii  mustered  out  his  battalion,  the  time  of  the 
Oregon  troops  having  expired,  leaving  only  Shaw's 
battalion  in  the  Walla  Walla  Valley,  to  hold  it  until 
Colonel  Wright  should  be  prepared  to  occupy  it  with 
the  regular  troops,  who  had  not  fought  nor  attempted 
to  fight  an  engagement  during  the  summer.  A  scout 
ing  party  of  Jordan's  Indian  allies,  in  recovering  200 
captured  horses,  killed  two  hostile  Indians,  the  sole 
achievement  of  a  regiment  of  troops  in  the  field  for 
four  months.  About  the  1st  of  August  Wright  re 
turned  to  Vancouver,  leaving  Major  Garnett  in  com 
mand  of  Fort  Simcoe,  and  the  Indians  at  liberty  to 
give  the  volunteers  employment,  which  they  were 
ready  enough  to  do.9 

9The  2d  regiment  of  Washington  volunteers  was  officered,  so  far  as  the 
official  correspondence  shows,  as  follows:  Co.  A,  Capt.  Edward  Lander;  1st 
lieut  A.  A.  Denny,  vice  H.  H.  Peixotto  resigned;  2d  lieut  D.  A.  Neely;  H. 
A.  Smith  surgeon;  strength  53  rank  and  file.  Non-com,  officers,  John  Hcn- 
ning,  C.  D.  Biven,  J.  Ross,  Jacob  Wibbens,  James  Fielding,  Walter  Graham, 
David  Manner,  Asa  Fowler.  Co.  B,  Capt.  Gilmore  Hays,  promoted  to  major 
by  election;  1st  lieut  A.  B.  Rabbeson,  elected  capt.  vice  Hays;  1st  lieut  Van 
Ogle,  vice  Rabbeson,  and  John  Brady,  vice  Van  Ogle,  commanded  lastly  by 
Captain  Burntrager;  2d  lieut  William  Martin;  2d  lieut  William  Temple,  vice 
Martin  resigned.  Non-com,  officers,  Frank  Ruth,  D.  Martin,  M.  Goodell,  N. 


Henry  Laws,  James  Phillips,  William  E.  Klady,  Thomas  Hicks,  S.  A.  Phil 
lips,  'H.   Johnson;  strength   07  rank  and  file.     Co.   D,  Capt.  Achilles;  1st 


STEVENS'  MOVEMENTS.  167 

Governor  Stevens  was  unable  to  push  forward  any 
troops  east  of  the  Cascade  Range  for  two  months 
after  the  Oregon  troops  were  withdrawn  upon  the 
understanding  that  Colonel  Wright  was  to  occupy  the 
Walla  Walla  Valley.  In  the  mean  time  the  hostile 
tribes  enjoyed  the  fullest  liberty  up  to  the  appearing 
of  the  southern  battalion,  and  those  previously  friendly, 
beino-  in  ignorance  of  the  intention  of  the  authorities 

O  O 

toward  them,  made  this  an  excuse  for  withdrawing 
their  allegiance. 

Lieutenant-colonel  Craig,  who  with  his  auxiliaries 
had  been  using  his  best  endeavors  to  hold  the  N"ez 
Perces  and  Spokanes  constant  to  their  professions, 
met  the  volunteers  in  the  Walla  Walla  Valley,  and 
escorted  Captain  Robie  with  the  supply  train  under 

lieut  Powell:  strength  44  rank  and  file.  Co.  E,  Capt.  Charles  W.  Riley; 
strength  21  men  rank  and  file;  commanded  lastly  by  Lieut  Cole.  Co.  F, 
Capt.  Calvin  W.  Swindal;  1st  lieut  J.  Q.  Cole;  strength  40  rank  and  file. 
Co.  G,  J.  J.  H.  Van  Bokelin;  promoted  to  maj.  by  election;  1st  lieut  Daniel 
Smalley,  elected  capt.  vice  Van  Bokelin;  2d  lieut  G.  W.  Ebey;  strength  55 
rank  and  file.  Co.  H,  Capt.  R.  V.  Peabody;  strength  42  rank  and  file.  Co. 
I,  Capt.  S.  D.  Howe;  1st  lieut  G.  W.  Beam,  elected  capt.  vice  Howe;  Thomas 
Sinnot,  vice  Beam;  2d  lieut  Benj.  Welcher,  vice  Jolm  Y.  Sewell  resigned; 
strength  35  rank  and  file.  Co.  J,  Capt.  Bluford  Miller;  1st  lieut  Anthony 
W.  Pressley;  2d  lieut  Andrew  Sheppard;  strength  40  rank  and  file.  Co.  K, 
Capt.  Francis  M.  P.  Goff;  1st  lieut  Israel  Hedges;  2d  lieut  Thomas  Waite; 
strength  101  rank  and  file.  Goff  also  mentions  Lieut  Hunter.  Co.  L,  Capt. 
E.  D.  Warbass;  1st  lieut  J.  W.  Anderson;  2d  lieut  J.  B.  Bouchard;  strength 
91  rank  and  file.  Co.  M,  Capt.  Henri  M.  Chase;  1st  lieut  V.  L.  La  Fontaine; 
2d  lieut  Louis  Rabion;  strength  53  rank  and  file;  10  white  men,  43  Nez  Perces. 
Co.  N,  Capt.  Richards;  1st  lieut  John  Estes;  2d  lieut  Williams  in  command; 
strength  74  rank  and  file.  Washington  Mounted  Rifles,  Capt.  H.  J.  G. 
Maxon;  1st  lieut  Ed  Barrington;  2d  lieut  Curtiss;  strength  95  rank  and  file. 
Clarke  County  Rangers,  Capt.  William  Kelly;  1st  lieut  J.  D.  Biles;  2d  lieut 
P.  Ahern;  strength  81  rank  and  file.  Pioneer  Co.,  Capt.  Joseph  A.  White; 
1st  lieut  U.  Hicks;  2d  lieut  T.  McLean  Chambers;  non-com,  officers,  Daniel  J. 
Hubbard,  Columbus  White,  Marcus  McMillan,  Henry  G.  Parsons,  Isaac 
Lemmons,  James  Burns,  William  Ruddell,  William  Mengle;  strength  40  rank 
and  file.  Fourteen  of  this  company,  under  Hicks,  did  duty  as  mounted  men. 
Walla  Walla  Co.,  Capt.  S.  S.  Ford;  strength  29  rank  and  file.  Train  Guard, 
Capt.  Shead;  strength  47  rank  and  file.  Nisqually  Ferry  Guard,  strength 
9  men.  Lewis  Co.  Rangers,  Capt.  John  R.  Jackson;  1st  lieut  Jackson  Barton, 

succeeded   by  Anderson;    2d  lieut  Round  tree,    succeeded    by   Balisti; 

strength  67  rank  and  file.  Cowlitz  Rangers,  Capt.  H.  W.  Peers;  strength 
unknown.  Indian  auxiliaries,  Snohomish  chiefs  Patkanim  and  John  Taylor 
capt.;  strength  82.  Squaxon  Indians,  Lieut  Gosnell  capt.;  strength  15. 
Chchalis  Indians,  Capt.  S.  S.  Ford,  Jr;  strength  17.  Cowlitz  Indians,  Pierre 
Charles  capt.;  strength  9.  Wash.  Mesa.  Gov.,  1857,  28-30,  and  general  mili 
tary  correspondence.  Changes  being  frequent,  I  am  at  a  loss  where  to  place 
lieuts  Temple,  Mounts,  and  G.  W.  Martin.  The  staff-ofh'cers  have  been  men 
tioned  in  a  previous  note. 


168  INDIAN  WARSV 

his  charge  to  the  Nez  Perce  country.  On  the  24th 
of  July  Robie  returned  and  communicated  to  Colonel 
Shaw,  just  in  from  the  Grand  Rond  expedition,  the 
disagreeable  intelligence  that  the  Nez  Perces  had 
shown  a  hostile  disposition,  declaring  the  treaty 
broken,  and  refusing  to  receive  the  goods  sent  them.10 
This  would  have  been  unwelcome  news  at  any  time, 
but  was  most  trying  at  this  juncture,  when  half  the 
force  in  field  was  quitting  it  to  be  mustered  out  of  ser 
vice.  This  exigency  occasioned  the  call  for  two  more 
companies  of  volunteers.  Subsequent  to  making  the 
call,  Stevens  decided  to  go  in  person  to  Walla  Walla, 
and  if  possible  to  hold  a  council.  A  messenger  was 
at  once  despatched  to  Shaw,  with  instructions  to  send 
runners  to  the  different  tribes,  friendly  and  hostile, 
inviting  them  to  meet  him  on  the  25th;  but  accompa 
nying  the  invitation  was  the  notice  that  he  required 
the  unconditional  surrender  of  the  warring  bands. 

Stevens  urged  Colonel  Wright  to  be  present  at  the 
council,  and  to  send  three  companies  of  regulars,  in 
cluding  all  his  mounted  men,  to  the  Walla  Walla  Val 
ley  for  that  occasion.  Wright  declined  the  invitation 
to  participate  in  the  council,  but  signified  his  intention 
of  sending  Steptoe  to  Walla  Walla  to  establish  a  post 
in  that  country. 

On  the  19th  of  August,  Stevens  set  out  from 
The  Dalles  with  a  train  of  30  wagons,  80  oxen,  and 
200  loose  animals,  attended  only  by  his  messenger, 
Pearson,  and  the  employes  of  the  expedition.  A  day 
or  two  bekind  him  followed  the  baggage  and  supply 
train  of  Steptoe's  command.  He  arrived  without 
accident  at  Camp  Mason  on  the  23d,  sending  word 
in  all  directions  to  inform  the  Indians  of  his  wish  to 
meet  them  for  a  final  adjustment  of  their  difficulties 
at  the  council-ground  five  miles  from  Waiilatpu.  At 

10  See  letters  of  W.  H.  Pearson  and  other  correspondents,  in  Or.  Statesman, 
Aug.  5,  1856;  Or.  Argus,  Aug.  2,  1856;  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  Aug. 
5,  1856.  Pearson,  who  was  in  the  Nez  Perc6  country,  named  the  hostile  chiefs 
as  follows:  Looffing  Glass,  Three  Feathers,  Red  Bear,  Eagle-from-the-light, 
Bed  Wolf,  and  Man-with-a-rope-in-his-mouth. 


FRUITLESS  COUNCIL.  169 

the  end  of  a  week  a  deputation  of  the  lower  Nez 
Perces  had  come  in  with  their  agent,  Craig.  At  the 
end  of  another  week  all  this  tribe  were  in,  but  on  the 
same  day  Father  Ravelli,  from  the  Coeur  d'Al^rie 
mission,  arrived  alone,  with  the  information  that  he 
had  seen  and  conversed  with  Karniakin,  Owhi,  and 
Qualchin,  who  refused  to  attend  the  council,  and  also 
that  the  Spokanes  and  other  tribes  declined  to  meet 
the  superintendent,  having  been  instigated  to  this 
course  by  Kamiakin,  who  had  made  his  headquarters 
on  the  border  of  their  country  all  summer,  exercising 
a  strong  influence  by  the  tales  he  circulated  of  the 
wrong-doing  of  the  white  people,  and  especially  of 
Governor  Stevens,  and  enmity  among  the  northern 
tribes. 

On  the  10th  the  hostile  Cayuses,  Des  Chutes,  and 
Tyghes  arrived  and  encamped  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Nez  Perces,  but  without  paying  the  customary 
visit  to  Governor  Stevens,  and  exhibiting  their  hos 
tility  by  firing  the  grass  of  the  country  they  travelled 
over.  They  had  recently  captured  a  pack-train  of 
forty-one  horses  and  thirty  packs  of  provisions  from 
The  Dalles  for  Shaw's  command,  and  were  in  an 
elated  mood  over  their  achievement. 

The  council  opened  on  the  llth  of  September,  and 
closed  on  the  17th,  Stevens  moving  his  position  in  the 
mean  time  to  Steptoe's  camp  for  fear  of  an  outbreak. 
Nothing  was  accomplished.     The  only  terms  to  which 
the  war  chiefs  would  assent  were  to  be  left  in  posses 
sion  of  their  respective  domains.     On  his  way  back  to 
The  Dalles  with  his  train  of  Indian  goods,  escorted 
by  Shaw's  command  under  Goif,  on  the  19th  and  20th 
several  attacks  were  made  and   two  soldiers  killed. 
Assisted  by  Steptoe,  Stevens  finally  reached  his  des 
tination  in  safety.     After  this  mortifying  repulse  Gov 
ernor  Stevens  returned  to  the  Sound.     Wright  re 
paired  to  Walla  Walla  with  an  additional  company  of 
troops,  and  sent  word  to  all  the  chiefs  to  bring  them 
together  for  a  council.     Few  came,  the  Nez  Perces 


170  INDIAN  WARS. 

being  represented  by  Red  Wolf  and  Eagle-from-the- 
light,  the  Cayuses  by  Howlish  Warapo,  Tintinmetse, 
and  Stickas,  with  some  other  sub-chiefs  of  both 
nations.  None  of  the  Yakimas,  Des  Chutes,  Walla 
Wallas,  or  Spokanes  were  present;  and  all  that  could 
be  elicited  from  those  who  attended  the  council  was 
that  they  desired  peace,  and  did  not  wish  the  treaty 
of  Walla  Walla  confirmed. 

Wright  remained  at  Walla  Walla  until  November, 
the  post  of  Fort  Walla  Walla11  being  established  on 
Mill  Creek,  six  miles  from  its  junction  with  the  Walla 
Walla  River,  where  the  necessary  buildings  were 
completed  before  the  20th.  In  November  Fort  Dalles 
was  garrisoned  by  an  additional  company  under 
brevet  Major  Wise.  The  Cascade  settlement  was 
protected  by  a  company  of  the  4th  infantry  under 
Captain  Wallen,  who  relieved  Captain  Winder  of  the 
9th  infantry.  The  frontier  being  thus  secured  against 
invasion,  the  winter  passed  without  many  warlike 
demonstrations. 

About  the  20th  of  July  the  volunteer  companies 
left  on  the  Sound  when  Shaw's  battalion  departed  for 
Walla  Walla  were  disbanded,  the  hostile  Indians  be 
ing  driven  east  of  the  mountains,  and  the  country 
being  in  a  good  state  of  defence.  On  the  4th  of  Au 
gust  Governor  Stevens  called  a  council  of  Indians  at 
Fox  Island,  to  inquire  into  the  causes  of  discontent, 
and  finding  that  the  Nisquallies  and  Puyallups  were 
dissatisfied  with  the  extent  of  their  reservation,  not 
without  a  show  of  reason,  he  agreed  to  recommend  an 
enlargement,  and  a  re-survey  was  ordered  on  the  28th, 
which  took  in  thirteen  donation  claims,  for  which  con 
gress  appropriated  nearly  $5,000  to  pay  for  improve 
ments. 

Having  satisfied  the  Indians  of  his  disposition  to 
deal  justly  with  them,  he  next  made  a  requisition  upon 

11  Old  Fort  Walla  Walla  of  the  H.  B.  Co.  being  abandoned,  the  name  waa 
transferred  to  this  post,  about  28  miles  in  the  interior. 


CAPTURE  OF  LESCHI.  171 

Colonel  Wright  for  the  delivery  to  him  of  Leschi, 
Quiemuth,  Nelson,  Stahi,  and  the  younger  Kitsap,  to 
be  tried  for  murder,  these  Indians  being  among  those 
who  had  held  a  council  with  Wright  in  the  Yakima 

o 

country,  and  been  permitted  to  go  at  large  on  their 
parole  and  obligation  to  keep  the  peace.  But  Wright 
'was  reluctant  to  give  up  the  Indians  required,  saying 
that  although  he  had  made  no  promises  not  to  hold 
them  accountable  for  their  former  acts,  he  should  con 
sider  it  unwise  to  seize  them  for  trial,  as  it  would  have 
a  disturbing  effect  upon  the  Indians  whom  he  was 
endeavoring  to  quiet.  Stevens  argued  that  peace  on 
milder  terms  would  be  a  criminal  abandonment  of 
duty,  and  would  depreciate  the  standing  of  the  au 
thorities  with  the  Indians,  especially  as  he  had  fre 
quently  assured  them  that  the  guilty  should  be  pun 
ished;  he  repeated  his  requisition;  whereupon,  toward 
the  last  of  the  month,  Major  Garnett  was  ordered  to 
turn  over  to  the  governor  for  trial  the  Indians  named. 
The  army  officers  were  not  in  sympathy  with  what 
they  deemed  the  arbitrary  course  of  the  governor,  and 
Garnett  found  it  easy  to  evade  the  performance  of  so 
uncongenial  a  duty,  the  Indians  being  scattered,  and 
many  of  them  having  returned  to  the  Sound,  where 
they  gave  themselves  up  to  the  military  authorities 
at  Fort  Steilacoom. 

A  reward,  however,  was  offered  for  the  seizure  and 
delivery  of  Leschi,  which  finally  led  to  his  arrest  about 
the  middle  of  November.  It  was  accomplished  by 
the  treachery  of  two  of  his  own  people,  Sluggia  and 
Elikukah.  They  went  to  the  place  where  Leschi  was 
in  hiding,  poor  and  outlawed,  having  been  driven 
away  by  the  Yakimas  who  had  submitted  to  Wright, 
who  would  allow  him  to  remain  in  their  country  only 
on  condition  that  he  became  their  slave;  and  having 
decoyed  him  to  a  spot  where  their  horses  were  con 
cealed,  suddenly  seized  and  bound  him,  to  be  delivered 
up  to  Sydney  S.  Ford,  who  surrendered  him  to 
Stevens  at  Olympia. 


172  INDIAN  WARS. 

The  particular  crime  with  which  Leschi  was  charged 
was  the  killing  of  A.  B.  Moses,  the  place  being  in 
Pierce  county.  Court  had  just  adjourned  when  he 
was  brought  in,  but  as  Judge  Chenoweth,  who  resided 
on  Whidbey  Island,  had  not  yet  left  Steilacoom,  he 
was  requested  by  the  governor  to  hold  a  special  term 
for  the  trial  of  Leschi,  and  the  trial  came  off  on  the 
1 7th  of  November,  the  jury  failing  to  agree.  A  second 
trial,  begun  on  the  18th  of  March,  1857,  resulted  in 
conviction,  and  the  savage  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged 
on  the  10th  of  June.  This  action  of  the  Governor 
was  condemned  by  the  regular  army  officers,  there 
being  in  this  case  the  same  opposition  of  sentiment 
between  the  civil  and  military  authorities  which  had 
existed  in  all  the  Indian  wars  in  Oregon  and  Wash 
ington — the  army  versus  the  people. 

Proceedings  were  instituted  to  carry  the  case  up 
to  the  supreme  court  in  December,  which  postponed 
the  execution  of  the  sentence.  The  opinion  of  Mc- 
Fadden,  acting  chief  justice,  sustained  the  previous 
action  of  the  district  court  and  the  verdict  of  the 
jury.  Leschi's  sentence  was  again  pronounced,  the 
day  of  his  execution  being  fixed  upon  the  22d  of  Jan 
uary,  1858.  In  the  mean  time  Stevens  had  resigned, 
and  a  new  governor,  McMullin,  had  arrived,  to 
whom  a  strong  appeal  was  made  by  the  counsel  and 
friends  of  Leschi,  but  to  no  effect,  700  settlers  pro 
testing  against  pardon.  When  the  day  of  execution 
arrived,  a  large  concourse  of  people  assembled  at 
Steilacoom  to  witness  the  death  of  so  celebrated  a 
savage.  But  the  friends  of  the  doomed  man  had 
prepared  a  surprise  for  them.  The  sheriff  of  Pierce 
county  and  his  deputy  were  arrested,  between  the 
hours  of  ten  and  twelve  o'clock,  by  Lieutenant  Mc- 
Kibben  of  Fort  Steilacoom,  appointed  United  States 
marshal  for  the  purpose,  and  Frederick  Kautz,  upon 
a  warrant  issued  by  J.  M.  Bachelder,  United  States 
commissioner  and  sutler  at  that  post,  upon  a  charge 
of  selling  liquor  to  the  Indians.  An  attempt  was 


EXECUTION  OP  LESCHT.  173 

made  by  Secretary  Mason  to  obtain  the  death-warrant 
in  possession  of  the  sheriff,  which  attempt  was  frus 
trated  until  after  the  hour  fixed  for  the  execution  had 
passed,  during  which  time  the  sheriff  remained  in  cus 
tody  with  no  attempt  to  procure  his  freedom. 

So  evident  a  plot,  executed  entirely  between  the 
prisoner's  counsel  and  the  military  authorities  at  Fort 
Steilacoom,  aroused  the  liveliest  indignation  on  the 
part  of  the  majority  of  the  people.  A  public  meeting 
was  held  at  Steilacoom,  and  also  one  at  Olympia,  on 
the  evening  of  the  22d,  at  which  all  the  persons  in 
any  way  concerned  in  the  frustration  of  the  sentence 
of  the  courts  were  condemned,  and  the  legislature  re 
quested  to  take  cognizance  of  it.  This  the  legislature 
did,  by  passing  an  act  on  the  following  day  requiring 
the  judges  of  the  supreme  court  to  hold  a  special  ses 
sion  on  or  before  the  1st  of  February  at  the  seat  of 
government,  repealing  all  laws  in  conflict  with  this 
act,  and  also  passing  another  act  allowing  the  judges, 
Chenoweth  and  McFadden,  Lander  beintr  absent  from 

*  O 

the  territory,  one  hundred  dollars  each  for  their  ex 
penses  in  holding  an  extra  session  of  the  supreme 
court,  by  which  the  case  was  remanded  to  the  court 
of  the  2d  judicial  district,  whither  it  came  on  a  writ  of 
error,  and  an  order  issued  for  a  special  session  of  the 
district  court,  before  which,  Chenoweth  presiding, 
Leschi  was  again  brought,  when  his  counsel  entered 
a  demurrer  to  its  jurisdiction,  which  was  overruled, 
and  Leschi  was  for  the  third  time  sentenced  to  be 
hanged ;  and  on  the  1 9th  of  February  the  unhappy  sav 
age,  ill  and  emaciated  from  long  confinement,  and  weary 
of  a  life  which  for  nearly  three  years  had  been  one  of 
strife  and  misery,  was  strangled  according  to  law. 

There  is  another  case  on  the  record  showing  the 
temper  of  the  time.  Shortly  after  Leschi's  betrayal 
and  arrest,  Quiemuth,  who  had  been  in  hiding,  pre 
sented  himself  to  George  Brail  on  Yelm  prairie,  with 
the  request  that  he  should  accompany  him  to  Olympia, 
and  give  him  up  to  Governor  Stevens  to  be  tried. 


174  INDIAN  WARS. 

Brail  did  as  requested,  three  or  four  others  accom 
panying  him.  Arriving  at  Olympia  at  half-past  two 
in  the  morning,  they  aroused  the  governor,  who,  placing 
them  all  in  his  office,  furnished  fire  and  refreshments, 
locked  the  front  door,  and  proceeded  to  make  ar 
rangements  for  conveying  the  party  to  Steilacoorn 
before  daylight. 

Although  caution  was  used,  the  fact  of  Quiemuth's 
presence  in  the  town  became  known,  and  several  per 
sons  quietly  gained  access  to  the  governor's  office 
through  a  back  door,  among  whom  was  James  Bunton, 
a  son-in-law  of  James  McAllister,  who  was  killed 
while  conversing  with  some  of  Leschi's  people.  The 
guard  saw  no  suspicious  movement,  when  suddenly  a 
shot  was  fired,  there  was  a  quick  arousal  of  all  in  the 
room,  and  Quiemuth  with  others  sprang  to  the  door, 
where  he  was  met  by  the  assassin  and  mortally 
stabbed.  So  dimly  lighted  was  the  room,  and  so 
unexpected  and  sudden  was  the  deed,  that  the 
perpetrator  was  not  recognized,  although  there  was  a 
warrant  issued  a  few  hours  later  for  Bunton,  who,  on 
examination,  was  discharged  for  want  of  evidence.12 

Few  of  the  Indian  leaders  in  the  war  on  the  Sound 
survived  it.  Several  were  hanged  at  Fort  Steilacoom ; 
three  were  assassinated  by  white  men  out  of  revenge; 
Kitsap  was  killed  in  June  1857,  on  the  Muckleshoot 
prairie,  by  one  of  his  own  people,  and  in  December  fol 
lowing  Sluggia,  who  betrayed  Leschi,  was  killed  by 
Leschi's  friends.13  Nelson  and  Stahi  alone  survived 
when  Leschi  died.  His  death  may  be  said  to  have 
been  the  closing  act  of  the  war  on  Puget  Sound;  but 
it  was  not  until  the  ratification  of  the  Walla  Walla 
treaties  in  1859  that  the  people  returned  to  their 
farms  in  the  Puyallupand  upper  White  River  valleys.14 
So  antagonistic  was  the  feeling  against  Stevens  con- 

l*  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  Nov.  28,  1856;  Elridge's  Sketch,  MS.,  9. 

13  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  July  3  and  Dec.  11,  1857. 

14  Patkanim  died  soon  after  the  war  was  over.     The  Pioneer  and  Democrat, 
!jan.  21,  185D,  remarked:     'It  is  just  as  well  that  he  is  out  of  the  way,  as  in 

everything,  we  never  believed  in  his  friendship. '     Seattle  died  in  18G6, 


WAR  CLAIMS.  175 

duct  of  the  war  at  the  federal  capital,  that  it  was 
many  years  before  the  war  debt  was  allowed. 

The  labors  of  the  commission  appointed  to  examine 
claims  occupied  almost  a  year,  to  pay  for  which  con 
gress  appropriated  twelve  thousand  dollars.  The  total 
amount  of  war  expenses  for  Oregon  and  Washington 
aggregated  nearly  six  millions  of  dollars.15  When  the 
papers  were  all  filed  they  made  an  enormous  mass  of 
half  a  cord  in  bulk,  which  Smith  took  to  Washington 
in  1857.16  The  secretary  of  war,  in  his  report,  pro 
nounced  the  findings  equitable,  recommending  that 
provision  should  be  made  for  the  payment  of  the  full 
amount.17 

never  having  been  suspected.  Kussass,  chief  of  the  Ccrwlitz  tribe,  died  in 
1876,  aged  114  years.  He  was  friendly,  and  a  catholic.  Olympia  Morning 
Echo,  Jan.  6,  1876. 

15  Deady'a  Hist.  Or.,  MS.,  35;  Graver's  Pub.  Life,  MS.,  59;  Or.  Statesman, 
Oct.  20,  1857,  and  March  30  and  April  6,  1858;  //.  Ex.  Doc.,  45,  pp.  1-10, 
35th  cong.  1st  sess.  The  exact  footing  was  $4,449,949.33  for  Oregon;  and 
§1,481,475.45  for  Washington=$5,931, 424.78.  Of  this  amount,  the  pay  due  to 
the  Oregon  volunteers  was  $1,409,004.53;  and  to  the  Washington  volunteers 
8519,503.06. 

16 Said  Horace  Greeley:  'The  enterprising  terrritories  of  Oregon  and 
Washington  have  handed  into  congress  their  little  bill  for  scalping  Indians 
and  violating  squaws  two  years  ago,  etc.,  etc.  After  these  [the  Frencn 
Spoliation  claims]  shall  have  been  paid  half  a  century  or  so,  we  trust  the 
claims  of  the  Oregon  and  Washington  Indian- fighters  will  come  up  for  con 
sideration.'  New  York  Tribune,  in  Or.  Statesman,  Feb.  16,  1858. 

17  On  the  Oregon  war  debt,  see  the  report  of  the  third  auditor,  1860,  found  in 
//.  Ex.  Doc.,  11,  36th cong.  1st  sess.;  speech  of  Grover,  in  Cong.  Globe,  1858- 
9,  pt  ii.,  app.  217,  35th  cong.  2d  sess.;  letter  of  third  auditor,  in  //.  Ex. 
Doc.,  51,  vol.  viii.  77,  35th  cong.  2d  sess.;  Statement  of  the  Or.  and  Wash, 
delegation  in  regard  to  the  war  claims  of  Oregon  and  Washington,  a  pamphlet 
of  67  pages;  Dowell's  Scrap-Book  of  authorities  on  the  subject;  Or.  Jour.  Sen., 
1860,  app.  35-6;  Dowell's  Or.  Ind.  Wars,  138-42;  Jessup's  Rept  on  the  cost  of 
transportation  of  troops  and  supplies  to  California,  Oregon,  and  New  Mexico, 
2;  rept  of  commissioner  on  Indian  war  expenses  in  Oregon  and  Washington, 
in  //.  Ex.  Doc.,  45,  35th  cong.  1st  sess.,  vol.  ix. ;  memorial  of  the  legislative 
assembly  of  1855-6,  in  II.  Misc.  Doc.,  77,  34th  cong.  1st  sess.,  and  II.  Mixc. 
Doc.,  78,  34th  cong.  1st  sess.,  containing  a  copy  of  the  act  of  the  same  legisla 
ture  providing  for  the  payment  of  volunteers;  report  of  the  house  com 
mittee  on  military  affairs,  June  24,  1856,  in  77.  Jle.pt,  195,  34th  cong.  1st  sess. ; 
reports  of  committee,  vol.  i.,  //.  Rept,  189,  34th  cong.  3d  sess.,  in  H.  Reports 
of  Committee,  vol.  3;  petition  of  citizens  of  Oregon  and  Washington  for  a 
more  speedy  and  just  settlement  of  the  war  claims,  with  the  reply  of  the 
third  auditor,  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.,  46,  37th  cong.  2d  sess.,  vol.  v.;  Report  of  the 
Chairman  of  the  Military  Committee  of  the  Senate,  March  29,  1860;  Rept  Com., 
161,  36th  cong.  1st  sess.,  vol.  i. ;  communication  from  Senators  George  H. 
Williams  and  W.  H.  Corbett,  on  the  Oregon  Indian  war  claims  of  1855-6, 
audited  by  Philo  Callender,  which  encloses  letters  of  the  third  auditor,  and 
B.  F.  Dowell  on  the  expenses  of  the  war,  Washington,  March  2,  1S6S,  in 
H.  Mine.  Doc.,  88,  p.  3-10,  ii.,  40th  cong.  2d  sess.:  report  of  sen.  com.  on 


176  INDIAN  WARS. 

The  number  of  white  persons  known  to  have  been 
killed  by  Indians18  in  Oregon  previous  to  the  establish 
ment  of  the  latter  on  reservations,  including  the  few 
fairly  killed  in  battle,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to 
gather  from  reliable  authorities,  was  nearly  700,  be 
sides  about  140  wounded  who  recovered,  and  without 
counting  those  killed  and  wounded  in  Washington.19 

Two  events  of  no  small  significance  occurred  in  the 
spring  of  1857 — the  union  of  the  two  Indian  superin- 
tendencies  of  Washington  under  one  superintendent, 
J.  W.  Nesmith  of  Oregon,  and  the  recall  of  General 
Wool  from  the  command  of  the  department  of  the 
Pacific.  The  first  was  in  consequence  of  the  heavy 
expenditures  in  both  superintendencies,  and  the  sec 
ond  was  in  response  to  the  petition  of  the  legislature 
of  Oregon  at  the  session  of  1856-7.  The  successor 
of  Wool  was  Newman  S.  Clarke,  who  paid  a  visit  to 
the  Columbia  River  district  in  June.20 

interest  to  be  allowed  on  the  award  of  the  Indian  war  claims,  in  Sen.  Com. 
Rept,  8,  37th  cong.  2d  sess. ;  letter  of  secretary  of  the  treasury,  contain 
ing  information  relative  to  claims  incurred  in  suppressing  Indian  hostilities  in 
Oregon  and  Washington,  and  which  were  acted  and  reported  upon  by  the 
commission  authorized  by  the  act  of  August  18,  1856,  in  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.,  1  and 
2,  42d  cong.  2d  sess. ;  report  of  the  committee  on  military  affairs,  June  22. 
1874,  in  H.  Repts  of  Com.,  873,  43d  cong.  1st  sess.;  letter  from  the  third 
auditor  to  the  chairman  of  the  committee  on  military  affairs  on  the  subject  of 
claims  growing  out  of  Indian  hostilities,  in  Oregon  and  Washington,  in  //. 
Ex.  Doc.,  51,  35th  cong.  2d  sess.;  vol.  vii.,  and  Id.  Doc.,  vol.  iv.,  36th  cong. 
1st  sess.;  communication  of  C.  S.  Drew,  on  the  origin  and  early  prosecution 
of  the  Indian  war  in  Oregon,  inSen.  Misc.  Doc.,  59,  36th  cong.  1st  sess.,  relat 
ing  chiefly  to  Rogue  River  Valley;  Stevens'  Speech  on  War  Expenses  before  the 
Committee  of  Military  Affairs  of  the  House,  March  15,  1860;  Stevens'  Speech; 
on  War  Claims  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  May  31,  1858;  Speeches  of 
Joseph  Lane  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  April  2,  1856,  and  May  13,  1858; 
Speech  of  I.  I.  Stevens  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  Feb.  31,  1859;  Alta 
California,  July  4,  1857;  Or.  Statesman,  Jan.  26,  1858;  Dowell  and  Gibbs' 
Brief  in  Donnell  vs  Card-well,  Sup.  Court  Decisions,  1877;  Early  Affairs 
Siskiyou  County,  MS.,  13;  Swan's  N.  W.  Coast,  388-91. 

18  See  a  list  by  S.  C.  Drew,  in  the  N.  Y.  Tribune,  July  9,  1857.  Lindsay 
Applegate  furnishes  a  longer  one,  but  neither  list  is  at  all  complete.  See  also 
letter  of  Lieut  John  Mullan  to  Commissioner  Mix,  in  Mullan's  Top.  Mem., 
32;  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.,  32,  35th  cong.  2d  sess. 

19 1  arrived  at  this  estimate  by  putting  down  in  a  book  the  names  and  the 
number  of  persons  murdered  or  slain  in  battle.  The  result  surprised  me, 
although  there  were  undoubtedly  others  whose  fate  was  never  certainly  as 
certained.  This  only  covers  the  period  which  ended  with  the  close  of  the 
war  of  1855-6;  there  were  many  others  killed  after  these  years. 

20  The  distribution  of  United  States  troops  in  the  district  for  1857  was  two 


NESMITH  AND  CLARKE.  177 

Nesmith  did  not  relieve  Stevens  of  his  duties  as 
superintendent  of  Washington  until  the  2d  of  June,21 
soon  after  which  General  Clarke  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Columbia  River  district  to  look  into  the  condition  of 
this  portion  of  his  department. 

Nesmith  recommended  to  the  commissioner  at 
Washington  City  that  the  treaties  of  1855  be  ratified, 
as  the  best  means  of  bringing  about  a  settlement  of  the 
existing  difficulties,  and  for  these  reasons:  that  the 
land  laws  permitted  the  occupation  of  the  lands  of 
Oregon  and  Washington,  regardless  of  the  rights  of 
the  Indians,  making  the  intercourse  laws  a  nullity,  and 
rendering  it  impossible  to  prevent  collisions  between 
them  and  the  settlers.  Friendly  relations  could  not 
be  cultivated  while  their  title  to  the  soil  was  recogf- 

O 

nized  by  the  government,  which  at  the  same  time 

companies  of  the  4th  infantry  at  Fort  Hoskins,  under  Capt.  C.  C.  Augur; 
detachments  of  the  4th  inf.  and  3d  art.  at  Fort  Yajnhill,  under  Lieut  Phil. 
H.  Sheridan;  three  companies  of  the  9th  inf.  at  Fort  Dalles,  Col  Wright  in 
command;  one  co.  of  the  4th  infantry  at  Fort  Vancouver,  Colonel  Thomas 
Morris  in  command;  one  co.  of  the  3d  art.  at  the  Cascades,  under  Maj.  F.  0. 
Wyse;  three  companies  of  the  9th  inf.,  under  Maj.  R.  S.  Garnett,  at  Fort 
Simcoe;  one  co.  each  of  the  1st  dragoons,  3d  art.,  4th  and  9th  inf.,  Col  E.  J. 
Steptoe  in  command,  at  Fort  Walla  Walla;  one  co.  of  the  9th  inf.,  under 
Capt.  G.  E.  Pickett,  at  Fort  Bellingham,  on  Bellingham  Bay,  established  to 
guard  the  Sound  from  the  incursions  of  northern  Indians;  one  co.  of  the  9th 
inf.,  under  Capt.  D.  Woodruff,  in  camp  near  Fort  Bellingham,  as  escort  to 
the  northern  boundary  com. ;  one  co.  of  the  4th  inf.,  under  Maj.  G.  0.  Haller, 
at  Fort  Townsend,  two  and  a  half  miles  from  Port.Townsend;  one  company 
of  the  9th  inf.,  under  Lieut  D.  B.  McKibben,  at  Fort  Slaughter,  on  Muckle- 
shoot  prairie,  near  the  junction  of  White  and  Green  rivers;  two  companies 
4th  inf. ,  Capt.  M.  Maloney  in  command,  at  Fort  Steilacoom;  and  en  route 
for  Fort  Walla  Walla,  arriving  in  the  autumn,  one  company  of  the  1st  dra 
goons,  under  Capt.  A.  J.  Smith,  making,  with  one  company  at  Fort  Ump- 
qua,  a  force  of  between  1,500  and  2,000  regular  troops,  to  hold  in  subjection 
39,000  Indians. 

21  Nesmith  found  the  agents  already  in  charge  of  the  Indians  in  the  Puget 
Sound  district  to  be  E.  C.  Fitzhugh  at  Bellingham  Bay,  G.  A.  Paige  at  Kit- 
sap  reservation,  M.  T.  Simmons  general  agent  for  Puget  Sound,  R.  C.  Fay  at 
Penn's  Cove,  Whidbey  Island,  Thomas  J.  Hanna  at  Port  Townsend  (vice  E. 
S.  Fowler),  W.  B.  Gosnell  in  charge  of  the  Nisqually  and  Puyallup  Indians 
on  the  Puyallup  reservation,  S.  S.  Ford  in  charge  of  the  Cowlitz,  Chehalis, 
Shoal  water  Bay,  Willopah,  Quilehutes,  and  other  coast  tribes  in  this  quarter, 
A.J.Cain  in  charge  of  the  Indians  on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia  from  Van 
couver  to  opposite  The  Dalles,  assisted  by  A.  Townsend,  local  agent  at  White 
Salmon,  A.  H.  Robie  in  charge  of  the  Yakima  district,  William  Craig  in 
charge  of  the  friendly  Cayuses,  R.  H.  Lansdale  in  charge  of  the  Flathead  dis 
trict.  The  Nez  Perec's  had  declined  an  agent,  fearing  he  might  be  killed, 
which  would  involve  the  tribe  in  war,  and  the  other  tribes  were  unfriendly 
and  without  agents.  A.  P.  Dennison  had  charge  of  the  district  of  eastern 
Oregon.  Iml.  Aff.  Rept,  1857,  325-83. 
HIST.  WASH.— 12 


178  INDIAN  WARS. 

failed  to  purchase  it,  but  gave  white  people  a  right  to 
settle  in  the  country. 

About  the  middle  of  April  1858  Colonel  Steptoe 
notified  General  Clarke  that  an  expedition  to  the  north 
seemed  advisable,  if  not  absolutely  necessary,  as  a 
petition  had  been  received  from  forty  persons  living 
at  Colville  for  troops  to  be  sent  to  that  place,  the 
Indians  in  the  vicinity  being  hostile.  Two  white  men 
en  route  for  Colville  mines  had  been  killed  by  the 
Palouses,  who  had  also  made  a  foray  into  the  Walla 
Walla  country  and  driven  off  the  cattle  belonging  to 
the  army.  On  the  Gth  of  May  Steptoe  left  Walla 
Walla  with  130  dragoons,  proceeding  toward  the 
Nez  Perce  country  in  a  leisurely  manner.  At 
Snake  River  he  was  ferried  across  by  Timothy, 
who  also  accompanied  him  as  guide.  At  the 
Alpowah  he  found  thirty  or  forty  of  the  Palouses, 
who  were  said  to  have  killed  the  two  travellers,  who 
fled  on  his  approach.  On  the  16th  he  received  in 
formation  that  the  Spokanes  were  preparing  to  fight 
him,  but  riot  believing  the  report,  pursued  his  march 
northward22  until  he  found  himself  surrounded  by  a 
force  of  about  600  Indians  in  their  war-paint — Pa- 
louses,  Spokanes,  Cceur  d' Alines,  and  a  few  Nez 
Perces.  They  had  posted  themselves  near  a  ravine 
through  which  the  road  passed,  and  where  the  troops 
could  be  assailed  on  three  sides.  The  command  was 
halted  and  a  parley  held  with  the  Spokanes,  in  which 
they  announced  their  intention  of  fighting,  saying  that 
they  had  heard  the  troops  had  come  to  make  war  on 
them,  but  they  would  not  be  permitted  to  cross  the 
Spokane  River. 

Informing  his  officers  that  they  should  be  com 
pelled  to  fight,  Steptoe  turned  aside  to  avoid  the 
dangerous  pass  of  the  ravine,  and  coining  in  about  a 
mile  to  a  small  lake,  encamped  there,  but  without  dar 
ing  to  dismount,  the  Indians  having  accompanied  them 

M Letter  of  Steptoe  to  Oov.  McMultin,  July  16,  1858,  MS.;  letter  of  Lieut 
Gregg,  iu  Ind.  A/.  Kept,  1858,  272. 


STEPTOE'S  CAMPAIGN.  179 

all  the  way  at  a  distance  of  not  more  than  a  hundred 
yards,  using  the  most  insulting  words  and  gestures. 
No  shots  were  fired,  either  by  the  troops  or  Indians, 
Steptoe  being  resolved  that  the  Spokanes  should  fire 
the  first  gun;  and  indeed,  the  dragoons  had  only  their 
small-arms,  and  were  not  prepared  for  fighting 
Indians.23 

Toward  night  a  number  of  chiefs  rode  up  to  the 
camp  to  inquire  the  occasion  of  the  troops  coming 
into  the  Spokane  country,  and  why  they  had  cannon 
with  them.  Steptoe  replied  that  he  was  on  his  way 
to  Colville  to  learn  the  causes  of  the  troubles  between 
the  miners  and  Indians  in  that  region.  This  the 
Indians  professed  to  him  to  accept  as  the  true  reason, 
though  they  asserted  to  Father  Joset  that  they  did 
not  believe  it,  because  the  colonel  had  not  taken  the 
direct  road  to  Colville.  but  had  come  out  of  his  way 
to  pass  through  their  country  —  a  fact  of  which  Steptoe 
was  himself  unconscious,  having  trusted  to  Timothy 
to  lead  him  to  Colville.2*  But  though  the  chiefs  pro 
fessed  to  be  satisfied,  they  refused  to  furnish  canoes 
to  ferry  over  the  troops,  and  maintained  an  unyield 
ing  opposition  to  their  advance  into  the  Spokane 
country.  Finding  that  he  should  have  to  contend 
against  great  odds,  without  being  prepared,  Steptoe 
determined  upon  retreating,  and  early  on  the  morning 
of  the  17th  began  his  return  to  the  Palouse. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Coeur  d'Al£nes,  who  were 
gathering  roots  in  a  camas  prairie  a  few  miles  distant, 
had  been  informed  of  the  position  of  affairs,  and  were 
urged  to  join  the  Spokanes,  who  could  not  consent  to 
let  the  troops  escape  out  of  their  hands  so  easily.  As 
they  were  about  marching,  Steptoe  received  a  visit 
from  Father  Joset,  who  was  anxious  to  explain  to  him 
the  causes  which  led  to  the  excitement,  and  also  a 
slander  which  the  Palouses  had  invented  against 
himself,  that  he  had  furnished  the  Indians  with 


s  Letter  to  Gov.  McMidlin,  MS. 

1  Statement  of  Father  Joset,  in  J/rx  Nichols'  Tn>l.  Affairs,  MS.,  7;  report 
of  Colonel  Steptoe,  in  Clarke  and   Wright's  Campaign,  17. 


180  INDIAN  WARS. 

ammunition.  It  was  then  agreed  that  an  interview 
should  be  had  with  the  principal  chiefs;  but  only 
the  Coaur  d'Al£ne  chief  Vincent  was  found  ready  to 
meet  Steptoe.  In  the  midst  of  the  interview,  which 
was  held  as  they  rode  along,  the  chief  was  called 
away  and  firing  was  commenced  by  the  Palouses,  who 
were  dogging  the  heels  of  the  command.  What  at 
first  seemed  an  attack  by  this  small  party  of  Indians 
only  soon  became  a  general  battle,  in  which  all  were 
engaged.  Colonel  Steptoe  labored  under  the  disadvan 
tage  of  having  to  defend  a  pack-train  while  moving  over 
a  rolling  country  particularly  favorable  to  Indian  war 
fare.  The  column  moved,  at  first,  in  close  order,  with 
the  supply  train  in  the  middle,  guarded  by  a  dragoon 
company,  with  a  company  in  the  front  and  rear.  At 
the  crossing  of  a  small  stream,  the  Indians  closing  in 
to  get  at  the  head  of  the  column,  Lieutenant  Gregg, 
with  one  company,  was  ordered  to  move  forward  and 
occupy  a  hill  which  the  Indians  were  trying  to  gain 
for  that  purpose.  He  had  no  sooner  reached  this  po 
sition  than  the  Indians  sought  to  take  possession  of 
one  which  commanded  it,  and  it  became  necessary  to 
divide  his  company  to  drive  them  from  the  new  posi 
tion. 

By  this  time  the  action  had  become  general,  and 
the  companies  were  separated,  fighting  by  making 
short  charges,  and  at  a  great  disadvantage  on  account 
of  the  inferiority  of  their  arms  to  those  used  by  the 
Indians.  As  one  of  the  dragoon  companies  was  en 
deavoring  to  reach  the  hill  held  by  Gregg's  company, 
the  Indians  made  a  charge  to  get  between  them  and 
the  hill  to  surround  and  cut  them  off.  Seeing  the 
movement  and  its  intention,  Lieutenant  Gaston,  who 
was  not  more  than  a  thousand  yards  off,  made  a  dash 
with  his  company,  which  was  met  by  Gregg's  company 
from  the  hill,  in  a  triangle,  and  the  Indians  suffered  the 
greatest  loss  of  the  battle  just  at  the  spot  where  the 
two  companies  met,  having  twelve  killed  in  the  charge.25 

25  The  Indian  loss  in  the  battle  of  Steptoe  Butte— called  Tehotomimme 


A  BLOODY  FIGHT.  181 

Among  the  killed  were  Jacques  Zachary,  a  brother- 
in-law  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene  chief  Vincent,  and  James, 
another  headman.  Victor,  an  influential  chief,  also 
of  the  Coeur  d'Al^nes,  fell  mortally  wounded.  The 
rage  of  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  at  this  loss  was  terrible, 
and  soon  they  had  avenged  themselves.  As  the  troops 
slowly  moved  forward,  fighting,  to  reach  water,  the 
Indians  kept  up  a  constant  raking  fire,  until  about  11 
o'clock,  when  Captain  Oliver  H.  P.  Taylor  and  Lieu 
tenant  William  Gaston  were  killed.26  To  these  officers 
had  been  assigned  the  difficult  duty  of  flanking  the 
column.  Their  loss  threw  the  men  into  confusion, 
harassed  as  they  were  by  the  steady  fire  of  the  enemy, 
but  a  few  of  them  gallantly  defended  the  bodies  of 
their  officers  and  brought  them  off  the  field  under  a 
rain  of  bullets.27 

It  now  became  apparent  that  water  could  not  be 
reached  by  daylight,  and  though  it  was  not  much  past 
noon,  Steptoe  was  forced  to  remain  in  the  best  po 
sition  he  could  obtain  on  the  summit  of  a  hill,  on  a 
small  inclined  plain,  where  the  troops  dismounted  and 
picketed  their  animals.  The  men  were  then  ordered 
to  lie  down  flat  upon  the  ground,  and  do  their  best 
to  prevent  the  Indians  taking  the  hill  by  charges,  in 
which  defence  they  were  successful.  Toward  even- 
by  the  Indians — a  place  about  seven  miles  from  the  present  town  of  Colfax, 
was  estimated  by  the  Indians  at  9  killed  and  forty  or  fifty  wounded;  but 
Steptoe  in  his  report  mentions  that  Lieut  Gregg  had  seen  12  dead  Indians 
together  at  one  spot,  and  that  many  others  were  seen  to  fall.  Clarke  and 
Wrijht's  Campaign,  18. 

26  J\Irs  NichoVs  Indian  Affairs,  MS. ,  9.     Taylor  was  a  graduate  of  West 
Point  of  1S4G,  and  only  a  few  weeks  previous  to  his  death  had  brought  out 
his  wife  and  children  to  the  Pacific  coast.     Gaston  was  a  graduate  of  1S5G, 
and  an  officer  of  great  promise.  Ind.  Aff.  Kept,  1858,  274. 

27  First   Sergeant  Win   C.  Willams,   privates   R.  P.   Kerse  and  Francis 
Poiscll,  were  honorably  mentioned  for  this.     Williams  and  another  sergeant, 
Edward  Ball,  were  wounded  and  missing  afterward.     They  succeeded  in 
eluding  the  Indians,  and  reached  the  Snake  River  crossing  alive.     Williams 
was  then  killed  by  the  Indians,  who  permitted  Ball  to  escape  and  return  to 
Fort  Walla  Walla.  Kip's  Army  Life,  11.     This  book  of  Lieut  Lawrence  Kip, 
3d  artillery,  is  like  his  Indian  Council  at  Walla  Walla  in  1855,  a  small  volume 
containing  his  personal  observations  on  the  operations  of  the  army  in  the  In 
dian  country  of  Washington.     It  embraces  a  number  of  subjects — the  origin 
of  the  war,  the  march  from  The  Dalles,  and  the  various  incidents  of  the  cam 
paign  of  Col  Wright  following  the  disaster  of  Steptoe's  expedition — very 
pleasantly  written. 


182  INDIAN  WARS. 

ing  the  ammunition,  of  which  they  had  an  insufficient 
supply,  began  to  give  out,  and  the  men  were  suffering 
so  severely  from  thirst  and  fatigue  that  it  was  with 
difficulty  the  three  remaining  officers  could  inspire 
them  to  defend  themselves.23  Six  of  their  comrades 
were  dead  or  dying,  and  eleven  others  wounded. 
Many  of  the  men  were  late  recruits,  insufficiently 
drilled,  whose  courage  these  reverses  had  much  dimin 
ished,  if  not  altogether  destroyed. 

Nothing  remained  now  but  flight.  The  dead 
officers  were  hastily  interred;  and  taking  the  best 
horses  and  a  small  supply  of  provisions,  the  troops 
crept  silently  away  at  ten  o'clock  that  night  and 
hurried  toward  Snake  River,  where  they  arrived 
on  the  morning  of  the  19th.  Thence  Steptoe  re 
turned  to  Fort  Walla  Walla. 

One  of  the  reasons,  if  not  the  principal  one,  assigned 
by  the  Cceur  d'Al^nes  for  their  excitability  and  pas 
sion  was  that  ever  since  the  outbreak  in  1855  they 
had  said  that  no  white  settlements  should  be  made  in 
their  country,  nor  should  there  be  any  roads  through 
it;  and  they  were  informed  a  road  was  about  to  bo 
opened  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Columbia  by  the 
United  States  government  in  spite  of  their  protest.23 
They  were  opposed,  also,  to  troops  being  sent  to  Col- 
ville,  as  they  said  that  would  only  open  the  way  for 
more  troops,  and  again  for  more,  and  finally  for  the 
occupation  of  the  country. 

General  Clarke,  learning  from  Father  Joset  that 
the  Coeur  d'Alenes  were  penitent,  offered  to  treat 

28 '  To  move  from  cue  point  to  another  we  had  to  crawl  on  our  hands  and 
knees,  amid  the  howling  of  the  Indians,  the  groans  of  the  dying,  and  the 
whistling  of  balls  and  arrows.'  Letter  of  Lieut  Gregg,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Jtcpt,  1858, 
274. 

29  This  referred  to  the  wagon-road  afterward  opened  by  John  Mullan,  1st 
lieut  2d  art.,  in  charge  of  the  construction  of  a  military  road  from  Fort 
Benton  to  Fort  Walla  Walla.  See  Mullein's  Military  Road  Report.  The  only 
point  on  which  Steptoe  could  congratulate  himself  in  his  report  on  his  expe 
dition  was  that  it  had  undoubtedly  saved  the  lives  of  Mullan's  whole  com 
mand,  who,  had  they  proceeded  into  the  Spokane  country  as  intended,  with 
out  being  warned  of  the  hostility  of  the  Indians,  would  have  been  slaughtered. 
As  it  was,  they  remained  at  The  Dalles.  Letter  of  Wright,  in  Clarke  and 
Wrirjht's  Campaign,  22;  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War  1858,  351;  letter  of 
Steptoe,  Id.,  350. 


WRIGHT  AND  GARNETT.  183 

with  them  on  easy  conditions,  considering  their  con 
duct  toward  Colonel  Steptoe;  he  sent  their  priest 
back  to  them  with  passports,  which  were  to  conduct 
their  chiefs  to  Vancouver  should  they  choose  to 
come. 

But  the  Cceur  d' Alines  did  not  choose  to  come. 
True,  they  had  professed  penitence  to  their  priest, 
begging  him  to  intercede  for  them,  but  as  soon  as  his 
back  was  turned  on  them,  they,  with  the  Spokanes 
and  Kalispels,  led  by  the  notorious  Telxawney,  brewed 
mischief.  The  Cceur  d'Alenes  openly  denied  consent 
ing  to  Father  Joset's  peace  mission,  and  were  incensed 
that  he  should  meddle  with  things  that  did  not  con 
cern  him.  After  this,  attacks  on  miners  and  others 
continued. 

In  June  General  Clarke  held  a  consultation  of  offi 
cers  at  Vancouver,  colonels  Wright  and  Steptoe  be 
ing  present,  when  an  expedition  was  determined  upon 
which  should  not  repeat  the  blunders  of  the  previous 
one,  and  Colonel  Wright  was  placed  in  command. 
Three  companies  of  artillery  were  brought  from  San 
Francisco,  one  from  Fort  Umpqua,  and  Captain 
Judah  was  ordered  from  Fort  Jones,  in  California, 
with  one  company  of  4th  infantry.  The  troops  in 
tended  for  the  expedition  were  concentrated  at  Fort 
Walla  Walla,  where  they  were  thoroughly  drilled  in 
the  tactics  which  they  were  expected  to  practise  on 
the  field,  the  artillerymen  being  instructed  in  light 
infantry  practice,  with  the  exception  of  a  single  com 
pany,  which  practised  at  artillery  drill  mounted. 
No  precaution  was  neglected  which  could  possibly 
secure  discipline  in  battle. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  expedition  against  the 
Spokanes  and  Cceur  d'Alenes  was  preparing,  another 
against  the  Yakimas  was  ordered,  under  the  command 
of  Major  Garnett,  who  was  to  move,  on  the  15th  of 
August,  with  300  troops,  northward  toward  Colville, 
thus  assisting  to  drive  the  hostile  Indians  toward  one 


184  INDIAN  WARS. 

common  centre.  Before  leaving  Fort  Walla  Walla, 
on  the  6th  of  August,  Wright  called  a  council  of  the 
N"ez  Perces,  with  whom  he  made  a  'treaty  of  friend 
ship,'  binding  them  to  aid  the  United  States  in  wars 
with  any  other  tribes,  and  binding  the  United  States 
to  assist  them  in  the  same  case,  at  the  cost  of  the  gov 
ernment;  and  to  furnish  them  arms  whenever  their 
services  were  required.  The  treaty  was  signed  by 
Wright  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  by 
twenty-one  Nez  Perec's,  among  whom  were  Timothy, 
Richard,  Three  Feathers,  and  Speaking  Eagle,  but  by 
none  of  the  greater  chiefs  already  known  in  this  his 
tory.  The  treaty  was  witnessed  by  six  army  officers 
and  approved  by  Clarke.30  A  company  of  thirty  Nez 
Perce  volunteers  was  organized  under  this  arrange 
ment,  the  Indians  being  dressed  in  United  States  uni 
form,  to  flatter  their  pride  as  allies,  as  well  as  to 
distinguish  them  from  the  hostile  Indians.  This  com 
pany  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant 
John  Mullan,  to  act  as  guides  and  scouts. 

On  the  7th  of  August  Captain  Keyes  took  his  de 
parture  with  a  detachment  of  dragoons  for  Snake 
River,  where,  by  the  advice  of  Colonel  Steptoe,  a 
fortification  was  to  be  erected,  at  the  point  selected 
for  a  crossing.  This  was  at  the  junction  of  the  Tu- 
cannon  with  the  Snake  River.  It  was  built  in  the 
deep  gorge,  overhung  by  cliffs  on  either  side,  260  and 
310  feet  in  height.  The  fortification  was  named  Fort 
Taylor,  in  honor  of  Captain  0.  H.  P.  Taylor,  killed  in 
the  battle  of  the  17th  of  May.  The  place  would  have 
afforded  little  security  against  a  civilized  foe,  but  was 
thought  safe  from  Indian  attack.  A  reservation  of 
640  acres  was  laid  out,  and  every  preparation  made 
for  a  permanent  post,  including  a  ferry,  for  which  a 
large  flat-boat  was  provided. 

30  Tliis  treaty  was  the  subject  of  criticism.  Mullan  attributed  to  it  the  good 
conduct  of  the  Nez  Perc6s,  but  particularly  as  preventing  a  general  coalition 
of  the  Indian  tribes,  'and  a  fire  in  our  rear,  which  if  once  commenced  must  end 
in  our  total  destruction.'  2nd.  Aff.  Jiept,  ISoS,  281. 


AT  FORT  TAYLOR.  185 

On  the  18th  Wright  arrived  at  Fort  Taylor,  and 
in  a  few  days  the  march  began.  The  dragoons  num 
bered  190,  the  artillery  400,  and  the  infantry  90.  The 
last  were  organized  as  a  rifle  brigade,  and  armed  with 
Sharpe's  long-range  rifles  and  minie-ball,  two  im 
provements  in  the  implements  of  war  with  which  the 
Indians  were  unacquainted.  On  the  31st,  when  the 
army  had  arrived  at  the  head  waters  of  Cheranah 
River,  a  point  almost  due  north  of  Fort  Taylor,  76 
miles  from  that  post,  and  about  twenty  south  of  the 
Spokane  River,  the  Indians  showed  themselves  in 
some  force  on  the  hills,  and  exchanged  a  few  shots 
with  the  Nez  Perces,  who  were  not  so  disguised  by 
their  uniforms  as  to  escape  detection  had  they  desired 
it,  which  apparently  they  did  not.  They  also  fired 
the  grass,  with  the  intention  of  making  an  attack 
under  cover  of  the  smoke,  but  it  failed  to  burn  well. 
They  discharged  their  guns  at  the  rear-guard,  and 
retreated  to  the  hills  again,  where  they  remained. 
Judging  from  these  indications  that  the  main  body  of 
the  Indians  was  not  far  distant,  and  wishing  to  give 
his  troops  some  rest  before  battle,  after  so  long  a  march, 
Wright  ordered  camp  to  be  made  at  a  place  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Four  Lakes,  with  the  intention  of 
remaining  a  few  days  at  that  place. 

But  the  Indians  were  too  impatient  to  allow  him 
this  respite,  and  early  in  the  morning  of  the  1st  of 
September  they  began  to  collect  on  the  summit  of  a 
hill  about  two  miles  distant.  As  they  appeared  in 
considerable  force,  Wright,  with  two  squadrons  of 
dragoons  commanded  by  Major  W.  N.  Grier,  four 
companies  of  the  3d  artillery,  armed  with  rifle  mus 
kets,  commanded  by  Major  E.  D.  Keyes,  and  the 
rifle  battalion  of  two  companies  of  the  9th  infantry 
commanded  by  Captain  F.  T.  Dent,  one  mountain 
howitzer  under  command  of  Lieutenant  J.  L.  White, 
and  the  thirty  Nez  Perces  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant  John  Mullan,  set  out  at  half-past  nine  in 
the  forenoon  to  make  a  recormoissarice,  and  drive  the 


186  INDIAN  WARS. 

enemy  from  their  position,  leaving  in  camp  the  equi 
page  and  supplies,  guarded  by  one  company  of  artillery, 
commanded  by  lieutenants  H.  G.  Gibson  and  G.  B. 
Dandy,  a  howitzer  manned,  and  a  guard  of  fifty-four 
men  under  Lieutenant  H.  B.  Lyon,  the  whole  com 
manded  by  Captain  J.  A.  Hardie,  the  field-officer  of 
the  day.31 

Grier  was  ordered  to  advance  with  his  cavalry  to 
the  north  and  east  around  the  base  of  the  hill  occu 
pied  by  the  Indians,  in  order  to  intercept  their  retreat 
when  the  foot- troops  should  have  driven  them  from 
the  summit.  The  artillery  and  rifle  battalion,  with 
the  Nez  Perces,  were  marched  to  the  right  of  the  hill, 
where  the  ascent  was  more  easy,  and  to  push  the  Ind 
ians  in  the  direction  of  the  dragoons.  It  was  not  a 
difficult  matter  to  drive  the  Indians  over  the  crest  of 
the  hill,  but  once  on  the  other  side,  they  took  a  stand, 
and  evidently  expecting  a  combat,  showed  no  dispo 
sition  to  avoid  it.  In  fact,  they  were  keeping  up  a 
constant  firing  upon  the  two  squadrons  of  dragoons, 
who  were  awaiting  the  foot-troops  on  the  other  side 
of  the  ridge. 

On  this  side  was  spread  out  a  vast  plain,  in  a  beau 
tiful  and  exciting  panorama.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill 
was  a  lake,  and  just  beyond,  three  others  surrounded 
by  rugged  rocks.  Between  them,  and  stretching 
to  the  north-west  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  was 
level  ground;  in  the  distance,  a  dark  range  of  pine- 
covered  mountains.  A  more  desirable  battle-field 
could  not  have  been  selected.  There  was  the  open 
plain,  and  the  convenient  covert  among  the  pines 
that  bordered  the  lakes,  and  in  the  ravines  of  the 
hillside.  Mounted  on  their  fleetest  horses,  the  Ind 
ians,  decorated  for  war,  their  gaudy  trapping  glaring 
in  the  sun,  and  singing  or  shouting  their  battle-cries, 
swayed  back  and  forth  over  a  compass  of  two  miles. 

31  The  entire  transportation  of  Wright's  command  consisted  of  about  400 
mnles,  325  belonging  to  the  quartermaster's  department,  six  to  each  company, 
and  one  to  each  officer.  Only  the  dragoons  were  mounted.  Kip's  Army  Life, 
44. 


THE  BATTLE  BEGUN.  187 

Even  their  horses  were  painted  in  contrasting  white, 
crimson,  and  other  colors,  while  from  their  bridles 
depended  bead  fringes,  and  woven  with  their  manes 
and  tails  were  the  plumes  of  eagles.  Such  was 
the  spirited  spectacle  that  greeted  Colonel  Wright 
and  his  command  on  that  bright  September  morning. 

Soon  his  plan  of  battle  was  decided  upon.  The 
troops  were  now  in  possession  of  the  elevated  ground, 
and  the  Indians  held  the  plain,  the  ravines,  and  the 
pine  groves.  The  dragoons  were  drawn  up  on  the 
crest  of  the  hill  facing  the  plain;  behind  them  were 
two  companies  of  Keyes'  artillery  battalion  acting  as 
infantry,  and  with  the  infantry,  deployed  as  skir 
mishers,  to  advance  down  the  hill  and  drive  the  Ind 
ians  from  their  coverts  at  the  foot  of  the  ridge  into 
the  plain.  The  rifle  battalion  under  Dent,  composed 
of  two  companies  of  the  9th  infantry,  with  Winder 
and  Fleming,  was  ordered  to  the  right  to  deploy  in 
the  pine  forest;  and  the  howitzers,  under  White,  sup 
ported  by  a  company  of  artillery  under  Tyler,  was 
advanced  to  a  lower  plateau,  in  order  to  be  in  a  posi 
tion  for  effective  firing. 

The  advance  began,  the  infantry  moving  steadily 
down  the  long  slope,  passing  the  dragoons,  and  firing 
a  sharp  volley  into  the  Indian  ranks  at  the  bottom  of 
the  hill.  The  Indians  now  experienced  a  surprise. 
Instead  of  seeing  the  soldiers  drop  before  their  mus 
kets  while  their  own  fire  fell  harmless,  as  at  the  bat 
tle  of  Steptoe  Butte,  the  effect  was  reversed.  The 
rifles  of  the  infantry  struck  down  the  Indians  before 
the  troops  came  within  range  of  their  muskets. 

This  unexpected  disadvantage,  together  with  the 
orderly  movement  of  so  large  a  number  of  men,  ex 
ceeding  their  own  force  by  at  least  one  or  two  hun 
dred,32  caused  the  Indians  to  retire,  though  slowly  at 

3- Wright,  in  his  report,  says  there  were  '400  or  500  mounted  -warriors,' 
and  also  '  large  numbers  of  Indians  '  in  the  pine  woods.  Mullan's  Top.  Mem. , 
19.  Kip  says  the  Indians  '  outnumbered  us,'  p.  59  of  Army  Life,  but  it  is  not 
probable.  Wright  had  over  700  lighting  men.  Subtracting  those  left  to 
guard  the  camp,  there  would  still  be  a  number  equal  to,  if  not  exceeding,  the 
Indians. 


188  INDIAN  WARS. 

first,  and  many  of  them  to  take  refuge  in  the  woods, 
where  they  were  met  by  the  rifle  battalion  and  the 
howitzers,  doing  deadly  execution. 

Continuing  to  advance,  the  Indians  falling  back, 
the  infantry  reached  the  edge  of  the  plain.  The  dra 
goons  were  in  the  rear,  leading  their  horses.  When 
they  had  reached  the  bottom  of  the  hill  they  mounted, 
and  charging  between  the  divisions  of  skirmishers, 
rushed  like  a  whirlwind  upon  the  Indians,  creating  a 
panic,  from  which  they  did  not  recover,  but  fled  in  all 
directions.  They  were  pursued  by  the  dragoons  for 
about  a  mile,  when  the  latter  were  obliged  to  halt, 

O  ' 

their  horses  being  exhausted.  The  foot-troops,  too, 
being  weary  with  their  long  march  from  Walla  Walla, 
pursued  but  a  short  distance  before  they  were  recalled. 
The  few  Indians  who  still  lingered  on  the  neighboring 
hilltops  soon  fled  when  the  howitzers  were  dis 
charged  in  their  direction.  By  two  o'clock  the  whole 
arm}''  had  returned  to  camp,  not  a  man  or  a  horse 
having  been  killed,  and  only  one  horse  wounded. 
The  Indians  lost  eighteen  or  twenty  killed  and  many 
wounded.33 

For  three  days  Wright  rested  unmolested  in  camp. 
On  the  5th  of  September,  resuming  his  march,  in  about 
five  miles  he  came  upon  the  Indians  collecting  in  large 
bodies,  apparently  with  the  intention  of  opposing  his 
progress.  They  rode  along  in  a  line  parallel  to  the 
troops,  augmenting  in  numbers,  and  becoming  more 
demonstrative,  until  on  reaching  a  plain  bordered  by 
a  wood  they  were  seen  to  be  stationed  there  awaiting 
the  moment  when  the  attack  might  be  made. 

As  the  column  approached,  the  grass  was  fired, 
which  being  dry  at  this  season  of  the  year,  burned 
with  great  fierceness,  the  wind  blowing  it  toward 
the  troops;  and  at  the  same  time,  under  cover  of  the 
smoke,  the  Indians  spread  themselves  out  in  a  cres 
cent,  half  enclosing  them.  Orders  were  immediately 

K  Report  of  Secretary  of  War  for  1838,  386-90;  report  of  Wright,  in  Mul- 
lan's  Top.  Mem.,  19-20;  Or.  Statesman,  Sept.  21,  1858. 


DEFEAT  OF  THE  FOE.  189 

given  to  the  pack-train  to  close  up,  and  a  strong 
guard  was  placed  about  it.  The  companies  were  then 
deployed  on  the  right  and  left,  and  the  men,  flushed 
with  their  recent  victory,  dashed  through  the  smoke 
and  flames  toward  the  Indians,  driving  them  to  the 
cover  of  the  timber,  where  they  were  assailed  by 
shells  from  the  howitzers.  As  they  fled  from  the 
havoc  of  the  shells,  the  foot-soldiers  again  charged 
them.  This  was  repeated  from  cover  to  cover,  for 
about  four  miles,  and  then  from  rock  to  rock,  as  the 
face  of  the  country  changed,  until  they  were  driven 
into  a  plain,  when  a  cavalry  charge  was  sounded,  and 
the  scenes  of  the  battle  of  Four  Lakes  were  repeated. 

But  the  Indians  were  obstinate,  and  gathered  in 
parties  in  the  forest  through  which  the  route  no\v 
led,  and  on  a  hill  to  the  right.  Again  the  riflemen 
and  howitzers  forced  them  to  give  way.  This  was 
continued  during  a  progress  of  fourteen  miles.  That 
afternoon  the  army  encamped  on  the  Spokane  River, 
thoroughly  worn  out,  having  marched  twenty-five 
miles  without  water,  fighting  half  of  the  way.  About 
the  same  number  of  Indians  appeared  to  be  engaged 
in  this  battle  that  had  been  in  the  first.  Only  one 
soldier  was  slightly  wounded.  The  Coeur  d'AIenes 
lost  two  chiefs,  the  Spokanes  two,  and  Kamiakin 
also,  who  had  striven  to  inspire  the  Indians  with 
courage,  received  a  blow  upon  the  head  from  a  falling 
tree-top  blown  off  by  a  bursting  shell.  The  whole 
loss  of  the  Indians  was  unknown,  their  dead  being 
carried  off  the  field.  At  the  distance  of  a  few  miles, 
they  burned  one  of  their  villages  to  prevent  the 
soldiers  spoiling  it. 

The  army  rested  a  day  at  the  camp  on  Spokane 
River,  without  being  disturbed  by  the  Indians,  who 
appeared  in  small  parties  on  the  opposite  bank,  and 
intimated  a  disposition  to  hold  communication,  but 
did  not  venture  across.  But  on  the  following  day, 
while  the  troops  were  on  the  march  along  the  left 
bank,  they  reappeared  on  the  right,  conversing  with 


190  INDIAN  WARS. 

the  N"cz  Perces  and  interpreters,  from  which  commu 
nication  it  was  learned  that  they  desired  to  come  with 
Garry  and  have  a  talk  with  Colonel  Wright,  who  ap 
pointed  a  meeting  at  the  ford  two  miles  above  the  falls. 

Wright  encamped  at  the  place  appointed  for  a 
meeting,  and  Garry  came  over  soon  after.  He  stated 
to  the  colonel  the  difficulties  of  his  position  between 
the  war  and  peace  parties.  The  war  party,  greatly 
in  the  majority,  and  numbering  his  friends  and  the  prin 
cipal  men  of  his  nation,  was  incensed  with  him  for  being 
a  peace  man,  and  he  had  either  to  take  up  arms 
against  the  white  men  or  be  killed  by  his  own  people. 
There  was  no  reason  to  doubt  this  assertion  of  Garry's, 
his  previous  character  being  well  known.  But 
Wright  replied  in  the  tone  of  a  conqueror,  telling 
him  he  had  beaten  them  in  two  battles  without  losing 
a  man  or  animal,  and  that  he  was  prepared  to  beat 
them  as  often  as  they  chose  to  come  to  battle;  he  did 
not  come  into  the  country  to  ask  for  peace,  but  to 
fight.  If  they  were  tired  of  war,  and  wanted  peace, 
he  would  give  them  his  terms,  which  were  that  they 
must  come  with  everything  that  they  had,  and  lay 
all  at  his  feet — arms,  women,  children — and  trust  to 
his  mercy.  When  they  had  thus  fully  surrendered, 
he  would  talk  about  peace.  If  they  did  not  do  this, 
he  would  continue  to  make  war  upon  them  that  year 
and  the  next,  and  until  they  were  exterminated. 
With  this  message  to  his  people,  Garry  was  dismissed. 

On  the  same  day  Polatkin,  a  noted  Spokane  chief, 
presented  himself  with  nine  warriors  at  the  camp  of 
Colonel  Wright,  having  left  their  arms  on  the  oppo 
site  side  of  the  river,  to  avoid  surrendering  them. 
Wright  sent  two  of  the  warriors  over  after  the  guns, 
when  one  of  them  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  away. 
The  other  returned,  bringing  the  guns.  To  Polatkin 
Wright  repeated  what  had  been  said  to  Garry;  and 
as  this  chief  was  known  to  have  been  in  the  attack 
on  Steptoe,  as  well  as  a  leader  in  the  recent  battles, 
he  was  detained,  with  another  Indian,  while  he  sent 


SURRENDER  OF  BIG  STAR.  191 

the  remaining  warriors  to  bring  in  all  the  people,  with 
whatever  belonged  to  them.  The  Indian  with  Polat- 
kin  being  recognized  as  one  who  had  been  at  Fort 
Walla  Walla  in  the  spring,  and  who  was  suspected  of 
being  concerned  in  the  murder  of  the  two  miners  in 
the  Palouse  country  about  that  time,  he  was  put 
under  close  scrutiny,  with  the  intention  of  trying  him 
for  the  crime. 

Resuming  his  march  on  the  8th  of  September, 
after  travelling  nine  miles,  a  great  dust  where  the 
road  entered  the  mountains  betrayed  the  vicinity  of 
the  Indians,  and  the  train  was  closed  up,  under  guard, 
while  Major  Grier  was  ordered  to  push  forward  with 
three  companies  of  dragoons,  followed  by  the  foot- 
troops.  After  a  brisk  trot  of  a  couple  of  miles,  the 
dragoons  overtook  the  Indians  in  the  mountains  with 
all  their  stock,  which  they  were  driving  to  a  place  of 
safety,  instead  of  surrendering,  as  required.  A  skir 
mish  ensued,  ending  in  the  capture  of  800  horses. 
With  this  booty  the  dragoons  were  returning,  when 
they  were  met  by  the  foot-troops,  who  assisted  in 
driving  the  animals  to  camp  sixteen  miles  above 
Spokane  Falls.  The  Indian  suspected  of  murder  was 
tried  at  this  encampment,  and  being  found  guilty,  was 
hanged  the  same  day  about  sunset. 

After  a  consultation  on  the  momma*  of  the  9th, 

^7  ' 

Wright  determined  to  have  the  captured  horses  killed, 
only  reserving  a  few  of  the  best  for  immediate  use,  it 
being  impracticable  to  take  them  on  the  long  march 
yet  before  them,  and  they  being  too  wild  for  the  ser 
vice  of  white  riders.  Accordingly  two  or  three  hun 
dred  were  shot  that  day,  and  the  remainder  on  the 
10th.34  The  effect  of  dismounting  the  Indians  was 
quickly  apparent,  in  the  offer  of  a  Spokane  chief,  Big 
Star,  to  surrender.  Being  without  horses,  he  was 
permitted  to  come  with  his  village  as  the  army  passed, 
and  make  his  surrender  to  Wright  in  due  form. 

14  Brown's  Autobiography,  MS.,  40;  Clarke  and  Wright's  Campaign,  393-4; 
Kip's  Army  Life,  78. 


192  INDIAN  WARS. 

On  the  10th  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  made  proposals 
of  submission,  and  as  the  troops  were  now  within  a 
few  days'  march  of  the  mission,  Wright  directed  them 
to  meet  him  at  that  place,  and  again  took  up  his 
march.  Crossing  the  Spokane,  each  dragoon  with  a 
foot-soldier  behind  him,  the  road  lay  over  the  Spokane 
plains,  along  the  river,  and  for  fifteen  miles  through 
a  pine  forest,  to  the  Cosur  d'AlSne  Lake,  where  camp 
was  made  on  the  llth.  All  the  provisions  found 
cached  were  destroyed,  in  order  that  the  Indians 
should  not  be  able,  if  they  were  willing,  to  carry  on 
hostilities  again  during  the  year.  Beyond  Coeur 
d'Alene  Lake  the  road  ran  through  a  forest  so  dense 
that  the  troops  were  compelled  to  march  in  single 
file,  and  the  single  wagon,  belonging  to  Lieutenant 
Mullan,  that  had  been  permitted  to  accompany  the 
expedition,  had  to  be  abandoned,  as  well  as  the  lim 
ber  belonging  to  the  howitzers,  which  \vere  thereafter 
packed  upon  mules.  The  rough  nature  of  the  country 
from  the  Coeur  d'Alene  Lake  to  the  mission  made 
the  march  exceedingly  fatiguing  to  the  foot-soldiers, 
who,  after  the  first  clay,  began  to  show  the  effects  of 
so  much  toil,  together  with  hot  and  sultry  weather, 
by  occasionally  falling  out  of  ranks,  often  compelling 
officers  to  dismount  and  give  them  their  horses. 

O.n  the  13th  the  army  encamped  within  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  of  the  mission.35  The  following  day 
Vincent,  who  had  not  been  in  the  recent  battles, 
returned  from  a  circuit  he  had  been  making  among 
his  people  to  induce  them  to  surrender  themselves  to 
Wright;  but  the  Indians,  terrified  by  what  they  had 
heard  of  the  severity  of  that  officer,  declined  to  see 
him.  However,  on  the  next  day  a  few  came  in, 
bringing  some  articles  taken  in  the  battle  of  the  1 7th 
of  May.  Observing  that  no  harm  befell  these  few, 

S5  The  Coeur  d'AlSne  mission  was  situated  in  a  pretty  valley  in  the  moun 
tains,  with  a  branch  of  the  Cceur  d'Ale'ne  River  watering  it,  the  mission 
church  standing  in  the  centre  of  a  group  of  houses,  a  mill,  the  residences  of 
the  priests,  barns  for  storing  the  produce  of  the  Indian  farms,  and  a  few  dwell 
ings  of  the  most  civilized  of  the  Indian  converts.  Mullan's  Top.  Mem.,  37. 


END  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN. 


193 


others  followed  their  example.  They  were  still  more 
encouraged  by  the  release  of  Polatkin,  who  was  sent  to 
bring  in  his  people  to  a  council.  By  the  17th  a  con 
siderable  number  of  Coeur  d'Alenes  and  Spokanes 
were  collected  at  the  camp,  and  a  council  was  opened. 


WEIGHT'S  CAMPAIGN. 

The  submission  of  these  Indians  was  complete 
and  pitiful.  They  had  fought  for  home  and  country, 
as  barbarians  fight,  and  lost  all.  The  strong  hand  of 
a  conquering  power,  the  more  civilized  the  more  ter 
rible,  lay  heavily  upon  them,  and  they  yielded. 

An  arbor  of  green  branches  of  trees  had  been  con 
structed  in  front  of  the  commander's  tent,  and  here  in 
state  sat  Colonel  Wright,  surrounded  by  his  officers, 
to  pass  judgment  upon  the  conquered  chiefs.  Father 

HIST.  WASH.— 13 


194  INDIAN  WARS. 

Joset  and  the  Interpreters  were  also  present.  Vincent 
opened  the  council  by  rising  and  saying  briefly  to 
Colonel  Wright  that  he  had  committed  a  great  crime, 
and  was  deeply  sorry  for  it,  and  was  glad  that  he  and 
his  people  were  promised  forgiveness.  To  this  hum 
ble  acknowledgment  Wright  replied  that  what  the 
chief  had  said  was  true — a  great  crime  had  been  com 
mitted  ;  but  since  he  had  asked  for  peace,  peace  should 
be  granted  on  certain  conditions :  the  delivery  to  him 
of  the  men  who  struck  the  first  blow  in  the  affair  with 
Colonel  Steptoe,  to  be  sent  to  General  Clarke;  the 
delivery  of  one  chief  and  four  warriors  with  their 
families,  to  be  taken  to  Walla  Walla;  the  return  of  all 
the  property  taken  from  Steptoe's  command;  consent 
that  troops  and  other  white  men  should  pass  through 
their  country;  the  exclusion  of  the  turbulent  hostile 
Indians  from  their  midst;  and  a  promise  not  to  commit 
any  acts  of  hostility  against  white  men.  Should  they 
agree  to  and  keep  such  an  engagement  as  this,  they 
should  have  peace  forever,  and  he  would  leave  their 
country  with  his  troops.  An  additional  stipulation 
was  then  offered — that  there  should  be  peace  between 
the  Cceur  d'Alenes  and  Nez  Perces.  Vincent  then 
desired  to  hear  from  the  Nez  Percys  themselves, 
their  minds  in  the  matter,  when  one  of  the  volunteers, 
a  chief,  arose  and  declared  that  if  the  Cceur  d'Alenes 
were  friends  of  the  white  men,  they  were  also  his 
friends,  and  past  differences  were  buried.  To  this 
Vincent  answered  that  he  was  glad  and  satisfied ;  and 
henceforth  there  should  be  no  more  war  between  the 
Cosur  d'Alenes  and  Nez  Perces,  or  their  allies,  the 
white  men,  for  the  past  was  forgotten.  A  written 
agreement  containing  all  these  articles  was  then  for 
mally  signed.  Polatkin,  for  the  Spokanes,  expressed 
himself  satisfied,  and  the  council  ended  by  smoking 
the  usual  peace-pipe. 

A  council  with  the  Spokanes  had  been  appointed  for 
the  23d  of  September,  to  which  Kamiakin  was  invited, 
with  assurances  that  if  he  would  come  he  should  not 


PEACE  AND  HANGINGS.  105 

be  harmed;  but  he  refused,  lest  he  should  be  taken  to 
Walla  Walla.  The  council  with  the  Spokanes  was 
a  repetition  of  that  with  the  Coeur  d' Alines,  and  the 
treaty  the  same.  After  it  was  over,  Owhi  presented 
himself  at  camp,  when  Wright  had  him  placed  in  irons 
for  having  broken  his  agreement  made  with  him  in 
1856,  and  ordered  him  to  send  for  his  son  Qualchin, 
sometimes  called  the  younger  Owhi,  telling  him  that 
he  would  be  hanged  unless  Qualchin  obeyed  the  sum 
mons.  Very  unexpectedly  Qualchin  came  in  the  fol 
lowing  day,  not  knowing  that  he  was  ordered  to  ap 
pear,  and  was  seized  and  hanged  without  the  formality 
of  a  trial.  A  few  davs  later,  when  Wright  was  at 

+j  o 

Snake  River,  Owhi,  in  attempting  to  escape,  was  shot 
by  Lieutenant  Morgan,  and  died  two  hours  afterward. 
Kamiakin  and  Skloom  were  now  the  only  chiefs  of 
any  note  left  in  the  Yakima  nation,  and  their  influence 
was  much  impaired  by  the  results  of  their  turbulent 
behavior.  Kamiakin  went  to  British  Columbia  after 
ward,  and  never  again  ventured  to  return  to  his  own 
land. 

On  the  25th,  while  still  at  the  council-camp,  a  num 
ber  of  Palouses  came  in,  part  of  whom  Wright  hanged, 
refusing  to  treat  with  the  tribe.  Wright  reached 
Snake  River  on  the  1st  of  October,  having  performed 
a  campaign  of  five  weeks,  as  effective  as  it  was  in 
some  respects  remarkable.  On  the  1st  of  October 
Fort  Taylor  was  abandoned,  there  being  no  further 
need  of  troops  at  that  point,  and  the  whole  army 
marched  to  Walla  Walla,  where  it  arrived  on  the  5th, 
and  was  inspected  by  Colonel  Mansfield,  who  arrived 
a  few  days  previous. 

On  the  9th  of  October,  Wright  called  together  the 
Walla  Wallas,  and  told  them  he  knew  that  some  of 
them  had  been  in  the  recent  battles,  and  ordered  all 
those  that  had  been  so  engaged  to  stand  up.  Thirty- 
five  stood  up  at  once.  From  these  were  selected  four, 
who  were  handed  over  to  the  guard  and  hanged. 
Thus  sixteen  savages  were  offered  up  as  examples. 


196  INDIAN  WARS. 

While  Wright  was  thus  sweeping  from  the  earth 
these  ill-fated  aboriginals  east  of  the  Columbia,  Gar- 
nett  was  doing  no  less  in  the  Yakima  country.  On 
the  15th  of  August  Lieutenant  Jesse  K.  Allen  cap 
tured  seventy  Indians,  men,  women,  and  children, 
with  their  property,  and  three  of  them  were  shot. 
Proceeding  north  to  the  Wenatchee  River,  ten  Ya- 
kimas  were  captured  by  lieutenants  Crook,  McCall, 
and  Turner,  and  five  of  them  shot,  making  twenty-four 
thus  killed  for  alleged  attacks  on  white  men,  on  this 
campaign.  Garnett  continued  his  march  to  the  Oka- 
nagan  River  to  inquire  into  the  disposition  of  the 
Indians  in  that  quarter,  and  as  they  were  found 
friendly,  he  returned  to  Fort  Simcoe. 

Up  to  this  time  the  army  had  loudly  denounced 
the  treaties  made  by  Stevens;  but  in  October  Gen 
eral  Clarke,  addressing  the  adjutant-general  of  the 
United  States  army  upon  his  views  of  the  Indian  re 
lations  in  Oregon  and  Washington,  remarked  upon 
the  long- vexed  subject  of  the  treaties  of  Walla  Walla, 
that  his  opinion  on  that  subject  had  undergone  a 
change,  and  recommended  that  they  should  be  con 
firmed,  giving  as  his  reasons  that  the  Indians  had 
forfeited  some  of  their  claims  to  consideration;  that 
the  gold  discoveries  would  carry  immigration  along  the 
foothills  of  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Cascades;  that  the 
valleys  must  be  occupied  for  grazing  and  cultivation; 
and  that  in  order  to  make  complete  the  pacification 
which  his  arms  had  effected,  the  limits  must  be  drawn 
between  the  Indians  and  the  white  race.36  It  was  to 
be  regretted  that  this  change  of  opinion  was  not 
made  known  while  General  Clarke  was  in  command 
of  the  department  embracing  Oregon  and  Washing 
ton,  as  it  would  greatly  have  softened  the  asperity  of 
feeling  which  the  opposition  of  the  military  to  the 
treaties  had  engendered.  As  it  was,  another  general 
received  the  plaudits  which  were  justly  due  to  Gen 
eral  Clarke. 

36  Clarke  and  Wright's  Campaign,  85. 


A  NEW  DEPARTURE. 


197 


By  an  order  of  the  war  department  of  the  13th 
of  September,  the  department  of  the  Pacific  was 
divided,  the  southern  portion  to  be  called  the  depart 
ment  of  California,  though  it  embraced  the  Umpqua 
district  of  Oregon.  The  northern  division  was  called 
the  department  of  Oregon,  and  embraced  Oregon 
and  Washington,  with  headquarters  at  Vancouver.37 


WALLA  WALLA  VALLEY. 

General  Clarke  was  assigned  to  California,  while  Gen 
eral  W.  S.  Harney,  fresh  from  a  campaign  in  Utah, 
was  placed  in  command  of  the  department  of  Oregon. 
General  Harney  arrived  in  Oregon  on  the  29th  of 
October,  and  assumed  command.  Two  days  later  he 
issued  an  order  reopening  the  Walla  Walla  country 

37  Puget  Sound  Herald,  Nov.  5,  1853;  Or.  Statesman,  Nov.  2,  1S38. 


198  INDIAN  WARS. 

to  settlement.  A  resolution  was  adopted  by  the 
legislative  assemblies  of  both  Oregon  and  Washing 
ton  congratulating  the  people  on  the  creation  of  the 
department  of  Oregon,  and  on  having  General  Harney, 
a  noted  Indian-fighter,  for  a  commander,  as  also  upon 
the  order  reopening  the  country  east  of  the  moun 
tains  to  settlement,  harmonizing  with  the  recent  act 
of  congress  extending  the  land  laws  of  the  United 
States  over  that  portion  of  the  territories.  Harney 
was  entreated  by  the  legislature  to  extend  his  protec 
tion  to  immigrants,  and  to  establish  a  garrison  at 
Fort  Boise.  In  this  matter,  also,  he  received  the  ap 
plause  due  as  much  to  General  Clarke  as  himself, 
Clarke  having  already  made  the  recommendation  for 
a  large  post  between  Fort  Laramie  and  Fort  Walla 
Walla,  for  the  better  protection  of  immigrants.38 

The  stern  measures  of  the  army,  followed  by  pacifi 
catory  ones  of  the  Indian  department,  were  preparing 
the  Indians  for  the  ratification  of  the  treaties  of  1855. 
Some  expeditions  were  sent  out  during  the  winter  to 
chastise  a  few  hostile  Yakimas,  but  no  general  or  con 
siderable  uprising  occurred.  Fortunately  for  all  con 
cerned,  at  this  juncture  of  affairs  congress  confirmed 
the  Walla  Walla  treaties  in  March  1859,  the  Indians 
no  longer  refusing  to  recognize  their  obligations.39 
At  a  council  held  by  Agent  A.  J.  Cain  with  the  Nez 
Perces,  even  Looking  Glass  and  Joseph  declared 
they  were  glad  the  treaties  had  been  ratified;  but 
Joseph,  who  wished  a  certain  portion  of  the  country 
set  off  to  him  and  his  children,  mentioned  this  matter 
to  the  agent,  out  of  which  nearly  twenty  years  later 
grew  another  war,  through  an  error  of  Joseph's  son 
in  supposing  that  the  treaty  gave  him  this  land.40 
The  other  tribes  also  signified  their  satisfaction. 
Fort  Simcoe  being  evacuated,  the  buildings,  which  had 
cost  $60,000,  were  taken  for  an  Indian  agency.  A 

88  Rept  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  1858,  413;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  30,  1858; 
Or.  Laws,  1858-9,  iii.;  Cony.  Globe,  1857-8,  app.  560. 

39Puget  Sound  Herald,  April  29,  1859;  Or.  Argus,  April  30,  1859. 
40  See  hid.  Aff.  Kept,  1859,  420. 


HARNEY  IX  COMMAND.  199 

portion  of  the  garrison  was  sent  to  escort  the  boun 
dary  commission,  and  another  portion  to  establish 
Harney  depot,  fourteen  miles  north-east  of  Fort  Col- 
villc,*1  under  Major  P.  Lugenbeel,  to  remain  a  stand 
ing  threat  to  restless  and  predatory  savages,  Lugen 
beel  having  accepted  an  appointment  as  special  Indian 
agent,  uniting  the  Indian  and  military  departments 
in  one  at  this  post. 

General  Harney  had  nearly  2,000  troops  in  his  de 
partment  in  1859.  Most  of  them,  for  obvious  reasons, 
were  stationed  in  Washington,  but  many  of  them 
were  employed  in  surveying  and  constructing  roads 
both  in  Oregon  and  Washington,  the  most  important 
of  which  in  the  latter  territory  was  that  known  as  the 
Mullan  wagon-road  upon  the  route  of  the  northern 
Pacific  railroad  survey,  in  which  Mullan  had  taken 
part.  Stevens,  in  1853,  already  perceived  that  a 
good  wagon-road  line  must  precede  the  railroad,  as  a 
means  of  transportation  of  supplies  and  material  along 
the  route,  and  gave  instructions  to  Lieutenant  Mullan 
to  make  surveys  with  this  object  in  view,  as  well  as 
with  the  project  of  establishing  a  connection  between 
the  navigable  waters  of  the  Missouri  and  Columbia 
rivers.  The  result  of  the  winter  explorations  of  Mul 
lan  was  such  that  in  the  spring  of  1854  he  returned 
to  Fort  Benton,  and  on  the  17th  of  March  started 
with  a  train  of  wagons  that  had  been  left  at  that  post, 
and  with  them  crossed  the  range  lying  between  the 
Missouri  and  Bitter  Root  rivers,  arriving  at  canton 
ment  Stevens  on  the  31st  of  the  same  month.  Upon 
the  representation  of  the  practicability  of  a  wagon - 
road  in  this  region,  connecting  the  navigable  waters  of 
the  Missouri  with  the  Columbia,  congress  made  an 
appropriation  of  $30,000  to  open  one  from  Fort  Ben- 
ton  to  Fort  Walla  Walla.  The  troubles  of  the  gov 
ernment  with  Utah,  and  the  Indian  wars  of  1855-G 

H  Companies  A  and  K,  9th  inf.,  ordered  to  establish  a  wintering  place  and 
depot  for  the  escort  of  the  N.  W.  boundary  com.,  reached  this  place  Juno 
20,  18,19.  A  pleasant  spot,  one  mile  square,  reserved.  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.,  52,  36th 
cong.  1st  sess.,  '271. 


200  INDIAN  WARS. 

and  1858,  more  than  had  been  expected,  developed 
the  necessity  of  a  route  to  the  east,  more  northern 
than  the  route  by  the  South  Pass,  and  procured  for  it 
that  favorable  action  by  congress  which  resulted  in  a 
series  of  appropriations  for  the  purpose.42  The  re 
moval  of  the  military  interdict  to  settlement,  followed 
by  the  survey  of  the  public  lands,  opened  the  way  for 
a  waiting  population,  which  flowed  into  the  Walla 
Walla  Valley  to  the  number  of  2,000  as  early  as  April 
1859,43  and  spread  itself  out  over  the  whole  of  eastern 
Washington  with  surprising  rapidity  for  several  years 
thereafter,  attracted  by  mining  discoveries  even  more 
than  by  fruitful  soils.44 

42  Mullein's  Military  Road  Rept,  2-12. 

43  Letter  of  Gen.  Harney,  in  U.  S.  Mess,  and  Docs,  1859-60.  96. 

41 1  introduce  here  a  notice  of  a  pioneer  and  soldier  in  the  Ind.  war,  whose 
biography  escaped  my  attention  where  it  should  have  appeared,  in  chapter 

David  Shelton,  son  of  Lewis  Shelton  and  Nancy  Gladdin,  his  wife,  and 
grandson  of  Roderick  Shelton  and  Usley  Willard,  his  wife,  of  Va,  was  bom 
in  Buncombe  co.,  Va,  Sept.  15,  1812,  migrating  with  his  parents  to  Mo.  ter 
ritory  in  1819.  He  married  Frances  Willson,  born  in  Ky,  May  30,  1837, 
and  removed  in  1838  to  the  Platte  Purchase,  settling  near  St  Joseph,  where 
he  lived  until  1847,  when  he  emigrated  to  Oregon,  taking  up  a  claim  on 
Sauve  Island,  which  he  sold  in  1848,  and  went  to  the  California  gold  mines, 
returning  to  Portland  in  1849,  where  he  remained  until  1852,  when  he  re 
moved  to  W.  T.  in  company  with  L.  B.  Hastings,  F.  W.  Pettigrove, 
Thomas  Tallentine,  and  B.  Ross  on  a  small  schooner,  named  the  Mary 
Taylor.  Sheltou  and  Ross  remained  in  Olympia  until  1853,  in  which  year 
he  settled  on  Skookum  bay,  and  was  appointed  one  of  the  three  judges  of 
Thurston  co.,  which  at  that  time  comprised  the  whole  Puget  Sound  coun 
try.  He  was  elected  to  first  territorial  legislature,  and  introduced  the  bill 
organizing  Sawamish  co.  (the  name  being  subsequently  changed  to  Mason),  of 
which  he  was  the  first  settler.  He  served  in  the  Indian  war  of  1855-G,  as  a 
lieutenant  in  Co.  F.,  W.  T.  vols.  Mrs  Shelton  died  April  15,  1887,  at  the 
age  of  70  years.  Shelton  was  a  man  of  strong  convictions,  and  a  power  in 
the  community  where  he  lived.  His  children  were  Lewis  D.  W.,  born  in 
Andrew  co.,  Mo.,  in  1841;  John  S.  W.,  born  in  Gentry  co.,  Mo.,  in  1844; 
Levi  T.,  born  in  Clackamas  co.,  Or.,  in  1848;  Mary  E.,  born  in  Portland, 
Or.,  in  1850;  Franklin  P.,  born  in  Olympia,  Or.,  in  1852;  James  B.,  born  in 
Mason  co.,  W.  T.,  in  1855;  Joicie  A.,  born  in  Mason  co.,  W.  T.,  in  1857. 
Franklin  P.  died  in  1875. 

Another  pioneer  of  1853,  Henry  Adams,  was  born  in  Greenville,  Conn.,  in 
1825,  came  to  Cal.  in  1849,  to  Or.  in  1850,  and  to  W.  T.  in  1853,  settling  at 
Seattle,  where  he  worked  at  carpentry.  He  took  a  donation  claim  in  1855 
on  White  river,  his  present  home.  He  was  the  first  auditor  elected  in  King 
co.,  and  served  as  county  commissioner. 

I.  J.  Sackman,  born  near  Mansiield,  Ohio,  in  1830,  came  to  Cal.  in  1850, 
returning  home  in  1851,  but  only  to  emigrate  to  Seattle,  W.  T.  He  engaged 
in  lumbering  at  Port  Orchard,  remaining  there  until  1877,  when  he  removed 
to  Port  Blakely  and  opened  a  hotel,  which  he  owns.  He  married  Mrs 
Phillips,  a  step-daughter  of  Capt.  Win  Reuton,  of  Port  Blakely  mills. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THROUGH    FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 
1855-1867. 

PARTY  POLITICS — ELECTION  OF  DELEGATE — MARTIAL  LAW — STEVENS  CHOSEN 
DELEGATE — DEATH  OF  STEVENS — His  CHARACTER — GOVERNOR  McMuL- 
LIN — FRASER  RIVER  MINING  EXCITEMENT— ITS  EFFECT  ON  WASHINGTON 
— SERVICES  OF  SECRETARY  MASON — GOVERNOR  GHOLSON — HENRY  M. 
McGiLL — THE  CAPITAL  QUESTION — THE  UNIVERSITY — GOVERNOR  WAL 
LACE — GOVERNOR  PICKERING — THE  CUSTOM-HOUSE  CONTROVERSY — IN 
UNDATION  OF  PORT  ANGELES. 

WITH  the  organization  of  the  territory,  the  demo 
cratic  party  north  of  the  Columbia  had  prepared  to 
marshal  its  ranks  and  act  with  the  democrats  of 
Oregon  wherever  they  could  be  mutually  helpful  in 
resisting  what  they  denominated  the  "tyranny  of  the 
federal  party."  It  had  not  succeeded  in  effecting  its 
object,  when  it  suifered  to  be  elected  to  congress 
Columbia  Lancaster,  whose  politics  were  as  nonde 
script  as  his  abilities  were  inferior.  In  1855  a  more 
thorough  party  organization  was  perfected1  for  the 
election  of  a  delegate  to  succeed  Lancaster.2  The 
choice  of  the  convention  fell  upon  J.  Patton  Ander 
son,  the  first  United  States  marshal  of  the  terri 
tory,  who  resigned  his  office  in  March  with  the 
design  of  running  for  delegate,  his  place  being  subse- 

1  Ebcy's  Journal,  MS.,  iii.  8. 

2  In  the  democratic  convention  on  the  first  ballot  Lancaster  received  IS 
votes,  but  never  exceeded  that  number.     Stevens  received  13,  I.  N.  Ebey  7, 
J.  P.  Anderson  7.     Stevens  withdrew   his  name  on  the  Gth  ballot,  and  on 
the  29th  ballot  Anderson  received  38  votes.     Judges  Lander  and  McFadden 
and  H.  C.  Moseley  -were  balloted  for,  receiving  from  15  to  20  votes  each. 
Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  May  12,  1855. 

(201) 


202  THROUGH  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

quently    filled   by   the   appointment   of   George   W. 
Corliss.3 

The  opposing  candidate  of  the  whig  party  was 
Judge  Strong,4  Anderson's  majority  being  176  out  of 
1,582  votes,  41  of  which  were  cast  for  a  free-soil  can 
didate,  Joseph  Cushman. 

Stevens,  while  having  with  him  the  ultra  anti- 
Indian  element,  had  become  unpopular  in  other  quar 
ters.  His  martial-law  measure,  among  others,  was 
severely  criticised.  Stevens'  excuse  for  it  was  that 
only  in  that  way  certain  white  residents  of  Pierce 
county  having  Indian  wives  could  be  effectually 
secured  from  intercourse  with  the  enemy.  In  March 
1856  the  governor  caused  them  to  be  arrested  upon 
a  charge  of  treason,  without  the  formality  of  a  civil 
process,  and  sent  to  Fort  Steilacoom  with  a  request 
to  Colonel  Casey  to  keep  them  in  close  confinement.5 
Two  law  practitioners,  W.  H.  Wallace  and  Frank 
Clark  of  Pierce  county,  early  in  April,  determining 
to  vindicate  the  majesty  of  law,  set  out  for  Whidbcy 
Island,  where  resided  Judge  Chenoweth,  to  procure  a 
writ  of  habeas  corpus,  when  Stevens,  equally  deter 
mined,  thereupon  proclaimed  martial  law  in  Pierce 
county. 

Then  followed  a  performance  which  for  stubborn 
persistency  on  both  sides  was  not  unlike  the  Leschi 
affair.  Casey  notified  the  governor  that  in  the  case  of 
a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  being  served  upon  him,  he 
should  feel  compelled  to  obey  its  mandates,  where 
upon  Stevens  removed  the  prisoners  to  Olympia,  out  of 

8  Corliss  came  to  Salem,  Or.,  about  1852,  and  thence  to  Puget  Sound. 
He  removed  to  Las  Cruces,  Cal.,  where,  on  the  16th  of  Jan.  1804,  he  was 
murdered,  with  his  wife,  ne'e  Lucretia  R.  Judson,  daughter  of  Peter  Judson, 
and  a  Mr  Shepherd,  in  his  own  house,  which  was  burned  over  their  bodies. 
The  murderers  were  never  discovered.  Ebcy's  Journal,  MS.,  vii.  121.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  Mr  and  Mrs  Corliss  were  at  the  house  of  I.  N.  Ebey 
on  the  night  when  he  was  murdered,  but  escaped.  A  strange  fate  pursued 
them  to  the  same  end.  Salem  Statesman,  Feb.  29,  1S64. 

4Gilmore  Hays,  W.  H.  Wallace,  George  Gibbs,  A.  A.  Denny,  and  C.  C. 
Hewitt  were  the  other  whig  candidates.  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Democrat, 
May  12,  1855. 

5  The  persons  arrested  were  Lyon  A.  Smith,  Charles  Wren,  Henry  Smith, 
John  McLeod,  John  McPeel,  Henry  Murray,  and  Peter  Wilson.  Evans'  Mar 
tial  Law,  i. 


POLITICAL  CONTROVERSIES.  203 

Chenoweth's  district.  Chenoweth,  being  ill,  requested 
Chief  Justice  Lander  to  hold  court  for  him  at  Steila- 
coom,  which  Lander  proceeded  to  do,  but  was  arrested, 
arid  with  his  clerk,  John  M.  Chapman,  taken  to  Olym- 
pia  and  detained  in  custody  three  or  four  days.  Indig 
nation  meetings  were  held,  and  congress  appealed  to, 
public  opinion  being  divided.  Lander  opened  the  dis 
trict  court  the  12th  of  May  at  Olympia,  and  next  day 
the  governor  placed  Thurston  county  under  martial 
law.  Thereupon  the  governor  was  cited  to  appear 
before  the  chief  justice  at  chambers,  and  refused,  while 
the  governor  caused  the  arrest  of  the  chief  justice  for 
ignoring  martial  law.  Lander,  declining  parole,  was 
sent  to  Camp  Montgomery. 

Thus  attempts  and  contempts,  writs  and  restrictions, 
continued,  which,  however  interesting  and  instructive 
nt  the  time,  it  would  be  irksome  for  us  to  follow. 
The  Pierce  county  men  were  tried  by  a  military  com 
mission,  and  martial  law  abrogated.  But  the  end  was 
not  yet ;  for  over  innumerable  technicalities,  in  which 
lawyers,  judges,  citizens,  officials,  and  military  men 
had  become  involved,  wrangling  continued  throughout 
the  year,  B.  F.  Kendall,6  bitterly  opposed  to  Stevens, 

6Be/aleel  Freeman  Kendall,  like  Elwood  Evans,  crossed  the  continent  in 
1853  with  Stevens.  He  was  a  native  of  Oxford,  Maine,  and  a  graduate  of 
Bowdoin  college.  His  talents  are  highly  praised  by  all  his  biographers. 
Evans,  who  knew  him  well,  says  that  he  possessed  a  grand  physique,  was  a 
fine  scholar,  able  writer,  powerful  speaker,  hard  student,  and  of  thorough  in 
tegrity,  but  ambitious,  aristocratic  in  his  feelings,  bitter  in  his  prejudices, 
and  indiscreet  in  liis  utterances.  'The  newspapers  cannot  too  highly  paint 
his  contempt  for  the  opinions  of  others,  his  bitterness  of  expression,  his  un 
qualified  style  of  assault  upon  any  with  whom  he  differed.'  He  carried  this 
strong  individuality  into  a  journal  which  he  edited,  called  the  Overland  Pre-«s, 
and  which  was  the  occasion  of  his  death,  Jan.  7,  1863.  Kendall  had  been 
clerk  of  the  legislature,  territorial  librarian,  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  Olym 
pian  jud.  dist;  had  been  sent  on  a  secret  mission  by  Gen.  Scott,  and  appointed 
Indian  agent  in  the  Yakima  country,  but  soon  removed  on  account  of  his  im- 
pcriousness.  After  his  removal  he  published  the  Press,  and  used  it  to  attack 
whomsoever  he  hated.  He  was  the  attorney  and  warm  friend  of  George  B. 
Roberts  of  the  Puget  Sound  Co.  On  the  25th  of  October  an  attempt  was 
made  to  burn  the  buildings  of  this  company  on  Cowlitz  farm.  Kendall  boldly 
charged  the  incendiarism  on  Horace  Howe,  a  farmer  residing  on  the  Cowlitz, 
who,  on  the  20th  of  Dec.  18G2,  met  Kendall  in  Olympia  and  struck  him  over 
the  head  with  a  small  stick,  in  resentment.  Kendall  retreated,  and  Howe 
pursued,  when  Kendall  drew  a  pistol  and  shot  Howe,  inflicting  a  dangerous 
wound.  A  few  weeks  later  a  son  of  Howe  shot  Kendall  through  the  heart. 
Or.  Statexman,  Jan.  19,  18G3;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  12,  1803;  Wash.  Scraps, 
14C;  Olijm^la  Wash.  Standard,  Jan.  10,  1SG3. 


204  THROUGH  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

having  been  meanwhile  appointed  United  States  dis 
trict  attorney  by  Lander.7 

The  matter  having  been  brought  to  the  attention 
of  the  president,  Governor  Stevens  was  reprimanded 
by  the  executive  through  the  secretary  of  state,  who 
assured  him  that,  although  his  motives  were  not  ques 
tioned,  his  conduct  in  proclaiming  martial  law  did  not 
meet  with  the  approval  of  the  president.8 

Soon  it  was  rumored  that  Stevens  would  be  re 
moved,  when  his  friends  announced  that  they  would 
send  him  as  delegate  to  congress  in  1857,  and  imme 
diately  set  about  marshalling  their  forces  to  this  end. 
This  being  the  year  when  the  republican  party  was 
first  organized  in  the  territory,  the  election  campaign 
was  more  hotly  contested  than  usual,  Stevens  being 
a  southern  democrat  like  Lane,  while  the  new  party 
took  direct  issue  with  the  south. 

The  candidate  put  forward  by  the  republicans  was 
A.  S.  Abernethy,9  a  mild-mannered  man,  like  his 
brother  George  Abernethy  of  Oregon,  and  having 
nothing  either  in  his  character  or  his  history  to  hang 
praise  or  blame  upon,  could  not  contend  for  the  peo 
ple's  suffrages  with  Stevens — Stevens,  who  had  a  mag 
netic  presence,  a  massive  brain,  great  stores  of  knowl 
edge,  which  he  never  paraded,  although  in  private  a 
brilliant  talker,  a  memory  like  Napoleon,10  whose  small 
stature  he  approached,  and  bristled  all  over  with 

7 The  documents  in  this  case  are  contained  in  Sen.  Doc.,  98,  xiv.,  34th 
cong.  1st  sess. ;  Id.,  41,  viii.,  34th  cong.  1st  sess.;  Id.,  47,  viii.,  34th  cong. 
3d  sess.;  Id.,  78,  34th  cong.  1st  sess.;  S.  Misc.  Doc.,  71,  in.,  35th  cong.  1st 
sess.  Many  are  to  be  found  in  the  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Democrat  from  May 
to  August;  and  comments  in  the  Oregon  Statesman  and  Portland  Orcyonian, 
S.  F.  Alta;  New  York  Courier  and  Inquirer,  Feb.  14,  1857;  New  York  Times; 
Philadelphia  Ledi/er,  July  4,  1850;  Phelps'  Reminiscences  of  Seattle,  34;  Ore 
gon  Weekly  Times;  New  York  Herald,  June  27,  185G;  Washington  Union; 
Washington  Republican,  April  17,  1857;  but  the  most  complete  collection  of 
papers  on  the  subject  is  Evans1  Martial  Law,  before  quoted.  See  also  Conj. 
Globe,  1855-G,  pt  2,  1517,  34th  cong.  1st  sess. 

sSen.  Ex.  Doc.,  41,  56,  34th  coug.  3d  sess.;  Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1S5G-7, 
app.  vi. 

9  A  new  party  paper  was  started  at  Steilacoom,  called  the  Washington  lie- 
publican,  by  A.  S.  Abernethy,  D.  R.  Bigelow,  and  J.  P.  Keller.  Ebey'n  Jour 
nal,  MS.,  v.  10. 

10 Providence  ( R.  I.)  Journal,  July  12,  1802. 


STEVENS  FOR  CONGRESS.  205 

points  to  attract  the  electricity  of  a  crowd.  Besides 
these  qualities,  which  might  be  relied  upon  to  give 
him  success  in  a  campaign,  he  was  regarded  by  the 
volunteers  as  their  proper  representative  to  procure 
the  payment  of  the  war  debt,  against  which  General 
Wool  was  using  his  powerful  influence.  Not  an  ora 
tor  or  debater,  and  with  almost  the  whole  argument 
ative  talent  of  the  territory  arrayed  against  him,11 
his  election  was  a  foregone  conclusion  from  the  first. 
Stevens'  majority  over  Abernethy  was  463  out  of 
1,024  votes.12  He  resigned  his  office  of  governor  on 
the  llth  of  August,  one  month  less  two  days  after  his 
election,  the  full  returns  not  being  made  before  the 
last  week  in  July.  Secretary  Mason  filled  his  place 
as  acting  governor  until  the  arrival  of  his  successor 
in  September. 

It  would  occupy  too  much  space  to  follow  in  detail 
the  public  acts  of  Washington's  first  governor.13  He 
labored  as  untiringly  for  the  territory  he  represented 
in  congress  as  he  had  at  home,  and  was  met  by  the 
same  opposition,  preventing  during  his  first  term  the 

11  Salucius  Garfielde,  a  captivating  speaker,  then  newly  appointed  receiver 
of  the  land-office  at  Olympia,  took  part  in  the  political  debates  of  this  cam- 

Eaign  for  Stevens.     When  Stevens  was  nominated  in  1859  Garfielde  opposed 
im;  but  when   Garfielde  was  nominated  in   1861  Stevens   supported  him. 
Ebey's  Journal,  MS.,  v.  77. 

12  The  sparseness  of  the  population  and  small  increase  is  shown  by  the  fol 
lowing  comparative  statement.     At  the  first  election  for  delegate,  in  1854, 
the  total  vote  was  1,216,  in  1855,  1,582,  and  in  1857,  1,585.  Olympia  Pioneer 
and  Dem.,  Sept.   11,  1857.     Alexander  S.  Abernethy  came  from   N.  Y.  to 
Cal.  in  1849  by  steamer,  and  in  March  1850  proceeded  to  Or.  by  the  bark 
Toulon.     He  soon  purchased  a  half-interest  in  the  Oak  Point  saw-mill,  of 
George   Abernethy,    owner,   and  repaired  to  that  rather  solitary  spot   to 
reside.     He  was  one  of  the  movers  for  a  territory  north  of  the  Columbia, 
a  member  of  the  second  legislative  assembly,  and  a  member  of  the  council 
in  1856-7.     He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  republican  party  in  the 
spring  of  1857,  and  was  nominated  by  the  new  party  for  delegate.     After  the 
election  of  Stevens  he  remained  in  private  life,  holding  some  county  offices 
until  the  constitutional  convention  at  Walla  Walla  in  1878,  when  he  was 
chosen  a  member.     A  modest,  right-minded,  and  moderately  successful  man, 
Abernethy  fills  an  honorable  place  in  the  history  of  Washington.     He  contin 
ued  for  many  years  to  reside  at  Oak  Point.  Letter  of  A.  S.  Abernethy,  in 
Historical  Correspondence. 


23 


206  THROUGH  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

passage  of  any  bill  looking  to  the  payment  of  the  war 
debt.  He  urged  the  claims  of  the  territory  to  this 
money,  to  roads,  public  buildings,  coast  defences,  a 
superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  and  additional  Indian 
agents,  the  payment  of  Governor  Douglas  of  Van 
couver  Island  for  assistance  rendered  acting  governor 
Mason  in  1855,  more  land  districts  and  offices,  and 
the  survey  of  the  upper  Columbia.  None  of  these 
measures  were  carried  through  in  the  session  of 
1858-9.  But  he  was  returned  to  congress  in  the  latter 
year,  running  against  W.  H.  Wallace,  and  beating  him 
by  about  600  votes  out  of  less  than  1,800.  At  the 
session  of  1860-1,  a  land-office  was  established  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  territory,  called  the  Columbia 
River  district;  an  appropriation  of  $100,000  was  ob 
tained  to  be  expended  on  the  Fort  Benton  and  Walla 
Walla  road  begun  by  Lieutenant  Mullan;  $10,000  to 
improve  the  road  between  Cowlitz  landing  and  Monti- 
cello  ;  and  appropriations  for  fulfilling  the  treaties  with 
the  Walla  Walla,  Cayuse,  Umatilla,  Nez  Perce,  Flat- 
head,  and  confederated  tribes,  and  the  coast  tribes  of 
Washington;  and  an  act  was  passed  giving  to  the 
territory  an  Indian  superintendent  and  a  fuller  corps 
of  agents.  At  the  close  of  this  session,  also,  congress 

O  '  '  O 

agreed  upon  a  plan  for  paying  the  war  debt,  after  re 
ducing  it  one  half. 

In  April  1861  Stevens  returned  to  Olympia,  look 
ing  grave  and  careworn,  for  he  had  taken  deeply  to 
heart  the  troubles  between  the  north  and  south. 
Being  a  pro-slavery  democrat,14  yet  a  determined  sup 
porter  of  the  government,  he  had  labored  earnestly  to 
prevent  secession,  but  as  he  probably  knew,  with  little 
effect.  Almost  simultaneously  with  his  arrival  came 
the  news  that  Fort  Sumter  had  been  taken  by  the 
South  Carolinans,  and  civil  war  begun. 

14  Stevens  was  chairman  of  the  Breckenridge  wing  of  the  democracy  after 
the  division  in  the  party  in  1860,  for  which  he  was  denounced  by  the  legisla 
ture  of  his  territory  in  certain  resolutions.  Sec  Wash.  Jour.  House,  I860, 
337-8.  He  acquiesced  in  the  election  of  Lincoln,  and  urged  Buchanan  to  dis 
miss  Floyd  and  Thompson  from  his  cabinet.  Shuck's  Representative  Men,  501. 


SECTIONAL  POLITICS.  207 

There  were  in  Washington,  as  in  Oregon,  many 
southern  democrats;  and  there  was  in  the  democratic 
party  itself  a  tradition  that  nothing  should  be  per 
mitted  to  sunder  it;  that  to  depart  from  its  time-hon 
ored  principles  and  practices  was  to  be  a  traitor. 
Stevens  met  the  crisis  in  his  usual  independent  spirit. 
His  first  words  to  the  people  of  Olympia,  who  con 
gregated  to  welcome  him  home,  were :  "I  conceive  my 
duty  to  be  to  stop  disunion."15  He  had  returned 
with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  candidate  for  reelec 
tion,  but  when  the  convention  met  at  Vancouver  he 
withdrew  his  name,  promising  to  sustain  the  choice  of 
the  delegates,  this  falling  upon  Salucius  Garfielde,  who 
had  been  for  four  years  receiver  in  the  land-office. 
Again  he  urged  the  duty  of  the  party  to  support  the 
government,  and  procured  the  adoption  of  union  res 
olutions  by  the  convention;  yet  such  was  the  hostility 
which  pursued  him,  that  many  newspapers  represented 
him  as  uniting  with  Gwin  and  Lane  to  form  a  Pacific 
republic.16 

He  remained  but  a  few  weeks  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
hastening  back  to  Washington  to  offer  his  services 
to  the  president,  and  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  79th 
New  York  regiment,  the  famous  Highlanders,  on  the 
death  of  their  colonel,  Cameron.  Stevens'  service, 
beginning  July  31,  1861,  was  first  in  the  defences  of 
Washington.  In  September  he  was  commissioned 
brigadier-general,  and  commanded  a  brigade  in  the  Port 
Royal  expeditionary  corps  from  October  to  March  1862. 
From  March  to  July  he  was  in  the  department  of  the 
south.  On  the  4th.  of  July  he  was  commissioned  a 
major-general  of  volunteers,  but  the  senate  refusing 
to  confirm  the  appointment,  he  continued  to  serve  as  a 
general  of  brigade  in  the  northern  Virginia  campaign, 
though  in  command  of  a  division.  At  the  battle  of 
Chantilly,  while  leading  his  faltering  command  in  a 
charge,  himself  carrying  the  flag  which  the  color- 

16 Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  May  16,  1861. 
16  Or.  Statesman,  May  20  and  August  12,  1861. 


208  THROUGH  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

bearer,  stricken  down  by  a  shot,  was  about  to  let  fall, 
he  was  struck  in  the  head  by  a  ball  and  died  upon  the 
field.  But  his  courage  and  devotion  had  saved  the 
city  of  Washington,  for  had  Pope's  army  been  forced 
to  capitulate,  the  nation's  capital  would  have  been 
involved  in  the  disaster.17 

When  the  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Stevens 
reached  Washington,  the  grief  of  all  classes  was  sin 
cere  and  profound.  The  war  had  readjusted  party 
lines;  personal  jealousies  had  been  forgotten;  nothing 
could  any  one  recall  that  was  base  or  dishonorable, 
but  much  that  was  lofty  and  manly,  in  the  dead  hero. 
When  the  legislature  met,  resolutions  were  passed  in 
his  honor,  and  crape  was  ordered  to  be  worn  for  ten 
days.  So  mutable  is  human  regard  I  The  legislature 
of  Rhode  Island  also  formally  regretted  his  loss. 
The  most  touching,  because  the  most  sincere  and 
unaffected,  tribute  to  his  character  was  contained  in 
a  eulogistic  letter  by  Professor  Bache  of  the  coast  sur 
vey,  in  whose  office  he  spent  four  years.  "He 
was  not  one  who  led  by  looking  on,  but  by  ex 
ample.  As  we  knew  him  in  the  coast-survey  office, 
so  he  was  in  every  position  of  life .  . .  This  place  he 
filled,  and  more  than  filled,  for  four  years,  with  a  devo 
tion,  an  energy,  a  knowledge  not  to  be  surpassed,  and 
which  left  its  beneficient  mark  upon  our  organiza 
tion  . . .  Generous  and  noble  in  impulses,  he  left  our 
office  with  our  enthusiastic  admiration  of  his  character, 
appreciation  of  his  services,  and  hope  for  his  success."18 

Thus  died,  at  forty-four  years  of  age,  a  man  whose 
talents  were  far  above  those  whom  the  president  too 
often  appoints  to  the  executive  office  in  the  terri 
tories.  As  a  politician  he  would  always  have  failed, 

17  Letter  of  a  corr.  in  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  Oct.  25,  1862;  Battles  of 
America,  305. 

19 Providence  Journal,  Jan.  12,  1803;  Boston  Journal,  Sept.  5,  1862;  Coast 
Survey,  1862,  432-3.  Stevens  married  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  Hazard  of 
Newport.  His  son  Hazard,  21  years  of  age,  captain  and  adjutant,  was 
wounded  in  the  battle  in  which  his  father  lost  his  life.  There  were,  besides 
thia  son,  three  daughters  in  the  family,  who  long  resided  in  Washington. 
Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  Oct.  25,  1862. 


GOVERNOR  McMULLIN.  209 

despising  the  tricks  by  which  they  purchase  success; 
but  as  an  explorer,  a  scientist,  or  an  army  commander, 
he  could  have  reached  to  almost  any  height.  His 
services  to  Washington  are  commemorated  by  the 
county  east  of  the  northern  branch  of  the  Columbia 

bearing  the  name  of  Stevens. 

('  I' 

The  successor  of  Stevens  was  Fayette  McMullin 
of  Virginia,  a  politician,  whose  chief  object  in  coming  _ 
to  Washington  seems  to  have  been  to  get  rid  of  one 
wife  and  marry  another.19  He  held  the  executive  office 
only  from  September  1857  to  July  1858,  when  he 
was  removed.  His  administration,  if  such  it  can  be 
called,  embraced  the  period  rendered  memorable  by 
the  Fraser  River  gold-mining  excitement,  of  which  I 
have  given  a  full  account  in  my  History  of  Britisli  Co 
lumbia,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred  for  particulars. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  for  three  years 
been  in  the  receipt  of  gold-dust  purchased  of  the 
Indians  in  the  region  of  Fraser  River  with  lead,  ounce 
for  ounce,  when  in  the  winter  of  1857-8  some  of  this 
gold  found  its  way  to  Olympia,  and  caused  the  great 
est  excitement  here  as  elsewhere  all  along  the  coast. 
Men  rushed  to  the  mines  from  every  quarter,  and  the 
prices  of  labor,  provisions,  lumber,  and  real  estate  on 
the  Sound  advanced  rapidly.  There  were  many 
routes  to  the  new  mines,  and  divers  outfitting  posts; 
but  a  policy  of  exclusiveness  on  the  part  of  the  fur 
company  authorities  prevented  Washington  from  re 
ceiving  the  advantages  which  would  otherwise  have 
accrued  to  the  territory. 

While  the  great  gold  excitement  of  1858  gave  a  new 
life  and  impetus  to  certain  branches  of  business  in  the 

19 McMullin  petitioned  the  legislature  of  1857-8  fora  divorce,  which  was 
granted,  and  in  July  1858  he  married  Mary  Wood,  daughter  of  Isaac  Wood 
of  Thurston  county.  He  returned  with  his  wife  to  Va,  and  during  the  civil 
war  was  a  member  of  the  confederate  congress.  After  the  conclusion  of  the 
war  he  was  little  known  in  public  affairs.  He  was  killed  at  the  age  of  70 
years  by  a  railroad  train,  Nov.  8,  1880,  at  Wytheville,  Va.  Olympia  Pioneer 
and  Dem.,  May  1,  Aug.  14,  Sept.  11,  1857;  Or.  Statesman,  June  30,  1857, 
Aug.  3  and  Dec.  21,  1858;  Bancroft's  Hand-Book,  1864,  350;  Olympia  Tran- 
scr^t,  Nov.  13,  1880. 

HIST.  WASH.— 14 


210  THROUGH  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

Puget  Sound  country,  it  failed  to  build  up  trade  and 
cities  in  that  region,  as  some  sanguine  speculators  had 
hoped.  The  good  that  it  did  came  afterward,  when 
many  disappointed  adventurers,  chiefly  young  men, 
not  having  been  able  to  reach  the  gold-fields,  or  re 
turning  thence  poorer  than  they  went,  as  some  gold- 
seekers  always  do  return,  sought  work,  and  finally 
homes  on  the  government  land,  and  remained  to  help 
subdue  the  wilderness  and  cultivate  the  soil.  From 
this  class  Puget  Sound  nearly  doubled  its  population 
in  two  years. 

Another  benefit  to  the  country  resulted  from  the 
impetus  given  to  intelligent  explorations,  made  both 
in  quest  of  the  precious  metals  and  in  the  search  for 
passes  through  the  Cascade  Mountains  that  might  lead 
more  directly  to  the  mines  on  the  upper  Fraser.  It 
made  the  country  thoroughly  known  to  its  older  in 
habitants,  and  caused  the  laying-out  of  roads  that 
opened  to  settlement  many  hitherto  unappropriated 
valleys  and  isolated  prairies,  completing  the  unpre 
meditated  explorations  made  during  the  Indian  wars 
of  1855-6.  Attempts  were  made  this  summer  to 
open  a  pass  at  the  head  waters  of  the  Skikomish 
branch  of  the  Snohomish  River  by  Cady  and  Parkin 
son,  who  were  driven  back  by  the  Indians.  An  ex 
ploration  was  also  made  of  the  Skagit,  with  a  view  to 
constructing  a  road  up  that  river  to  the  mines,  and 
W.  H.  Pearson  led  a  large  mining  party  through  the 
Snoqualimich  Pass,  intending  to  proceed  to  Thomp 
son  River  by  the  Similkameen  route,  but  was  pre 
vented  by  the  Yakimas  and  their  allies.  A  large 
immigration  to  the  British  Columbia  mines  subse 
quently  took  place  by  the  Columbia  River  route,  and 
in  1861  Governor  Douglas,  as  a  means  of  depriving 
Americans  of  the  benefit  of  free-trade,  established  a 
higher  rate  of  duty  on  goods  conveyed  over  the 
border,  although  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  were 
allowed  to  carry  goods  from  Nisqually  across  the  line 
without  hinderance. 


GOVERNORS  MASON  AND  GHOLSON.  211 

After  the  removal  of  McMullin,  and  until  the  ar 
rival  of  his  successor,  Mason  again  became  acting 
governor,  soon  after  which  he  died.  No  man  in 
Washington  had  a  firmer  hold  upon  the -esteem  of  the 
whole  community  than  Mason,  who  for  six  years  had 
held  the  office  of  secretary,  arid  for  nearly  half  that 
time  of  vice-governor.  Efficient,  prompt,  incorrupti 
ble,  and  courteous,  he  deserved  the  encomiums  lavished 
upon  him  in  post-obit  honors.20  Stevens  pronounced 
his  funeral  oration,  and  he  was  buried  from  the  capital 
with  imposing  ceremonials.  The  legislative  assembly 
of  1864  changed  the  name  of  Sawamish  county  to 
Mason,  in  honor  of  his  services  to  the  territory. 

The  third  governor  of  Washington  was  Richard  D. 
Gholson,  of  Kentucky,  and  like  his  predecessors,  a 
radical  democrat.  He  arrived  in  July  1859,  and  offi 
ciated  both  as  governor  and  secretary  until  Mason's 
successor,  Henry  M.  McGill,  arrived  in  November. 
The  following  May  Gholson  returned  to  Kentucky 
on  a  six  months'  leave,  during  which  such  changes 
took  place  in  national  politics  as  to  cause  him  to  re 
main  away,21  and  McGill  officiated  as  governor  until 
April  1861,  when  W.  H.  Wallace  was  appointed  to 
the  executive  office  by  President  Lincoln,  L.  J.  S. 
Turney  being  secretary. 

The  administration  of  Gholson  and  McGill  was 
marked  by  events  of  importance  to  the  territory,  per- 

20  Charles  H.  Mason  was  born  at  Fort  Washington  on  the  Potomac,  and 
was  a  son  of  Major  Milo  Mason  of  Vt,  deputy  quartermaster-general  under 
Jackson  in  his  Indian  campaigns.     His  mother  was  a  native  of  Providence, 
R.  I.,  where  C.  H.  Mason  resided  after  the  death  of  his  father  in  1837,  grad 
uating  at  Brown  university  with  distinction  in  1850,  being  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1851,  and  associated  as  a  partner  with  Albert  C.  Green,  atty-gen.  of  the 
state  for  20  years,  and  afterward  U.  S.  senator.     In  his  23d  year  he  was 
recommended  to  the  president  for  the  appointment  of  district  attorney  of 
Rhode  Island,  but  was  appointed  instead  to  I  he  secretaryship  of  Washington. 
He  was  reappointed  at  the  time  of  his  death.   Olympia  1'ioneer  and  Dem., 
July  29,  1859;  Or.  Statesman,  August  9,  1859;  Pucjet  Sound  Herald,  April 
15,  1859. 

21  Gholson  wrote  a  letter  urging  the  legislature  of  Ky  to  call  a  convention 
and  appoint  commissioners  to  the  southern  congress  at  Montgomery,  Alabama, 
who  should  pledge  the  state  to  stand  by  the  south  in  the  attempt  to  secede. 
S.  F.  Bulletin,  Aug.  30,  1S59;  Or.  Statesman,  March  11,  1861. 


212  THROUGH  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

tainmg  to  the  quarrel  over  the  San  Juan  boundary, 
in  which  the  territorial  authorities  were  permitted  to 
participate  in  an  insignificant  degree,  owing  to  the 
military  occupation  of  the  island.  The  not  unimpor 
tant  troubles  with  the  northern  and  local  Indian 
tribes22  gave  the  governor  frequent  occasion  for  anx 
iety.  Besides  those  murders  and  emeutes  to  which 
I  have  already  referred,  D.  Hunt,  deputy  United 
States  surveyor,  was  murdered  on  Whidbey  Island  in 
July  1858.  Seven  miners  were  also  attacked  and 
killed  on  their  way  to  Fort  Langley,  and  a  white 
woman  captured  about  the  same  time.  If  a  part}^  of 
two  or  three  men  set  out  to  perform  a  canoe  journey 
to  the  lower  waters  of  the  Sound,  they  ran  the  risk 
of  meeting  their  executioners  in  another  Indian  canoe 
in  one  of  the  many  lonely  wastes  on  Admiralty  Inlet. 
At  length,  in  February  1859,  two  schooners,  the 
Ellen  Maria  and  Blue  Wing,  mysteriously  disappeared 
while  en  route  from  Steilacoom  to  Port  Townsend. 
The  latter  was  commanded  by  a  young  man  named 
Showell,  and  carried  several  passengers,  among  whom 
was  E.  Schroeder,  a  well-known  and  respected  Swiss 
merchant  of  Steilacoom,  lately  appointed  sutler  to 
Major  Haller.  Various  rumors  were  afloat  concern 
ing  the  fate  of  the  vessels,  in  which  Indians  were 
mentioned  as  accessory  to  their  loss,  but  the  crime,  if 
any,  could  not  be  traced  to  any  tribe  or  individuals, 
until  in  July  1860,  when,  at  the  trial  of  an  Indian  for 
another  offence  at  Victoria,  one  of  the  Indian  wit 
nesses  irrelevantly  gave  a  clew  to  the  matter.  The 
guilty  persons,  it  seems,  were  Haidahs,  for  whom 

22  Strong  says  that  Gholson,  who  had  never  held  any  office,  and  had  large 
ideas  of  the  importance  of  an  executive  position,  felt  it  his  duty  to  suppress 
the  northern  Indians  in  some  way,  and  finally  hit  upon  the  happy  project  of 
getting  out  a  proclamation  authorizing  the  citizens  of  the  territory  to  arm  and 
fit  out  vessels  for  the  purpose  of  making  reprisals  against  the  English  for  per 
mitting  the  northern  Indians  to  leave  British  Columbia  and  commit  depreda 
tions  in  Washington  territory — regular  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal !  Strong, 
to  whom  he  showed  the  proclamation,  assured  liim  it  would  make  him  the 
most  famous  man  upon  the  Pacific  coast.  But  Tilton,  who  was  also  informed 
of  it,  put  a  stop  to  it.  However,  the  story  leaked  out,  and  Gholson  received 
many  a  sly  innuendo.  This  was  during  the  San  Juan  difficulty,  when  there 
were  live  British  ships  of  war  at  Victoria.  Strongs  Hist.  Or.,  MS.,  72-4. 


CAPITAL  AXD  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS.  213 

requisitions  were  several  times  made  on  Governor 
Douglas,  but  refused  upon  one  pretext  or  another, 
until  the  criminals  had  escaped,  when  it  was  granted. 

Another  matter  which  occasioned  some  agitation 
during  the  administration  of  McGill  was  the  location 
of  the  public  buildings  of  the  territory.  By  the  or 
ganic  act  the  governor  could  convene  the  first  legisla 
ture  where  he  pleased;  but  that  body  was  then,  at  its 
first  session,  or  as  soon  as  expedient,  to  establish  the 
seat  of  government  at  such  a  place  as  it  deemed 
eligible,  which  place  was,  however,  subject  to  be 
changed  by  an  act  of  the  assembly  at  some  future 
time.  At  the  session  of  1854-5  the  legislature  fixed 
the  capital  at  Olympia,  the  university  at  Seattle,  with 
a  branch  at  Boisfort  plains,  and  the  penitentiary  at 
Vancouver.23  In  January  1858  the  university  was 
relocated  on  Cowlitz  prairie  without  a  branch.  Work 
was  begun  on  the  state-house,  which,  however,  was 
suspended  by  the  Indian  war. 

At  the  session  of  1856-7  congress  appropriated 
$30,000,  in  addition  to  the  $5,000  granted  in  the  or 
ganic  act,  which  had  been  in  part  or  in  whole  ex 
pended;  and  then  commenced  the  advancement  of 
competitive  claims  for  the  honor  and  profit  of  securing 
one  or  other  of  the  public  buildings. 

A  determined  effort  was  made  in  1859-60  by  a 
faction  to  remove  the  capital  from  Olympia  to  Van 
couver,  but  as  strongly  resisted  by  a  majority  of  the 
assembly.  The  matter  coming  up  again  at  the  next 
session,  the  effort  was  renewed,  and  the  matter  having 
been  previously  arranged  by  trading,  acts  giving  Van 
couver  the  capital,  Seattle  the  university,  and  Port 
Townsend  the  penitentiary  were  passed  without  dis 
cussion  in  the  lower  house,  and  being  sent  to  the 
council,  passed  that  body  without  argument  also,  the 
president's  vote  constituting  the  majority.'24  Such 

23  Slot.  Wash.,  1854-5,  6,  8,  9. 

24  Paul  K.  Hubbs  of  Port  Townsend  was  president  of  the  council.     A.  M. 
Poe  said  that  he  was  pledged  not  to  vote  for  removal.  Letter  of  Poe  to  W.  S. 
Ebey,  iu  the  Enos  (Jolltcticn. 


214  THROUGH  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

was  the  haste  of  the  legislative  traders,  that  the  all- 
important  enacting  clause  was  omitted  in  the  wording 
of  the  bill  locating  the  capital,  which  thereby  became 
inoperative.  It  was  also  illegal  in  another  point,  hav 
ing  located  the  capital  permanently,25  which  the  legis 
lature  had  no  right  to  do,  according  to  the  organic 
act  of  the  territory. 

Another  act  was  passed  at  the  same  session  requir 
ing  the  people  to  vote  at  the  next  election  upon  the 
seat-of-government  question,  which  being  done,  Olym- 
pia  received  a  large  majority  over  all  competitors.26 
This  result  brought  on  a  contest  similar  to  that 
between  Oregon  City  and  Salem,  a  part  of  the  legis 
lature  going  to  Vancouver  and  a  part  to  Olympia, 
neither  place  having  a  quorum.  Two  weeks  were 
spent  in  waiting  for  a  decision  of  the  supreme  court 
upon  the  validity  of  the  opposing  laws,  when  it  was 
decided  that  for  the  reasons  above  named  Olympia 
still  remained  the  capital ;  and  that  although  the  vote 
of  the  people  carried  with  it  no  binding  force  in  this 
case,  yet  the  wish  of  the  people,  when  so  plainly  ex 
pressed,  was  entitled  to  consideration  by  courts  and 
legislatures.27  This  settled  the  matter  so  far  as  the 
capital  was  concerned,  the  Vancouver  seceders  re 
turning  to  Olympia,23  where  the  capital  has  since 
remained. 

Previous  to  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government 
to  Vancouver,  Governor  McGill  having  become  re 
sponsible  for  the  proper  outlay  of  the  government 
appropriation,29  in  which  he  was  opposed  by  the  same 

25  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  Feb.  28,  1861;  Ebetfs  Journal,  MS.,  vi.  391; 
Steilaro'om  Puget  Sound  Herald,  Feb.  28,  1862. 

20  Olympia,  1,239;  Vancouver,  639;  Steilacoom,  2o3;  Port  Townsend,  72; 
Walla  Walla,  67;  Seattle,  22;  scattering,  23.  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  Apr. 
19,  1862. 

"The  opinion  was  given  in  reference  to  the  case  of  Rodolf  vs  A.  May  hew 
et  al.,  where  there  was  a  question  of  jurisdiction,  the  court  being  directed  to 
be  held  at  the  '  seat  of  government.'  It  was  argued  by  Garfielde,  Lawrence, 
Chenoweth,  and  Hubbs;  Evans  and  Lander,  contra. 

»  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  Dec.  23,  1861;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  23,  1861; 
Or.  Statesman,  Dec.  23,  1861. 

29Neither  McMullin  nor  Gholson  would  give  bonds,  and  Judge  McFadden, 
who  held  the  drafts,  was  about  to  send  them  back  to  Washington. 


UNIVERSITY.  215 

clique  of  politicians  which  effected  the  subsequent 
trade,  had  let  contracts  for  clearing  the  land  donated 
by  Edmund  Sylvester  for  the  site  of  the  capitol,  and 
preparing  the  foundations  of  legislative  halls  and  ter 
ritorial  offices.  The  removal  of  the  capital  by  the 
next  legislature  was  a  part  of  the  political  programme, 
which  in  the  end  failed  in  fact  and  intent.  But  the 
adverse  proceedings  delayed  the  erection  of  a  state- 
house  until  1863,  when  there  was  completed  a  struc 
ture  of  wood  at  Olympia  which  has  served  the 
purposes  of  the  territory  for  many  years. 

The  university  was  suffered  to  remain  at  Seattle  on 
condition  that  ten  acres  of  land  should  be  donated  for 
a  building  site  where  the  commissioners  should  select 
it.  This  condition  was  complied  with  by  A.  A. 
Denny  giving  eight  acres,  and  Edward  Lander  and 
C.  C.  Terry  the  remainder.  The  corner-stone  was 
laid  in  May  18G1,  but  the  university  for  many  years 
failed  to  rank  above  a  preparatory  school,  partly 
through  mismanagement  of  its  funds,30  and  also  by 

80  The  legislature,  in  Jan.  1862,  re-incorporated  the  university,  which  was 
previously  chartered  in  1860  while  it  was  located  on  the  Cowlitz  prairie, 
creating  a  board  of  regents  consisting  of  Daniel  Bagley,  Paul  K.  Hubbs,  J. 
P.  Keller,  John  Webster,  E.  Carr,  Frank  Clark,  G.  A.  Meigs,  Columbia  Lan 
caster,  and  C.  H.  Hale,  in  whom  was  vested  the  government  of  the  institu 
tion.  Three  regents  were  to  be  elected  each  year,  the  length  of  the  terms  of 
the  first  nine  to  be  determined  by  lot.  In  case  of  a  vacancy  the  governor 
might  appoint.  The  regents  had  power  to  elect  a  president  of  the  board,  and 
a  president  of  the  faculty;  to  fix  the  number  of  assistants,  and  determine 
their  salaries.  They  could  remove  either,  and  could  appoint  a  secretary, 
librarian,  treasurer,  and  steward,  and  remove  the  same;  but  the  treasurer 
could  never  be,  in  any  case,  a  member  of  the  board  of  regents.  They  were 
entitled  to  hold  all  kinds  of  estate,  real,  personal,  or  mixed,  which  they  might 
acquire  by  purchase,  donation,  or  devise.  The  money  received  for  the  sale 
of  lands  or  otherwise  was  to  be  paid  to  the  treasurer,  and  as  much  as  was 
necessary  expended  by  the  regents  in  keeping  up  the  buildings  and  defraying 
expenses;  the  treasurer  only  to  give  bonds,  in  the  sum  of  §15,000  to  the  gov 
ernor.  There  was  also  a  board  of  visitors  to  consist  of  three  persons,  and  both 
regents  and  visitors  were  to  receive  pay  out  of  the  university  fund  for  their 
actual  and  necessary  expenses,  all  orders  on  the  treasurer  to  be  signed  by 
the  secretary  and  countersigned  by  the  president.  Wa*h.  Stat.,  1861-2,  43-6. 

In  an  act  in  relation  to  the  management  and  safe-keeping  of  the  moneys 
arising  from  the  sale  of  university  lands,  another  board,  called  'university 
commissioners,'  whose  business  it  was  to  locate  and  sell  the  two  townships  of 
land  granted  by  congress  to  the  support  of  a  university,  were  associated  with 
the  regents  and  other  officers  named  above,  all  together  constituting  a  board 
of  directors,  with  liberty  to  loan  the  fund  derived  from  the  sale  of  land,  or 
any  part  of  it,  at  12  per  cent  interest,  and  for  any  time  from  one  to  ten  years, 


216  THROUGH  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

reason  of  an  insufficient  population  to  support  a  higher 
order  of  college. 

the  loans  to  be  secured  by  mortgage  on  real  estate  of  twice  its  value.  The 
interest  thus  accruing  was  to  be  set  apart  for  the  support  of  the  university, 
and  to  be  under  the  control  of  the  regents,  the  principal  to  remain  an  irre 
ducible  fund.  The  laws  required  annual  reports  from  both  boards  and  the 
treasurer.  Id.,  60. 

On  the  10th  of  October,  1862,  a  primary  collegiate  school  was  opened  for 
pupils  of  both  sexes,  under  the  charge  of  A.  S.  Mercer,  assisted  by  Mrs  V. 
Calhoun,  the  terms  to  continue  five  months.  The  reports  of  the  different 
boards  showed  that  in  1861  20,524  acres  of  the  university  land  had  been  sold; 
bringing  $30,787.04,  and  $30,400.69  had  been  expended  in  the  erection  of 
buildings.  The  receipts  for  lands  in  1862  amounted  to  §16,748.03,  of  •which 
$10,215.73  had  been  expended  on  improvements,  leaving  $(5,959.24,  on  hand, 
and  28,768  acres  of  land  unsold.  Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1862-3,  app.  xvi.-xx. 

The  president  of  the  board  of  regents,  Rev.  D.  Bagley  of  the  methodist 
church,  was  also  pi-esident  of  the  board  of  commissioners  to  select  and  sell 
the  lands  of  the  university,  and  so  zealous  was  he  to  sell,  and  so  careless  was 
he  in  his  accounts,  that  the  legislature  of  1866-7  repealed  all  former  acts 
granting  authority  to  the  boards  of  regents  and  commissioners,  and  appoint 
ing  a  new  board  of  regents  consisting  of  B.  F.  Denuisou,  D.  T.  Denny,  Frank 
Mathias,  Harvey  K.  Mines,  and  Oliver  F.  Gerrish,  granting  them  power  to 
make  full  investigation  of  the  affairs  of  the  university  and  report  thereupon. 
Wash.  Stat.,  1867,  114.  The  new  board  elected  Dennison  president,  Denny 
treasurer,  and  William  H.  Taylor  secretary. 

In  the  mean  time  there  had  been  several  changes  in  the  school.  W.  E. 
Barnard  appears  to  have  been  the  second  president  of  the  faculty,  if  such  a 
board  could  be  properly  said  to  exist,  and  he  resigned  in  April  1S66,  the  re 
gents  appointing  Rev.  George  F.  Whitworth,  who  accepted  upon  an  agree 
ment  that  the  salary  should  be  $1,000  in  coin,  payable  quarterly,  in  addition 
to  the  tuition  fees,  and  the  free  use  of  the  buildings  and  grounds.  The  grade 
of  scholarship  was  low,  as  might  be  expected  under  the  circumstances  of  the 
recent  history  of  the  country,  and  the  number  of  pupils  probably  never  ex 
ceeded  60,  nearly  all  of  whom  belonged  to  Seattle.  The  new  board  of  regents 
found  $5.85  in  the  treasury,  and  only  3,364,'J  acres  of  land  remaining  unsold  out 
of  46,080  acres  donated  by  congress.  About  8,000  acres  had  been  sold  on  credit 
without  security,  and  about  1 1 ,000  on  securities  which  were  worthless,  and 
at  prices  illegally  low.  For  the  remainder  of  the  25,456  acres  remaining  after 
the  erection  of  the  university  buildings,  there  was  nothing  to  show  but  about 
six  dollars  in  money  and  between  3,000  and  4,000  acres  of  land.  In  their 
report  to  the  legislature,  the  board  made  Bagley  in  debt  to  the  university 
$13,919.34  in  coin,  and  responsible  for  the  other  losses  sustained  by  the  uni 
versity  fund,  having  illegally  acted  as  president  and  treasurer  of  the  board, 
and  disburser  of  the  moneys  received.  Rept  in  Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1867- 
8,  76-104.  On  account  of  this  condition  of  affairs  the  school  was  closed  in 
June  1867,  and  the  buildings  and  property  taken  in  charge  by  the  new  board. 
The  report  of  the  new  board  of  regents  being  referred  to  a  select  committee  of 
the  legislature,  the  findings  of  the  regents  were  reversed,  and  $2,314.76  found 
due  Bagley  from  the  university  for  services.  The  committee  exonerating  Bag- 
ley  consisted  of  Park  Winans,  John  W.  Brazee,  and  Ira  Ward,  assisted  by 
Rev.  H.  K.  Hines  of  the  methodist  church,  and  member  of  the  board  of 
regents.  Id.,  187-202.  Nothing  was  done  by  the  legislature  at  this  session 
except  to  appoint  A.  A.  Denny  and  W.  H.  Robertson  regents  in  place 
of  D.  T.  Denny  and  H.  K.  Hines,  whose  terms  had  expired,  Wash. 
Stat.,  1867-8,  78,  the  assembly  not  knowing  how  to  act  in  the  matter. 
At  the  session  of  1869  a  report  was  made  by  the  regents  showing  that 
$4,112.52  had  been  received  into  the  treasury,  $1,335.86  of  which  had  been 
paid  in  liquidation  of  debts  existing  under  the  first  regency;  and  $68.20  re- 


McGILL  AND  WALLACE.  217 

The  administration  of  McGill,  although  an  acci 
dental  one,  was  energetic  and  creditable.  He  com 
bined,  like  Mason,  executive  ability  with  that  savoir 
faire  which  left  those  who  would  have  possibly  been 
his  enemies  no  ground  for  hostility.31  His  attitude 
during  the  San  Juan  and  extradition  difficulties  was 
dignified  and  correct,  leaving  a  record  alike  honorable 
to  himself  and  the  territory. 

The  appointment  of  Governor  Wallace  in  1861 
was  followed  immediately  by  his  nomination  to  the 
delegateship  of  the  territory.  In  Washington  as  in 

maining  in  the  treasury.  The  school  had  been  reopened  on  the  12th  of  April 
1869  by  John  H.  Hall,  who  agreed  to  teach  three  years  for  §000  per  annum. 
There  were  70  students  in  attendance,  23  of  whom  were  not  residents  of 
Seattle,  and  the  university  was  not  incurring  any  debts.  Waxh.  Jour.  House, 
1SG9,  149-53.  The  governor,  Alvan  Flanders,  declared  in  his  message  that 
'everything  connected  with  the  management  of  the  university  lands  up  to 
1807  can  be  described  only  by  saying  that  it  was  characterized  by  gross  ex 
travagance  and  incompetency,  if  not  by  downright  fraud;  and  that  the 
history  of  the  institution  was  a  calamity  and  a  disgrace,'  all  that  remained  of 
the  munificent  grant  of  congress  being  a  building  possibly  worth  $15,000. 
He  suggested  asking  congress  for  further  aid,  which  if  granted  should  be 
protected  from  similar  waste.  Instead,  congress  was  memorialized  to  bestow 
a  grant  of  swamp  and  tide  lands  for  school  purposes  and  internal  improve 
ments,  Wash.  Stat.,  1859,  527-8,  a  prayer  it  was  not  likely  to  listen  to  after 
the  use  made  of  the  former  liberal  grant.  The  university  struggled  along, 
unable  to  rise  out  of  its  slough  of  despond  for  almost  another  decade.  The 
first  assistance  rendered  by  the  legislature  was  in  1877,  when  it  appropri 
ated  $1,500  for  each  of  the  years  1878  and  1879  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
tuition,  and  establishing  45  free  scholarships,  the  holders  to  be  between  the 
ages  of  16  and  21  years,  and  bona  fide  residents  of  the  territory  six  months 
before  their  appointment.  Each  councilman  and  ea,ch  assemblyman  could  ap 
point  one  from  his  district  or  county;  each  of  the  district  judges  one,  and 
the  governor  three  from  three  different  counties.  Wash.  Stat.,  1877,  241-3. 
The  first  graduate  was  Miss  Clara  McCarty,  in  1876.  The  annual  register  for 
1880  shows  10  graduates  in  all,  only  one  of  these,  W.  J.  Colkett,  being  of  the 
male  sex.  The  faculty  consisted  in  the  latter  year  of  the  president,  J.  A. 
Anderson,  and  wife,  Louis  F.  Anderson,  A.  J.  Anderson,  Jr,  with  3  male  and 
3  female  assistants.  President  Anderson  raised  the  standing  of  the  institu 
tion,  which  continued  to  improve,  and  has  turned  out  graduates  very  credit 
able  to  it  and  the  succeeding  faculty. 

81  McGill  was  Irish,  having  immigrated  to  the  U.  S.  at  the  age  of  six  years. 
He  came  to  S.  F.  in  1857,  returning  to  Washington,  D.  C.,  in  1858,  where  he 
was  assistant,  and  then  acting,  private  secretary  to  President  Buchanan.  In 
1859  he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  of  the  court  of  claims,  until  made  secre 
tary  of  Washington.  On  his  retirement  from  executive  office  he  resumed  the 
practice  of  law,  and  in  March  1802  was  elected  U.  S.  prosecuting  attorney  for 
Puget  Sound  district.  He  was  also  elected  a  member  of  the  territorial  assem 
bly  for  1863-4  on  the  republican  ticket.  For  a  time  he  was  president  of  the 
board  of  regents  of  the  territorial  university.  In  1808  he  revisited  Ireland. 
Quigley's  Irish  Race,  414-16. 


218  THROUGH  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

Oregon,  the  democratic  party,  as  such,  had  been  forced 
to  abandon  its  ancient  rule,  and  it  was  now  the  party 
of  the  union  which  held  the  reins  of  government. 
Wallace  had  been  a  whig;  he  was  now  a  republican. 
That  was  the  secret  of  his  sudden  success.  Running 
against  Garfielde,  democrat,  and  Judge  Lander,  inde 
pendent,  he  beat  the  former  by  over  300  votes,  and 
the  latter  by  1,000.  Yet  the  legislature  of  1861-2 
voted  down  a  series  of  resolutions  presented  by  repub 
lican  members  sustaining  the  course  of  the  general 
government  and  discountenancing  the  project  of  a 
Pacific  confederacy.32 

The  democracy  were  not  yet  willing  to  resort  to 
arms  to  save  the  union  from  overthrow  by  their  po 
litical  brethren  of  the  south,  and  the  legislature  was 
democratic  still.  But  the  following  session  of  1862-3, 
very  soon  after  convening,  the  joint  assembly  passed 
very  strong  resolutions  of  support  to  the  government 
in  suppressing  the  rebellion,  partly  the  result  of  in 
creasing  republican  sentiment,  and  partly  also,  no 
doubt,  from  a  feeling  of  sorrow  and  regret  for  the  loss 
of  the  territory's  one  war  hero,  I.  I.  Stevens,33  and 
not  a  little  from  a  fear  of  losing  the  patronage  of  a 
republican  administration. 

32  There  appears  upon  the  journal  of  the  council  a  set  of  loyal  resolutions, 
sent  up  from  the  house,  which  are  '  referred  to  the  committee  on  foreign  rela 
tions,  with  instructions  to  report  the  first  day  of  April  next ' — two  months  after 
adjournment!   Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1861-2,  207-8.     The  members  who  com 
posed  this  council  were  James  Biles,  A.  R.  Burbank,  John  Webster,  Paul  K. 
Hubbs,  B.  F.  Shaw,  Frank  Clark,  J.  M.  Moore,  J.  A.  Simms,  and  H.  L. 
Caples.     The  house  then  made  a  second  attempt  to  pass  some  joint  resolu 
tions  of  a  loyal  character,  but  they  were  voted  down  before  going  to  the 
council.     The  yeas  on  the  second  series  were  John  Denny,  father  of  A.  A. 
Denny,  M.  S.  Griswold,  Lombard,  McCall,  John  F.  Smith  of  Clarke  county, 
J.  S.  Taylor,  William  Cock,  and  J.  Urquhart.     The  nays  were  John  Aird, 
C.  C.  Bozarth,  J.  R.  Bates,  Beatty,  Chapman,  B.  L.  Gardner,  Gilliam,  T.  D. 
Hinckley,  Holbrook,  T.  Page,  John  H.  Settle,  Smith  of  Walla  Walla  county, 
B.  F.  Ruth,   Thornton,  Edward  A.  Wilson,    W.  G.  Warbass.     Not  voting, 
J.  L.  Ferguson,  William  Lean,  A.  S.  Yantis,  and  Williamson.  Otympia  Wash. 
Standard,  March  22,  18G2. 

33  General  F.  W.  Lander,  who  belonged  to  the  R.  R.  expedition  of  1853, 
and  who  laid  out  the  wagon-road  on  the  south  side  of  Snake  River  to  Salt 
Lake,  a  younger  brother  of  Judge  Lander,  though  he  could  not  be  said  to  be 
a  resident  of  Washington,  was  held  in  high  esteem  for  his  services.     He  died 
of  wounds  received  in  battle  at  Edwards'  Ferry,  much  regretted  on  the  Pa 
cific  coast.  Olympia  Standard,  March  22,  18G2;  Or.  Statesman,  May  5,  1862. 


GOVERNOR  PICKERING.  219 

The  resignation  of  Wallace  on  his  election  as  dele 
gate  was  followed  by  a  brief  interregnum,  during  which 
the  secretary,  L.  J.  S.  Turney,  acted  as  governor. 
The  next  appointee  was  William  Pickering  of  Illi 
nois,34  who  arrived  at  Otympia  in  June  1862.  In 
December  Secretary  Turney  was  removed  and  Elwood 
Evans  appointed  in  his  place.  Evans'  commission 
having  been  sent  to  him  without  a  bond,  Turney  re 
fused  to  vacate  the  office.35  Both  claiming  the  exclu 
sive  riofht  to  act,  the  financial  affairs  of  the  officials  and 

O  7 

legislators  were  for  some  time  in  an  embarrassed  con 
dition.  Pickering  proved  to  be  acceptable  as  an 
executive,  and  Evans  was  well  qualified  for  the  secre 
taryship  ;  so  that  peace  reigned  in  the  executive  office 
for  a  longer  term  than  usual,  and  the  legislature  me 
morialized  congress  against  the  removal  of  Pickering 
in  1866-7,  but  a  commission  having  already  issued, 
he  was  forced  to  give  way.  During  1865  Evans  was 
acting  governor,  filling  the  office  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  territory  as  well  as  the  republican  party. 

Since  the  days  when  the  first  collector  of  customs, 
Moses,  had  worried  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and 
other  British  men,  ship-captains,  and  owners,  and  since 
Ebey  had  established  a  deputy  on  the  disputed  island 
of  San  Juan,  matters  had  proceeded  quietly  in  the 
customs  department.  Ebey  was  succeeded  by  Morris 
H.  Frost36  of  Steilacoom,  who  held  the  office  for  four 
years,  and  C.  C.  Phillips  of  Whidbey  Island  followed 
for  a  short  term  of  nine  months,  when,  in  August 
1861,  the  new  administration  sent  out  from  Ohio  an 

34  Pickering  was  a  Yorkshire  Englishman  who  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1821 
and  settled  in  111.,  where  for  thirty  years  he  had  known  Lincoln,  from  whom 
he  received  his  appointment.  He  was  60  years  of  age,  and  was  sometimes 
called  William  the  Headstrong.  Pacific  Tribune,  June  8,  1872.  On  the  ap 
pointment  of  a  successor  he  retired  to  a  farm  in  King  co.,  hut  soon  after  re 
turned  to  111.,  where  he  died  April  22,  1873.  His  son,  William  Pickering, 
remained  in  Washington.  Seattle  Intelligencer,  April  27,  1873. 

85  Or.  Statesman,  Dec.  29,  1862;  Wash.  Scraps,  146;  Sen.  Jour.,  39th 
cong.  2d  sesa. 

36  M.  H.  Frost  later  resided  at  Mukilteo.  He  was  born  in  New  York  in 
1806,  removed  to  Mich,  in  1832,  and  to  Chicago  in  1849.  He  crossed  the 
plains  in  1852  and  settled  on  Puget  Sound.  Horse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xxi.  1. 


220  THROUGH  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

incumbent  named  Victor  Smith,  who  was  not  only 
clothed  with  the  powers  of  a  collector  of  United  States 
revenue,  but  commissioned  to  inquire  into  the  manner 
in  which  the  government  moneys  were  disbursed  in 
other  departments — a  treasury  spy,  in  short,  who  en 
joyed  the  confidence  of  the  authorities  at  the  national 
capital,  but  who,  as  it  turned  out,  did  not  possess  the 
requisite  discretion  for  so  dangerous  an  office,  the  con 
sequence  of  which  was  that  others,  through  jealousy 
perhaps,  were  spying  upon  him. 

The  first  offence  of  which  Victor  Smith  was  plainly 
shown  to  be  guilty  was  that  of  plotting  to  remove  the 
custom-house  from  Port  Townsend  to  Port  Angeles, 
upon  the  pretence  that  the  former  place  was  not  a 
good  harbor  in  all  weathers,  but  really,  as  it  was 
averred,  that  he  might  speculate  in  town  lots,  he  be 
ing  shown  to  be  the  owner  of  a  fifth  interest  in  the 
Port  Angeles  Company's  town  site.37  A  legislative 
memorial  was  forwarded  to  congress  in  December 
1861  in  favor  of  Port  Townsend,  and  asking  for  an 
appropriation  to  erect  a  suitable  custom-house  at  that 
place. 

Another  offence  of  the  imported  custom-house  offi 
cial  was  that  he  was  an  abolitionist,  a  word  of  hatred 
and  contempt  to  the  democracy.  To  be  an  intermed- 
dler  between  master  and  slave,  and  to  attempt  to  alter 
the  settled  order  of  things  in  the  district  of  Puget 
Sound,  where  an  appointee  from  the  east  was  likely 
to  be  regarded  as  an  interloper,  were  serious  counts 
against  the  new  collector.  It  was  not  long,  therefore, 
before  an  apparent  defalcation  was  discovered,  and  an 
outcry  raised  which  made  it  necessary  for  him  to 
repair  to  Washington. 

In  the  interim,  and  before  he  reached  the  capital, 
Secretary  Chase,  whose  confidence  Smith  seems  to 
have  enjoyed  to  a  singular  degree,  recommended  to 
congress  the  removal  of  the  custom-house  from  Port 

o 

37  The  company  consisted  only,  it  was  said,  of  H.  A.  Goldsborough,  P.  M. 
O'Brien,  and  Smith. 


PORT  TOWNSEND  AND  PORT  ANGELES.  221 

Townsend  to  Port  Angeles,  and  a  bill  was  passed  re 
moving  it  in  June  1862.3S  This  redoubled  the  ani 
mosity  with  which  the  Port  Townsend  faction  regarded 
the  Port  Angeles  faction.  Nor  was  the  feeling  les 
sened  by  the  action  of  the  government  in  first  apply 
ing  to  Port  Angeles  the  operation  of  a  "bill  for  in 
creasing  revenue  by  reservation  and  sale  of  town 
sites."39  Under  this  act,  the  land  which  the  original 
town  company  had  claimed  and  surveyed  for  the  city 
of  Cherburg  was  reserved  by  the  government,  which 
resurveyed  it  and  sold  the  lots  at  auction  to  the 
highest  bidder,  the  company  not  neglecting  their 
opportunity  to  secure  a  perfect  title. 

When  Smith  departed  to  Washington  to  explain 
to  the  proper  authorities  the  condition  of  his  accounts, 
and  showed  that  the  alleged  defalcation  was  simply 
a  transfer  of  $15,000  from  one  fund  to  another,40  in 
which  action  he  was  borne  out  by  authority  vested 
in  him  by  the  treasury  department,  he  appointed 
J.  J.  H.  Van  Bokelin  deputy  inspector  and  collector 
for  the  period  of  his  absence.  Hardly  was  his  back 
turned  upon  Port  Townsend  when  Captain  J.  S.  S. 
Chaddock  of  the  revenue-cutter  Joe  Lo.ne,  acting 
upon  information  received,  proceeded  to  take  posses 
sion  of  the  custom-house,  where  he  left  installed  as 
collector  Lieutenant  J.  H.  Merryman  of  the  revenue 
service.  This  was  in  June  1862.  In  August  Victor 
Smith  returned  to  Puget  Sound  in  the  steam  revenue- 
cutter  Shubrick,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Wilson, 
and  demanded  of  Merryman  the  surrender  of  the 
keys  of  the  custom-house;  but  this  Merryman  refused 
unless  he  were  shown  Smith's  commission  from  the 
department  at  Washington,  or  his  special  authority 
for  making  the  demand,  neither  of  which  were  pro 
duced.  Instead,  Smith  returned  to  the  cutter,  had 
her  brought  into  the  harbor,  her  men  armed,  her 

88 Sen.  Misc.  Doc.,  67,  37th  cong.  2d  sess.;  U.  S.  Acts,  127-8.  Smith  was 
reputed  to  be  a  cousin  of  Secretary  Chase.  Morse's  Wank.  Ter.,  MS.,  xvii.  43. 

39  Brigs'  Port  Townsend,  MS.J  32-3;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  July  24,  18G2. 

40  Olympia  Standard,  Aug.  23,  1803. 


222  THROUGH  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

guns  shotted  and  brought  to  bear  upon  the  town. 
Two  officers  with  a  party  of  marines  then  landed 
and  demanded  of  Merryman  to  deliver  up  to  them  the 
custom-house  keys,  but  were  refused.  Upon  this 
Wilson  himself  went  ashore  and  made  a  formal  requi 
sition  for  the  possession  of  the  custom-house  papers 
and  moneys,  when  the  government  property  was  sur 
rendered,  and  to  avoid  further  trouble,  taken  on  board 
the  Shubrick,  where  the  business  of  the  office  was 
transacted  until  it  was  removed  to  Port  Angeles  in 
September.*1 

The  people  of  Washington  territory  had  never  yet 
been  granted  a  satisfactory  mail  communication,  but 
by  an  arrangement  of  the  postal  agent  with  the  Eliza 
Anderson,  a  passenger-steamer  running  between  Puget 
Sound  ports  and  Victoria,  had  for  some  time  enjoyed 
a  sombre  satisfaction  in  being  able  to  get  word  to  and 
from  Victoria  in  a  week.  But  on  the  arrival  of  the 
Shubrick,  Smith,  who  was  authorized  to  introduce  re 
trenchment  into  the  public  service  wherever  it  could 
be  done,  assumed  charge  of  the  mail  service,  and  made 
the  Shubrick  carrier,  which  having  a  regular  route 
away  from  the  mail  route,  was  anything  but  a  proper 
mail  carrier.  This  disturbance  of  their  already  too 
limited  means  of  communication  roused  a  tornado  of 
invective  about  the  ears  of  the  self-constituted  postal 
agent. 

Immediately  after  the  belligerent  performances  of 
the  Shubrick,  Governor  Pickering,  attended  by  United 
States  Marshal  Huntington,  Ex-governor  McGill, 
Major  Patten  of  the  regular  service,  and  a  number  of 
citizens  of  Olympia,  repaired  to  Port  Townsend  on  the 
Eliza  Anderson,  to  inquire  into  the  conduct  of  Col 
lector  Smith  in  threatening  to  bombard  that  town. 
But  the  witty  and  audacious  revenue  gatherer  ex 
hibited  his  correspondence  with  the  secretary  of  the 
treasury,  and  smiling  benignly,  assured  his  visitors  that 
whatever  they  might  think  of  his  methods,  he  was  un- 

"  Olympia  Standard,  Aug.  9,  1862;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Aug.  11,  1802. 


ARREST  OF  SMITH.  223 

doubtedly  a  favorite  of  the  power  which  made  them,  as 
\vell  as  him,  of  which  he  was  able  to  furnish  abundant 
evidence.  Although  this  could  not  be  gainsaid,  there 
still  remained  the  suspicion  that  the  confidence  of  the 
government  might  be  misplaced,  and  a  few  days  later, 
when  the  Shubrick  stopped  at  Port  Townsend  to  leave 
and  take  the  mail,  Marshal  Huntington  attempted  to 
board  her  with  a  warrant,  but  was  not  permitted  to 
do  so.  On  the  13th  the  Shubrick  sailed  for  San 
Francisco,  to  which  place  she  conveyed  the  collector, 
leaving  the  Eliza  Anderson  to  carry  the  mails  as 
heretofore,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  business  community. 

In  good  time  Smith  returned,  having  caused  the 
arrest  of  Merryman  for  carrying  away  certain  moneys, 
and  the  custom-house  was  established  at  Port  Angeles, 
where  two  hundred  people  had  gathered  in  anticipa 
tion  of  soon  building  up  a  commercial  city,  Port 
Townsend  being  thrown  into  alternate  paroxysms  of 
rage  and  despair  at  being  bereft  of  its  prospects  of  great 
ness.  At  the  meeting  of  the  grand  jury  at  Olympia 
in  October,  four  indictments  were  found  against 
Smith;  namely,  for  resistance  to  a  duly  authorized 
officer  of  the  law,  for  embezzlement  of  the  public 
funds,  for  procuring  false  vouchers,  and  for  assault  on 
the  people  of  Port  Townsend.  Smith  eluded  arrest 
for  a  time,  but  finally  surrendered  voluntarily,  and 
gave  bail  for  his  appearance  at  court,  where  no  case 
appears  to  have  been  made  against  him  which  the 
courts  were  competent  to  try.  The  government 
which  appointed  him  saw  fit  to  remove  him  little 
more  than  a  year  afterward,  and  apppoint  L.  C. 
Gunn  in  his  place. 

With  regard  to  the  claim  of  Port  Angeles  to  be 
considered  the  better  point  for  a  custom-house,  Mc- 
Clellan,  when  surveying  the  shores  of  Puget  Sound, 
reported  favorably  upon  it,42  as  the  "first  attempt  of 
nature  on  this  coast  to  form  a  good  harbor."  It  was 
well  protected  from  the  north  winds  by  the  sand  spit 

«  Pac.  R.  If.  Kept,  xii.  278. 


224  THROUGH  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

of  Ediz  Hook,  three  miles  in  length,  running  out  east 
ward,  and  from  the  south-east  gales  by  the  mainland, 
and  had  a  good  depth  of  water,  besides  lying  more 
directly  in  the  path  of  commerce  than  its  rival.  The 
town  site  was  also  called  superior  to  Port  Townsend, 
although  it  had  the  same  high  bluff  back  of  the  nar 
row  strip  of  land  bordering  the  harbor.  Three  small 
streams  ran  clown  from  the  highlands  back  of  it  and 
furnished  abundance  of  water,  the  custom-house,  a 
fine  lar^e  structure,  being1  built  at  the  mouth  of  the 

o  *  o 

canon  through  which  one  of  these  rivulets  ran,  Smith's 
residence  adjoining  it,  and  the  other  buildings  being 
near  these  central  ones. 

In  the  winter  of  1863  a  catastrophe  occurred.  For 
several  days  the  stream  just  mentioned  was  dried  up, 
the  unknown  cause  being  a  landslide,  which  had  fallen 
into  the  narrow  gorge  about  five  miles  from  Port  An 
geles,  and  by  damming  up  the  water  formed  a  lake. 
On  the  afternoon  of  the  16th  of  December,  it  being 
almost  dark,  a  terrible  roaring  and  tearing  sound  was 
heard  in  the  canon,  and  in  a  few  moments  a  frightful 
calamity  was  upon  the  until  now  prosperous  new 
town.  The  earth  which  formed  the  dam  had  at 
length  given  way,  freeing  a  body  of  water  fifteen  feet 
in  height,  which  rushed  in  a  straight  volume,  carrying 
everything  before  it,  and  entirely  changing  the  face 
of  the  ground  swept  by  it.  Crushed  like  an  egg-shell, 
the  custom-house  fell  and  was  carried  out  into  the 
harbor.  Deputy  Collector  J.  M.  Anderson,  formerly 
of  Ohio,  and  Inspector  William  B.  Goodell,  lately 
master  of  the  tug  General  Harney,  stood  at  the  front 
entrance  of  the  building  as  the  water  and  debris  it 
carried  struck  the  rear  side.  Their  bodies  were  found 
two  hundred  feet  away,  covered  four  feet  deep  with 
earth  and  fragments  of  buildings  and  furniture. 

Neither  Smith,  the  late,  nor  Gunn,  the  newly  ap 
pointed,  collector,  were  in  Port  Angeles.  Mrs  Smith, 
with  four  young  children,  and  Mrs  Randolph  were  in 
the  dwelling  adjoining  the  custom-house,  which,  be- 


A  TOWN  DESTROYED.  225 

ing  partially  protected  from  the  first  shock  by  a  solid 
mass  of  piled-up  lumber,  fell,  but  was  not  carried 
away.  Groping  about  in  the  darkness,  stooping  under 
the  wreck,  with  the  water  up  to  her  waist,  Mrs  Smith 
found  and  saved  not  only  all  her  children,  but  another 
woman,  who  was  lying  under  the  water,  held  down 
with  fragments  of  the  walls.  In  a  short  time  the 
flood  had  passed,  and  men  in  boats  with  lanterns  were 
hurrying  to  the  rescue  of  those  in  the  direct  course  of 
the  watery  avalanche.  No  lives  were  lost  except 
those  of  the  two  custom-house  officers,43  but  the  town 
was  in  ruins,  and  although  an  effort  was  made  to  re 
suscitate  it  by  removing  what  remained  to  a  better 
site  higher  up  the  coast,  it  never  recovered  from 
the  calamity,  and  gradually  diminished  in  population, 
until  it  was  reduced  to  the  condition  of  a  small  farm 
ing  community. 

The  custom-house  safe  being  found  with  the  office 
papers  and  books,  the  government  sustained  only  the 
loss  of  the  furniture  of  the  building.  The  most  serious 
damage  fell  upon  Smith,  who  owned  and  had  leased  tho 
custom-house  for  a  term  of  four  years.  This,  with 
his  residence,  furniture,  books,  and  a  considerable  sum 
of  money,  was  snatched  away  in  a  moment,  while  he 
was  in  Washington  endeavoring  to  adjust  his  affairs 
with  the  government.  In  18G5  the  custom-house 
was  returned  to  Port  Townsend,  and  in  that  year,  also, 
the  principal  figure  in  the  short  and  singular  history 
of  Port  Angeles  disappeared  from  the  world's  stage 
as  suddenly  as  his  town  had  done,  eighteen  months 
previous,  when  the  steamship  Brother  Jonathan,  Cap 
tain  De  Wolf,  struck  an  unknown  rock  near  Crescent 
City,  and  went  down  with  300  passengers  on  board, 
among  whom  was  the  talented  but  eccentric  Victor 
Smith.44 

43  Collector  Gunn,  in  a  letter  to  the  .9.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  28,  1864,  says  that 
Anderson  was  a  refined,  intelligent,  amiable,  and  conscientious  man,  and  an 
invaluable  officer  from  his  habits  of  industry  and  his  strict  adherence  to  the 
requirements  of  law.     Goodell  had  been  appointed  only  two  weeks  previous, 
and  was  a  man  much  esteemed.     He  left  a  wife  and  three  children. 

44  Smith  brought  out  from  Ohio  several  members  of  his  family.     The  light- 

HIST.  WASH.— 15 


226  THROUGH  FOUR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 

By  the  catastrophe  at  Port  Angeles  all  the  papers 
relating  to  the  statistics  of  commerce  were  destroyed, 
leaving  a  blank  in  this  chapter  of  early  history  which 
can  never  be  satisfactorily  filled.45 

house  at  Tatoosh  Island  was  given  in  charge  of  his  father.  Two  of  his  sisters 
long  had  in  charge  the  light  on  the  California  coast  near  Wilmington. 
Another  married  Mr  Stork  of  Olympia. 

45  The  collectors  following  Gunn  in  office  were  Frederick  A.  Wilson,  M. 
S.  Drew,  Salucius  Garfielde,  Henry  A.  Webster,  and  Bash.  Gunn  came  to 
Or.  in  1852,  and  was  associated  with  H.  L.  Pittock  in  the  publication  of  the 
Oreyonian,  and  was  subsequently  for  many  years  editor  of  the  Olympia 
Transcript.  He  died  at  Olympia,  Aug.  23,  1885. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 
1861-1863. 

ORGANIZATION  or  THE  FIRST  WASHINGTON  INFANTRY — COMPANIES  FROM 
CALIFORNIA  —  GOLD  DISCOVERIES — MILITARY  ROAD  —  FRASER  RIVER 
TRAVEL — COLVILLE  MINES — THE  MALHEITR  COUNTRY — THE  SIMILKA- 
MEEN  MINES — AMERICAN  MINERS  IN  BRITISH  COLUMBIA— GOLD  DISCOV 
ERIES  ON  THE  CLEARWATER — ON  SNAKE  RIVER — PROTEST  OF  THE  NEZ 
PERCES— PIERCE  CITY — Quo  FINO— LEWISTON — VERY  RICH  DIGGINGS — 
CALIFORNIA  ECLIPSED — SALMON  RIVER  MINES — POLITICAL  EFFECT — 
WINTER  SUFFERINGS — POWDER  AND  JOHN  DAY  RIVERS — FLORENCE  AND 
WARREN  DIGGINGS — BOISE  MINES — ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  TERRITORY 
OF  IDAHO. 

I  HAVE  related  in  Oregon  II.  how  Colonel  Wright 
was  left  in  command  of  the  department  of  Oregon 
when  General  Harney  was  invited  to  Washington 
upon  a  pretence  of  being  needed  to  testify  in  the 
Oregon  and  Washington  Indian- war-debt  claims,  in 
order  to  pacify  the  British  minister  and  Governor 
Douglas  by  removing  him  from  proximity  to  the 
San  Juan  Island  boundary-war  ground;  and  also  that 
General  Scott  recommended  merging  the  military 
department  of  Oregon  in  that  of  the  Pacific,  with 
headquarters  in  San  Francisco.  In  the  latter  part 
of  I860  this  idea  was  carried  out,  and  General  E.  V. 
Sumner  was  placed  in  command  of  the  Pacific  depart 
ment,  relieving  General  Johnstone,  whom  the  people 
of  Oregon  and  Washington  feared  might  be  sent  to 
command  the  Columbia  district.  Fortunately  for 
them,  since  they  had  come  to  have  entire  confidence 
in  Wright,  that  officer  was  retained  in  his  important 
position  during  the  critical  period  of  the  breaking-out 

(227) 


228  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

of  the  rebellion.  The  depletion  of  his  command,  and 
the  measures  resorted  to  in  order  not  to  leave  the 
north-western  frontier  defenceless,  I  have  referred  to 
in  my  History  of  Oregon. 

The  news  of  President  Lincoln's  proclamation  call 
ing  for  volunteers  did  not  reach  Washington  until 
about  the  1st  of  May,  and  on  the  10th  McGill,  who 
was  at  that  time  still  acting  governor,  issued  a  call 
for  the  organization  of  the  militia  of  the  territory 
under  the  existing  laws,  each  company  to  report  at 
once  to  headquarters  and  be  at  the  call  of  the  presi 
dent  should  their  services  be  required.1  Adjutant- 
general  Frank  Matthias  immediately  appointed  en 
rolling  officers  in  each  of  the  counties  of  the  territory, 
both  east  and  west  of  the  Cascade  Mountains,  and 
required  all  men  subject  to  military  duty  to  report 
themselves  to  these  officers.  There  were  at  this  time 
twenty -two  organized  counties,  and  not  more  than  six 
thousand  men  between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  sixty 
capable  of  bearing  arms.2  In  the  Puget  Sound  re 
gion  there  was  also  need  of  able-bodied  men  to  repair 
the  damages  sustained  by  several  years  of  Indian 
wars  and  mining  excitement. 

Late  in  the  summer  of  1861  Wright  was  placed  in 
command  of  the  department  of  the  Pacific,  and  Colo 
nel  Albermarle  Cady  of  the  7th  infantry  succeeded  to 
that  of  the  district  of  the  Columbia.  About  the  last 
of  the  year  Wright,  now  a  brigadier-general,  appointed 
Justin  Steinberger,  formerly  of  Pierce  county,  Wash 
ington,  but  then  in  California,  to  proceed  to  Puget 
Sound,  with  the  commission  of  colonel,  and  endeavor 
to  raise  a  regiment  to  be  mustered  into  the  regular 
service.  Steinberger  arrived  in  January;  but  the  ut- 

lSteilacoom  Herald,  May  10,  1861;  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  May  17, 
1861. 

2  The  first  company  formed  appears  to  have  been  the  Port  Madison  Union 
Guards,  70  men;  William  Fowler  capt. ;  H.  B.  Manchester  1st  lieut;  E.  D. 
Kromer  2d  lieut;  non-com,  officers,  A.  J.  Tuttle,  Noah  Falk,  William  Clen- 
denin,  Edgar  Brown,  S.  F.  Coombs,  R.  J.  May,  J.  M.  Guindon,  John  Taylor. 
This  company  was  organized  in  May.  In  June  the  Lewis  County  Rangers, 
mounted,  were  organized  at  Cowlitz  landing;  Henry  Miles  capt.;  L.  L. 
Dubeau  1st  lieut;  S.  B.  Smith  2d  lieut.  Olympia  Standard,  July  20,  1861. 


MILITARY  ORGANIZATION.  229 

most  he  could  do  was  to  raise  four  infantry  companies, 
one  each  at  Whatcom,  Port  Townsend,  Port  Mad 
ison,  arid  Walla  Walla.3  In  California  he  raised  four 
more  companies,  with  which  he  returned  to  Vancouver 
in  May,  relieving  Colonel  Cady  of  the  command  of 
the  district.  As  three  others  were  then  organized  in 
California,  enlisting  was  ordered  discontinued  in  Wash 
ington.  In  July  General  Alvord  took  command  of 
the  district,  and  Steinberger  repaired  to  Fort  Walla 
Walla,  where  he  relieved  Colonel  Cornelius  of  the 
Oregon  cavalry.  The  regiment  was  not  filled,  how 
ever,  until  the  close  of  the  year.  On  the  5th  of  Jan 
uary,  1863,  Governor  Pickering  addressed  a  communi 
cation  to  the  speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives, 
informing  him  that  the  First  Regiment  of  Washing 
ton  Infantry,  organized  pursuant  to  order  of  the  war 
department,  October  1861,  was  full,  and  had  been  re 
ceived  into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  sug 
gested  to  the  legislature  to  give  some  expression, 
either  by  memorial  or  joint  resolution,  of  the  confi 
dence  of  that  body  in  this  regiment,  whether  it  re 
mained  where  it  then  was  or  should  be  called  out  of 
the  territory  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  and 
invoking  for  it  the  favorable  notice  of  the  general 
government,  praying  that  in  the  event  of  a  reorgani 
zation  of  the  army  this  corps  might  be  retained  in 
service  in  Washington.*  It  was  so  ordered. 

A  portion  of  the  regiment  was  stationed  at  Fort 
Pickett,  another  portion  was  with  Steinberger  at 
Walla  Walla,  and  the  territory  had  at  length  and  for 
a  time  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  men  with  no  alien 
tendencies  in  its  places  of  trust. 

Although  it  was  designed  that  the  Oregon  cavalry 
should  be  used  against  the  Shoshones,  who  for  eight 
years  had  grown  more  and  more  presumptuous  and 
hostile,  and  the  Washington  infantry  be  kept  to  gar- 

8  The  enrolling  officers  were  R.  V.  Peabody,  H.  L.  Tibballs,  Egbert  H. 
Tucker,  and  Moore  and  Caunaday  of  Walla  Walla.  Sleilacoom  Herald,  March 
20,  180-2. 

4  Wash.  House  Jour.,  1862-3,  app.  xxiii.-xxiv. 


220  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

rison  the  several  posts  in  the  territory,  the  companies 
east  of  the  mountains  were  compelled  to  support  the 
cavalry  on  several  expeditions  against  the  Indians,  in 
which  long  and  exhausting  inarches  were  performed, 
the  history  of  which  has  been  given  in  nay  History  of 
Oregon,  but  to  which  some  reference  is  also  due  in 
this  place. 

On  the  opening  of  the  transmontane  country  east 
of  the  Cascades  in  October  1858,  there  was  a  sudden 
overflow  of  population  into  its  sunny  vales,6  attracted 
thither  chiefly  by  the  reputed  gold  discoveries  both 
north  and  south  of  the  Columbia,  on  the  Malheur  and 
other  streams  of  eastern  Oregon,  as  well  as  on  the 

O  ' 

Wenatchee  River,  in  the  latitude  of  the  Snoqualimich 
Pass,  and  about  Colville.  Many  were  discouraged 
miners,  who  found  the  soil  and  climate  of  eastern 
Washington  so  agreeable  and  productive  as  to  suggest 
settlement. 

The  construction  of  the  military  road  to  Fort  Ben- 
ton  drew  a  considerable  number  in  the  direction  of 
the  Bitter  Root  Valley,  forming  a  part  of  the  immense 
and  rather  indefinite  county  of  Spokane,  attached  for 
judicial  purposes  to  the  county  of  Walla  Walla,  and 
consequently  far  from  the  seat  of  any  court.6  The 
stream  of  travel  toward  Fraser  River,  which  crossed 
the  Columbia  at  The  Dalles,  pursuing  a  north-east 
course  to  Priest  Rapids,  and  a  north  course  thence 
by  Okanagan  lake  and  river  to  the  Thompson  branch, 
or  deflecting  to  the  west,  reached  the  main  Fraser  200 
miles  above  Fort  Yale,  stood  in  need  of  military  pro 
tection,  as  did  also  the  boundary  commission,  one  part 
of  which  was  at  Semiahmoo  Bay,  and  the  other  at 
Lake  Osogoos,  near  the  Rock  Creek  mines.7 

5  Ruble  &  Co.  erected  a  steam  saw-mill  near  Walla  Walla  in  1859.  Or. 
Argus,  Jan.  29,  1859.     Noble  &  Co.  erected  another  in  eastern  Oregon  the 
same  year.     The  first  grist-mill  erected  at  Walla  Walla,  in  1860,  was  owned 
by  H.  H.  Reynolds,  Simms,  and  Capt.  F.  T.  Dent.  Elliott's  Hixt.  Idaho,  64-5. 

6  Wash.  Jour.  ] louse,  18GO-1,  35-6. 

7 Capt.  D.  Woodruff,  with  a  co.  of  the  9th  inf.,  was  at  Semiahmoo,  and 
two  companies  of  the  same  regiment  under  Capt.  J.  J.  Archer  at  Lake 
Osogoos,  in  the  summer  of  1S59.  Mess,  and  Docs,  1859-GO,  pt  ii.  111-12. 


STEAMBOATS  AND  GOLD  MIXES.  231 

For  the  safety  of  these  disconnected  groups  of  peo 
ple,  Fort  Colville  was  established  in  May  1859.  The 
Dalles,  being  the  one  entrepot  for  so  wide  a  region, 
rapidly  developed  into  a  commercial  town,  with  a 
journal  of  its  own,8  and  a  population  ever  increasing 
in  numbers  if  not  in  worth;  horse-thieves,  gamblers, 
and  all  the  criminal  classes  which  follow  on  the  heels 
of  armies  and  miners  giving  frequent  employment  to 
the  civil  and  military  authorities. 

In  the  spring  of  1859,  also,  the  little  steamer  Colonel 
Wright  was  built  at  the  mouth  of  Des  Chutes  River, 
by  R.  R.  Thompson  and  Lawrence  W.  Coe.  She 
made  her  first  trip  to  old  Fort  Walla  Walla  on  the 
18th  of  April,  returning  on  the  20th,  and  taking  a 
cargo  of  goods  belonging  to  Joel  Palmer,  intended  for 
the  mines,  as  far  up  the  river  as  Priest  Rapids.  In 
June  she  ascended  Snake  River  to  Fort  Taylor,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Tucannon.  A  steamboat  on  the  Upper 
Columbia  gave  trade  another  impetus,  and  Walla 
Walla,  first  called  Steptoe  City,  became  a  rival  of 
The  Dalles  in  a  short  time. 

The  passage  of  gold-hunters  though  the  Colville 
country  revived  an  interest  in  that  region.  Many 
unsuccessful  miners  returning  from  Fraser  River,  or, 
prevented  by  high  water  from  operating  there,  were 
led  to  explore  on  the  upper  Columbia  and  as  far  east 
as  the  Bitter  Root  Valley,  where  they  made  from  five 
to  eight  dollars  a  day,  and  where  living  was  less 
costly  than  on  Fraser  River.  Even  the  military  offi 
cers  and  soldiers  became  gold-hunters,  adding  not  a 
little  information  concerning  the  mineral  resources  of 
the  country  to  that  furnished  by  mining  prospectors.9 

8  The  Dalles  Journal,  edited  and  published  by  A.  J.  Price,  at  $5  per  year, 
•weekly. 

9  Captain  Wallen's  expedition  discovered  gold  in  the  Malheur  country;  and 
Captain  Archer  reported  finding  the  color  of  gold  almost  everywhere  on  the 
march  from  Priest  Rapids  to  the  Similkameen,  with  the  best  prospects  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Wenatchce  and  Methow  rivers.     An  extensive  copper  mine 
was  discovered  on   the   Okinakane   River;    and   lead  was   found   on   Lake 
Chelan  and  Pend  d'Oreille.  Corn  Dalles  Journal,  in  5.  F.  Alta,  Aug.  12,  1859. 
Major  Lugenbcel,  in  command  of  the  new  military  post  at  Colville,  informs 
the  Portland  Advertiser  that  the  mines  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pend  d'Oreille, 


232  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

The  soldiers  on  guard  at  the  commissioners'  camp 
in  October  discovered  gold  on  the  Similkameen,  where 
they  could  take  out  twenty  dollars  a  day  with  pans, 
besides  walking  five  miles  to  and  from  camp.  The 
discovery  was  as  much  as  possible  suppressed,  from 
a  fear  that  a  crowd  of  persons  would  be  attracted 
there  at  the  beginning  of  winter,  whom  there  was 
no  means  of  supplying  with  food  when  the  military 
stores  should  be  removed  for  the  season.  Miners 
were  warned  also  not  to  begin  preparations  too  early 
in  the  spring,  when  the  bars  of  the  river  would  be 
under  water;  but  the  fact  was  not  concealed  that 
the  quality  of  Similkameen  gold  was  superior,  being 
coarse,  and  equal  in  coin  to  seventeen  or  eighteen  dol 
lars  an  ounce.10 

Nothing  could,  however,  overcome  the  eagerness  of 
men  to  be  first  upon  the  ground.  By  the  middle  of 
November  companies  were  organizing  in  Portland,  the 
mining  fever  threatening  to  reach  the  height  of  1858; 
and  by  the  end  of  February  the  first  party  set  out, 
consisting  of  twenty  men,  led  by  J.  N".  Bell  of  The 
Dalles.  These,  with  fifty  others  who  had  wintered 
there,  were  the  earliest  at  the  new  diggings.  In 
March  all  the  floating  population  of  the  Walla  Walla 
Valley,  with  some  companies  from  Yreka,  California, 
were  on  their  way  to  Similkameen.  They  were  fol 
lowed  by  other  Oregon  companies,  one  of  whom,  led 
by  Palmer,  undertook  the  enterprise  of  opening  a 
wagon-road  from  Priest  Rapids  to  the  Similkameen. 
Fifty  or  sixty  tons  of  freight  were  shipped  to  the 
rapids  on  the  Colonel  Wright,  whence  it  was  taken  in 
wagons  the  remainder  of  the  distance.11  Several  par 
ties  left  the  Willamette  in  small  boats,  intending  to 

which  have  been  worked  several  times,  yield  very  well  to  every  successive 
working;  that  coarse  gold  exists  on  the  Salmon  River,  a  northern  tributary 
of  the  Pend  d'Oreille;  and  that  miners  working  about  forty-five  miles  from  his 
post  averaged  $5  to  $10  per  day.  S.  F.  Alia,  Aug.  12,  1859;  S.  F.  Bulletin, 
July  21  and  29,  and  Aug.  11,  1859. 

10Corr.  Portland  Mews,  in  8.  F.  AUa,  Nov.  2  and  15,  1859.  Shuswap 
coarse  gold  was  worth  $18.50.  Pend  d'Oreille  gold  was  found  in  scales  17  or 
18  carats  fine.  Similkameen  gold  resembled  that  of  Yuba  River,  Cal. 

11  Or.  Argus,  March  24  and  31,  I860. 


MINING  EXCITEMENT.  233 

make  the  journey  to  the  mines,  a  distance  of  500 
miles,  with  no  other  conveyance.  Similar  nerve  was 
exhibited  by  companies  from  Puget  Sound,  which,  as 
early  as  the  10th  of  March,  were  on  the  move  to  cross 
the  Cascade  Range  at  the  different  passes,  and  suc 
ceeded  in  doing  so.  Those  who  arrived  thus  early 
could  not  make  more  than  expenses,  the  best  mining 
ground  being  under  water.  Many  turned  back;  others 
pressed  on  to  Quesnelle  River;  and  others  occupied 
themselves  in  prospecting,  and  found  gold  on  Rock 
Creek,  one  of  the  head  waters  of  Kettle  River,  which 
entered  the  Columbia  near  Colville,  and  on  the  Pend 
d'Oreille.  During  the  summer  the  Similkameen 
mines  paid  well,  and  in  September  new  diggings  were 
discovered  on  the  south  fork  of  that  river.12 

The  Rock  Creek  and  Similkameen  mines  proved 
to  oe  in  British  territory,  American  traders  being 
taxed  over  $100  for  the  privilege  of  selling  goods 
there.13 

The  Cariboo  placers  were  discovered  in  August 
1860,  but  their  fame  was  not  much  spread  before 
winter,  and  migration  thither  did  not  set  in  before 
the  spring  of  18G1.  When  it  did  begin,  it  equalled 
that  of  1858.  Claims  were  taken  up  on  Harvey's  and 
Keethley's  creeks,  in  August,  that  yielded  all  the  way 
from  eight  to  fifty  dollars  per  day  to  the  man.  Five 
men  in  one  company  took  out  in  six  days  $2,400. 
Four  men  took  out  in  one  day  over  eighteen  ounces, 
worth  over  $300,  and  so  on.  There  was  sent  out  by 
express  the  first  month  $30,000,  besides  what  re 
mained  in  the  hands  of  250  men  in  the  mines.  The 
reports  from  Cariboo  greatly  stimulated  mining  dis 
covery  in  the  region  lying  on  either  side  of  the  boun 
dary  line  of  United  States  territory. 

There  had  been  a  discovery  made  in  the  spring  of 

1860  destined  to  work  a  rapid  and  important  change 

12  Ebcy's  Journal,  M.S.,  vi.  348. 

13  Corr.  Portland  Advertiser,  Oct.  26,  1860;  Or.  Argus,  Dec.  29,  1860.     In 

1861  there  were  about  20,000  miners,  mostly  American,  in  B.  C. 


234  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

in  eastern  Washington,  although  overshadowed  for  a 
time  by  the  placers  which  I  have  here  named.  From 
a  letter  written  April  30,  I860,  to  the  Oregon  Argus, 
the  discovery  appears  to  have  been  made  a  short  time 
before. 

E.  D.  Pierce,  a  trader  among  the  Indians,  had  long 
known  that  the  country  east  of  the  great  bend  of  the 
Snake  River  was  a  gold-bearing  one,  but  owins:  to  the 

o  o  *  o 

hostility  of  the  Indians,  he  did  not  prospect  it,  and 
for  several  years  resided  in  California.  De  Smet  had 
known  of  it  at  an  earlier  period,  and  in  1854  a  Mr 
Robbins  of  Portland  had  purchased  some  gold  of  the 
Spokanes,  farther  north. 

In  1858  Pierce  again  visited  the  Nez  Perce*  country 
but  found  no  opportunity  to  search  until  after  the 
ratification  of  the  Nez  Perce  treaty,  and  the  general 
cessation  of  hostilities.  Early  in  I860  he  found  means 
to  verify  his  belief  in  the  auriferous  nature  of  the 
country  on  the  Clearwater  branch  of  Snake  River, 
reporting  his  discovery  in  April  at  Walla  Walla.  It 
does  not  appear  from  the  public  prints  that  the  story 
of  Pierce  received  much  credence,  though  the  corre 
spondent  spoken  of  above  reported  that  some  returned 
Similkameen  miners,  and  others  from  Walla  Walla, 
liad  gone  thither. 

Pierce  did  not  at  once  return  to  the  Clearwater,  on 
account  of  the  opposition  of  the  Indian  and  military 
departments,  who  dreaded  the  renewal  of  trouble  with 
the  Nez  Perces  and  Spokanes  should  a  mining  popu 
lation  overrun  their  reserved  territory.  About  the 
first  of  August,  however,  Pierce,  with  a  party  of  only 
ten  men,1*  set  out  from  Walla  Walla  to  make  a  con 
clusive  examination  of  the  country  in  question;  having 
done  which  he  returned  with  his  party  to  Walla  Walla 
in  November,  giving  all  the  information  which  he 

14  The  names  of  the  ten  were  Horace  Dodge,  Joseph  L.  Davis,  J.  R.  Bene- 
field,  Bethuel  Ferrel,  Jonathan  E.  Smith,  VV.  F.  Bassctt,  Frank  Turner,  David 
Diggings,  Samuel  B.  Reed,  and  John  W.  Park.  Ol;impia  Pioneer  and  Demo 
crat ',  April  20, 1801 .  Bassetfc  is  said  to  have  discovered  the  first  gold  on  Canal 
Gulch,  where  Pierce  City  is  situated.  Lewis'  Coal  Discoveries,  MS.,  1G-17;  Vic 
tor's  liiver  of  the  Went,  540-1. 


PIERCE'S  DISCOVERIES.  235 

himself  possessed  concerning  the  new  gold-field  lying 
150  miles  east  of  that  place,  and  believed  to  be  rich. 

The  di^irino-s  were  dry,  and  vielded  ei^ht  to  fifteen 

•  i  • 

cents  to  the  pan.     The  route  to  the  mines  was  directly 

through  the  Nez  Perce  reservation.15 

Pierce  now  endeavored  to  organize  a  large  company 
to  return  with  him  and  winter  in  the  mines;  but  the 
representations  of  those  who  feared  to  provoke  another 
Indian  war  discouraged  most  of  those  who  would  have 
gone,  and  only  thirty-three  accompanied  him.  The 
party  was  followed  as  far  as  Snake  River  by  a  de 
tachment  of  dragoons,  whose  duty  it  was  to  prevent 
their  intrusion  on  the  reservation,  but  who  failed  to 
execute  it. 

Pierce's  party  of  less  than  forty  men  remained  in 
the  Nez  Perce  country  preparing  for  mining  when 
spring  should  open.  The  snow  in  December  was  six 
inches  deep,  and  during  a  portion  of  the  winter  three 
feet  in  depth.  The  men  occupied  themselves  building 
comfortable  cabins,  sawing  out  planks  for  sluice-boxes, 
and  sinking  prospect  holes.  They  found  the  gold  of 
the  earth  to  be  very  fine,  requiring  quicksilver  to  col 
lect  it,  though  coarse  gold  was  dflso  discovered  in  the 
quartz  with  which  the  country  abounded.  The  dig 
gings  were  situated  in  gulches  and  cafions  of  streams 
of  too  general  a  level  to  make  it  convenient  washing 
the  dirt  and  disposing  of  the  debris.  The  gold  was 
found  in  a  red,  and  sometimes  a  bluish,  earth  of  de 
composed  granite  mixed  with  gravel  of  pure  white 
quartz.  Much  black  sand  appeared  on  washing  it. 
Pierce  himself,  though  convinced  of  the  richness  of 

*  O 

the  present  discovery,  freely  exposed  the  disadvan 
tages,  and  declared,  moreover,  his  belief  that  these 
mines  were  but  the  outskirts  of  still  richer  mining 
territory. 

Pierce  had  hardly  reached  his  camp  on  the  Clear- 
water  before  he  received  a  visit  from  A.  J.  Cain,  the 

13  Or.  Argus,  May  12,  1860;  Pioneer  and  Democrat,  Nov.  9,  1860;  Sacra 
mento  Union,  Dec.  6,  LSGO;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Aug.  21,  1800,  and  March 21,  18(56; 
Amjclo's  Idalio,  23. 


236  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

Nez  Perce  Indian  agent,  who  did  not  find  it  necessary 
to  interfere  with  the  party,  but  on  the  contrary,  ex 
pressed  himself  pleased  with  their  behavior.  The 
agent  might  have  obtained  the  consent  of  the  Nez 
Perces  to  the  presence  of  a  single  party  of  miners  in 
their  country;  but  when  in  February  others  com 
menced  to  follow,  they  were  intercepted  and  turned 
back,  a  few  who  succeeded  in  passing  the  Indian  picket 
being  warned  that  they  would  be  required  to  return 
in  the  spring. 

Knowing  how  impossible  it  would  be,  when  spring 
opened,  to  prevent  a  migration  to  the  Clearwater 
gold-fields,  Superintendent  E.  R.  Geary,  held  a  con 
ference  with  Colonel  Wright  in  reference  to  the 
threatened  complication  in  Indian  matters.  The  re 
sult  of  the  consultation  was  that  the  superintendent 
repaired  to  the  upper  country,  held  a  council,  and 
made  a  treaty  with  the  Indians  to  meet  the  exigencies 
of  the  coming  mining  excitement,  promising  them 
military  protection,  and  the  enforcement  of  the  United 
States  laws — a  compact  of  necessity  rather  than  a 
matter  of  choice  with  the  natives. 

Some  weeks  before  the  treaty  was  negotiated, 
miners  were  en  route  from  Walla  Walla  and  Portland, 
and  merchants  from  the  former  place  had  taken  goods 
to  Pierce  City,  situated  at  the  mouth  of  Canal  Gulch, 
on  Oro  Fino  Creek,  to  be  in  readiness  for  the  coming 
demand.  At  the  time  the  treaty  with  the  Nez 
Perces  was  concluded,  300  miners  were  already  in  the 
Oro  Fino  district.  A  month  later  there  were  1,000, 
with  immigration  coming  in  rapidly  from  California, 
overland.  As  the  spring  advanced  the  excitement 
increased,  and  a  line  of  steamers  was  put  upon  the 
Columbia  to  accommodate  the  thousands  that  rushed 
impetuously  to  this  richest  of  all  the  gold-fields  yet 
discovered  north  of  the  Columbia." 

The  route  travelled  was  by  steamer  to  old  Fort 
Walla  Walla,  thence  by  stage  to  Walla  Walla  town, 

160lympia  Pioneer  and  Democrat,  Feb.  24,  March  15,  April  5  and  2G,  1861. 


TOWN  OF  SLATERVILLE.  237 

and  thence  by  pack-horses  or  teams  to  the  mines,  the 
whole  distance  from  Portland,  where  the  traveller 
embarked,  being  436  miles.  Horses,  saddles,  wagons, 
provisions,  clothing,  mining  tools,  and  camp  equipage 
were  in  demand  at  Walla  Walla  in  18G1,  the  mer 
chants,  at  least,  having  found  a  bonanza. 

In  May  the  Colonel  Wright  made  the  first  trip  ever 
consummated  by  a  steamer  to  the  mouth  of  the  Clear- 
water,  and  up  that  stream  to  within  twelve  miles  of  the 
forks,  or  within  less  than  forty  miles  of  Pierce  City. 
A  town  was  immediately  founded  at  this  landing, 
called  Slaterville,  after  its  founder.  It  contained  in 
May  five  houses  of  canvas,  two  of  which  were  pro 
vision  stores,  two  private  dwellings,  and  the  other  a 
drinking-saloon.  The  saloon  was  roofed  with  two 
blankets,  a  red  and  a  blue  one.  On  its  side  was  writ 
ten  the  word  "whiskey"  in  charcoal,  and  inside,  a  bar 
rel  of  the  liquid  constituted  the  stock  in  trade.  Two 
bottles  and  two  drinking-glasses  composed  the  furni 
ture.  Fifty  white  persons  were  to  be  found  in  and 
about  Slaterville  at  this  time.  Following  the  Colonel 
Wright,  the  Tenino,  the  second  steamer  on  the  upper 
Columbia,  made  a  few  trips  to  this  place,  but  it 
was  soon  found  to  be  impracticable  for  a  landing  on 
account  of  the  rapids  in  the  Clearwater,  which  could 
only  be  navigated  for  a  short  season  of  the  year. 
The  last  trip  of  the  Tenino  was  made  before  the 
close  of  the  month,  her  final  departure  taking  place 
June  1st. 

The  next  cargo  of  freight  and  load  of  passengers 
were  landed,  by  necessity,  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Clearwater  and  Snake  rivers,  on  the  south  side,  which 
was  in  direct  contravention  of  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
made  in  April.  There  did  not  seem  to  be  any  alter 
native,  the  mountains  rising  abruptly  on  the  north 
side,  and  this  being  the  natural  head  of  navigation. 
When  the  treaty  was  made,  the  head  of  navigation 
was  at  old  Fort  Walla  Walla,  or  in  rare  cases  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Tucannon  River.  Already  this  was  all 


238  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

changed,  and  the  route  most  travelled  was  up  Snake 
River  to  the  Clearwater.  By  the  10th  of  June  the 
navigation  company  and  the  miners  had  settled  it  that 
a  town  must  be  built  at  this  point.  The  site  was 
most  favorable,  being  a  level  piece  of  ground  between 
the  two  rivers,  sloping  gently  back  a  mile  or  two  to 
the  high  prairies  beyond.  The  name  fixed  upon  was 
Lewiston,  in  compliment  to  Merriwether  Lewis,  the 
discoverer  of  the  Clearwater  and  Snake  rivers,  who 
had  been  entertained  by  the  father  of  the  head  chief 
of  the  Nez  Perces,  Lawyer,  almost  at  the  very  spot 
where  Americans  were  now  mining  for  gold.  Two 
weeks  after  it  was  first  used  as  a  landing,  Lewiston 
had  a  population  and  business  of  considerable  impor 
tance.  Pack-trains  daily  departed  thence  to  the 
mines,  laden  with  the  goods  brought  up  by  the 
weekly  steamboat,  the  town  at  once  taking  on  an  air 
of  having  come  to  stay,  which  its  excellent  location 
fully  justified.  The  military  authorities,  however, 
who  were  pledged  to  protect  the  Indians  in  their 
rights,  prohibited  the  erection  of  permanent  buildings, 
and  the  Nez  Perce  agent  called  the  attention  of  the 
public  to  the  breach  of  treaty  committed  by  them  in 
their  invasion  of  the  reservation  twice  reserved. 

But  remonstrances  were  unavailing  when  opposed 
to  the  determination  of  3,000  persons  already  occupy 
ing  the  foot-hills  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  and  whose 
number  was  daily  increasing.  Lawyer,  and  the  head 
men  generally,  perceived  the  difficulties  in  which  the 
\vhite  men  would  be  placed  if  denied  access  to  the 
mines,  or  a  landing  for  their  goods,  and  accepting 
some  compensation,  they  allowed  the  town  site  of 
Lewiston  to  be  laid  off  in  October.  That  the  Nez 
Perces  were  not  averse  to  the  coming  of  white  men 

o 

among  them  was  evident  from  their  obliging  and 
friendly  conduct.  The  better  class  of  Indians  as  well 
as  white  men  reprobated  the  introduction  of  intoxicat 
ing  liquors;  but  otherwise,  expecting  the  treaty  to  be 
observed  in  regard  to  territory,  they  made  no  very 


THE  ORO  FINO  MIXES.  239 

great  protest  against  the  presence  of  miners  on  the 
reservation. 

As  the  summer  advanced,  new  discoveries  were 
made  and  other  mining  towns  sprang  up.  Oro  Fino 
City,  a  rival  of  Pierce  City,  in  the  early  part  of  June 
had  sixty  houses,  built  of  logs,  ten  stores  of  general 
merchandise,  and  various  other  shops.  The  popula 
tion  was  about  500,  most  of  whom  lived  in  tents. 
Throe  families  were  settled  there,  the  whole  of  the 
inhabitants  with  this  exception  being  males.  A 
wagon-road  was  completed  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Clearwater  to  Pierce  City  in  June,17  crossing  the 
south  branch  of  that  river. 

In  July  5,000  men  were  scattered  over  the  mining 
region,  now  no  longer  confined  to  Oro  Fino  district. 
Two  saw-mills  were  in  process  of  erection,18  and  trade 
was  already  overdone,  so  many  merchants  had  has 
tened  their  goods  into  the  country.  In  Oro  Fino 
City  building  lots  sold  for  from  $100,  to  $200,  and 
with  a  log-house  on  them,  from  $500  to  $1,000. 
Carpenters'  wages  were  nine  and  ten  dollars  a  day,  and 
common  labor  from  three  and  a  half  to  six  dollars. 

As  to  what  the  miners  were  making,  that  depended 
upon  the  locality.  The  first  discovery  was  inferior 
in  richness  to  later  ones.  On  Rhodes  Creek,  which 
emptied  into  the  Oro  Fino  one  and  a  half  miles  above 
Pierce  City,  claims  paid  from  twelve  to  twenty-five 
dollars  a  day  to  the  man.  The  heavy  expenses  of 
opening  a  claim,  however,  greatly  lessened  the  profits; 
lumber  costing  twenty  cents  a  foot,  and  nails  forty 
cents  per  pound,  in  addition  to  the  high  price  of 
labor.  A  few  claims  yielded  fifty,  seventy,  and  a 
hundred  dollars  to  the  man.19 

17  This  road  was  cut  out  by  Mr  Athey  of  Oregon  City.  Or.  Argus,  July  27, 
1861.     Mr  Mulkey  of  Washington  co.,  Oregon,  drove  the  first  team  into  Oro 
Fino. 

18  One  of  these  pioneer  mills  was  erected  by  A.  M.  and  L.  M.  Starr.  Gre 
gorian,  Aug.  21,  18G1. 

19  G.  0.  Robbins  of  Portland  reported  to  the  press  in  August  that  2,500 
practical  miners  were  at  work  on  Rhodes  Creek,  Oro  Fino  Creek,  Caiial  Gulch, 


**0  MIXING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

With  the  usual  restlessness  of  miners,  a  party  of 
fifty-two  men  left  the  Oro  Fino  district  in  May  to  ex 
plore  and  prospect  the  south  fork  of  the  Clearwater 
and  its  tributaries.  This  stream  was  almost  unknown, 
being  far  to  the  north  of  the  travelled  roads  between 
the  Rocky  and  Blue  mountains,  and  even  remote  from 
the  trails  made  by  the  fur-hunters.  Proceeding  seven 
teen  miles  above  the  north  branch  of  South  Fork, 
they  crossed  from  the  north  to  the  south  side  of  the 
stream,  keeping  up  the  river  to  the  junction  of  the 
south  branch  of  the  South  Fork,  up  which  they  con 
tinued  for  six  miles,  or  until  they  arrived  at  the  vil 
lage  of  the  chief  of  that  district  of  the  Nez  Perce 
country,  Coolcoolsneenee,  who  objected  to  this  infrac 
tion  of  treaty  agreements,  which  excluded  white  men 
from  the  south  side  of  the  Clearwater. 

After  a  prolonged  interview  with  the  chief,  who 
insisted  upon  an  observance  of  the  treaty,  thirty  of 
the  party  turned  back.  The  remaining  twenty-two 
crossed  the  South  Fork  to  the  north  side,  and  pro 
ceeded  along  up  the  stream  by  the  southern  Nez 
Perce  trail  to  the  buffalo-grounds,  going  aboub  twenty 
miles  from  the  crossing  in  an  easterly  course,  until 
they  came  to  where  three  branches  of  the  South  Fork 
met.  Here  they  made  an  examination  of  the  earth, 
and  obtained  from  twelve  to  twenty-five  cents  to  the 
pan  of  shot  and  drift  gold. 

and  French  Creek,  and  that  4,000  or  5,000  men  were  making  a  living  in  other 
ways.  His  report  on  the  yield  of  the  mines  was  as  follows:  Jarvis  &  Co., 
four  men,  $10  per  day  to  the  man;  James  &  Co.,  five  men,  $10  per  day  to  the 
man;  McCarty  &  Co.,  four  men,  §10  each;  Vesay  &  Co.,  eight  men,  §7  to  $8; 
HoOk  &  Co.,  six  men,  $10  to  $12;  Jones  &  Co.,  four  men,  $10  to $12;  Dunbar 
&  Asar,  $10  to  $12;  Shaffer  &  Co.,  fourteen  men,  $60;  Paine  &  Co.,  twenty 
men,  $70;  Mortimer  &  Co.,  twenty-four  men,  $70  to  $80;  Hatch  &  Co.,  five 
men,  $16  to  $20;  Thomas  &  Co.,  fourteen  men,  $18  to  $20;  Rillery  &  Co., 
seventeen  men,  $16  to  $17;  Blakely  &  Co.,  nine  men,  $16  to  $20;  Smalley  & 
Co.,  ten  men,  $16;  Boon  &  Co.,  eight  men,  $16;  California  Co. ,  nine  men,  $16; 
Newland  &  Co.,  six  men,  $16;  Hickox  &  Co.,  five  men,  $16  to  $20;  Let  'Er 
Rip  &  Co.,  eleven  men,  $16  to$20;  Hoyt&  Co.,  eight  men,  $12;  Felton  &Co., 
$16;  Sparks  &  Co.,  $15;  Rossi  &  Co.,  $15;  Rhodes  &  Co.,  eleven  men,  300 
ounces  per  day  to  the  company.  On  French  Creek,  Antoine  Pillir,  T.  Lapoint, 
M.  Guinon,  John  Lesot,  Harkum,  and  Quirk  were  making  each  $10  to  $12 
per  day.  Portland  Orerjouian,  Aug.  26,  1801;  6'.  F.  Herald,  Nov.  14,  1861; 
Yreka  Journal,  Dec.  4,  1861. 


ELK  CITY.  241 

About  one  third  of  the  party  returned  to  Oro  Fino, 
where  they  arrived  on  the  6th  of  June,  exhibiting 
their  specimens,  and  after  purchasing  a  supply  of  pro 
visions,  immediately  rejoined  their  associates  in  the 
new  diggings.20 

The  discovery  on  South  Fork  led  to  a  rush  of  several 
hundred  Oro  Fino  miners,  some  of  whom  returned  be 
fore  winter.  Other  diggings  were  found  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Clearwater,  on  Newsom  Creek,  where  from 
eight  to  fifteen  dollars  a  day  were  obtained.  The 
opposition  of  the  Indians  to  the  intrusion  of  white 
men  on  the  South  Fork  for  a  time  restrained  the 
mining  population,  but  good  reports  continuing  to 
come  from  there,  a  fresh  migration  set  in,  and  by 
September  a  town  called  Elk  City  was  laid  off  between 
Elk  and  American  creeks  of  Red  River,  the  main 
branch  of  South  Fork,  which  contained  2,000  inhabi 
tants,  several  business  houses,  and  forty  dwellings 
already  erected  or  in  process  of  construction.21 

Elk  valley,  or  prairie,  was  about  seven  miles  in 
length,  and  not  more  than  half  a  mile  in  width.  The 
mountains  on  either  side  were  low  and  covered  with 
small  pines.  From  the  tops  of  these  ridges  flat  ravines 
sloped  down  at  intervals,  covered  with  rich  grass,  and 
watered  by  springs.  Elk  City  was  situated  a  mile 
from  the  lower  end  of  the  valley,  on  a  flat  between 
two  of  these  ravines,  which  gave  it  a  greater  extent 
of  view.  On  the  west  the  mountains  rose  ridge 
above  ridge  toward  the  great  spur  of  the  Bitter  Root 
range,  which  the  miners  were  obliged  to  cross  to  reach 
it,  and  Elk  Creek,  its  meanderings  marked  only  by 
occasional  clumps  of  willows,  flowed  along  the  western 
border  of  the  town.  The  distance  from  Elk  City  to 
Oro  Fino  was  120  miles.  Between  it  arid  the  cross 
ing  of  the  South  Fork  were  two  ru^o-ed  ranges,  one 

C2  O  O  O          * 

fifteen  miles,  the  other  twenty-five  miles  over,  sepa- 

20Corr.  Portland  Oregonian,  June  20,  1861.     The  only  name  given  of  any 
one  belonging  to  this  party  is  McGill,  in  S.  F.  Bulletin,  July  3,  18G1. 
'2l  MaLe'a  Enrlij  Events,  MS.,  11. 
HIST.  WASH. — 16 


242  MIXING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

rated  by  Newsom  Creek.22  On  every  side  in  this  local 
ity  rose  ledges  of  pale  red  or  rose  quartz.  Between 
the  mountains  were  intervals  of  beautiful  grassy 
prairies;  on  the  mountains  heavy  pine  forests.  Game 
abounded,  the  principal  being  the  elk,  of  which  there 
were  large  bands.  The  country  was,  in  fact,  very 
different  from  the  California  miner's  preconceived 
ideas  of  a  gold  country.  But  experience  had  proved 
that  gold  might  exist  either  under  barren  sands,  rich 
alluvium,  or  the  frozen  mosses  of  a  Cariboo;  and  cer 
tainly  this  was  a  pleasanter  country  to  live  and  mine 
in  than  Cariboo.  The  objection  to  it  was  that  the 
mining  season,  so  far  up  in  the  mountains,  must  be 
comparatively  short;  and  in  order  to  make  up  for  the 
expense  of  a  long  idle  winter,  it  was  important  to  se 
cure  a  considerable  sum  during  the  summer.  It  was 
also  necessary  to  lay  in  a  sufficient  stock  of  provisions 
to  last  while  the  heavy  snows  suspended  travel. 

Some  who  preferred  wintering  in  Walla  Walla  left 
the  mines  early  to  avoid  the  snow;  but  the  majority 
remained,  and  for  these  the  traders  provided  by  hurry 
ing  in  ample  stocks  of  goods  as  long  as  the  weather 
permitted.23  Such  was  the  energy  and  enterprise  of 
the  latter  class,  that  by  the  first  week  in  September 
a  trail  six  feet  wide  was  cut  through  forty  miles  of 
timber  on  the  mountains  between  Elk  City  and  the 
South  Fork,  obstructions  removed,  and  the  hills 
graded  where  required.  In  October,  in  spite  of  treaty 
obligations,  a  white  man  had  taken  up  a  farm  on  the 
road,  and  erected  a  cabin  of  the  nature  of  a  wayside 
inn,  called  the  Mountain  House. 

At  this  period  of  the  development  of  the  Clearwater 
mines,  there  were  comparatively  few  except  Oregon 
and  Washington  men  engaged  in  mining  or  trade  in 

22  'The  gold  at  Newsom  Creek  is  a  deep  red,  and  heavier  and  coarser  than 
that  found  at  Oro  Fino.'  Corr.  Portland  Advertiser. 

23  The  first  firm  to  take  goods   to  Ek  City  was  John  Creighton  &  Co. 
Flour  sold  from  $16  to  $20  per  100  pounds,  and  groceries  in  proportion.     The 
only  cheap  article  of  food  was  beef,  at  12  to  15  cents  per  pound,  and  vegetables 
Bold  by  Indians. 


BALANCING  ACCOUNTS.  243 

the  Nez  Percd  country.  The  sale  of  whiskey,  repro 
bated  by  the  majority,  was  carried  on,  notwithstand 
ing  the  danger  that  it  might  involve  the  miners  and 
Indians  in  trouble.  Few  crimes,  however,  were  com- 
mited  this  season.  One  American  was  shot  in  a 
drunken  quarrel  with  a  Frenchman,  and  one  packer 
was  murdered  and  robbed  on  the  road.  Some  instances 
of  sluice-robbing  occurred  at  Oro  Fino;  and  horse- 
stealing  by.  an  organized  band  of  thieves  began. 

By  the  end  of  summer,  when  the  mining  season 
was  expected  to  close,  the  profits  of  the  outlay  in 
opening  up  the  gold-fields  began  to  be  speculated  upon 
by  the  press;  and  although  no  doubt  was  entertained 
of  the  riches  contained  in  the  gold  region,  or  that  it 
would  continue  to  yield  well  for  a  longer  period  than  the 
Fraser  mines,  which  were  already  worked  out,2*  it  was 
asserted  that  the  Willamette  Valley  was  a  million  dol 
lars  worse  off  for  the  discovery.  And  yet  the  Willa 
mette  Valley  was,  as  far  as  cash  was  concerned,  already 
poor,  on  account  of  the  long  period  of  Indian  wars,  and 
the  non-payment  of  the  war  debt,  while  the  weekly 
receipt  of  gold-dust  at  Portland  was  nearly  $100, 000. 25 
These  jealous  writers  admitted  that  this  money  was 
developing  in  various  ways  the  natural  resources  of 
an  immense  region  east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains, 
but  chiefly  on  the  Washington  side  of  the  Columbia. 
Even  The  Dalles,  which  had  received  a  great  impetus 
from  the  Colville  and  Fraser  River  migrations,  was 
but  little  benefited  by  this  one ;  for  now  that  the  steam 
ers  carried  freight  and  passengers  directly  to  Lewis- 
ton,  the  business  of  supplying  miners  was  transacted 
either  at  that  place  or  at  Portland.26  Others  with 
more  comprehensive  views  remarked  that  the  gold 

24  Angela's  Idaho,  23. 

25  This  statement  is  taken  from  the  Oregon  Statesman,  the  most  conserva 
tive  paper  in  Oregon,  and  the  one  always  opposed  to  mining  ventures,  or  any 
enterprises  not  directly  beneficial  to  the  Willamette  Valley.  See  Statesman, 
Sept.  9  and  Nov.  4,  1861. 

26  The  Colville  and  Oro  Fino  mines  helped  Portland  greatly;  and  in  1861 
built  up  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company.     Loaded  drays  used  to  stand 
in  line  half  a  mile  long,  unloading  at  night  freight  to  go  in  the  morning,  that 
involved  a  fortune.  Deady's  Hist.  Or.,  MS.,  37. 


244  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

discoveries  came  opportunely  for  Oregon,  the  disburse 
ment  of  money  in  the  country  by  the  army  pay-masters 
and  quartermasters  having  almost  ceased  through  the 
withdrawal  of  the  regular  troops  to  participate  in 
the  civil  war.  It  was  also  remarked  that,  contrary 
to  the  ideas  generally  entertained  of  the  value  of  the 
country  east  of  the  mountains  for  agriculture,  those 
persons  who  had  taken  up  farming  claims  on  the  route 
from  The  Dalles  to  Lewiston  had  raised  fine  crops, 
and  were  getting  high  prices  for  them.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  a  better  understanding  of  the  capabilities 
of  the  soil  in  what  has  since  become  one  of  the  best 
wheat-producing  countries  in  the  world,  but  which 
was  up  to  this  period  considered  as  a  grazing  country 
only. 

The  opinion  had  been  repeatedly  expressed  that 
the  Clearwater  mines  were  but  the  outskirts  of  some 
richer  central  deposit.  In  the  hope  of  verifying  this 
belief,  prospecting  parties  had  been  traversing  the 
country  in  an  easterly  and  southerly  direction  during 
the  entire  summer  of  1861.  The  party  which  success 
fully  proved  the  theory  consisted  of  twenty-three  men 
who  left  Oro  Fino  in  the  early  part  of  July  to  pros 
pect  on  Salmon  River.  After  testing  the  bars  on 
this  river  for  a  distance  of  100  miles,  with  encouraging 
results,  they  retraced  their  steps  to  a  point  about 
seventy-five  miles  south  of  Elk  City,  to  which  place 
they  desired  to  go  in  order  to  lay  in  a  stock  of  pro 
visions.  At  the  point  mentioned,  the  company 
divided,  nine  of  them  remaining  to  hunt,  and  to 
examine  the  country  for  a  practicable  route  through 
the  great  masses  of  fallen  timber  which  obstructed 
travel  in  the  direction  of  the  Clearwater. 

In  their  reconnoissance,  while  travelling  over  a  wet, 
boggy  flat  on  the  top  of  a  high  mountain  twenty  miles 
north  of  Salmon  River,  they  stopped  to  rest  in  a 
temporary  camp,  when  one  of  the  explorers  laid  a 
wager  with  another  that  the  color  of  gold  could  not 


SALMON  RIVER  AND  MILLERSBURG.  245 

be  found  in  that  country.  In  sport  the  wager  was 
accepted,  and  in  a  short  time  the  prospector  having 
taken  a  pan  of  dirt  from  the  roots  of  an  upturned  tree, 
found  it  to  contain  five  cents'  worth  of  gold.  Upon 
this  wholly  unexpected  and  flattering  prospect  the 
party  proceeded  to  examine  the  creeks  and  gulches 
in  the  immediate  vicinity,  obtaining  five,  ten,  twenty- 
five,  and  even  seventy-five  cents  to  every  pan  of  dirt 
washed.  They  then  followed  their  former  associates 
to  Elk  City,  where,  after  resting  for  a  few  days,  they 
purchased  a  month's  supplies  and  returned  to  their 
discovery,  accompanied  by  a  few  others.27 

The  discovery  was  made  in  September,  and  in 
October  a  town  called  Millersburg  was  laid  off  on 
Miller  Creek,  where  the  richest  diggings  were  found. 
From  the  first  pan  of  dirt  taken  out  of  the  first  hole 
sunk  in  this  creek  $25  was  obtained.  In  the  course 
of  an  afternoon  Miller  washed  out  $100.  The  remain 
der  of  the  company  then  staked  off  claims  and  began 
operations  with  vigor.  Working  only  with  a  rocker, 
each  claim  averaged  from  $75  to  $100  daily  to  the 
man.  With  a  pan  alone  $75  was  obtained  in  ten 
hours,  and  in  one  gulch  five  men  took  out  $700  in  the 
same  time. 

During  the  first  two  weeks  in  October  fifty  men 
were  mining  at  Millersburg,  and  a  radius  of  five  miles 
had  been  prospected.  To  get  a  winter's  supplies  to 
camp  was  the  first  care  of  those  on  the  ground,  to 
which  end  they  expended  much  labor  upon  a  pack- 
trail  to  Elk  City.  The  first  train  that  left  Elk  City 
under  the  guidance  of  Leech  became  lost  in  a  snow 
storm,  and  after  wandering  about  for  two  weeks,  re 
turned  to  the  starting-point.  But  in  the  mean  time 
three  trains  belonging  to  Creighton  had  left  Elk  City 

47  The  names  of  a  few  only  of  the  discoverers  of  the  Salmon  River  mines 
have  been  preserved.  These  are  John  H.  Bostwick,  B.  B.  Rogers,  Nathan 
and  Samuel  Smith,  John  J.  Healey,  T.  H.  Miller,  Leech,  More,  and  Hall. 
The  Smiths  were  old  Yreka  miners.  The  lucky  pan-holder  at  this  last  dis 
covery  was  a  Frenchman  named  Michel,  ttritttow's  Enc.ounterfi,  MS.,  10; 
Corr.  Or.  Statesman,  Oct.  28,  1801;  Portland  Orec/onian,  Oct.  21,  1801. 


246  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

and  proceeded  as  far  as  Camas  prairie,  ten  miles  south 
of  the  Clearwater,  where  they  were  met  by  Eagle- 
from-the-light,  who  peremptorily  ordered  them  to  turn 
back,  and  observe  the  treaty  made  in  April.  They 
endeavored  to  pacify  the  justly  offended  chief,  and 
pushed  on.28 

By  the  first  of  November  there  were  1,000  men  on 
the  creeks  and  gulches  of  the  new  district,  believed 
at  that  time  to  be  limited  to  a  small  extent  of 
territory.  Elk  City  and  Oro  Fino  were  soon  almost 
deserted.  Although  a  large  amount  of  provisions 
was  hurried  into  Millersburg,  not  enough  could  be 
taken  there  before  the  snow  had  stopped  the  passage 
of  trains  to  support  all  who  had  gone  there,  and  by 
the  middle  of  November  many  were  forced  to  return 
to  Oro  Fino  a  distance  of  100  miles,  to  winter,  lest 
starvation  should  attack  the  camp  before  spring. 
The  snow  was  already  over  two  feet  deep,  and  the  cold 
severe,  so  that  frozen  feet  very  frequently  disabled 
the  traveller  for  the  remainder  of  the  season. 

The  excitement  which  hurried  men  to  the  Salmon 
River  mines  was  intense.  Nor  was  it  without  justi 
fication;  for  every  report  from  there  confirmed  and 
strengthened  the  accounts  given  by  the  first  explorers, 
though  some  who  had  gone  there  returned  with 
out  any  treasure.29  The  weight  of  evidence  was  to 

28  C.  W.  Berry  of  Scott  Bar,  Cal.,  was  the  first  to  arrive  with  a  stock  of 
goods,  Oct.  18th,  and  located  himself  on  Nasan's  Gulch.   Or.  Statesman,  Jan. 
6,  1862. 

29  A  Dalles  correspondent  of  the  Or.  Statesman  of  Dec.  2d  wrote:  'One  of  my 
acquaintances  arrived  here  on  Thursday  (Nov.  22d)  with  55  pounds  of  gold- 
dust,  nearly  all  the  product  of  a  few  days'  labor  on  Summit  Flat,  Salmon 
River.'    Also,  '300  pounds  of  gold-dust  was  taken  on  the  last  steamer  to  Port 
land.'     'The  mines  are  paying  from  §50  to  $150  per  day  to  the  hand.'  Or. 
Statesman,  Nov.  4,  1861.  John  Creighton,  writing  to  J.  C.  Isaacs  of  Walla 
Walla,  says:  'Our  company  of  eleven  men  made  $600  in  one  week.'  Pnyet 
Sound  Herald,  Nov.  7,   1861.     'John  Munroe,  of  Yamhill  county,  took  out 
$180  in  an  afternoon;  the  next  day  2|  Ibs;  and  the  next  day  5  Ibs  (equal  to 
$600  and  $1,200).     John  Malone  panned  out  $400  the  first  day  on  his  claim. 
Bostwick  of  Cal.,  $80  in  a  day.     Smith  (three-fingered)  took  46|  ounces  ($61)7) 
out  of  one  hundred  buckets  of  dirt.     Maroon  Scott  is  making  $100  a  day.     H. 
S.  Case  writes  that  the  mines  arc  paying  from  $25  to  $400  a  day  to  the  man. 
Wages  are  $10  and  $12  a  day.'  Portland  Oretjonian,  Nov.  14,  1861.     'Two  men 
took  out  80  ounces  in  one  day.     Many  were  making  $50  a  day  with  the  pan, 
and  $100  to  $200  with  rockers.'  Ibid.,  Nov.  5.     'We  have  heard  of  two  men 


EICH  CLAIMS.  247 

the  effect  that  these  mines  excelled  in  richness  the 
placer  mines  of  California  in  their  best  days.  Of 
their  extent,  men  were  not  so  certain. 

A  letter  to  the  Portland  Times  of  November  25th 
stated  that  while  the  correspondent  was  at  the  Salmon 
River  mines,  in  the  latter  part  of  October,  he  had 
known  from  personal  observation  some  claims  to  yield 
from  thirty  to  eighty  dollars  to  the  pan.  One  panful 
of  dirt  from  Baboon  Gulch  contained  $151.50.  The 
same  claim  yielded  $1,800  in  three  hours,  two  men 
working  it  with  a  rocker.  This  claim  belonged  to  a 
man  named  Weiser,  the  same  after  whom  Weiser 
River  in  Idaho  was  named.  John  Munsac  of  Yam- 
hill  county,  Oregon,  purchased  a  claim  for  $1,800, 
and  from  two  pans  of  the  dirt  took  four  ounces  of 
gold.  In  two  weeks  he  had  taken  out  forty-five 
pounds  of  dust!  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see, 
on  entering  a  miner's  cabin,  a  gold-washing  pan  meas 
uring  eight  quarts  full  to  the  brim,  or  half  filled,  with 
gold-dust  washed  out  in  one  or  two  weeks.  All 
manner  of  vessels,  such  as  oyster-cans  and  yeast-pow 
der  boxes,  or  pickle-bottles,  were  in1  demand,  in  which 
to  store  the  precious  dust.  A  claim  was  held  in  small 
esteem  that  yielded  only  $12  a  day,  as  some  claims 
did,  while  hundreds  of  others  returned  from  one  to 
four  ounces  for  a  day's  labor. 

Owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season  and  the  hostil 
ity  of  the  Shoshones,  whose  territory  bordered  on  the 
Salmon  River  basin,  the  question  of  the  extent  of 
these  rich  gold  mines  was  necessarily  left  undeter 
mined  until  spring  should  open  the  roads  and 

who  took  out  six  pounds  of  gold  in  two  days.'  Or.  Argus,  Nov.  16,  1861. 
'\\ 'illiam  Purvine  of  Mossman's  express  writes. .  .Men  are  now  making  (Oct. 
10th)  §30  to  §150  per  day  to  the  hand  with  the  old-fashioned  rocker  of  1849, 
and  I  verily  believe  that  when  water  and  ordinary  improvements  are  brought 
to  bear,  that  in  many  of  the  claims  now  being  worked  with  rockers  $1,000  a 
day  to  the  liaud  will  bo  realized  as  readily  as  a  half-ounce  is  at  Oro  Fino  or 
South  Fork  diggings.  These  are  all  gulch  diggings,  and  easily  worked. 
Twenty-five-cent  dirt  here  is  worth  as  much  as  $1  dirt  in  the  old  mines.'  Or. 
Statesman,  Oct.  28,  1861;  Portland  Time*,  Nov.  25,  1861;  S.  F.  Alta,  Nov.  4 
and  Dec.  27,  1861;  Boise  City  Capital  Chronicle,  Aug.  4,  1869:  Sacramento 
Union,  Dec.  1,  1862. 


248  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

strengthen  the  hands  of  the  miners.  As  far  as  could 
be  judged  from  external  appearances,  there  was  an 
extent  of  country  comprising  a  thousand  square  miles 
similar  to  that  where  the  mines  were  being  worked. 
This  area  was  included  in  a  basin  rimmed  with 
mountains  that  seemed,  when  viewed  from  a  distance, 
like  the  broken  walls  of  an  extinct  volcano,  while  the 
basin  itself  might  have  been  the  burnt-out  crater.  A 
deep  canon  extended  around  inside  and  next  to  the 
mountain  walls,  and  thrown  up  in  the  centre  were 
countless  small  buttes,  overgrown  with  small  pine  and 
tamarack  trees.  Fires  had  burned  off  the  growth  on 
some  of  them;  others  were  covered  with  blackened 
stems,  where  the  fire  had  only  partially  done  its  work, 
and  others  were  green.  Where  the  ground  was  bare 
of  trees,  bunch-grass  had  sprung  up. 

Between  these  buttes  were  the  gulches  in  which 
the  gold  was  found,  being  simply  strips  of  lowland, 
covered  with  a  tough  sod  from  six  to  twelve  inches  in 
thickness.  The  lowest  parts  of  these  gulches  were 
marshy  or  boggy.  All  of  them  had  numerous  rami 
fications.  Under  the  thick  turf  was  a  depth  of  from 
one  to  six  feet  of  loam,  and  under  the  loam  a  red 
gravel,  in  which  was  the  gold,  in  small  round  particles 
and  of  a  red  color.  Underneath  this  was  a  solid  bed 
of  white  quartz  gravel,  or  hard-pan,  in  place  of  bed 
rock,  of  from  six  to  eighteen  inches  in  thickness,  and 
under  all  another  bed  of  loose  quartz  gravel  mixed 
with  water.  Very  little  clay  wTas  found  in  the  mines. 
The  method  resorted  to  for  obtaining  water  for  min 
ing  purposes  was  to  dig  holes  or  wells  of  a  convenient 
depth,  which  soon  filled  from  the  moist  gravel.  The 
rockers  were  placed  beside  these  holes,  and  the  water 
used  over  and  over  until  it  became  very  thick,  when 
the  well  was  emptied  and  allowed  to  fill  again  over 
night. 

The  early  part  of  the  winter  of  1861-2  was  not 
severe.  New  diorcfin^s  were  discovered  at  Florence, 

*  f* 

thirty  miles  north  of  the  first  discovery,  before  pros- 


GOLD  AND  POLITICS.  249 

pecting  was  interrupted;  and  all  during  the  month  of 
December  companies  from  the  outside  were  exploring 
and  opening  routes  to  the  mines,  the  most  promising 
of  which  was  by  the  old  emigrant  road  to  the  Grand 
Rond  Valley,  thence  by  an  Indian  trail  to  Snake 
River  and  beyond,  after  which  there  were  fifty  miles 
to  be  opened  over  a  range  of  mountains.  December 
closed  with  the  heaviest  storms  hitherto  known  in 
Oregon,  extending  over  the  whole  north-west  coast 
and  California,  snow  and  floods  interrupting  travel  in 
every  direction.  At  the  time  of  this  interruption  to 
communication  there  were  between  500  and  800  men 
in  the  Salmon  River  mines,  and  every  kind  of  provis 
ions  was  worth  a  dollar  a  pound,  excepting  beef,  which 
was  still  cheap. 

The  sudden  migration  to  Salmon  River  did  not  by 
any  means  depopulate  the  Clearwater  mines,  which 
continued  to  yield  as  well  as  at  first.30  The  return  of 
many  to  winter  in  Oro  Fino,  where  some  mining  could 
still  be  done,  kept  business  alive  in  that  district.  Those 
who  could  afford  to  be  idle  went  to  Lewiston,  which 
now,  in  spite  of  prohibition,  was  a  growing  town; 
while  those  who  had  accumulated  large  sums  returned 
to  the  world  and  society  to  enjoy  their  wealth. 

Politically,  the  effect  of  the  Clearwater  gold  discov 
ery  was  remarkable.  Walla  Walla  county  with  Sho- 
shone  attached  elected  four  representatives,  and  with 
Missoula  a  joint  councilman,31  more  votes  being  cast 

30  Or.  Statesman,  Oct.  14,  1861. 

31 J.  M.  More  of  Walla  Walla  was  councilman.  The  representatives  were 
Gillam,  Babcock,  Beatty,  and  Smith.  From  the  manner  of  keeping  the  jour 
nals  of  this  session,  it  is  impossible  to  learn  to  what  counties  the  members  of 
the  legislature  belonged,  or  their  full  names.  A  contest  over  a  seat  reveals 
as  much  as  is  here  given;  and  if  Stevens  or  Spokane  county  was  represented, 
it  does  not  appear  on  record.  It  should  be  explained  that  Stevens  county, 
created  in  Jan.  1858,  comprised  the  greater  portion  of  the  territory  between 
the  Cascade  and  Bitter  Root  mountains.  The  legislature  of  1801-2  reestab 
lished  it  of  a  lesser  size  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Spokane.  At  the  following 
session  its  boundaries  were  rearranged  and  the  name  of  Stevens  restored  to 
that  portion  lying  east  of  the  Columbia.  The  legislature  of  18G3-4  dispensed 
altogether  with  the  county  of  Spokane,  which  was  reunited  to  Stevens;  but 
in  1879  another  Spokane  county  was  taken  from  Stevens  on  the  east  side, 
with  the  county  seat  at  Spokane  Falls. 


250  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

in  the  counties  of  Walla  Walla  and  Shoshone  than  in 
any  two  west  of  the  Cascades.  A  new  county  called 
Nez  Perce  was  organized  by  the  miners  in  the  Oro 
Fino  district  during  the  summer,32  which  was  legally 
created  and  organized  by  the  legislature  the  following 
winter,  along  with  the  county  of  Idaho,  and  the  terri 
tory  was  redistricted  in  order  to  give  a  federal  judge 
to  this  region.  The  judicial  districts  as  newly  defined 
made  the  1st,  or  mining  district,  embrace  Walla  Walla 
and  the  counties  east  of  that,  P.  Oliphant  presiding; 
Chief  Justice  James  E.  Wyche  being  assigned  to  the 
2d,  or  Columbia  River  district,  and  C.  C.  Hewitt  to 
the  3d,  or  Puget  Sound  district.33 

The  legislature  found  itself  much  embarrassed  by  the 
situation.  Three  judges  had  no  more  than  sufficed 
when  the  business  of  the  courts  was  confined  to  the 
region  west  of  the  Cascades,  when  suddenly  the  popu 
lation  east  of  the  mountains  became  sufficient  to  re 
quire,  with  the  great  extent  of  territory,  two  if  not 
three  more.  One  of  the  expedients  proposed  was  to 
grant  the  probate  courts  of  the  several  counties  civil 
and  criminal  jurisdiction,  provided  the  supreme  court 
then  in  session  should  give  a  favorable  opinion  upon 

32  The  sheriff  was  Gillespie,  the  clerk  Bradley,  the  justice  of  the  peace 
Stone.  Ralph  Bledsoe  was  the  first  councilman  elected  from  Nez  Perce" 
county.  Idaho  county  was  was  first  called  El  Dorado. 

s3McFadden,  who  was  associate  justice  until  1858,  was  then  made  chief 
justice  until  1862,  with  William  Strong  and  Edmund  C.  Fitzhugh  associate 
justices  for  the  same  period,  and  Charles  S.  Weed  U.  S.  marshal.  Fitzhugh, 
whom  the  reader  will  remember  as  identified  with  the  development  of  coal 
and  other  interests  about  Bellingham  Bay,  and  as  special  Indian  agent  and 
aid  of  Gov.  Stevens  during  the  Indian  war,  was  indicted  and  tried  and  ac 
quitted,  after  his  appointment,  for  killing  a  man  named  Wilson  several  years 
before  in  a  quarrel.  He  was  one  of  the  seconds  in  the  Broderick-Terry  duel 
in  San  Francisco,  a  southerner,  and  having  the  convivial  habits  of  his  class, 
but  withal  considered  a  good  man.  The  republican  administration  appointed 
Wyche  chief  justice,  with  Oliphant  and  Hewitt  associates.  Wyche  was  a 
Mississippian  by  birth,  and  a  union  democrat.  He  was  appointed  from  Michi 
gan.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  W.  W.  Bancroft  of  Granville,  Ohio.  The 
clerk  of  the  court  in  Walla  Walla  district  was  Bennett  Sexton,  whose  wife 
was  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Wyche.  Sexton  died  in  18G9.  Wyche  died  of  consump 
tion  Aug.  28,  1873,  on  the  cars,  while  en  route  to  the  east.  While  residing 
at  Vancouver  he  lost  his  eldest  daughter;  his  wife  and  remaining  daughter 
survived  him  but  a  short  time;  thus  all  the  family  passed  rapidly  away,  and 
the  old  Harney  Castle  which  they  inhabited  was  sold.  The  United  States 
district  attorney  appointed  by  the  republican  administration  was  John  J. 
McGilvra  of  Chicago. 


COURTS  AND  ROADS.  251 

the  right  of  the  territorial  assembly,  under  the  organic 
act,  to  confer  such  jurisdiction.  By  the  advice  of  the 
federal  judges,  acts  were  passed  establishing  a  district 
court  at  the  county  seat  of  each  county,  said  court  to 
have  concurrent  jurisdiction  within  its  own  boundaries, 
except  in  those  cases  where  the  United  States  was  a 
party,  in  the  same  manner  and  to  the  same  extent  as 
before  exercised  by  the  federal  district  courts,  with 
right  of  appeal  to  the  supreme  court  of  federal  judges;34 
the  counties  to  pay  the  expenses  of  these  courts. 

The  assessed  valuation  of  taxable  property  in  the 
county  of  Walla  Walla  in  1861  was  nearly  half  a  mil 
lion  dollars,  which  must  have  been  much  less  than  the 
real  value  at  the  close  of  the  year.  Two  steamboats 
were  now  running  upon  the  upper  Columbia,  built  at 
a  cost  of  $00,000.  Pack-trails  had  been  opened 
through  the  hitherto  inaccessible  mountain  regions, 
wagon-roads  projected  and  to  some  extent  completed 
to  the  most  important  points,  and  ferries  established 
on  all  the  rivers  they  intersected,  arid  all  chiefly  by 
private  enterprise.35  A  company  was  incorporated  to 

34  Wash.  Ter.  Stat.,  1861-2,  9.  A  bill  passed  the  council  'creating  Judges 
of  the  Plains  in  Walla  Walla  county.'  As  the  bill  never  became  a  law,  the 
qualifications  of  this  high-sounding  order  of  judiciary  are  not  known.  Wash. 
Jour.  Council,  1861-2,  213. 

3i  A  reference  to  the  local  laws  of  1861-2  shows  that  J.  R.  Bates,  who  was 
a  member  of  the  legislature  at  this  term,  was  authorized  to  construct  a  bridge 
across  the  Spokane  River  on  the  road  from  Walla  Walla  to  Colville.  The 
right  to  keep  ferries  was  granted  as  follows:  To  D.  W.  Litchen thaler  and  John 
C.  Smith  across  Snake  River  opposite  Powder  River;  to  Green  White  and  C. 
R.  Driggs  across  Snake  River  at  the  mouths  of  Grand  Rond  River;  to  John 
Messenger  and  Walter  H.  Manly  across  Salmon  River  on  the  Nez  Pcrc6  trail 
to  Fort  Bois6;  to  Gilmore  Hays  across  Snake  River  within  one  mile  from  the 
junction  of  the  Clearwater;  to  E.  H.  Lewis  and  Egbert  French  across  the 
Columbia  near  The  Dalles;  to  J.  T.  Hicklin  across  the  Yakima  between  the 
mouths  of  the  Ahtanaham  and  Nachess;  to  W.  D.  Bigelow  across  Snake  River 
on  the  territorial  road  from  Walla  Walla  to  Colville;  to  Lyman  Shaffer  and 
W.  F.  Bassett  across  the  south  branch  of  the  Clearwater  on  the  main  wagon  - 
road  from  Lewiston  to  Oro  Fino;  to  Orrington  Cushman  on  the  same  stream 
at  or  near  the  camp  of  La\vycr;  to  W.  W.  De  Lacy  and  Jared  S.  Hurd  on 
Snake  River  at  some  point  between  Grand  Rond  and  Powder  rivers,  to  be 
selected  by  them;  to  W.  W.  Do  Lacy  and  his  associates  on  Salmon  River;  to 
George  A.  Tykel  to  grade  a  bluff  of  Snake  River  in  constructing  a  wagon-road 
and  establishing  a  ferry  over  the  same  near  the  mouth  of  Powder  River;  to 
Richard  Holmes  and  James  Clinton  across  Salmon  River  on  the  Indian  trail 
from  Lapwai  to  Grand  Rond  Valley;  to  John  Drumhaller  on  the  main  Clear- 
water  two  miles  above  Lewistou;  to  W.  Greenville  at  or  near  the  mouth  of 
Slate  Creek  on  Salmon  River;  to  Sanford  Owens  to  build  a  bridge  across  the 


252  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

construct  a  railroad  from  old  Fort  Walla  Walla  to  the 
town  of  that  name,  which  was  eventually  built  and 
operated.  Printing-presses  had  been  taken  to  Walla 
Walla,  and  public  journals  established,36  and  the  place 
became  an  incorporated  city,  and  a  county  seat  by  act 
of  legislature  in  January. 

Two  thirds  more  population  was  contained  in  the 
counties  east  of  the  mountains  in  December  than  in 
the  whole  lower  Columbia  and  Puget  Sound  region, 
settled  sixteen  years  before.  And  the  empire-makers, 
believing  that  they  had  no  interest  in  Puget  Sound, 
but  that  Olympia  was  too  distant  a  capital,  instructed 
their  representatives  to  endeavor  to  get  a  memorial 
to  congress  from  the  legislature,  asking  that  the  east 
ern  division  of  the  territory  might  be  set  off  and  organ 
ized  as  an  independent  political  entity.  The  council, 
however,  declared  that  no  good  reason  existed  for  a 
separation,  which  could  not  benefit  the  transmontane 
portion,  and  would  seriously  retard  the  growth  and 
improvement  of  the  Puget  Sound  region,  in  which  all 
had  a  mutual  interest  as  a  seaboard,37  and  refused  to 
sanction  the  prayer  to  congress.  It  consented,  instead, 
to  ask  that  body  to  establish  a  land-office  at  Walla 
WTalla  for  the  convenience  of  those  desiring  to  take 
farms  in  either  of  the  new  counties  east  of  the  Cas 
cades,  which  in  due  time  was  granted. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  imagine  greater  hardships 
than  were  endured  by  a  certain  number  of  over-san 
guine  persons  who  took  the  risk  of  remaining  in  the 
Salmon  River  Mountains  without  an  adequate  supply 
of  food.  Men  continued  to  force  their  way  in  until 
February.  After  that  for  several  weeks  the  trails 


south  branch  of  the  Clearwater  on  the  road  from  Lewiston  to  Elk  City.     The 


I  it  M  au  (.inn   uui^j^  v   vw" *•' ')    fciww^  "*****»**«**   i  «  v/vo. 

80 The  Walla  Walla  Meiwpnger,  by  R.  B.  Smith;  the  Northern  Light,  by 
Daniel  Dodge;  and  the  Washington  Statesman,  by  Northup,  B<ses&  Co.  The 
latter  afterward  became  the  Walla  Walla  Statesman. 

s>  Wash.  Jour.  Council,  ISO  1-2,  312-13. 


SXOW  AND  STARVATION.  253 

were  obliterated  or  blockaded  by  snow,  and  those  who 
had  neither  money  nor  provisions  suffered  all  the  hor 
rors  of  slow  starvation.  And  this  state  of  affairs 
lasted  until  May.  G.  A.  Noble  started  on  the  21st 
of  December  to  go  from  Oro  Fino  to  Florence,33  the 
latest  new  town  which  had  sprung  up  in  the  Salmon 
River  district,  having  with  him  a  small  pack-train. 
He  was  ten  days  toiling  through  snow-drifts  a  distance 
of  125  miles,  and  would  have  perished  but  for  assist 
ance  from  Indians. 

He  found  a  town  regularly  laid  out,  with  building 
lots  recorded  and  fenced  in,  all  under  a  city  govern 
ment.  The  buildings  were  of  logs,  dragged  half  a  mile 
on  hand-sleds.  By  the  last  of  January  nothing  to 
eat  could  be  purchased,  excepting  flour  at  $2  a  pound. 
Some  of  the  miners  earned  enough  to  keep  soul  and 
body  together  by  warming  water  to  wash  out  the 
gold  from  earth,  obtained  with  much  exertion  and  ex 
posure  by  digging  down  through  several  feet  of  snow. 
The  consequence  of  this,  and  of  insufficient  food,  was 
rheumatism,  scurvy,  and  diseases  of  the  chest.39  Dur 
ing  the  latter  part  of  winter  the  snow  was  from  seven 
to  ten  feet  deep ;  yet  some  men  who  lived  on  a  scanty 
supply  of  bread  and  weak  coffee  without  sugar,  in 
trying  to  provide  themselves  with  these  necessaries, 
were  compelled  to  remove  this  amount  of  snow  from 
their  claims  in  order  to  work  them  enough  to  pay  for 
such  food. 

It  was  not  until  the  first  of  May  that  pack-trains 
could  come  to  within  ten  or  twelve  miles  of  Florence. 
For  the  remainder  of  the  distance  the  goods  were  car- 

S8  According  to  Elliott's  Hist,  of  Idaho,  Florence  was  named  after  a  step 
daughter  of  Furber,  formerly  of  Siskiyou  co. ,  Cal. ,  who  came  with  her  mother 
to  Salmon  River  in  May  1802;  but  as  the  town  was  laid  off  and  named  some 
months  before  that  date,  this  statement  seems  questionable. 

39  Noble  says  that  in  one  case  of  sickness  the  patient  had  lived  for  five 
weeks  on  flour,  and  tea  made  by  steeping  the  young  leaves  of  the  fir.  Another 
had  lived  on  flour  and  snow-water  for  two  months.  A  young  man  whose 
home  was  one  of  plenty  complained  of  '  nothing  but  a  kind  of  weakness  all 
over,'  which  prevented  his  getting  out  of  his  cabin.  He  had  lived  two  weeks 
ou  four  pounds  of  flour  and  the  inner  bark  of  the  pine  tree,  with  snow-water 
for  drink. 


254  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

riecl  in  on  the  backs  of  men,  at  forty  cents  a  pound  trans 
portation,  and  the  starving  were  glad  to  perform  this 
labor  for  the  wages.40  These  were  only  incidents  of 
mining  life,  and  did  not  affect  the  reputation  of  the 
mines,  which  in  the  spring  of  1862  drew  a  wild  crusade 
of  gold  worshippers  toward  them  from  every  hand. 
The  steamship  Cortes,  as  early  as  February  13th,  landed 
700  California  miners  at  Portland,  and  proceeded  to 
Belli ngham  Bay  with  still  another  company,  destined 
for  Cariboo.  There  was  plenty  of  ground  from 
which  to  choose,  for  eastern  Oregon  as  well  as 
Washington  and  British  Columbia  was  now  known 
to  be  a  gold-field.  In  April  the  regular  line  carried 
600  or  700  on  each  trip,  and  on  the  5th  of  May  three 
ocean  steamers,  the  Panama,  Oregon,  and  Sierra 
Nevada,  were  at  Portland  together,  their  passengers 
crowding  up  the  Columbia  day  and  night  as  fast  as 
the  river  steamboats  could  carry  them,  and  on  the 
6th  the  Brother  Jonathan  arrived  with  another  600. 

It  was  in  vain  that  the  newspapers  in  California 
and  Oregon  endeavored  to  check  the  rush,  at  least 
until  the  roads  in  the  upper  country  were  opened  to 
travel.  The  Portland  Advertiser  of  the  1 4th  of  March 
published  a  fair  warning,  that  the  snow  at  The  Dalles 
was  still  two  feet  deep,  and  from  one  to  four  feet  be 
tween  there  and  Lewiston,  with  a  greater  amount  in 
the  mountains  east  of  Lewiston ;  that  provisions  along 
the  whole  distance  were  exhausted,  and  no  entertain 
ment  could  be  had,  nor  any  transportation,  not  even 
on  riding  or  pack  animals,  the  cattle  being  all  either 
frozen  or  too  thin  to  travel;  that  the  weather  was  still 
severe,  and  no  wood  along  the  route  from  The  Dalles 
to  Lewiston,  except  at  long  intervals  a  few  willow 
poles;  and  those  who  should  undertake  to  walk  would 
be  in  danger  of  perishing  with  cold.  But  miners  had 
been  pouring  into  Oregon  for  a  month  when  this  no 
tice  was  given,  and  they  were  not  likely  to  stop  then, 
when  spring  was  so  near.  Nor  did  they.  The  Dalles 

40  Or.  Argus,  March  22,  April  12,  and  May  31,  1862. 


WAITING  FOR  SPRING.  255 

was  at  one  time  so  crowded  with  people  unable  to  pay 
the  high  prices  of  provisions  that  a  mob  was  raised, 
who  proceeded  to  help  themselves  at  the  stores.  In 
general,  however,  men  bore  their  privations  with 
dogged  endurance,  hoping  for  better  things. 

Nor  were  the  Oregonians  more  prudent  than 
strangers  who  knew  less  of  the  country,  the  climate, 
and  the  phenomenal  effects  of  the  floods  and  frosts  of 
the  winter  of  1861-2.  Some  had  mining  claims  to 
which  they  were  anxious  to  return;  others,  farmers, 
had  lost  heavily  by  the  floods  of  December,  and  were 
in  haste  to  retrieve  their  fortunes.  Traders  were  de 
sirous  of  being  first  to  bring  their  goods  to  a  market 
where  gold-dust  was  more  plentiful  than  flour,  sugar, 
or  bacon;41  and  all  had  good  reasons  for  their  precipi 
tancy  in  the  matter  of  getting  to  the  mines.  Most 
of  those  crowded  into  The  Dalles  began  moving  for 
ward  about  the  17th  of  March,  when  a  saddle-train 
arrived  from  Walla  Walla,  bringing  the  first  passen 
gers  that  had  come  through  since  the  disasters  of 
January.42  They  brought  400  pounds  of  gold-dust, 
sufficient  apology  for  the  haste  of  the  crusaders.  By 
the  22d  a  change  in  the  weather  had  left  the  roads  in 
an  almost  impassable  state,  and  the  streams  too  high 
to  be  forded.  Fortunately  for  those  not  already  upon 
the  way,  the  steamboat  Colonel  Wright  succeeded  about 
this  date  in  forcing  a  passage  from  Celilo  to  old  Fort 
Walla  Walla,  where  J.  M.  Vansyckle  had  laid  off  a 
town  called  Wallula,  and  was  making  improvements 
at  the  landing,43  and  regular  navigation  to  this  point 
was  soon  resumed,  although  the  water  in  the  Snake 
River  was  still  too  low  to  admit  of  a  passage  to  Lew- 
iston.  At  this  place  during  the  winter  the  suffering 
had  been  great  from  want  of  adequate  shelter,  most 
of  the  population  living  in  tents.  Fuel  was  scarce, 

"Flour  sold  at  Walla  Walla  on  the  3d  of  March  for  $24  per  pound.  Or. 
Statesman,  March  24,  18G2. 

42  Hist.  Or.,  ii.,  ch.  xix.,  484,  this  series. 

43  'Mr  and  Mrs  Charles  Pope  recently  held  a  "drawing-room"  entertain 
ment  at  Wallula,  in  the  cabin  of  a  wharf-boat,  the  only  building  of  any  note 
in  that  city.'  Or.  Statesman,  May  26,  1862. 


256  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

and  provisions  both  scarce  and  high.44  At  length, 
when  the  snow  melted  in  the  upper  country,  the  Co 
lumbia  rose  to  a  stage  which  in  May  inundated  Lew- 
iston,  The  Dalles,  and  the  lower  portions  of  Portland. 

The  first  trains  reached  Powder  River  about  the 
last  of  April;  the  first  that  arrived  at  Salmon  River 
not  before  the  middle  of  May,  the  goods  being  carried, 
as  I  have  said,  on  the  backs  of  starving  men  the  last 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles,  many  of  them  becoming  snow- 
blind  while  performing  this  labor.  When  the  product 
of  the  winter's  work,  with  all  its  disadvantages,  began 
to  appear,  it  increased  the  mining  furore.  The  differ 
ent  gulches  in  the  Florence  district  were  found  to 
yield  per  day  to  the  rocker  from  $30  to  $250.  Some 
great  strikes  were  made,  as  when  Weiser  took  out  of 
Baboon  Gulch  $6,600  in  one  day,  and  half  that 
amount  in  another,  one  panful  of  dirt  yielding  $500. 
The  average  yield  of  these  placers  was  $75  per  diem.45 

Prospecting  began  by  the  middle  of  May.  In  the 
latter  part  of  June  there  were  thousands  of  men 
ranging  the  country  in  every  direction.  Some  put 
their  number  at  25,000.  It  is  more  probable  that  in 
the  autumn,  after  the  emigration  from  California  and 
the  east  was  all  in,  there  were  20,000  persons  in  the 

**  S.  F.  Bulletin,  March  31,  1862. 

*5  A  few  items  may  be  worth  preserving  as  a  part  of  tire  country^  physical 
history.  Baboon  Gulch  was  named  after  an  old  Dutch  miner  known  as 
Baboon,  who  left  the  diggings  in  the  spring  with  75  Ibs  of  gold-dust.  The 
claim  was  purchased  by  Gideon  Tibbits  while  it  was  still  yielding  §1,000 
daily.  Miller  Gulch,  named  after  one  of  the  discoverers,  Joseph  Miller, 
yielded  him  $7,000  and  he  sold  it  for  $4,000.  Claims  on  the  creek  were  held 
at  from  $15,000  to  $30,000.  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.  brought  down  from  these 
mines  on  the  20th  of  May  120  Ibs  of  gold-dust,  and  about  the  same  amount 
from  the  Nez  Perc6  mines,  besides  that  in  the  hands  of  eighty  passengers.  It 
was  estimated  that  $500,000  passed  through  The  Dalles  every  week.  Or. 
Statesman,  June  2  and  July  7,  18G2.  The  Julia  brought  down  from  The 
Dalles  1,000  pounds  of  the  dust  on  the  30th  of  July.  Portland  Oregonian, 
July  31,  1802.  There  were  186  claims  on  Miller's  Creek,  worked  by  538  men, 
the  yield  for  8  months  being  $2,785,536.  A  general  average  of  the  product 
of  the  Florence  mines  would  give  3,000  miners  something  over  $4.000  for  a 
season's  work.  But  there  really  was  no  general  average,  some  getting  little 
and  some  much,  as  in  every  other  business;  the  newspapers  contained  stories 
of  individual  success  that  would  fill  a  volume.  Gold-dust  was  weighed  by 
the  pound  at  Florence.  Farnham's  Florence  and  Warren,  MS.,  i.  'I  saw  two 
men  walk  out  of  Millersburg  with  50  pounds  of  gold-dust  '  Mrs  Schultz,  in 
Early  Anecdotes,  MS.,  3. 


POWDER  RIVER  MIXES.  257 

mines  of  Clearwater,  Salmon,  Powder,  and  John  Day 
rivers.46 

From  these  mines,  the  accounts  received  were  gen 
erally  flattering,  though  occasionally  a  disappointed 
adventurer  expressed  his  disgust  at  adverse  fortune 
in  terms  more  forcible  than  elegant.  As  to  Powder 
River,  after  it  had  been  pretty  well  prospected  it  was 
set  down  as  rich,  but  not  of  the  extraordinary  richness 
of  Salmon  River.  Water  was  scarce,  and  until  ditches 
were  constructed  to  carry  water  from  Elk  Creek  to 
the  flat  below,  where  the  claims  were  located,  no 
sluicing  or  rapid  work  could  be  accomplished.  There 
were  about  1,000  persons  in  the  Powder  River  mines 
by  the  middle  of  June.  Among  them  were  many  from 
the  mines  of  Washoe  in  Nevada.47  Others  followed 
during  the  summer,  and  a  considerable  proportion  of 
these  settled  in  eastern  Oregon,43  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  mines.49  They  found  a  beautiful  country  of 
rolling  plains,  and  long  sunny  slopes  partially  wooded 
with  stately  pines,  of  fertile  valleys,  and  free-flowing 
streams  of  excellent  water  at  frequent  intervals;  and 
last,  but  not  least,  unlimited  grazing,  making  this  the 
stock-raiser's  paradise.  Several  important  discoveries 

*GInd.  Aff.  Rept,  1862,  422-3;  Or.  Statesman,  June  2,  18G2;  Bristow's 
Rencounters,  MS.,  15. 

47  The  most  famous  man  on  the  Pacific  coast,  after  James  Marshall,  was 
H.  M.  Comstock,  who  tried  his  luck  in  Oregon,  which  had  failed  to  make  him 
rich  in  Nevada.     He  was  very  active  locating  both  placer  and  quartz  mines, 
constructing  ditches,  and  making  other  improvements.     He  surveyed  a  road 
from  Powder  River  shorter  and  better  than  the  old  one,  expending  §8,000 
upon  it,  and  petitioning  the  Oregon  legislature  for  a  charter.     The  matter 
was  placed  in  the  hands  of  J,  M.  Kirkpatrick,  elected  from  Baker  county, 
organized  by  the  mining  population  in  1802,  who  was  not  admitted  to  a  seat, 
and  the  charter  was  lost.     Comstock  and  Lytle  opened  the  first  quartz  vein 
in  which  free  gold  was  visible,  on  Powder  River.  Or.  Statesman,  June  16, 
18G2.     On  the  1  Itlvof  August  he  discovered  another  lode,  from  which  he  took 
§450  the  same  day.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Aug.  27,  18G2.     It  does  not  appear  that 
this  mine  made  Comstock  rich,  or  that  any  mine  ever  could. 

48  W.  S.  Ebey,  who  spent  a  season  in  the  Powder  River  and  John  Day 
mines,  remarks  upon  this  immigration,  which  came  by  the  way  of  Humboldt, 
Queen,  and  Owyhee  rivers.  Journal,  MS.,  viii.  55. 

49  Mrs  Theodore  Schultz,  of  Valencia  Street,   San  Francisco,  in  a  manu 
script  called  Early  Anecdotes,  gives  a  graphic  picture  of  the  immigration  from 
Cal.  overland.     With  her  husband  and  4  other  men,  with  17  pack-animals, 
she  travelled  from  her  home  in  that  state  to  Florence  mines,  encountering  all 
the  hardships  of  the  season,  the  great  flood,  and  the  daugcr  from  Indians, 
which  they  luckily  escaped.     Ske  was  the  first  white  woman  in  Millersburg. 

.  WASH.— 17 


258  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

were  made  in  the  region  both  east  and  west  of  the 

o 

Blue  Mountains,  some  of  which  mining  ground  turned 
out  a  large  amount  of  bullion,50  and  some  of  which  is 
still  mined,  but  the  main  rush  was  to  the  country  east 
of  Snake  River. 

About  the  1st  of  August,  James  Warren,  a  "shift 
less  individual,  a  petty  gambler,  miner,  and  pros 
pector,"  made  up  a  party  in  Lewiston  for  a  tour  through 
the  Salmon  River  basin,  and  returned  in  less  than  a 
month  with  the  report  of  new  and  rich  diggings.51 
Unlike  the  Florence  mines,  the  Warren  diggings  were 
deep  as  well  as  rich.  The  mining  ground  extended 
about  sixteen  miles  north  and  south  along  the  creek, 
and  the  gold  assayed  from  $12  to  $17  an  ounce.52 

This  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  valuable  discov 
eries  made.  The  diggings  outlasted  the  Florence 
mines,  and  when  the  placers  were  exhausted  on  the 
creek  bottoms,  still  yielded  to  hydraulic  treatment 
returns  nearly  as  rich  as  the  placers. 

Notwithstanding  the  unsavory  reputation  of  the 
discoverer,  Warren's  diggings  were  worked  chiefly  by 
practical  miners  and  men  of  good  character,  many  of 
whom  long  remained  there  in  business.53  In  Novem 
ber  400  men  were  mining  at  Warren's,  taking  out  an 
average  of  from  $14  to  $20  daily.54 

Three  years  afterward  the  population  was  1,500, 
which  dwindled  two  years  later  to  500.  When  the 

50  The  John  Day  mines  began  to  be  worked  in  August.  About  1,000  men 
were  at  work  011  the  middle  branch  in  September,  and  500  on  the  north 
branch.  Many  handsome  nuggets  were  found  in  the  Powder  and  John  Day 
mines.  Owens'  Dis.,  1865,  143;  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  Aug.  27,  1862;  Port 
land  Orcrjonian,  Sept.  29,  1862. 

61//o/er's  Hist.  Idaho  County,  MS.,  2-4;  Huttorfs  Early  Events,  MS.,  6. 

*>'* Farnham's  Florence  and  Warren,  MS.,  1.  Edwin  Farnham  was  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  Florence,  where  he  went  in  1862,  and  afterward  to  Warren. 
His  manuscript  is  principally  a  comparison  between  the  two  camps.  Farnhum 
later  lived  in  S.  F. 

63  J.  W.  Seaman,  Judge  Beatty,  Judge  Taliaferro,  and  D.  Mulford  were  of 
Calaveras  co. ,  Cal.,  and  Mark  Evans  of  San  Joaquin.  J.  Bradford,  another 
pioneer,  antecedents  unknown.  Mrs  Shultz  was  again  the  first  white  woman 
in  these  diggings,  and  gives  a  good  account  of  their  law-abiding  population. 
Rico  was  one  of  the  first  locators.  Mutton's  Early  Events,  MS.,  5. 

54  Lewiston  Golden  Age,  Nov.  13,  1862. 


PROSPECTING  OX  BOISE  RIVER.  2-59 

mines  bad  been  worked  for  ten  years  tbey  were  sold 
to  Chinese  miners,  some  of  whom  became  wealthy. 

Late  in  the  summer  of  1862,  the  opinion  of  old 
miners  that  a  rich  deposit  would  be  found  farther  to 
the  south  than  any  yet  discovered  was  verified.  Many 
companies  were  searching  for  such  a  field/0  but  the 
successful  party  was  one  which  left  Auburn,  Baker 
county,  Oregon,  about  the  middle  of  July,  proceeding 
east  to  Snake  River  and  up  it  to  Sinker  Creek,  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Owyhee,  where,  the  company  divid 
ing,  one  portion  returned  to  a  point  opposite  Boise- 
River,  and  having  made  a  skiff  and  ferried  them 
selves  over  to  the  south  side  of  that  stream,  followed 
along  it  to  a  junction  with  the  immigrant  road,  where 
they  again  constructed  a  raft  and  crossed  to  the  north 
bank  of  the  Boise,  where  now  stands  the  city  of  that 
name.56 

Proceeding  north,  but  being  interrupted  by  the  im 
passable  ca fions  of  the  country,  they  succeeded  in 
entering  the  basin  of  the  Boise  River  bv  following  a 

o  i/ 

divide  which  brought  them  to  a  stream  twelve  miles 
south-west  of  the  present  town  of  Idaho  City.  After 
prospecting  this  stream  for  three  miles  on  the  south 
side,  they  proceeded  the  next  day  down  the  north  side 
into  the  basin  and  to  a  larger  stream.  Here  they 
obtained  excellent  indications,  and  spent  a  week  ex 
amining  the  ground  higher  up,  finding  it  to  be  rich 
for  fifteen  miles.  While  encamped  at  Grimes'  Pass. 
they  were  fired  upon  by  some  Shoshones  who  had 
hung  upon  their  trail  for  several  days.  Grimes,  Wil 
son,  Splawn,  and  the  Portuguese  pursued  the  attack- 

65  Sacramento  Union,  June  24,  18G2. 

51  The  original  company  on  this  search  were  Joseph  H.  Bransetter,  Jacob 
Wcstenfeldter,  David  Fogus  from  Indiana,  Moses  Splawn,  C.  Stanford,  Ser 
geant  Smith,  John  Reynolds  of  Walla  Walla,  Samuel  Moore  of  Calaveras 
co.,  Cal.,  John  Phillips  and  David  Rodgers  of  Linn  co.,  Or.,  Wilson  of 
Portland,  an  Englishman  name  unknown,  four  Portuguese  names  unknown, 
all  under  the  leadership  of  George  Grimes  of  Or.  City.  Twelve  took  the 
route  above  described.  What  became  of  the  six  remaining  is  not  related. 
Portland  Orcgonian,  March  30  and  31. 18G3;  Branstetter's  Discov.  Boise  Basin, 
MS.,  4. 


260  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING. 

ing  party  into  the  mountains,  when  Grimes  was  shot 
and  instantly  killed,  having  at  the  same  moment  shot 
an  Indian.57 

Being  too  few  in  numbers  to  remain  in  a  hostile 
country,  the  eleven  returned  to  Walla  Walla  by  the 
same  route  they  travelled  in  going  out,  arriving  about 
the  1st  of  September,  and  bringing  between  $4,000 
and  $5,000  in  gold-dust,  with  which  they  purchased 
supplies  for  another  season  in  the  mines.  A  company 
of  fifty-four  men  was  quickly  organized  and  armed  to 
return  to  Boise"  basin,  where  they  arrived  on  the  7th 
of  October.58  After  a  fortnight  spent  in  determining 
the  value  of  the  new  mines,  all  of  the  company  but 
twenty  returned  to  Walla  Walla  to  obtain  provisions, 
while  those  left  behind  occupied  themselves  in  build 
ing  a  stockade  and  cabins  for  the  company.  In  spite 

87  Grimes  was  hastily  buried  on  the  divide  between  Elk  Creek  and  the 
principal  stream,  which  bears  his  name.  The  body  was  reinterred  the  follow 
ing  summer  in  a  grove  of  hackmatack,  pine,  and  tamarack  trees  near  the  place 
of  his  death.  A  mining  claim  was  set  off  for  his  widow  by  his  associates,  and 
a  person  deputized  to  work  it  for  her  in  order  to  hold  it.  This  individual 
sold  it  for  §3,000  and  went  away  with  the  money.  The  widow,  unaware  of 
this  rascality,  in  the  summer  of  18G4  paid  a  visit  to  Boise"  to  look  after  her 
interests.  The  miners  raised $3,000  for  her  by  subscription.  'That  amount,' 
said  the  Boise  News,  'the  citizens  of  this  basin  feel  they  owe  the  unfortunate 
lady,  and  they  will  pay  it — not  as  a  charitable  donation,  but  as  a  just  and 
equitable  debt.'  It  was  first  proposed  that  the  legislature  should  legalize  a 
tax  on  the  Boise  miners,  who  themselves  favored  this  method,  but  it  was  not 
done.  Port/and  Oregoiiian,  Nov.  4,  1863.  The  Indian  who  shot  Grimes  had 
acted  as  guide.  He  was  killed  by  a  party  led  by  StandifFer  in  pursuit  of  the 
murderers  of  two  other  miners,  in  the  summer  of  1863.  Branstetter's  Discov. 
Boixe  Basin,  MS.,  4. 

5d  As  they  were  passing  down  Burnt  River  they  met  a  company  of  belated 
immigrants  from  Iowa  ami  Wisconsin,  who  had  started  in  March  for  the  Sal 
mon  River  mines.  The  Indians  had  risen  all  along  the  route,  breaking  up  the 
Overland  Stage  Company's  stations,  driving  off  their  horses  and  killing  whom 
soever  they  could.  This  company  managed  to  keep  the  road  to  Fort  Bridger, 
and  taking  Lander's  cut-off,  reached  Fort  Hall.  When  within  40  miles  of  that 
place  the  Bannacks  threatened  them,  but  finding  them  ready  to  fight,  finally 
withdrew,  only  to  attack  a  smaller  party,  nearly  every  one  of  which  they  killed. 
Forty  miles  west  of  Fort  Hall  the  Iowa  company  came  upon  the  dead  and 
wounded  of  the  Adams  party.  See  Hist.  Or.,  ii.  19,  469-76,  this  series.  While 
burying  the  dead  they  were  attacked,  and  had  some  of  their  company  wounded. 
On  arriving  at  Catherine  Creek,  they  were  met  by  the  Oregon  cavalry,  under 
Colonel  Maury.  who  left  Fort  Walla  Walla  to  escort  the  immigration  soon 
after  Colonel  Steinbergcr  of  the  1st  Washington  infantry  arrived  at  that  post 
to  take  command.  One  of  the  immigrant  company  mentioned  above  was 
Sherlock  Bristol,  now  of  Buena  Vista,  Idaho.  Bristol  was  born  in  Cheshire, 
Connecticut,  June  5,  1815.  He  immigrated  from  Ripera,  Wis.,andis  the 
author  of  an  interesting  manuscript  on  Idaho  Nomenclature.  After  first  go 
ing  to  Auburn,  Bristol  in  December  joined  the  miners  at  Boise1. 


BOISE  MIXES.  261 

of  an  effort  that  had  been  made  to  keep  the  discovery 
secret,  the  returning  party  met  on  the  road  another 
company  of  between  fifty  and  sixty  following  their 
former  trail;  and  it  was  not  many  days  before  a  rush 
to  the  Boise  mines  succeeded. 

The  distance  of  the  new  discovery  from  Walla 
Walla  was  about  300  miles,  and  70  due  east  from 
old  Fort  Boise.  The  basin  in  which  it  was  situ 
ated  is  a  picturesque  depression  among  the  mountains 
about  thirty  miles  square,  hitherto  unknown  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Pacific  coast.  The  face  of  the 
country  varied  from  grassy  meadows  to  timbered  hills 
and  abrupt  mountain  precipices.  The  climate,  so  far 
from  being  severe,  admitted  of  sleeping  in  the  open 
air  in  November.59  The  camps  could  be  approached 
with  wagons  to  within  fifteen  miles,  with  a  pos 
sibility  of  ultimately  making  that  portion  of  the  road 
passable  for  wagons.  The  first  camp  of  the  pioneers 
of  this  region  was  on  Grimes'  Creek,  and  was  named 
Pioneer  City,  sometimes  called  Fort  Haynes;  but 
owing  to  the  selfishness  of  the  original  discoverers,  it 
received  from  those  who  arrived  subsequently  the 
euphonious  appellation  of  liog'em.  There  are  several 
Hog'ems  on  the  maps  of  mining  districts,  probably 
originating  in  the  same  cause.  Mutation  in  the  con 
dition  of  eastern  Washington  such  as  had  occurred 
during  the  year  could  not  but  effect  some  political 
changes.  The  county  of  Boise  was  created  January 
12,  1863,  comprising  all  the  country  lying  south  of 
Payette  River  and  between  Snake  River  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  with  the  county  seat  at  Bannack 
City.60  A  large  number  of  charters  were  granted  for 
roads,  bridges,  ferries,  and  mining  ditches,  in  every 

59  Wm  Purvine,  in  Or.  Statesman,  Dec.  22,  18G2;  Boisi  News,  Sept.  29, 
1863. 

60  A  county  called  Ferguson  was  also  established  out  of  that  portion  of 
Walla  Walla  bounded  by  Wenatchee  River  on  the  north,  the  Simcoe  Moun 
tains  on  the  south,  the  Cascade  Mountains  on  the  west,  and  the  120th  merid 
ian  on  the  east.     The  name  of  this  county  was  changed  in  1865  to  Yakiina. 
I>nncrojV.-<  Hand-Bool;  1864;  New  Tacoma  N.  P.  Coast,  Dec.  15,  1880,  16; 
Wash.  Ter.  StaL,  1862-3;  Local  Laws,  4-5. 


262  MINING  AND  TOWN-MAKING, 

part  of  the  territory  from  Yakima  to  Boise  River, 
and  from  the  44th  to  the  49th  parallel.  The  city  of 
Lewiston  was  incorporated,  having  become,  in  the 
eyes  of  its  founders,61  a  commercial  mart  of  greater 
promise  than  others,  for  the  reason  that  it  was  at  the 
terminus  of  river  navigation,  and  centrally  located 
with  regard  to  the  whole  Snake  River  country.  It 
had  already,  like  older  cities,  large  mercantile  estab 
lishments,  hotels,  mills,  gambling-houses,  churches,  a 
newspaper,  the  Golden  Age,  issued  first  on  the  2d  of 
August  by  A.  S.  Gould,6'2  and  a  line  of  four-horse 
coaches  to  Walla  Walla  and  Wallula,  while  along  the 
line  of  the  road  farms  were  being  rapidly  improved. 

In  short,  eastern  Washington  had  outgrown  the 
Puget  Sound  region,  and  was  demanding  a  separate 
government.  Committees  were  appointed  in  every 
mining  district  to  procure  signers  to  a  petition  asking 
the  legislature  to  memorialize  congress  on  the  subject. 
But  the  legislature  refused  to  agree  to  such  a  memo 
rial.  A  bill  was  introduced,  and  passed  in  the  council, 
to  submit  for  ratification  by  the  people  the  constitu 
tion  of  the  state  of  Idaho,  intended  to  effect  the 
desired  organization,  which  was  defeated  by  the  lower 
house  substituting  ''state  of  Washington."63  But 
congress,  to  which  the  petitioners  appealed  directly, 
regarded  the  matter  more  favorably  for  the  mining 
interest,  passing  an  act,  approved  March  3,  18G3,  or 
ganizing  the  territory  of  Idaho  out  of  all  that  portion 
of  Washington  lying  east  of  Oregon  and  the  117th 
meridian  of  west  longitude. 

61  The  land  was  still  owned  by  the  Nez  Perec's.     Jagger  &  Co.,  Trevitt  & 
Co.,  and  Yates  &  Lane  were  the  owners  of  all  the  wooden  buildings.   Or. 
Statesman,  May  12,   1SG2.     Its  first  mayor  after  incorporation  was  A.  M. 
Kelly;  recorder,  R.  H.  Johns;  councilinen,  Hill  Beachy,  1).  M.  Lessey,  F.  H. 
Simmons,  William  Kaughman,  and  James  McNeil;  marshal,  Schwatka.     As 
early  as  Feb.  1862  its  citizens  had  adopted  rules  for  town  government,  and 
made  provisions  for  preempting  lands  and  holding  town  lots.     The  first  coun 
cilinen  elected  under  these  rules  were  Joseph  Herring,  Robert  Dyson,  and 
James  Bowers.     Dyson  acted  as  president  of  the  board  and  justice  of  the  peace. 
Portland  Oregonian,  Feb.  20,  18G2. 

62  Gould  came  from  Cal.  to  Portland,  and  was  employed  on  the  Portland 
Time*  until  he  went  to  Lewiston  with  a  press  of  his  own.     He  was  afterward 
in  Utah,  and  died  in  S.  F.  about  1879. 

63  Wank.  Jour.  Council,  1862-3,  157,  164. 


DIVISION  OF  THE  TERRITORY.  2G3 

Although  the  loss  of  a  large  extent  of  ricn  mining 

O  O  (* 

territory  was  regarded  with  disapproval  by  the  re 
mainder  of  the  population,  the  benefit  to  the  whole  of 
the  more  rapid  development  of  all  the  resources  of 
the  country  was  cause  for  congratulation,  both  then 
and  later,  the  mines  having  given  an  impetus  to  the 
growth  of  the  territory  that  agriculture  alone  could 
not  have  done  in  a  long  period  of  time.  The  area 
left  comprised  71,300  square  miles,  with  a  population 
in  18G3  of  12,519,  which,  although  small,  was  nearly 
double  that  o'f  1860. 

Owing  to  delays,  I  am  compelled  to  make  room  for  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
Wash.  011  this  page. 

Charles  Biles  was  born  in  Wa.rren  co.,  Tenn.,  in  Aug.  1809,  and  reared 
on  a  farm  in  N.  C.,  removing  when  19  years  old  to  Christian  co.,  Ky.  In 
1832  he  married,  and  in  1835  removed  to  111.,  soon  returning  to  Hopkins  co., 
Ky,  where  he  resided  until  1853,  when  he  emigrated  to  W.  T.  in  company 
wuh  his  brother  James,  their  families,  and  C.  B.  Baker,  Elijah  Baker,  ami 
William  Downing,  and  their  families,  being  a  part  of  the  lirst  direct  immi 
gration  to  the  territory,  via  the  wagon  road  through  the  Nachess  pass.  Mr 
Biles  settled  upon  Grand  Mound  Prairie  in  Timrston  co.,  farming,  and  some 
times  preaching  as  a  minister  of  the  Cumberland  presbyterian  church.  He 
died  Feb.  26,  1809,  leaving  two  sous  (one  having  died  after  emigrating)  and 
two  daughters,  namely,  David  F.,  Charles  N..,  Mrs  M.  Z.  Goodell,  and  Mrs 
I.  B.  W.ird. 

David  F.  Biles  was  born  in  Kyin  1833,  coming  with  his  parents  toW.  T. 
In  1854  he  took  a  claim  in  Thurston  co.,  and  in  1853  became  a  deputy  U.  S. 
surveyor,  but  the  Indian  war  coming  on  interrupted  work,  and  he  took  to 
soldiering  in  defence  of  the  settlements,  resuming  his  surveying  when  peace 
was  restored.  From  1858  to  1802  he  resided  in  Cosmopolis,  Chehalis  co. , 
but  then  removed  to  a  homestead  claim  near  Elma,  on  the  line  of  the  Satsop 
railroad  to  Gray  Harbor,  where  he  owns  400  acres  of  land.  He  served  many 
years  as  county  surveyor,  and  some  time  as  school  superintendent.  He 
married  in  1854  Miss  Mary  J.  Hill,  who  was  a  member  of  the  immigration 
of  1853,  and  had  5  sons  and  1  daughter. 

Charles  N.  Biles,  born  in  1844  in  Ky,  was  educated  in  Portland,  Or.  In 
1870  he  settled  in  Montesano,  Chehalis  co.,  and  engaged  in  surveying,  and 
wa-i  county  auditor  and  treasurer  several  terms.  He  married  Miss  E.  J. 
Medcalf. 

Another  Chehalis  co.  pioneer  is  I.  L.  Scammon,  who  was  born  in  Me  in 
1822,  came  to  Cal.  in  1849-50,  making  the  voyage  on  the  03-ton  schooner 
Little  Traveller.  In  the  autumn  of  1850  he  took  passage  for  the  Columbia 
river,  which  was  passed  by  mistake,  the  vessel  making  Shoal  water  bay. 
Making  his  way  overland  to  the  Columbia,  he  went  10  Salem,  Or.,  and  to 
the  southern  mines,  but  returning  to  W.  T.  took  a  donation  claim  on  the 
Chehalis  river,  where  the  old  town  of  Montesano,  now  known  as  Wynoochee, 
grew  up  about  him.  He  married  Miss  Lorinda  Hopkins  in  1844,  who  rejoined 
him  in  W.  T.  in  1859.  The  first  sermon  preached  in  the  region  of  Montesano 
was  delivered  by  Rev.  J.  \V.  Goodell  at  Scammon's  house,  and  the  second 
school  in  the  county  was  on  his  place,  in  1859.  The  children  of  this  pioneer 
are,  Harriet,  married  Edward  Campbell;  George,  in.  Clara  Nye;  Cornelia 
Jane,  who  died;  Eva,  who  in.  I.  R.  Edwards;  Edith,  who  in.  P.  B.  Briscoe; 
Ella,  who  m.  Charles  H.  Finmet,  county  surveyor;  Norman,  who  accident 
ally  shot  himself  when  about  17  years  of  age. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 
1863-1886. 

EFFECT  OF  TERRITORIAL  DIVISION — ELECTION  OF  DELEGATE — NEGRO  SUF- 
FRAGE — PARTY  POLITICS — THE  LEGISLATURE— PEACE  AND  PROGRESS — 
STEAMBOATING — NAVIGATION  COMPANIES — CLEARING  RIVERS — PUBLIC 
BUILDINGS — INSANE  ASYLUM  AND  PENITENTIARY— LEGISLATIVE  DIVORCES 
— GOVERNMENT  RESERVATIONS— JUDICIAL  AFFAIRS — ANOTHER  DELE 
GATE — GOVERNOR  FLANDERS — GOVERNOR  SALOMON — GOVERNOR  FERRY 
— GOVERNOR  NEWELL — ERA  OF  RAILWAYS — MORE  ELECTIONS — POLITICAL 
PLATFORMS — CONVENTION — WOMAN 's  RIGHTS — LEGISLATURE. 

WITH  the  setting-off  of  the  territory  of  Idaho  from 
that  of  Washington  came  the  close  of  a  long  period 
of  exciting  events,  and  the  beginning  of  a  reign  of 
peace  and  constant,  gradual  growth.  Some  slight 
temporary  inconvenience  was  occasioned  by  the  ampu 
tation  from  the  body  politic  of  several  counties  be 
tween  two  sessions  of  the  legislature,  when  no  provis 
ion  could  be  made  for  the  reapportionment  of  repre 
sentatives,  the  legislature  of  1863-4  consisting  of  but 
seven  councilmen  and  twenty-four  assemblymen.1 

George  E.  Cole,  democrat,  was  elected  delegate  to 
congress  in  1863.2 

1  Organization  was  delayed  from  Dec.  7th  to  22d  by  the  balloting  for  pres 
ident  of  council,  0.  B.  McFadden  being  at  length  chosen,  and  for  chief  clerk, 
L.   D.  Durgin.  Or.  Statesman,  Jan.  3,  1804.     Clanrick  Crosby  was  elected 
speaker  by  the  house,  and  J.   L.   McDonald  clerk.    Wash.  Scraps,  149.     At 
the  session  of  1864— f>,  Frank  Clark  was  president  of  the  council,  and  James 
Tilton  chief  clerk,  while  F.  P.  Dugan  was  chosen  clerk. 

2  Cole  was  postmaster  at  Corvallis  in  1858.     He  had  been  member  of  the 
Oregon  legislature  in  1851-3,  but  falling  out  with  his  party,  removed  east  of 
the  mountains  in  1861,  and  engaged  in  trade  and  steamboating,  residing  at 
Walla  Walla.  Ueady'x  Scrap-Book,  41.     In  1862  he  was  in  the  storage  and 
commission  business  at  Lewiston;  but  in  the  following  year  returned  to  Walla 

(2C4) 


POLITICS.  265 

He  received  some  votes  of  union  men,  although 
repudiated  by  the  republican  party  as  a  peace  demo 
crat  in  war  times,  or  of  that  class  of  politicians  known 
as  copperheads,  who  were  amiably  willing  to  con 
done  rebellion,  but  without  the  nerve  openly  to 
oppose  the  government.  However  this  may  have 
been,  Cole  was  subsequently  appointed  governor  of 
Washington  by  a  republican  administration,  and  again 
postmaster  of  Portland  under  President  Grant. 

At  the  election  for  delegate  in  1865  A.  A.  Denny 
of  Seattle,  republican,  was  elected  by  a  large  majority 
over  James  Tilton,  who,  like  Cole,  was  charged  with 
entertaining  sentiments  inimical  to  the  course  of  the 
government  in  suppressing  secession.3 

There  was  in  Washington  a  party  strongly  opposed 
to  the  reconstruction  acts  of  congress,  which  favored 
the  readrnission  of  representatives  to  congress  from  the 
ten  excluded  states,  and  demanded  for  the  territory 
a  vote  in  congress,  and  the  exclusive  right  to  define  the 
elective  franchise,  or  in  other  words,  to  exclude  negroes 
from  the  polls.  Among  this  class  were  to  be  found 
many  of  Tilton's  supporters. 

Denny's  successor  as  delegate  was  Alvan  Flanders, 
of  Wallula,  an  active  business  man,  who  left  the  dem 
ocratic  party  before  the  date  of  the  civil  war.4  Flan 
ders  was  opposed  by  Frank  Clark  of  Steilacoorn,  his 

Walla,  and  ran  against  L.  J.  S.  Turncy  and  Joseph  Raynor.  Cole  received 
1 ,572  votes,  Raynoi1 1 ,387,  Turney  1)8.  Wash.  Scraps,  66.  Raynor  was  a  meth- 
odist  preacher,  who  was  stationed  at  Oregon  City  two  years  before.  Walla 
\ValUi  Statesman,  June  20,  1863.  Cole  was  appointed  governor  in  1SG6.  His 
wife  was  a  Miss  Cardwell  of  Corvallis. 

8  Garfielde  and  Evans  labored  for  the  election  of  Denny,  who  had  been  a 
member  of  the  legislature  from  1854  to  1801,  and  register  of  the  land-office  at 
Olympia  subsequently  until  elected  delegate.  Denny  was  later  member  of  a 
banking  firm  at  Seattle.  McFadden,  A.  J.  Lawrence,  and  J.  H.  Lassater 
canvassed  the  territory  for  Tilton.  Wash.  Scraps,  156-8;  S.  F.  Alta,  May  2, 
1867. 

4  Flanders  came  to  S.  F.  in  1851,  and  was  zealously  interested  with  Baker 
in  forming  the  first  republican  club  of  that  city.  In  1858,  in  connection  with 
C.  A.  Washburn,  he  started  the  S.  F.  Daily  Times,  a  republican  paper.  He 
also  represented  S.  F.  in  the  Cal.  legislature,  being  reflected  once  or  more. 
He  was  appointed  by  President  Lincoln  to  a  position  in  the  mint,  and  after 
ward  to  the  land-office  of  th«  Humboldt  district.  In  March  1863  he  removed 
to  Washington  and  entered  into  business  with  Felton  of  Wallula.  Oregoidan, 
in  Olympia  Pac.  Tribune,  April  27,  1867. 


266  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

majority  over  Clark5  being  153  out  of  5,000  votes,  so 
close  was  the  contest.6 

The  last  two  elections  had  been  carried  by  un 
doubted  republicans,  and  a  republican  executive  and 
secretary  had  administered  affairs  for  four  years,  when 
President  Johnson  saw  fit  to  remove  Pickering,  and 
furnish  the  late  delegate  Cole  with  a  commission  as 
governor,  dated  November  21,  18G6,  as  the  Orcgonian 
declared,  with  "partisan  motives."  The  senate,  how 
ever,  declined  to  confirm  the  commission,  and  Cole,  who 
had  qualified  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office 
without  waiting  to  hear  from  the  senate,  was  com 
pelled  to  abdicate  at  the  end  of  two  months,  and  after 
several  nominations  by  the  president,7  Marshall  F. 
Moore  was  confirmed  as  governor,  and  E.  L.  Smith 
as  secretary  of  the  territory.  Smith  arrived  on  the 
27th  of  June,  and  assumed  the  duties  of  acting  gov 
ernor  until  the  advent  of  Moore,8  late  in  the  summer. 

5  Frank  Clark  was  born  Feb.  10,  1834,  at  Binghampton,  N.  Y.,  and  studied 
law  at  Lowell,  Massachusetts.     He  came  to  Washington  in  185'2,  settling  in 
Steilacoom,  where  he  resided  until  about  1875,  when  he  removed  to  New  IV 
coma,  where  he  was  a  successful  lawyer.     When  Clark  first  came  to  Puget 
Sound  ho  took  work  in  a  saw-mill,  but  having  an  aptitude  for  politics,  was 
chosen  to  the  legislature,  after  which  he  rose  in  public  life  to  a  candidacy  for 
the  dclcgateship.     He  died  suddenly  of  paralysis  Jan.  8,  1883,  while  en  route 
to   Lewis   county   to   attend    court.     Clark   was  twice   married,    first  to  a 
daughter  of  R.  Downey  of  the  early  immigration,  and  second  to  L.  Scho- 
field  of  Vancouver.   Olympia   Wash.  Standard,  Jan.   12,  1883;  New  Tacoma 
Ledger,  Jan.  12,  1883. 

6  Olympia  Pac.  Tribune,  June  27  and  July  6,  1867.     In  the  union  terri 
torial  convention,  held  April  10th  at  Vancouver,  16  votes  being  necessary  to  a 
choice,   Holmes,    Wyclie,  Garfielde,  Abcrnethy,  and  Flanders  first  received 
scattering  votes;  afterward  Blinn  and  Denny  were  named.     In  the  democratic 
convention,  Clark,  Lancaster,  Dugan,  Langford,  Lawrence,  McFaddcn,  and 
Vansyckle  appeared  as  candidates,  their  platform  being  the  same  as  in  1865, 
with  the  addition  of  disapproving  the  exemption  of  U.  S.  bonds  from  taxation. 
Olympia,  Wash.  Standard,  May  4,  1867. 

7  Wash.  Jour.  House,  1866-7,  139. 

8  Marshall  F.  Moore  was  born  at  Binghamton,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  12,  1829.     He 
graduated  at  Yale  college,  studied  law,  and  began  practice  in  New  Orleans, 
where  he  remained  five  years,  removing  at  the  end  of  that  time  to  Sioux  City, 
Iowa,  where  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney,  and  subsequently  judge  of 
the  court  of  common  pleas.     He  again  changed  his  residence  to  Ohio,  where 
he  married  the  daughter  of  P.  Van  Trump  of  Lancaster.     He  served  through 
the  civil  war,  under  McClellan  in  Va,  and  in  the  department  of  the  Cumber 
land,  participating  in  the  battles  of  Rich  Mountain,  Shiloh,  Chickamauga, 
and  most  of  the  battles  of  Sherman's  Georgia  campaign.     He  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  brevet  brigadier-general  for  gallantry  at  the  battle  of  Jonesboro'. 
While  leading  a  brigade  at  the  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge  he  received  severe 
wounds,  from  which  he  was  unconscious  for  five  days.     His  health  was  much 


TERRITORIAL  OFFICIALS.  267 

Moore  made  a  good  impression  upon  the  legislature, 
which,  by  the  way,  was  the  first  elected  and  held  under 
an  amendment  of  the  organic  law  allowing  biennial 
instead  of  annual  sessions.  The  amendment  was  made 
in  consequence  of  a  memorial  to  congress  in  1864-5, 
setting  forth  that  no  necessity  existed  for  annual  ses 
sions,  and  that  the  per  diein  was  inadequate  to  the 
expense.9 

The  legislature  of  1865-6  in  another  memorial  re- 

O 

quested  that  the  people  of  the  territory  might  be  per 
mitted  to  elect  their  own  governor,  judges,  and  other 
officers.  The  Oregonians  assigned  as  reasons  for  a 
similar  request  that  the  federal  judges  did  not  remain 
in  the  country,  and  asserted  that  they  had  men  among 
themselves  competent  to  be  made  judges.  The  Wash- 
ingtonians,  with  more  tact,  refrained  from  referring  to 
this  thought  in  their  minds,  but  simply  complained  of 
absenteeism  and  its  evils. 

The  answer  to  their  first  memorial  was  the  amend 
ment  spoken  of  above,  which  enacted  that  after  the 
session  of  1866-7  the  legislature  should  meet  but  once 
in  two  years,  that  members  of  the  council  should  be 
chosen  for  four  years  and  assemblymen  for  two  years, 
and  that  they  should  receive  six  dollars  a  day  instead 
of  three  as  formerly,  with  the  same  mileage  as  before; 
the  first  election  for  members  of  the  biennial  legisla 
ture  to  take  place  in  1867.  The  chief  clerk  was  al 
lowed  six  dollars  a  day,  and  all  the  other  officers 
elected  by  the  legislature  five  dollars,  including  an 

«/  o  *  o 

additional  enrolling  clerk.10 

With  reference  to  the  petition  to  be  permitted  to 
elect  the  territorial  officers,  congress  sought  to  cure 
the  evil  complained  of  by  enacting  that  no  officer  ap- 

shattered  by  these  injuries,  but  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  brevet  major- 
general,  March  13,  18G5.  His  next  appointment  was  to  the  executive  chair 
of  a  north-west  territory.  Ohjmpla  Pac.  Tribune.,  March  3,  1870;  Port,  Towns- 
end  Mex8enr/<-r,  March  4,  1870.  E.  L.  Smith  was  from  Galesburg,  111. 

9  Waxh.  Stnt.,  lSG-t-5,  155-G,  10;  Id.,  18G5-6,  219-20. 

10  On  the  organization  of  the  legislature  at  its  lirst  biennial  session,  C.  M. 
Bradshaw  was  chosen  president  of  the  council,  and  Richard  Lane  chief  clerk. 
Later  on  in  the  session  H.  G.  Struve  was  made  president,  and  Elwood  Evans 
enrolling  clerk.    Wash.  Jour.  House,  1SG7,  207. 


268  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

pointed  should  be  allowed  compensation  out  of  the 
public  funds  before  he  should  have  entered  upon  his 
duties  at  the  proper  place,  nor  should  he  receive  pay 
for  any  time  he  might  be  absent  without  authority 
from  the  president.  In  the  event  of  the  death  or  dis 
ability  of  any  judge  of  the  federal  courts  at  the  time 
appointed  for  holding  a  session,  either  of  the  other 
judges  might  hold  his  court.  Should  the  governor  die 
or  be  otherwise  incompetent,  the  secretary  should  act 
in  his  place,  and  receive  a  salary  equal  to  that  of  gov 
ernor.  These  laws  put  an  effectual  check  upon  the 
practice  of  governors  and  judges  of  spending  a  large 
portion  of  their  time  journeying  to  and  from  Wash 
ington  city,  and  of  delegates  procuring  executive 
appointments  in  order  to  receive  double  mileage. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  go  into  the  particulars 
of  the  political  contests  of  this  period,  when  the 
amendments  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States 
provoked  the  same  criticism  and  opposition  from 
the  democratic  party  in  Washington  that  they  did 
elsewhere,  and  when  certain  territorial  politicians 
assumed  a  belligerent  air  because  congress  'interfered' 
in  the  concerns  of  'our  territory.'  I  have  alluded  in 
my  History  of  Oi^egon  to  the  great  influx  of  immigra 
tion  from  the  southern  and  border  states,  and  their 
effect  upon  the  political  and  social  condition  of  the  Pa 
cific  coast,  during  the  period  of  the  civil  war  in  the  east 
and  the  mining  discoveries  in  the  west.  It  is  greatly 
to  the  credit  of  the  original  pioneer  settlers,  many  of 
whom  were  southern  born  and  bred,  that  notwith 
standing  the  pressure  upon  society  of  a  large  disorgan 
izing  element,  they  maintained  the  balance  of  power 
and  performed  their  duty  toward  the  government. 

Moore's  administration  opened  auspiciously,  much 
pains  being  taken  by  him  to  place  himself  in  sympathy 
with  the  whole  people  by  studying  their  interests.  It 
was  said  that  his  first  message,  delivered  soon  after 


RULE  OP  GOVERNOR  MOORE.  269 

his  arrival,  was  a  surprise  to  the  legislature,  which 
had  not  expected  so  elaborate  a  document  from  a  new 
appointee.  From  it  might  be  gathered  a  more  or 
less  complete  statement  of  the  condition  of  affairs  in. 
the  territory  in  1867. 

After  a  long  series  of  interruptions,  it  was  once 
more  prosperous  and  progressive,  in  the  enjoyment  of 
health,  plenty,  and  peace,  with  a  rapidly  increasing 
population,  as  shown  by  the  vote  cast  at  the  election 
in  June,11  which  exceeded  the  vote  of  the  previous 
year  by  one  thousand.  The  agricultural,  commercial, 
and  mineral  resources  of  the  country  were  being  de 
veloped,  and  its  exports  increasing.  During  the  cur 
rent  year  steamboats  had  been  placed  on  the  Chehalis 
and  Cowlitz  rivers,  opening  to  commerce  settlements 
hitherto  remote.12 

11  The  annual  election  was  first  set  for  the  first  Monday  in  Sept.,  but  in 
1855  was  changed  to  the  second  Monday  in  July.     In  I860  the  day  of  elec 
tion  was  changed  to  the  first  Monday  in  June. 

12  The  first  charter  granted  to  a  steamboat  company  on  the  Cowlitz  River 
was  to  Seth  Catlin,  John  R.  Jackson,  Fred.  A.  Clarke,  Henry  N.  Peers,  George 
B.  Roberts,  and  their  successors,  by  the  legislature  of  1854-5.    Wash.  Stat., 
1854,  459.     This  company  failed  to  make  any  use  of  its  charter.     The  legis 
lature  of   1858-9  granted  to  Royal  C.  Smith  and  Noyes  H.  Smith  and  their 
associates  permission  to  incorporate  the   Cowlitz  River   Steam   Navigation 
Company,  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  bed  of  the  Cowlitz  River,  and 
keeping  upon  it  a  steamboat  or  boats  suitable  for  carrying  freight  and  pas 
sengers  between  the  two  points  named,  upon  condition  that  a  steamer  should 
be  put  upon  the  river  within  six  months,  and  the  obstructions  removed  in 
nine  months,  failing  to  do  which  they  forfeited  their  charter.     But  this  com 
pany  also  failed  to  accomplish  its  object.     Upon  condition  of  improving  and 
navigating  the  river,  the  legislature  of    1862-3  granted  to  Nathaniel  Stone 
and  his  associates,  under  the  name  of  the  Monticello  and  Cowlitz  Landing 
Steamboat  Company,  the  exclusive  right  to  navigate  the  Cowlitz.     This  com 
pany  placed  a  boat  on  the  river  in  the  spring  of  18G4,  when  the  Oregon  Steam 
Navigation  Company  put  on   an  opposition  boat.     The  1'escue  and  Rainier 
were  built  for  this  trade.     The  Monticello  company  filed  a  bill  against  them, 
and  prayed  for  an  injunction.     The  case  was  tried  before  Judge  Wyche,  who 
held  that  the  exclusive  grant  of  the  legislature  was  void,  because  in  conflict 
with  the  powers  of  congress  to  regulate  commerce  among  the  several  states  of 
the  union,  and  the  injunction  was  denied.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  June  24,   18G4; 
Wa*h.  Scraps,  132-3.     The  river  was  found  to  be  navigable  for  steamers  to 
Cowlitz  landing  only  in  the  season  of  high  water  until  the  government  should 
have  made  large  appropriations  for  its  improvement,  which  was  never  done, 
and   there  remained  the  primitive  canoe,  or  the  almost  equally  primitive 
'stage,'  to  convey  passengers  from  Cowlitz  landing  to  Monticello,  whence  they 
were  conveyed  in  small  boats  across  the  Columbia  to  Rainier,  where  they  were 
picked  up  by  a  passing  steamboat.     But  in  Sept.  18G7  the  0.  S.  N.  Co.  began 
to  run  a  boat  regularly  to  Monticello  to  connect  with  Hailley's  tri-weckly  line 
of  stages,  which  was  the  improvement  to  which  Gov.  Moore  alluded  in  his 
message.     The  legislature  of  1859-60  passed  au  act  incorporating  the  Che- 


270  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

Within  the  year  just  ended,  Alaska  had  been 
added  to  the  United  States  territory,  giving  Wash- 
halls  Steamboat  Navigation  Company,  for  the  purpose  of  improving  that 
stream  and  rendering  it  navigable  from  Gray  Harbor  to  Davis'  landing,  or 
farther,  if  practicable,  conditioned  upon  Thomas  Wright  and  his  associates 
having  a  steamer  running  on  Gray  Harbor  and  Chehalis  Eiver  within  six 
months  after  the  passage  of  the  act.  Wash.  Stat.,  1859-60,  459-60.  The 
same  legislature  memorialized  congress  to  grant  §15,000  for  the  improvement 
of  the  river,  which  was  not  appropriated;  but  in  June  1860  $20,000  was 
granted  to  erect  a  light-house  at  the  entrance  to  the  harbor,  and  buoy  out  the 
channel.  The  latter  service  was  performed  in  1867  by  Capt.  Bloomfield.  The 
steamer  Enterprise,  which  had  been  running  on  Fraser  River  and  adjacent 
waters,  was  taken  to  Gray  Harbor  in  the  summer  of  1859.  S.  F.  Alt  a,  July 
13,  1859.  The  legislature  of  1861-2  passed  an  act  making  the  Chehalis  navi 
gable  from  its  mouth  to  Claquato,  at  the  crossing  of  the  territorial  road. 
Again,  in  Jan.  1866,  a  company  was  incorporated,  consisting  of  S.  S.  Ford, 
Courtland  Ethridge,  A.  J.  Miller,  J.  Boise,  0.  B.  McFadden,  S.  S.  Ford,  Jr, 
J.  Brady,  S.  Benn,  Reuben  Redmond,  and  G.  W.  Biles,  and  others  resident 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Chehalis,  with  the  '  purpose  of  manufacturing  lumber 
and  Hour,  developing  the  resources  of  the  Chehalis  Valley,  and  navigating 
the  waters  of  Gray  Harbor  and  its  tributaries  by  steam  or  other  vessels,'  etc. 
No  requirement  as  to  time  was  laid  upon  this  company,  but  in  the  autumn  of 
1866  they  placed  a  small  steamer,  called  the  Satsutl,  011  the  river,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1867  the  Carrie  Davis,  which  made  regular  trips.  In  the  autumn 
the  Goff  brothers  of  Tumwater  put  on  a  stern-wheel  boat  of  light  draught, 
which  ascended  as  far  as  Claquato.  Olympia  Standard,  Jan.  IS,  1868.  The 
legislature  of  1867-8  memorialized  congress  to  appropriate  £10,000  to  remove 
obstructions  and  improve  navigation;  and  by  joint  resolution  inquired  why 
the  light-house  had  never  been  erected  for  which  money  had  been  appropri 
ated.  The  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company  was  first  incorporated  by  the 
Washington  legislature  in  Dec.  I860,  the  incorporators  being  required  to 
register  all  their  steamers  and  vessels  subject  to  taxation  in  Clarke  county. 
Wash.  Stat.,  1860-1,  72;  Hist.  Or.,  ii.  480-2,  this  series.  In  Jan.  1862  there 
was  incorporated  the  Columbia  Transportation  Company  of  the  Territory  of 
Washington,  with  headquarters  at  Vancouver,  T.  H.  Smith,  A.  D.  Sanders, 
Milton  Aldrich,  E.  S.  Fowler,  Dexter  Horton,  William  W.  Miller,  Peter  J. 
Moorey,  A.  S.  Abemethy,  and  Charles  C.  Phillips  as  corporators.  This  or 
ganization  was  formed  to  run  in  opposition  to  the  0.  S.  N.  Co.  It  built  sev 
eral  steamboats,  and  ran  on  the  upper  as  well  as  lower  Columbia  fora  season, 
but  finally  sold  out  to  the  monopoly.  Approved  at  the  same  time  was  an  act 
incorporating  the  Puget  Sound  and  Columbia  River  Railroad  Company,  to 
build  and  operate  a  railroad  from  Steilacoom  to  Vancouver;  the  capital  stock 
$15,000,000,  which  might  be  increased  to  $50,000,000;  the  road  to  be  com 
menced  within  three  years,  and  completed  within  ten.  The  movers  in  this 
enterprise  were  J.  B.  Webber,  P.  Reach,  Lafayette  Balch,  Thomas  Chambers, 
S.  McCaw,  J.  W.  Nye,  Lewis  Lord,  Richard  Covington,  John  Aird,  Lewis 
Sohns,  George  W.  Hart,  C.  Lancaster,  T.  J.  Demarco,  George  Woods,  Enoch 
S.  Fowler.  Paul  K.  Hubbs,  H.  Z.  Wheeler,  J.  P.  Keller,  A.  A.  Denny,  H. 
L.  Yesler,  Charles  Plummer,  W.  W.  Miller,  A.  J.  Chambers,  James  Biles, 
H.  D.  Huntington,  Charles  Holman,  Cyrus  Walker,  Frank  Clark,  William 
W.  Morrow.  A  company  was  also  incorporated  in  Jan.  1863  for  the  purpose 
of  clearing  the  Puyallup  River  of  obstructions  and  rendering  it  navigable  as 
far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Stuck,  consisting  of  Cyril  Ward,  William  Billings,  A. 
J.  Perkins,  Israel  Wright,  John  Carson,  John  Walker,  Isaac  Woolery,  Abra 
ham  Woolery,  J.  P.  Stewart,  Miller,  R.  S.  Moore,  William  M.  Kincaid,  Jon 
athan  McCarty,  L.  F.  Thompson,  Archibald  McMillan,  Sherman,  J.  B.  Leach, 
W.  H.  Whitesell,  Aronomous  Nix,  Isaac  Lemmon,  Van  Ogle,  Daniel  E.  Lane, 
Edward  Lane,  William  Lane,  H.  W.  Berry,  James  H.  Downey,  R.  M.  Downey, 
F.  C.  Seaman,  and  Willis  Boatman.  The  act  required  the  company  to  begia 


STEAMBOATS.  271 

ington  a  comparatively  central  position  with  respect 
to    the    Northwest   Coast,    which    could  not  but  be 

clearing  the  river  within  three  months,  and  each  year  to  clear  at  least  one 
mile  of  the  channel  from  all  drifts,  jams,  sunken  logs,  or  other  obstructions 
to  the  passage  of  flat-boats  or  other  small  craft,  and  within  five  years  have 
cleared  the  whole  distance;  after  which  completion  of  the  work,  certain  rates 
of  toll  might  be  collected.  The  act  was  amended  at  the  next  session  to  allow 
ten  years  for  the  completion  of  the  work  of  clearing  the  river  from  obstruc 
tions  to  the  mouth  of  the  Stuck.  Whatever  work  was  accomplished  was  ren 
dered  valueless  by  the  accumulations  of  drift.  In  1875  McFadden,  delegate, 
secured  an  appropriation  from  congress  for  the  survey  of  the  Puyallup  River. 
Pacific  Tribune,  March  20,  1875.  The  survey  was  made,  and  embraced  that 
portion  of  the  river  from  the  mouth  to  the  forks.  It  was  proposed  to  deepen 
the  channel  sufficiently  to  admit  of  the  passage  of  boats  drawing  2^  feet.  In 
1 SG4  much  interest  was  shown  in  the  Columbia  River  pass  of  the  Cascade 
Mountains,  two  companies  being  incorporated  to  build  a  railroad  at  the  port 
age  on  the  Washington  side;  one  by  Peter  Donahue,  William  Kohl,  and  Al 
exander  P.  Ankeny,  called  the  Washington  Railroad  Company,  and  another 
by  William  C.  Parsons  and  Richard  Harris,  called  the  Middle  Cascade  Port 
age  Company,  neither  of  which  ever  made  any  use  of  their  franchise.  Wash. 
Stat.,  1 804-5,  108-20.  Subsequent  to  the  close  of  the  Fraser  River  mining 
excitement  and  the  opening  of  the  country  east  of  the  Cascades,  which  drew 
mining  travel  up  the  Columbia  instead  of  by  Puget  Sound,  the  numerous 
boats  employed  in  these  waters  had  been  withdrawn,  and  the  only  craft  left 
were  sailing-vessels,  a  steam  revenue-cutter,  and  the  mail  passenger-steamer 
Eliza  Anderson,  running  between  Olympia,  Victoria,  and  way-ports.  I  have 
mentioned  in  an  earlier  chapter  the  Major  Tompkinsas  the  first  mail  and  pas 
senger  steamer  employed  on  Puget  Sound,  in  1854.  She  was  lost  at  Victoria 
harbor  after  running  about  one  year,'  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Traveller, 
Capt.  J.  G.  Parker,  which  ran  from  Olympia  to  Victoria  for  two  years  car 
rying  the  mail.  She  was  then  sold  to  Horton,  who  chartered  her  to  the  Ind 
ian  department,  which  needed  a  steamer  to  carry  their  officers  and  goods  to 
the  various  reservations,  and  was  lost,  March  1858,  at  Foulweather  Bluff,  to 
gether  with  five  persons,  Thomas  Slater,  Truman  H.  Fuller,  special  Indian 
agent,  John  Stevens,  George  Haywey,  and  a  sailor,  name  unknown.  Fuller 
was  from  the  state  of  New  York.  He  came  to  Puget  Sound  as  purser  of  the 
Major  Tompkin-t,  and  after  she  was  lost  was  engaged  by  the  Indian  depart 
ment.  Olymjna  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  March  19,  1858.  She  was  an  iron  steamer, 
built  at  Philadelphia,  and  brought  out  around  Cape  Horn  in  sections.  This 
was  the  first  steamer  that  ran  upon  the  Dwamish,  White,  Snohomish,  and 
Nootsack  rivers.  She  rendered  important  services  carrying  men  and  supplies 
to  forts  and  camps.  In  1855  was  incorporated  the  Puget  Sound  Navigation 
Company,  consisting  of  William  H.  Wallace,  William  Cock,  H.  A.  Golds- 
borough,  II.  L.  Yesler,  Charles  C.  Terry,  James  M.  Hunt,  and  John  H. 
Scranton.  Scranton  went  to  S.  F.  as  agent  for  the  company  and  purchased  a 
tug-boat,  the  Champion,  which,  however,  does  not  appear  to  have  reached 
the  Sound.  He  purchased  also  the  passenger  steamer  Young  America  at 
Portland;  but  she  was  burned  at  Crescent  City  while  on  her  way  from  S.  F. 
to  Vancouver  with  1,000  troops  under  Major  Prince.  Scranton  seems  to  have 
been  unfortunate.  He  owned  the  Major  Tompkins,  which  was  lost  this  year. 
In  1856  he  purchased  the  screw-propeller  Constitution,  together  with  W.  E. 
Moulthrop,  which  ran  from  Olympia  to  Victoria  with  the  mails  for  about 
three  years  before  and  during  the  Fraser  River  times.  The  Constitution  was 
built  in  New  York  in  1850  by  Ward  &  Price,  who  sold  her  at  Panamd,  in 
1851  to  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company,  and  afterward  sold  to  Scranton. 
Her  engines  were  taken  out  in  1800,  and  she  became  a  lumber  carrier  about 
the  Sound,  though  her  timbers  were  still  good  in  1873.  Portland  Herald,  Feb. 
13,  1873;  E'>ey'a  Journal,  MS.,  v.  100,  105,  137.  Captains  A.  B.  Gove  and 
James  M.  Hunt  commanded  the  Comtitution  on  the  Sound  during  1867-9. 


272  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

beneficial  to  it,  with  the  stimulation  to  trade  which 
the  change  in  the  nationality  of  the  Russian  posses 
sions  must  bring  with  it.13 

In  December  1859  the  Eliza  Anderson  succeeded  the  Constitution  as  a  mail 
carrier.  She  was  built  on  the  Columbia  by  Farman  for  George  and  John 
Wright  of  Victoria,  whose  father  owned  the  ill-fated  Brother  Jonathan.  The 
Anderson  was  commanded  by  D.  B.  Finch,  and  ran  for  about  8  years  on  the 
same  route.  She  was  laid  up  in  1S80.  During  a  part  of  this  time  a  small 
steamer,  the  J.  B.  Libbey,  built  at  Utsalady,  carried  the  mail  from  Seattle  to 
Penn  Cove,  Whidbey  Island,  and  from  there  through  the  Swinomish  slough 
to  Whatcom,  Bellingham  Bay.  During  the  busy  times  of  Fraser  Paver  min 
ing  rush,  the  Julia,  from  the  Columbia  River,  and  the  Wilson  G.  Hunt,  Sea 
Bird,  and  Surprise  from  San  Francisco,  ran  on  the  Sound,  returning  to  other 
routes  on  the  subsidence  of  travel  and  increase  of  business  on  the  Columbia, 
and  one  steam- vessel  performed  the  carrying  on  the  Sound  between  Olympia 
and  Victoria.  Parker's  Puyet  Sound,  MS.,  5-9.  At  the  session  of  1865-Gthe 
Puget  Sound  Steam  Navigation  Company  was  reincorporated  by  W.  T.  Say- 
ward,  Thomas  Deane,  E.  S.  Fowler,  H.  L.  Tibbals,  0.  F.  Gerrish,  P.  M. 
O'Brien,  C.  B.  Sweeny,  W.  W.  Miller,  Isaac  Lightner,  S.  W.  Percival.  S.  D. 
Howe,  G.  K.  Willard,  Sam.  Coulter,  T.  F.  McEloy,  J.  L.  McDonald,  and 
their  associates,  to  navigate  the  waters  of  Washington,  V.  I.,  and  B.  C.  Wash. 
Stat.,  18G5-G,  193—4.  Nothing  was  ever  done  by  this  company  for  the  benefit 
of  navigation.  Boats  continued  to  arrive  from  S.  F.  for  the  business  of  the 
Sound  for  several  seasons:  the  tug-boat  Resolute,  Capt.  Cuindon,  in  1859, 
which  blew  up  in  1SG7;  the  small  side-wheel  steamer  Hanger  No.  2,  Capt.  J. 
S.  Hill;  the  Black  Diamond  in  1861;  the  Cyrus  Walker,  a  tow-boat,  in  18G5; 
the  Josie  McNcar,  Capt.  Crosby,  in  18G8,  which  carried  the  mail  for  the  con 
tractors,  Hailley,  Crosby,  &  Windsor.  She  ran  on  the  Sound  for  less  than 
a  year,  when  she  was  traded  to  the  0.  S.  N.  Co.  for  the  New  World,  Capt. 
Windsor,  which  had  been  a  Hudson  River  steamer,  but  ran  away  and  came 
to  the  Pacific  coast.  Her  history  was  eventful,  having  carried  passengers  on 
the  Hudson,  Sacramento,  and  Columbia  rivers,  and  Puget  Sound.  She 
proved  too  large  and  expensive,  and  was  sold  to  the  Wrights  of  Victoria. 
The  Olympia  was  the  next  mail  and  passenger  boat,  Capt.  Finch.  The  next 
contractors  were  L.  M.  &  E.  A.  Starr,  who  ran  the  steamer  A  lida,  Capt. 
Parker,  a  good  passenger  boat,  to  Victoria,  sometimes  connecting  at  Port 
Townsend  with  the  English  steamer  Jsabcl.  The  Zephyr,  Capt.  Thomaa 
Wright,  ran  at  the  same  time.  They  subsequently  built  at  S.  F.  the  North 
Pacijic,  which  was  brought  up  to  take  the  Alula's  place  in  1871,  and  was 
carrying  the  mail  in  1878.  Parker's  Puget  Sound,  MS.,  S-9.  In  the  mean 
time  small  jobbing  and  freight  steamers  have  multiplied,  owned  chiefly  by 
individuals,  as  the  J.  B.  Libbey,  Chehalis,  Goliah,  Favorite,  Phantom,  Polit- 
kofsky,  Ruby,  Success,  Cdlo,  Mary  Woodruff,  Addie,  and  the  A.  E.  Marr. 
In  1876  the  Puget  Sound  Transportation  Company  was  incorporated,  and 
built  two  boats,  the  Messenger,  Capt.  J.  G.  Parker,  and  the  Daisy,  Capt.  C. 
H.  Parker,  making  a  line  from  Olympia  to  Mount  Vernon  on  the  Skagit 
River.  The  company  has  since  bought  and  sold  several  other  boats.  In 
1881  a  spirited  competition  was  kept  up  for  a  season  between  the  boats  of  the 
Puget  Sound  Transportation  Company  and  Starr's  line,  the  Operand  Annie 
Stewart.  In  the  autumn  of  1881  the  O.  S.  N.  Co.  purchased  Starr's  line,  and 
added  some  of  their  old  boats,  the  Welcome,  Idaho,  and  Emma  Hayward, 
In  the  following  year  another  company  was  formed,  called  the  Washington 
Steam  Navigation  Company,  whose  boats  were  the  City  of  Qainci/,  Daisy, 
Washinijton,  and  Marvin.  J.  G.  Parker,  in  Historical  Correspondence,  MS., 
1884. 

"Message  of  Governor  Moore,  Washington  Jour.  House,  1867-8,  30-1. 
The  policy  of  the  Alaska  Company  was  not  to  encourage  trade,  but  rather  to 
oppose  it. 


VARIOUS  MEASURES.  273 

A  reciprocity  treaty  had  also  been  negotiated  with 
the  Hawaiian  Islands,  from  which  it  was  expected 
that  Washington  would  obtain  sugar  at  a  reduced 
price,  and  the  Hawaiian  kingdom  purchase  more 
largely  of  the  territory's  lumber  and  other  products.14 

The  inadequacy  of  the  mail  service  it  was  suggested 
should  be  made  the  subject  of  a  memorial  to  congress.15 
The  legislature  accordingly  petitioned  for  a  mail  route 
by  sea  from  San  Francisco  to  Olympia,  instead  of  by 
land  from  the  Columbia;  for  steamship  service  be 
tween  Olympia  and  Sitka;  for  a  weekly  mail  to  As 
toria  by  the  way  of  the  Chehalis,  Gray  Harbor, 
Shoal  water  and  Baker  bays;  and  for  improvements 
in  other  routes,  and  for  increased  compensation  in 
certain  cases,  which  have  since  been  granted.  The 
necessity  of  codifying  the  laws  was  urged,  and  of  ap 
pointing  commissioners  for  that  purpose  without  delay. 
An  act  was  accordingly  passed  authorizing  the  gov 
ernor  to  appoint  "three  discreet  persons"  as  code 
commissioners,  to  revise,  digest,  and  codify  the  statute 
laws  of  the  territory.  The  three  persons  chosen  were 
J.  H.  Lassater,  Elwood  Evans,  and  B.  F.  Dennison,16 
who  made  their  report  to  the  legislature  of  1869, 
which  met  in  October,  in  accordance  with  an  act 
passed  in  January  1868  changing  the  time  of  hold 
ing  the  sessions  of  the  legislative  assembly. 

Another  subject  of  executive  advice  was  the  proper 
care  of  the  insane,  at  the  time  provided  for  by  con 
tract  with  the  lowest  bidder.  No  territorial  asylum 
was  provided  where  their  condition  could  be  amelio 
rated  until  1871,  when  an  asylum  at  Steilacoom  was 
prepared  for  their  reception.17 

14 No  such  benefits  resulted  as  were  anticipated  by  Gov.  Moore;  the  effect 
of  reciprocity  with  inferior  nations  being  to  assist  them  at  the  expense  of  the 
other  side. 

15  The  government  discriminated  unjustly,  by  paying  a  subsidy  of  §6,000 
in  coin  for  carrying  the  mail  from  Victoria  to  Fort  Pickett  on*  San  Juan 
Island,  and  $10,000  in  depreciated  currency  for  carrying  it  from  Victoria  to 
Olympia  and  back,  once  a  week.  The  tri-weekly  mail  from  Portland  to 
Olympia  was  detained  at  the  latter  place  from  two  to  four  days. 

^Olympia  Standard,  Oct.  9,  1870;   Wash.  Stat.,  1867-8,  64. 

"The  legislative  assembly  of  1861-2  authorized  the  gov.  and  auditor  to 
HIST.  WASH.— 18 


274  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

For  several  sessions  previous  to  1862  the  legislature 
had  granted  divorces  indiscriminately.18  When  Gov 
ernor  Pickering  came  to  observe  this,  he  made  a 
serious  appeal  to  the  legislature  to  cease  dissolving 
the  marriage  bond  and  leave  this  matter  to  the  courts, 
where  the  impediments  were  few  enough,  but  where, 
at  least,  some  examination  would  be  made  into  the 
merits  of  the  applicant's  case.  Notwithstanding,  six 
teen  unions  were  dissolved  by  the  legislatures  of 
1862-3,  and  at  the  following  session  Pickering  again 
called  attention  to  the  practice,  which  was  not  there- 
contract  for  the  care  of  the  insane,  the  contract  being  let  to  the  St  John  luna 
tic  asylum  at  Vancouver,  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  A  fund  was  set 
aside  out  of  the  general  fund  of  the  territory  to  pay  for  their  keeping,  and 
they  were  kindly  cared  for.  A  memorial  was  forwarded  to  congress,  asking 
that  an  appropriation  might  be  made  to  erect  a  building  somewhere  on  the 
Sound  which  should  serve  both  for  a  marine  hospital,  which  was  needed,  and 
an  asylum  for  the  insane.  But  congress  had  not  responded,  when  the  legisla 
ture  of  1866-7  passed  an  act  again  authorizing  the  governor  and  auditor  to 
make  contracts  for  the  care  of  the  insane,  the  contractors  giving  bonds  for  the 
proper  performance  of  their  duties,  and  the  law  requiring  them  to  report  an 
nually  to  the  governor.  A  board  of  inspectors  was  appointed  to  visit  the 
asylum  quarterly,  and  to  audit  the  accounts  submitted  by  the  institution. 
The  patients  were  removed  from  St  John's,  Vancouver,  to  a  private  asylum 
in  charge  of  James  Huntington  and  son,  located  in  the  Cowlitz  valley  oppo 
site  Monticello,  where  the  accommodations  were  inadequate,  and  where  by 
the  unusual  flood  of  Dec.  1867  the  improvements  were  swept  away.  It  was 
in  reference  to  these  facta  that  Gov.  Moore  called  for  a  radical  change  in  the 
system  adopted,  and  advised  the  purchase  of  a  farm  and  the  erection  of  an 
asylum  which  would  meet  the  requirements  of  those  suffering  from  mental 
diseases,  who,  with  intelligent  treatment,  might  be  restored  to  society.  At 
the  session  of  1867-8,  however,  nothing  was  done  except  to  petition  congress 
for  a  grant  of  land,  the  proceeds  of  which  should  be  expended  in  providing  a 
fund  for  the  erection  of  a  suitable  building  and  the  support  of  the  insane. 
But  at  the  following  tenn  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  purchase  of  the 
government  buildings  at  Fort  Steilacoom,  should  they  be  offered  for  sale,  and 
appointing  the  governor  and  auditor  commissioners  to  secure  the  prop 
erty.  The  purchase  of  the  abandoned  military  quarters  was  effected  in  Jan. 
1870,  by  James  Scott,  territorial  secretary,  and  other  commissioners  appointed 
by  the  legislature,  Delegate  Flanders  having  in  the  mean  time  proposed  to 
congress  to  donate  them  to  the  territory.  H .  Ex.  Doc. ,  202,  42d  cong.  2d  sess. ; 
Id.  Doc.,  175;  Cong.  Globe,  1868-9,  554;  Olympia  Transcript,  Feb.  27,  1869. 
The  price  paid  for  the  buildings  was  §850.  In  March  1873,  soon  after  the 
settlement  of  the  Puget  Sound  Company's  claims,  congress  did  donate  the 
military  reservation  for  asylum  grounds,  giving  Washington  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  sites  on  the  Sound  for  the  use  of  the  insane.  The  patients  were  re 
moved  in  Aug.  1871.  The  number  of  patients  in  1870  was  23.  In  1877  it 
was  67.  There  were  25  acres  of  ground  in  cultivation,  and  300  fruit-trees  set 
out.  Tacoma  Herald,  April  14,  1877.  The  disbursements  for  the  insane  in 
1879  were  $52,325.  Olympia  Standard,  Oct.  10,  1879. 

18  In  1860-1  there  were  granted  17  divorces,  in  1861-2  13,  and  in  1862-3 
16.  There  seems  to  have  been  some  connection  between  the  gold-mining  ex 
citement  and  the  desire  for  freedom. 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  275 

after  renewed;  but  an  act  was  passed  in  January  1866 
declaring  marriage  to  be  a  civil  contract,  and  doubt- 

o  o 

less  intended  to  prevent  legislative  divorces,  as  civil 
contracts  could  only  be  annulled  by  the  courts.19 

Nevertheless,  a  bill  was  passed  in  January  1868 
dissolving  a  marriage,  which  on  presentation  to  Gov 
ernor  Moore  was  returned  without  approval,  and  the 
legislature  declined  to  pass  it  over  the  veto,  by  a  vote 
in  the  house  of  three  to  twenty-four.  Subsequent 
efforts  to  revive  the  practice  failed.  This  tendency 
to  dissolve  marriage  ties  was  the  more  remarkable 
when  it  is  remembered  that  the  male  population 
greatly  exceeded  the  female,  many  men  having  taken 
wives  from  among  the  Indian  women.20  A.  S. 
Mercer  of  Seattle  in  1865  made  a  movement  to 
establish  asocial  equilibrium,  by  importing  a  ship-load 
of  unmarried  women  from  the  Atlantic  states,  widows 
and  orphans  of  soldiers,  but  the  influence  of  a  single 
adventure  of  this  kind  was  hardly  perceptible. 

Among  the  public  institutions  of  which  the  terri 
tory  had  long  had  need  was  a  penitentiary,  the  only 
prison  in  use  for  felons  being  the  county  jail  of  Pierce 
county,  from  which  escapes  were  of  frequent  occur 
rence.  In  January  1867  congress  set  aside  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  a  suitable  prison  the  net  proceeds 
of  the  internal  revenue  of  the  territory  from  the  30th 
of  June,  1865,  to  the  same  date  of  1868,  provided  the 
amount  should  not  exceed  twenty  thousand  dollars. 
The  legislature  appointed  a  committee  to  wait  upon 
the  collector  to  ascertain  the  amount  due  the  terri 
tory,21  which  fell  far  beneath  the  appropriation,  the 

19  Wash.  Stat.,  1865-6,  80-85;   Wash.  Jour.  House,  1867-8,  400. 

20 Morse,  in  his  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xv.  34-5,  speaks  of  this  condition  of 
society  in  the  Haro  archipelago  more  particularly.  Orcas  Island  was  settled 
chiefly  by  returned  Fraser  River  miners,  who  nearly  all  took  Indian  wives. 
As  late  as  1879  there  were  but  13  white  women  on  that  island.  On  Lopez 
Island  the  first  white  woman  settled  in  1869,  Mrs  J.  L.  Davis.  There  were 
more  purely  white  families  on  Lopez  than  Orcas;  San  Juan  had  later  a  more 
nearly  equal  division  of  the  sexes  than  the  smaller  islands  of  the  group,  but 
miscegenation  prevailed  to  a  considerable  extent  in  all  the  northern  settle 
ments.  See  also  Oli/mpia  Wash.  Standard,  Sept.  30,  1865. 

21  Philip  D.  Moore  was  collector  of  internal  revenue  in  1867.  He  was  suc 
ceeded  by  Edward  Giddings,  who  was  born  in  Niagara  county,  New  York,  iu 


276  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

grant  of  $20,000  being  doubled  before  the  penitentiary 
buildings  proper  were  begun.22 

No  event  could  better  illustrate  the  change  which 
ten  years  had  made  in  the  condition  of  Washington 
than  the  abandonment  in  the  spring  of  1868  of  Fort 
Steilacoom.  So  far  as  the  natives  of  the  Puget  Sound 
region  were  concerned,  their  millenium  had  come, 
their  eternity  begun,  and  they  would  learn  war  no 
more.  Contentedly  they  digged  their  little  farms  on 
the  reservations,  hired  themselves  out  as  farm-hands, 
fished,  raced  horses,  held  pot-laches,™  gathered  berries 
for  sale,  or  spent  their  trifling  earnings  in  whiskey, 
which  caused  many,  both  men  and  women,  to  adorn, 
in  the  picturesque  enjoyment  of  dolce  far  niente,  the 
curb-stones  and  door-steps  of  the  various  towns  in  the 
vicinity  of  their  reserves,  day  after  day.  Whiskey, 
as  applied  to  the  noble  savage,  is  a  wonderful  civilizer. 
A  few  years  of  it  reduces  him  to  a  subjection  more 
complete  than  arms,  and  accomplishes  in  him  a  hu 
mility  which  religion  never  can  achieve.  Some  things 
some  men  will  do  for  Christ,  for  country,  for  wife  and 
children :  there  is  nothing  an  Indian  will  not  do  for 
whiskey. 

May  1822.  He  served  several  years  in  the  office  of  the  state  controller  at 
Albany,  under  Silas  Wright  and  Millard  Fillmore,  coming  to  the  Pacific  coast 
in  1849.  He  returned  in  1850,  married,  and  brought  out  his  wife,  residing  in 
California  3  years,  when  he  removed  to  Puget  Sound,  having  his  home  at 
Olympia.  He  was  chief  clerk  in  the  surveyor-general's  office  from  1862  to 
1865,  and  afterward  deputy  surveyor  until  appointed  assessor  of  internal  reve 
nue.  He  was  succeeded  in  that  office  by  J.  K.  Hayden,  but  in  1875  displaced 
Hayden  as  collector  of  internal  revenue,  which  position  he  held  at  the  time  of 
his  death  in  1876.  Olympia  Pac.  Tribune,  Feb.  26,  1875;  Olympia  Standard, 
April  29,  1876. 

'M  The  legislature  of  1869  appointed  John  McReavy,  Fred.  A.  Clarke,  and 
L.  F.  Thompson  commissioners  to  select  a  site  for  a  penitentiary,  'at  or  near 
Steilacoom.'  The  land  selected  was  donated  by  John  Swan  and  Jay  Emmons 
Smith,  a  free  gift  to  the  territory  of  twenty-seven  acres  on  the  south-east  shore 
of  McNeil  Island,  about  five  miles  by  water  from  Steilacoom.  Its  situation 
was  all  that  could  be  desired,  being  healthful  and  beautiful.  The  secretary 
of  the  interior,  however,  who  had  the  matter  in  hand,  would  take  no  steps 
toward  building  until  the  land  was  deeded  to  the  United  States,  and  money 
enough  placed  in  his  hands  by  appropriation  to  complete  some  portion  of  the 
work.  Finding  that  $20,000  would  be  insufficient,  he  directed  a  suspension 
of  the  work  until  congress  should  move  in  the  matter,  which  it  would  only 
do  by  being  memorialized  by  the  legislature  and  importuned  by  its  delegate. 
The  further  appropriation  was  not  made  until  1873. 

23  A  pot-lach  was  a  ceremonious  feast  held  on  certain  occasions,  when  pres 
ents  were  given. 


THE  NATIONS.  277 

But  it  was  not  altogether,  nor  in  the  first  place,  the 
allurement  of  strong  drink  which  reduced  the  red  men 
to  submission.  Troops  on  one  hand,  and  government 
agents  with  presents  on  the  other,  had  accomplished 
the  reduction;  and  now  in  1868  there  was  no  longer 
any  use  for  the  troops,  and  the  occupation  of  the 
Indian  agent  would  last  but  a  few  years  longer.  In 
the  interim,  teachers  and  preachers  contended  with 
the  other  civilizer,  rum,  to  the  salvation  of  some  and 
the  utter  reprobation  of  others.  In  the  haste  and 
exigency  of  the  times,  and  dreading  an  Indian  war, 
numerous  small  reservations  had  been  left  here  and 
there  about  the  Sound,  which  in  these  ten  years  had 
come  to  lie  at  the  doors  of  the  principal  towns,  the 
temptations  of  which  few  Indians  could  resist.  It 
would  have  been  better  to  have  banished  them  to  the 
sea-coast,  as  in  Oregon,  and  kept  up  a  military  guard 
to  hold  them  there,  than  that  they  should  mix  with 
the  foremost  civilization  of  the  day.24 

MIn  1868  the  war  department  ordered  to  be  sold  the  government  buildings 
at  Gray  Harbor  and  Fort  Chehalis,  erected  in  the  autumn  of  1859,  when  the 
Chehalis  tribe  threatened  the  new  settlements  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  of 
that  name.  These  posts  were  abandoned  at  the  breaking-out  of  the  war  of  the 
rebellion.  Ind.  Aff.  Kept,  1860,  187;  Olympia  Transcript,  Feb.  22  and  Dec. 
26,  1868.  The  only  military  stations  left  in  Washington  in  1868  were  Van 
couver,  T.  L.  Elliott  in  command;  Colville,  W.  C.  M.  Manning  in  command; 
Camp  Steele  (formerlyPickett,  but  changed  on  account  of  Pickett's  secession), 
Thomas  Grey  in  command;  and  Cape  Disappointment,  R.  G.  Ho  well  in  com 
mand.  Rept  of  Sec.  War,  1868,  40th  cong.  3d  sess.,  742.  In  1866  the  head 
quarters  of  the  department  of  the  Columbia  was  removed  to  Portland,  followed 
soon  after  by  the  whole  staff  and  the  commissary  stores.  The  legislature  of 
Washington  remonstrated,  but  headquarters  remained  at  Portland  until  June 
1878,  when  the  war  department  ordered  a  return  to  Vancouver.  The  terri 
torial  legislature  had  very  frequently  to  remind  the  general  government  of 
the  defencelesf  condition  of  its  sea-coast,  as  well  as  of  danger  from  Indian  tribes 
in  its  midst.  From  1854  to  1858  congress  was  annually  petitioned  to  place  a 
man-of-war  on  the  Northwest  Coast.  During  the  Indian  wars  the  Decatur, 
Hancock,  and  Massachusetts  did  good  service,  and  the  latter  was  left  on  the 
Sound  to  watch  the  Indians.  But  she  was  too  large  and  slow  for  that  service. 
In  1859-60  the  legislature  petitioned  to  have  the  Shubrick,  which  first  visited 
the  Sound  in  July  1858,  put  in  place  of  the  Massachusetts,  which  was  not 
granted  until  Victor  Smith  became  collector  in  1861,  when  he  secured  her 
services  as  revenue-cutter,  in  place  of  the  Jefferson  Davis,  Capt.  W.  C.  Pease, 
a  sailing  vessel  which  had  answered  that  purpose  from  1854  to  1861.  In  Dec. 
1866,  all  war  vessels  having  been  withdrawn  from  the  Sound,  while  there  was 
a  British  naval  station  at  Esquimault  harbor,  V.  I. ,  the  pride  if  not  the  fears 
of  the  representatives  of  the  people  became  alarmed,  and  congress  was  memo 
rialized  to  '  station  such  a  number  of  vessels  of  war  upon  the  waters  of  Puget 
Sound  as  are  essential  to  our  security,  as  well  as  to  convince  foreign  powers 


278  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  political  quarrels  of  1867  culminated  in  an  act 
of  the  legislature,  passed  in  January  1868,  redistrict- 
ing  the  territory,  and  assigning  the  federal  judges  in 
such  a  manner  that  Hewitt  was  given  the  county  of 
Stevens  for  his  district,  and  required  to  reside  there ; 
while  Wyche  was  given  Walla  Walla,  Yakima,  Kliki- 
tat,  Skamania,  Clarke,  Cowlitz,  Pacific,  Wahkiakum, 
Lewis,  Mason,  Thurston,  and  Chehalis;  and  the  latest 
appointee,  C.  B.  Darwin,  was  assigned  to  the  counties 
of  Pierce,  King,  Kitsap,  Clallam,  Whatcom,  Island, 
and  Jefferson,25  but  in  order  to  relieve  Wyche,  was 
required  to  hold  court  at  Olympia  for  the  counties  of 
Thurston,  Lewis,  Chehalis,  and  Mason.  The  old  war 
was  renewed  against  republican  measures,  which  had 
only  been  suppressed  while  the  integrity  of  the  union 
was  in  danger.  Whatever  the  ability  or  want  of  abil 
ity  of  Hewitt,  who  had  held  the  judgeship  for  eight 
years,  it  was  not  that  question  that  assigned  him  to 

that  the  general  government  has  the  interest  and  honor  of  her  most  remote 
settlements  at  heart.'  Wash.  Stat.,  1866-7,  260.  At  the  following  session 
congress  was  memorialized  to  erect  fortifications  at  such  points  on  the  Sound 
as  the  war  department  might  deem  expedient. 

In  1871  the  following  reservations  were  made  by  the  government  for  the 
erection  of  fortifications  in  the  future:  at  New  Dungeness;  at  entrance  to 
Squim  Bay,  Protection  Island;  on  each  side  of  the  entrance  to  Port  Discovery; 
at  Point  Wilson,  including  Point  Hudson  and  Point  Marrowstone  at  the  en 
trance  to  Port  Townsend  Bay;  at  both  sides  of  the  entrance  of  Deception 
Pass;  at  Admiralty  Head,  opposite  Point  Wilson;  at  Volcano  Point,  or  Double 
Bluff,  Whidbey  Island;  at  Port  Ludlow  Bluff,  Foulweather  Bluff,  and  Whis 
key  Pit,  at  the  entrance  to  Hood's  canal;  at  Point  Defiance  and  Point  Evans, 
at  the  Narrows.  All  these  reservations  were  large  enough  for  extensive 
works.  Reservations  were  also  made  at  Neah  Bay,  which  was  in  contempla 
tion  for  a  port  of  refuge.  Gov.  mess.,  in  Olympia  Transcript,  March  11,  1871. 
With  half  these  fortifications  the  whole  of  Washington  would  be  safe  from 
invasion  except  through  the  gulf  of  Georgia  and  B.  C.  The  above  points 
were  selected  by  generals  Halleck  and  Steele  in  1866.  Portland  Oregonian, 
July  25,  1866.  The  matter  had  been  under  consideration  a  longer  time.  H. 
Ex.  Doc.,  65,  vii.,  35th  coug.  2d  sess.  The  legislature  continued  to  petition 
for  these  fortifications,  but  up  to  1884  none  have  been  erected  or  even  begun. 

In  1884  the  arsenal  at  Vancouver  was  closed,  and  the  territorial  arms,  478 
Springfield  rifles,  turned  over  to  Gov.  Newell,  with  the  ammunition. 

25  The  county  of  Quillehuyte  was  organized  at  the  session  of  1867-8,  com 
prising  the  territory  on  the  coast  from  the  mouth  of  the  Wyatch  River  south 
east  along  the  Olympia  range  to  where  the  124th  meridian  crosses  the  48th 
parallel,  thence  south  along  the  meridian  to  the  north  boundary  of  Chehalis 
county,  and  from  there  west  to  the  ocean.  Wash.  Stat.,  1867-8,  80-1.  It 
was  later  included  in  Clallam,  Jefferson,  and  Mason;  Gideon  Brownfield,  John 
C.  Brown,  Aurelius  Colby,  John  Weir,  and  Smith  Troy  were  appointed  county 
officers,  showing  that  the  coast  country  was  becoming  settled. 


FEDERAL  APPOINTMENTS.  279 

Stevens  county  to  hold  court  and  reside  at  Fort  Col- 
ville.  The  same  persons  who  made  war  upon  Hewitt 
openly  declared  that  Darwin  should  be  removed,  as 
well  as  some  other  officials.26 

Congress  did  not  look  with  favoring  eyes  upon  the 
act  of  the  legislature  heaping  contumely  upon  the 
appointments  of  the  president  and  senate,  refusing  to 
confirm  it.27  But  when  Grant  came  to  the  presidency 
a  sweeping  change  was  made,  which  saved  the  male- 
contents  the  trouble  of  scheming  against  the  old  bench 
of  judges,  by  the  appointment  of  B.  F.  Dennison 
chief  justice,  and  Orange  Jacobs  and  James  K.  Ken 
nedy  associates,28  with  A.  W.  Moore  chief  clerk,  and 
Philip  Bitz  marshal.29  In  1871  Jacobs  was  appointed 
chief  justice,  with  Bodger  S.  Greene  and  James  K. 
Kennedy  associate  justices,  and  E.  S.  Kearney  mar 
shal.  In  1872  J.  B.  Lewis  succeeded  Kennedy.30 

The  presidential  appointments  of  1869  included  a 
new  governor,  Flanders,  who,  it  was  said,  had  in 
tended  to  return  and  run  again  for  delegate,  but  was 
prevented  by  the  commission  of  executive.  James 
Scott  was  appointed  secretary,  Colonel  Samuel 
Boss,  late  commander  of  Fort  Steilacoom,  Indian 
superintendent/1  Elisha  P.  Ferry  surveyor-general, 

26  Although  this  waa  a  political  quarrel,  there  was  another  good  reason  for 
the  removal  of  Darwin — the  seduction  of  the  wife  of  another  official.  Darwin 
was  a  scholarly  judge,  which  Hewitt  was  not;  but  Hewitt  was  honest,  which 
Darwin  was  not. 

"Cong.  Globe,  1867-8,  3709. 

28Kennedy  had  been  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  3d  judicial  district. 
Olympia  Pacific  Tribune,  March  12,  1869. 

aRitz  was  an  early  settler  of  the  Walla  Walla  Valley,  where  he  introduced 
fruit  culture,  writing  many  pamphlets  upon  the  resources  of  the  country,  and 
advocating  the  speedy  construction  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  He 
made  a  very  valuable  contribution  to  my  Library  in  the  form  of  a  manuscript 
monograph  upon  the  Walla  Walla  Valley.  A  town  in  the  Spokane  country 
is  named  after  him. 

*°Lewis  had  been  a  judge  in  Idaho.  '  He  is  reputed, '  says  the  Olympia  Pac. 
Tribune,  May  14,  1872,  'to  have  been  one  of  the  ablest,  most  honorable,  and 
incorruptible  judges  that  have  ever  occupied  the  bench  of  Idaho.' 

31  Samuel  Ross  was  a  native  of  N.  Y.;  enlisted  as  a  drummer-boy  in  the 
8th  inf.  at  16  years  of  age  (1837),  and  was  brevetted  a  2d  lieut  in  1848.  Re 
signing,  he  studied  law  in  Ohio,  and  was  practising  in  Iowa  when  Sumter 
fell.  He  then  joined  the  army,  was  severely  wounded  at  Chancellorsville,  and 
was  subsequently  brevetted  col  in  the  regular  and  brig. -gen.  in  the  volunteer 
service.  Finally  he  was  sent  to  Washington,  and  after  his  last  appointment 


280  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

Edward  Giddings32  assessor  of  internal  revenue,  Haz 
ard  Stevens  collector,  and  United  States  district  at 
torney  Leander  Holmes. 

Salucius  Garfielde  and  Marshall  F.  Moore  then  be 
came  candidates  for  the  delegateship,  the  former  as 
the  choice  of  the  republicans,  the  latter  of  the  demo 
cratic  party.  Garfielde,  was  elected,  and  secured 
some  of  the  ends  for  which  he  was  nominated.33 
Moore  died  in  February  of  the  following  year,  from 
the  effects  of  old  wounds  received  in  the  civil  war, 
sincerely  regretted  by  the  people  of  the  territory.34 

The  republican  party,  which  had  been  in  the  ascend 
ancy  for  several  years,  elected  a  republican  majority 
to  the  legislature  in  1869,35  but  it  was  losing  power 

as  Indian  agent,  was  placed  on  the  retired  list  as  a  brig. -gen.  in  1871  by  the 
solicitation  of  Delegate  Garfielde.  Olympia  Courier,  June  15,  1872;  Seattle 
despatch,  in  Pac.  Tribune,^  May  17,  1872;  Seattle  Intelligencer,  July  31,  1880, 
In  1875  congress  reduced  his  rank  to  a  colonelcy.  He  was  accidentally  drowned 
while  bathing  in  Osceola  Lake,  near  Peekskill,  N.  Y.,  July  10,  1880.  New 
Haven  Palladium,  July  13,  1880. 

32Edward  Giddings  was  born  in  Niagara  co.,  N.  Y.,  May  20,  1822.  His 
boyhood  was  spent  at  home,  and  a  portion  of  his  youth  in  the  office  of  the 
comptroller  at  Albany.  He  came  to  Cal.  in  1849,  and  to  Puget  Sound  in  1852, 
residing  at  Olympia,  where  he  erected  the  first  wharf  for  the  discharge  of 
sea-going  vessels.  He  was  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  district  of 
Olympia  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  April  1876.  Olympia  Trans.,  April  29,  1876. 

33  Garfielde,  if  the  testimony  of  both  parties  can  be  credited  amid  so  much 
detraction  of  public  men,  varied  his  politics  according  to  the  winds  of  for 
tune;  Olympia  Standard,  May  8,  1869;  Olympia  Pac.  Tribune,  April  24, 
1869.  George  B.  Roberts,  in  his  Recollections,  MS.,  91,  says  that  the  settlers 
on  the  lands  of  Puget  Sound  Ag.  Co.  elected  Garfielde  that  he  might  secure 
them  the  patents  to  the  land  on  which  they  had  squatted.  In  a  memorial  to 
congress,  passed  Jan.  9,  1867,  the  legislature  had  said  that  at  the  time  of 
settlement  of  Washington,  American  citizens  believed  that  the  treaty  with 
Great  Britian  in  1846  gave  the  foreign  companies  only  the  lands  actually 
enclosed  and  occupied  at  that  date;  and  that  under  this  belief  they  had 
entered  upon,  claimed,  and  improved,  according  to  the  donation  act,  the 
unoccupied  land,  unjustly  claimed  by  those  companies,  and  now  asked  that 
they  should  be  secured  in  their  homes  and  property  by  proper  legislation, 
without  being  subjected  to  other  or  greater  expense  in  obtaining  patents  than 
settlers  on  other  parts  of  the  public  domain.  Wash.  Stat.,  1866-7,  250-1. 
This  was  simply  asking  that  the  sovereignty  of  a  portion  of  the  territory  still 
in  dispute  should  be  determined,  for  the  welfare  of  all  concerned;  and  inas 
much  as  Garfielde  contributed  to  this  result,  he  was  of  service  to  the  country 
he  represented.  Garfielde  was  appointed  collector  of  customs  in  1873. 

84  See  eulogy  in  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  April  30,  1870. 

35  The  cHicers  of  the  council  were,  William  McLane  president,  C.  B.  Bagley 
chief-clerk,  Edwin  Eels  enrolling  clerk,  C.  H.  Blake  assistant  clerk,  S.  W. 
Beall  sergeant -at- arms,  Daniel  House  door-keeper,  S.  H.  Mann  chaplain. 
The  house  organized  with  George  H.  Stewart  speaker,  Elwood  Evans  chief 
clerk,  Charles  B.  Curtiss  assistant  clerk,  Elizabeth  Peebles  enrolling  clerk,  I. 
V.  Mossman  sergeant-at-arms,  Edwin  A.  Stevens  door-keeper.  Wash.  Jour. 
Council,  1869,  15;  Wash.  Standard,  Oct.  9,  1869. 


McFADDEN,  FLANDERS,  AND  SALOMON.  281 

by  dissensions  and  struggles  for  place  within  itself, 
of  which  the  reviving  democratic  party  eagerly  took 
advantage.  Garfielde,  who  held  the  delegateship 
nearly  three  years,  on  account  of  a  change  in  the  time 
of  elections 36  was  not  permitted  to  take  his  seat  until 
December  1870.  He  served  his  term,  and  was  renomi- 
nated  by  the  republican  party  in  1872,  but  was  beaten 
by  0.  B.  McFadden,  the  democratic  candidate,87  who 
since  the  incoming  of  Lincoln's  administration  had 
been  living  in  the  retirement  of  an  ordinary  law  prac 
tice,  or  serving  in  the  legislature.  He  went  to  Wash 
ington  city,  but  was  unfitted  for  duty  by  severe 
illness  during  a  portion  of  his  term,  and  died  the  year 
following  his  return.  McFadden  had  the  faults  and 
the  virtues  that  recommended  him  to  his  constituents, 
a  warm  heart  and  ready  adaptability  to  surroundings, 
which  was  counted  to  him  sometimes  for  judicial 
weakness.  He  was  buried  with  imposing  ceremonies 
from  the  house  of  his  son-in-law,  Ex-surveyor-general 
W.  W.  Miller.88 

Flanders  did  not  long  retain  the  executive  office, 
being  succeeded  in  April  1870  by  Edward  S.  Salomon 
of  Chicago,  a  German  Jew,  lawyer  by  profession,  and 
a  colonel  in  the  82d  Illinois  volunteers  during  the 
civil  war,  where  he  won  wounds  and  honors,  after 
which  the  quiet  and  ease  of  Olympia  life  must  have 

36  In  1869  Senator  Williams  of  Oregon  introduced  a  bill  in  the  senate, 
which  became  a  law,  providing  that  the  elections  for  delegate  to  the  42d  con 
gress,  in  Washington,  should  be  held  on  the  first  Monday  in  June  1870,  which 
law  left  the  territory  without  a  representative  in  congress  for  the  whole 
year  following  Flanders'  appointment  as  governor.  Cong.  Globe,  1868-9,  1080. 
Another  bill  was  introduced  and  passed  in  the  spring  of  1872,  changing  the 
time  of  election  to  November  of  that  year.  Olympia  Pac.  Tribune,  May  10, 
1872.  These  changes  were  said  to  have  been  made  for  party  purposes.  The 
Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  March  2,  1872,  charges  the  last  one  to  the  '  manip 
ulations'  of  Garfielde,  'who  dreads  to  enter  the  contest  with  the  existing 
division  in  his  party. ' 

87  The  total  vote  for  Garfielde  was  3,513;  for  McFadden  4,274.     Although 
the  former  received  a  larger  vote  than  in  1870,  the  democrats  polled  a  much 
greater  one,  showing  a  striking  change  either  in  public  sentiment  or  in  the 
politics  of  the  later  accessions  to  the  population,  which  is  more  probable. 

88  Olympia  Transcript,  July  3,  1875;   Walla  Walla  Union,  July  3,   1875; 
Vancouver  Register,  July  2,  1875. 


282  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

seemed  a  summer  holiday.39  James  Scott  still  re 
mained  secretary.  The  officers  elected 40  in  the  terri 
tory  now  began  and  closed  their  terms  in  the  year 
intermediate  between  the  elections  for  delegate,  the 
congressional  and  executive  terms  corresponding,  and 
the  legislative  appointments  coming  between.41 

On  the  expiration  of  Salomon's  term  he  was  suc 
ceeded  by  Elisha  Pyre  Ferry,  surveyor-general,  his 
appointment  making  way  for  a  new  officer  in  the  land 
department,  which  was  filled  by  Lewis  P.  Beach,  a 
pioneer  of  1849.42  Ferry  held  the  office  of  governor 
from  April  1872  to  April  1880,  when  William  A. 
Newell  was  appointed.43 

Ferry's  administration  was  not  eventful  in  wars  ** 
or  political  changes,  but  covered  a  period  of  active 

39  Salomon  and  his  German  regiment  were  much  commended  by  generals 
Schurz  and  0.  O.  Howard.     He  fought  at  Gettysburg  and  Chancellorsville. 
Puget  Sound  Express,  Jan.  14,  1875;  S.  F.  Alta,  April  25,  1870. 

40  The  territorial  officers  were  J.  G.  Sparks  auditor,  Hill  Harmon  treasurer, 
James  Rodgers  public  printer,  and  S.  H.  Mann  librarian.  Pacific  Dir,,  1870, 
134. 

41  The  president  of  the  council  in  1871  was  H.  A.  Smith  of  Snohomish, 
chief  clerk  Elwood  Evans,  assistant  clerk  James  M.  Hayes,  sergeant-at-arms 
R.  L.  Doyle,  enrolling  clerk  Annie  F.  Tuck,  chaplain  J.  R.  Thompson.     In 
the  lower  branch  of  the  legislature  J.  J.  H.  Van  Bokkelen  was  chosen  speaker, 
W.  S.  Baxter  chief  clerk,  W.  Byron  Daniels  assistant  clerk,  A.  B.  Young 
enrolling  clerk,  D.  P.  Wallace  sergeant-at-arms,  David  Helsler  door-keeper. 
Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1871,  4-9. 

42  Beach  was  from  Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.     He  came  to  the  Pacific  coast  in 
the  early  days  of  gold-mining,  and  to  Puget  Sound  in  1861,  where  he  had  fol 
lowed  logging,  printing,  farming,  and  surveying  at  different  times,  being  an 
industrious  and  able  man.     He  died  on  returning  from  a  visit  to  Washington 
city  in  the  spring  of  1873,  of  pleuro-pneumonia.  Olympia  Wash.  Standard, 
May  3,  1873. 

43  W.  A.  Newell  was  a  native  of  Franklin,  Ohio,  whose  family  removed  to 
that  state  from  New  Jersey.     He  returned  there  and  entered  Rutger's  college, 
graduating  in  the  class  with  U.  S.  Judge  Bradley  and  Senator  Frelinghuysen, 
after  which  he  studied  medicine  at  the  university  of  Pennsylvania,  becoming 
accomplished  in  surgery.     He  was  elected  to  congress  in  1846,  and  again  in 
1848,  and  was  chosen  governor  of  New  Jersey  in  1856.     In  1864  he  was  again 
returned  to  congress.     He  ran  against  George  B.  McClellan  in  1877  for  gov 
ernor,  but  was  beaten,  and  in  1880  President  Hayes  tendered  him  the  office  of 
governor  of  Washington,  which  he  accepted.     It  is  said  of  him  that  while  in 
congress  he  originated  the  life-saving  system  now  in  use  on  the  coasts  of  the 
U.  S.,  by  which  many  thousands  of  lives  have  been  saved;  and  also  that  he 
made  the  first  movement  to  establish  an  agricultural  bureau.     He  was  over 
60  years  of  age  when  appointed  to  Washington,  but  hale  and  vigorous.   Tren 
ton  (N.  J.)  Gazette,  in  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  May  21,  1880;  Puget  Sound 
Mail,  May  29,  1880;  New  Tacoma  N.  P.  Coast,  May  15,  1880. 

44  It  witnessed  one  Indian  war  of  brief  duration  in  which  Idaho  was  the 
sufferer.     Of  this  I  shall  speak  later. 


RULE  OF  GOVERNOR  FERRY.  283 

growth.  He  reestablished  civil  government  over 
the  Haro  archipelago  in  October  1872,  by  making  it 
temporarily  a  part  of  the  county  of  Whatcom,  until 
reorganized  by  the  legislature,45  and  was  a  witness  of 
the  closing  scenes  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's 
occupation  of  the  territory  through  the  claims  of  the 
Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Company. 

It  was  during  Ferry's  administration,  also,  that 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  constructed  the  Puget 
Sound  division  from  Kalama  to  New  Tacoma,  passing 
Olympia  eighteen  miles  to  the  east,  in  resentment  for 
which  slight  put  upon  the  capital  the  citizens  of 
Thurston  county  constructed  with  their  own  money 
and  labor,  the  women  of  the  county  assisting,46  a 
narrow-gauge  railway  from  Olympia  to  Tenino,  a  dis 
tance  of  fifteen  miles,  which  was  completed  and  opened 
for  travel  in  July  1878. 

The  territorial  secretaries  during  Ferry's  adminis 
tration  were  J.  C.  Clements,  1872  to  1875,  Henry  G. 
Struve47  from  1875  to  1877,  and  N.  H.  Owings43  from 
1877  to  1884.  Ferry's  administration  extended  over 

45  An  'act  to  create  and  organize  the  county  of  San  Juan'  out  of  the  islands 
forming  the  Haro  archipelago  was  passed  October  31,    1873,   the   county 
seat  being  temporarily  located  at  the  'old  landing  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany.  '    Charles  McCoy,  Samuel  Trueworthy,  and  Joseph  A.  Merrill  were  ap 
pointed  county  commissioners.    Wash.  Stat.,  1873,  461-3. 

46  The  building  of  this  railroad  was  made  a  labor  of  love  by  the  volunteer 
work  accorded  to  it.     The  governor  and  territorial  officers,  and  all  the  most 
prominent  citizens,  worked  at  clearing  and  grading  on  regular  days,  called 
field-days,  when  their  wives  and  daughters  accompanied  them  to  the  place 
indicated  by  the  superintendent  of  construction,  and  carried  with  them  ample 
stores  of  provisions,  which,  being  prepared  and  served  by  them  with  much 
mirth  and  amiability,  converted  the  day  of  labor  into  general  holiday. 

47  Struve  had  been  in  the  regular  army  as  a  soldier,  having  enlisted  in  the 
1st  regiment  of  dragoons  in  1854.     The  New  York  Sun  of  April  28,  1875,  ac 
cused  him  of  desertion  for  having  failed  to  report  himself  to  a  provost-marshal 
within  60  days  after  the  issuance  of  Lincoln's  proclamation  of  March  11,  1865 
— which  failure,  according  to  law,  made  him  forever  incapable  of  holding 
office.     But  this  stigma  was  explained  away  subsequently,   the  president 
having,   owing   to   some  peculiar  circumstances,  cancelled   his    enlistment 
and  ordered  his  discharge.  Olympia   Wash.  Standard,  Oct.  3,  1875.     Struve 
married  a  daughter  of  H.  M.  Knighton,  mentioned  in  my  History  of  Oregon. 
He  was  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  2d  jud.  dist  for  1868-9,  and  for  a  time 
was  editor  of  the  Vancouver  Register. 

48  N.  H.  Owings  was  born  in  Indiana.     He  served  in  the  union  army  dur 
ing  the  rebellion.     At  its  close  he  was  appointed  register  of  the  land-office  in 
Colorado,  and  subsequently  held  the  office  of  special  agent  of  the  postal  rail 
way  service.  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  March  31,  1877. 


264  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

four  biennial  sessions  of  the  legislature,49  during  which 
time  the  laws  were  frequently  amended  and  improved, 
the  legislation  of  Washington  being  from  the  first 
liberal  and  progressive.  The  revised  statutes  of 
the  United  States,  approved  June  1874,  made  some 
changes  in  the  mode  of  filling  territorial  offices.  Jus 
tices  of  the  peace  and  all  general  officers  of  militia 
were  required  to  be  elected  by  the  people,  in  such  a 
manner  as  the  legislature  might  prescribe;  but  all 
other  officers  not  provided  for  in  the  revised  statutes 
should  be  appointed  by  the  governor  and  confirmed 
by  the  council.  This  new  system  of  appointment  re 
moved  from  the  governor  the  opportunity  of  exercis 
ing  any  arbitrary  power,  and  affected  all  territories 
alike. 

The  democratic  convention  of  1874  renominated 
McFadden,  who,  being  at  that  time  ill  in  Pennsylva 
nia,  telegraphed  the  withdrawal  of  his  name.  B.  L. 
Sharpstein  of  Walla  Walla  was  then  made  the  nomi 
nee  of  the  party  for  delegate  to  congress.  Sharpstein 
was  a  lawyer  of  good  abilities  who  had  represented 
his  county  in  the  territorial  council  in  1866-7.  J. 
M.  Murphy  of  the  Olympia  Standard  was  chairman 
of  this  convention,  which  met  at  Vancouver. 

The  republican  convention,  which  met  at  the  same 
place,  chose  Thomas  H.  Brents50  of  Walla  Walla 

49  The  officers  of  the  legislature  in  1873  were  William  McLane  president 
of  the  council,  Beriah  Brown  chief  clerk,  J.  N.  Gale  assistant  clerk,  Levi 
Shelton  sergeant-at-arms,  William  Fowler  door-keeper,  C.  A.  Huntington 
chaplain.  In  the  lower  house  N.  T.  Caton  was  speaker,  Charles  W.  Frush 
chief  clerk,  Jason  E.  Ebey  assistant  clerk,  W.  Gness  engrossing  clerk,  Mary 
G'Neil  enrolling  clerk,  Jacob  Isaac  sergeant-at-arms,  and  Rev.  P.  E.  Hyland 
chaplain.  Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1873,  5-7. 

60Says  W.  C.  Johnson  of  Oregon  City,  in  an  address  before  the  Oregon 
Pioneer  Association  in  1881:  'Brents  got  his  start  in  the  "brush  end"  of 
Clackamas  county.  His  father  in  early  days  was  county  commissioner. 
Young  Brents  learned  something  in  district  school,  was  for  a  short  time  in 
college  at  McMinnville,  Yamhill  county,  read  law,  practised  in  San  Fran 
cisco  several  years,  and  then  settled  at  Walla  Walla,  where  he  acquired  a 
good  practice  and  is  highly  esteemed.  He  is  exceedingly  industrious,  book 
ish  in  his  tastes,  and  is  one  of  God's  noblemen — an  honest  man.'  Portland 
Oregonian,  June  21,  1881.  Brents  was  at  one  time  expressman  in  the  upper 
country,  about  1861-2,  during  the  excitement  about  the  Nez  Perc6and  Salmon 
River  mines. 


ELECTION  OF  DELEGATE.  285 

chairman,  and  nominated  Judge  Jacobs  for  delegate. 
Jacobs  immediately  resigned  the  chief  justiceship, 
which  was  conferred  upon  Judge  Lewis,  the  vacancy 
created  by  his  promotion  being  filled  by  S.  C.  Win- 
gard,  United  States  prosecuting  attorney,  whose  place 
was  taken  by  John  B.  Allen  of  Olympia.51  Jacobs 
was  elected  by  a  large  majority,  the  counties  east  of 
the  mountains  for  the  first  time  casting  the  greater 
number  of  votes  for  a  republican  nominee52  for  the 
delegateship,  showing  that  the  class  of  voters  which  in 
1862-4  overflowed  from  the  south-western  states 
upon  the  Pacific  coast  was  being  either  eliminated  or 
outnumbered.53 

The  democratic  convention  of  1876  nominated  John 
Paul  Judson,  son  of  John  Paul  Judson,  senior,  who 
settled  on  Commencement  Bay  in  1853,  where  New 
Tacoma  now  stands.54  He  was  a  member  of  the  legal 
fraternity  of  the  territory,  of  good  talents  and  unas 
suming  address;  but  he  was  unable  to  carry  the  terri 
tory  against  Jacobs,  who  was  reflected  by  the  repub 
lican  party.  At  the  following  congressional  election 
in  1878  Thomas  H.  Brents  was  returned  by  the  same 
party,  and  served  two  terms  in  congress.  At  his 
first  election  he  ran  against  N.  T.  Caton,  democrat, 
also  of  Walla  Walla,  beating  him  by  over  thirteen 
hundred  votes  out  of  thirteen  thousand. 

The  platform  resolutions  adopted  by  the  democrats 
in  1878  were,  1st,  unalterable  opposition  to  the  dis 
memberment  of  the  territory,  and  approval  of  state 

91  The  position  was  first  offered  to  R.  H.  Milroy,  late  superintendent  of 
Indian  affairs  for  Washington.  Allen  was  spoken  of  as  a  'rising  young  man.' 
Olympia  Pacific  Tribune,  Feb.  12, 1875. 

"Id.,  Nov.  1874.     Sharpstein  had  3,560;  Jacobs  4,934. 

MThe  Ol>/mpia  Transcript,  May  12,  1877,  remarks  that  'Andrews,  recently 
appointed  clerk  of  the  U.  S.  court  at  Seattle,  is  the  first  eastern  Washington 
man  ever  appointed  to  a  federal  position  on  Puget  Sound.' 

64  J.  P.  Judson,  Sr,  emigrated  from  Prussia  to  the  U.  S.  in  1845,  and  set 
tled  in  111.,  where  he  resided  until  1853.  His  son  was  born  in  Prussia  in 
1840.  He  earned  the  money  in  mining  on  the  Fraser  River  with  which  he 
paid  for  two  years'  schooling  at  Vancouver.  In  1863  he  was  territorial  libra 
rian,  and  chief  clerk  of  the  house  of  representatives  in  1864,  after  which  he 
was  employed  as  school-teacher  until  he  finished  his  law  studies  in  1867.  He 
was  a  partner  in  the  law  office  of  Judge  McFadden.  Walla  Walla  Union, 
Oct.  7,  1876. 


286  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

government;  2d,  extension  of  time  to  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad;  3d,  improvement  of  the  Snake  and 
other  rivers  by  the  general  government.  The  6th 
resolution  declared  the  Indian-reservation  system  a 
failure,  and  called  for  the  breaking-up  of  the  tribal 
relation,  or  the  consolidation  of  reservations  into  one, 
which  should  be  under  military  control.  The  5th  res 
olution  charged  upon  the  republican  party  a  wide 
spread  commercial  distress. 

The  platform  of  the  republicans  protested  against 
an  irredeemable  currency;  favored  extension  of  time 
to  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway,  provided  it  should 
construct  twenty-five  miles  of  road  annually;  approved 
the  restoration  to  the  public  domain  of  the  lands  of 
the  branch  line  originally  located  over  the  Skagit 
pass  of  the  Cascades;  besought  government  aid  in 
the  construction  of  the  Seattle  and  Walla  Walla  rail 
road;55  opposed  the  dismemberment  of  the  territory; 
urged  the  passage  of  an  enabling  act  for  state  pur 
poses  by  congress;  denounced  Chinese  immigration 
and  the  existing  management  of  the  Indians.56  From 
these  two  schedules  of  party  principles  and  aims  the 
general  drift  of  territorial  affairs  at  this  period  may 
be  gathered. 

Ever  since  1867-8  a  movement  had  been  on  foot  to 
annex  to  Washington  that  strip  of  country  forming  a 
handle  to  Idaho  on  the  north,  comprising  the  counties 
of  Nez  Perce,  Shoshone,  and  Idaho.07  These  counties 
did  not  all  lie  in  the  "long  narrow  strip"  described  in 
a  legislative  memorial  to  be  only  fifty  miles  wide,  but 
congress  was  asked  to  assume  that  they  did.  And 
these  veracious  memorialists  did  " further  show"  that 

55  The  Seattle  and  Walla  Walla  railroad  was  built  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  Olympia  and  Tenino  road,  by  the  exertions  of  the  people  of  Seattle.     The 
first  ground  was  broken  in  1874,  when  on  the  1st  of  May  the  citizens,  men, 
women,  and  children,  turned  out  and  graded  a  mile  of  road  before  nightfall. 
On  the  14th  they  repeated  this  action  and  graded  another  mile.     Having 
made  this  beginning,  the  work  was  carried  forward,  and  20  miles  of  road 
intended  to  be  the  Cascade  division  of  the  Northern  Pacific  was  completed. 
Seattle  Post- Intelligencer,  Sept.  15,  1883. 

56  Olympia  transcript,  Oct.  19,  1878;  Olympia  Standard,  Sept.  14,  1878. 
&7See  petition  of  Washington  legislature,  in  Wash.  Stat.,  1867-8,  176-7. 


A  PV  E 
VIEWS  OF  THE  PARTIES. 

the  representatives  of  the  said  counties  in.  order  to 
reach  Boise  City  were  compelled  to  travel  through  a 
large  portion  of  Washington  and  Oregon,  a  distance 
of  over  500  miles,  at  a  great  expense  to  their  territory; 
to  cure  which  evil,  it  was  claimed  that  they  desired  to 
travel  125  miles  farther,  at  the  expense  of  Washing 
ton,  to  reach  Olympia! 

There  was,  indeed,  a  wish  on  the  part  of  those 
inhabitants  of  Idaho  north  of  the  Salmon  Range  to 
be  reunited  to  Washington.  In  1873  another  memo 
rial  was  passed  in  the  legislature  of  Washington,  setting 
forth  the  benefits  to  be  derived  to  the  north  of  Idaho 
from  annexation,'08  which  received  as  little  attention 
in  congress  as  the  former  one.  Not  long  after,  a 
scheme  was  found  to  be  on  foot  to  create  a  new  terri 
tory  out  of  eastern  Washington  and  northern  Idaho, 
this  being  the  dismemberment  to  which  both  repub 
licans  and  democrats  were  opposed  in  the  laying-down 
of  their  principles. 

Both  parties  were  agreed  in  disapproving  of  the 
reservation  system,  which  had  brought  on  another 
Indian  war,  in  which  that  portion  of  the  Nez  Perces 
which  acknowledged  Joseph  as  chief  had  massacred 
an  entire  settlement  in  Idaho  and  alarmed  the  whole 
country.59  Both  parties  wished  for  the  completion  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  and  favored  extension 
of  time  as  a  means  to  that  end.  Both  believed  the 
time  had  come  for  a  state  constitution,  being  satis 
fied  that  as  a  territory  congress  would  ignore  their 
demands  for  internal  improvements,  harbors,  and 
coast  defences,  with  an  unjust  degree  of  parsimony  on 
one  hand  and  favoritism  on  the  other.60 

59  Wash.  Stat.,  1873,  608. 

59  See  History  of  Idaho,  this  volume. 

60  From  the  report  of  the  secretary  of  war  for  1883  it  appears  that  the 
whole  amount  expended  on  river  and  harbor  improvements  in  the  United 
States  between  1789  and  1882  was  $105,796,501,  the  most  of  it  subsequent  to 
1861.     The  whole  share  of  the  Pacific  coast  in  these  appropriations  amounts 
to  $2,157,233,  of  which  California  has  had  $1,492,428,  Oregon  $649,305,  Idaho 
$10,000,  and  Washington  territory  $5,000!   S.  F.  Chronicle,  Jan  25,    1884. 
Population  and  apportionment  of  representatives  aside,    such   parsimony, 
where  a  proper  degree  of  expenditure  would  produce  more  magnificent  results 


288  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  legislature  of  1867-8  passed  an  act  to  submit 
the  question  of  calling  a  constitutional  convention  to 
the  people  at  the  next  general  election,  but  the  meagre 
vote  polled  in  1869  showed  them  to  be  indifferent  or 
undecided.  The  legislature  of  that  year  passed  an 
other  act  calling  for  a  vote  in  1870,  and  making  it 
the  duty  of  the  next  legislature,  should  there  be  a 
majority  in  favor  of  a  convention,  to  provide  for  the 
holding  of  it.61  Again  the  people  were  indifferent. 

The  legislature  of  1871  repeated  the  enactment  of 
1869,  with  the  addition  that  the  governor  should  give 
notice  in  his  proclamation  that  the  legal  voters  of  the 
territory  were  required  to  vote  for  or  against  a  state 
convention,  but  with  the  same  result  as  before.  In 
1873  another  act  was  passed  of  a  similar  nature,  in 
the  hope,  by  mere  iteration,  to  bring  the  voters  up  to 
the  mark  of  taking  an  interest  in  the  matter.  The 
whole  vote  cast  "against  convention"  was  less  than  a 
fourth  of  the  popular  vote  for  delegate,  but  enough  to 
defeat  the  movement. 

In  its  turn,  the  legislature  of  1875  took  up  the  sub 
ject,  passing  another  act  similar  to  the  last,62  which 
called  out  in  1876  a  vote  of  over  7,000,  and  a  majority 
for  convention  of  4,168.  Accordingly  the  succeeding 
legislature63  appointed  a  state  constitutional  convention 
to  be  held  at  Walla  "Walla  in  June  1878,  the  delegates 
being  elected  in  April. 

than  in  almost  any  portion  of  the  union,  is  a  short-sighted  policy  in  the  fed 
eral  government,  which  every  year  renders  more  distasteful  to  the  people  on 
the  Pacific  coast. 

61  Seattle  Intelligencer,  May  23,  1870. 

62  The  president  of  the  council  in  1875  was  B.  F.  Shaw,  chief  clerk  A.  J. 
Cain,  assistant  clerk  C.  C.  Perkins,  sergeant-at-arms  Charles  Stockton,  door 
keeper  Frank  Lampson,  enrolling  clerk  Emma  Nichols,  engrossing  clerk  Clara 
Gove.     Speaker  of  the  house  Elwood  Evans,  chief  clerk  R.  G.  O'Brien,  assist 
ant  clerk  S.  L.  Crawford,  sergeant-at-arms  Luke  Moore,  door-keeper  F.  M. 
Jones,  enrolling  clerk  James  A.  Hughes,  engrossing  clerk  Estella  Galliher. 
Wash.  Jour.  House,  1875,  6-10. 

63  T.  M.  Reed  was  chosen  president  of  the  council  in  1877,  and  T.  B.  Mur 
ray  chief  clerk.     In  the  house,  R.  G.  Newland  was  elected  speaker,  and  R.  G. 
O'Brien  chief  clerk.  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  Oct.  6,  1877.     Miss  C.  E. 
Myers  was  chosen  enrolling  elerk,  and  Miss  S.  Galliher  engrossing  clerk,  for 
the  house;  Fannie  Baldwin  enrolling,  and  Anna  Knight-on  engrossing,  clerk 
for  the  council.    Wash.  Jour.  House,  1877,  7-8.     In  the  council  were  5  repub 
licans  and  4  democrats;  in  the  house  16  republicans  and  13  democrats. 


SHALL  WASHINGTON  BE  A  STATE?  289 

Notwithstanding  the  election  of  delegates  took 
place  as  ordered  by  proclamation  of  the  governor,  the 
newspapers  complained  of  the  apathy  of  the  people, 
accounting  for  it  by  saying  they  feared  the  movement 
would  fail  in  congress.  But  the  real  reason  was,  that 

O  ' 

a  majority  of  the  voting  class  were  willing  that  con 
gress  should  continue  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  mu 
nicipal  government  until  the  population,  then  less 
than  40,000,  reached  the  number  of  124,000  required 
by  the  general  apportionment  bill  to  give  them  a 
member  of  congress.  Outside  of  Washington  it  was 
admitted  that  if  any  territory  might  claim  exemption 
from  the  law  it  was  this  one,  possessing  an  immense 
area  and  great  resources,  and  lacking  only  population, 
which  would  rapidly  be  drawn  thither  when  it  should 
become  a  state,  with  all  the  advantages  of  equality 
with  the  other  Pacific  states.64  At  home  the  argu 
ments  put  forward  to  overcome  the  apathy  of  the 
people  at  large  was  the  increased  value  of  property 
likely  to  result  from  admission  into  the  union,  which 
would  more  than  offset  the  expense  of  state  govern 
ment;  the  appropriations  which  would  be  due,  and 
the  position  of  north  Idaho,  which  was  waiting  to  be 
joined  to  Washington,  but  could  not  be  until  the  lat 
ter  should  be  admitted,  with  this  territory  included 
within  its  present  boundary.65 

In  the  mean  time  the  delegate  in  congress,  Jacobs, 
acting  on  the  result  of  the  election  of  1877,  introduced, 
by  way  of  an  entering  wedge,  a  bill  for  the  admission 
of  Washington  as  a  state  of  the  union,  in  December 
1877.  After  it  was  settled  that  there  was  really  to  be 
a  constitutional  convention,  the  subject  of  a  name  for 
the  future  state  was  discussed  more  than  any  of  the 
more  important  issues,  a  large  number  of  the  inhab- 
tants  clinging  to  the  name  of  Columbia,  by  which  it  was 
first  presented  to  congress  for  territorial  organization.66 

•*5.  F.  Chronicle,  Dec.  28,  1877;  Id.,  April  8,  1878;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  June 
29,  1878. 

^Oh/mpia  Transcript,  Oct.  24,  1878. 
"Olymjna  Wash.  Standard,  April  G,  1868. 
HIST.  WASH.— 19 


290  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  convention  met  at  Walla  Walla  June  11, 
1878,  a  delegate  from  northern  Idaho  being  also 

O  O 

present,  but  without  a  vote.  A  new  boundary  was 
fixed  for  the  eastern  portion  of  the  state,  including 
the  panhandle  of  Idaho.  In  the  declaration  of  rights 
it  was  said  that  "no  person  on  account  of  sex  should 
be  disqualified  to  enter  upon  and  pursue  any  lawful 
business,  avocation,  or  profession,"67  but  all  attempts 
to  have  stricken  out  the  word  '  male '  as  a  qualifi 
cation  for  voters  failed.  The  instrument  gave  the 
legislature  power  to  amend  itself,  made  the  sessions 
biennial,  gave  that  body  authority  to  adopt  the  sys 
tem  known  as  the  preferential  system  in  dealing 
representatives,  and  limited  its  sessions  to  forty  days. 
Special  legislation  was  forbidden;  no  lotteries  could 
be  authorized,  or  divorces  granted.  The  courts  were 
reorganized;  taxes  made  uniform  under  general  laws; 
the  power  to  tax  corporate  property  could  never  be 
suspended;  the  public  school  fund  could  never  bo 
reduced;  educational  and  penal  institutions  should 
be  provided;  the  legislature  should  have  power  to 
change  the  location  of  the  seat  of  government,  which 

67  This  declaration  of  the  rights  of  women  was  the  outcome  of  several 
years  of  effort  on  the  part  of  the  advocates  of  woman  suffrage,  the  apostle  of 
which  was  Mrs  Abigail  Scott  Duniway  of  Oregon,  proprietor  of  the  JVezo 
Northwest,  a  journal  devoted  to  the  enfranchisement  of  women.  She  began 
the  canvass  of  Oregon  and  Washington  in  1870,  making  at  first  rather 
awkward  attempts  at  oratory,  but  rapidly  improving,  until  her  speeches 
on  the  suffrage  question  commanded  attention  everywhere.  Mrs  Duuiway 
attended  the  Walla  Walla  convention  as  a  reporter.  An  act  was  passed 
in  1871  with  the  evident  design  of  putting  an  end  to  Mrs  Duniway's 
seiges  of  the  legislatures.  It  declared  that  'hereafter  no  female  shall 
have  the  right  of  ballot  or  vote  at  any  poll  or  election  precinct  in  this 
territory,  until  the  congress  of  the  United  States  of  America  shall,  by 
direct  legislation  upon  the  same,  declare  the  same  to  be  the  supreme  law 
of  the  land.'  Wash.  Stat.  1871,  175.  However,  in  1879  an  act  was  passed 
entitled  '  An  act  to  establish  and  protect  the  rights  of  married  women, '  as 
follows:  'Sec.  1.  All  laws  which  impose  or  recognize  civil  disabilities  upon 
a  wife,  which  are  not  imposed  or  recognized  as  existing  as  to  the  husband, 
are  hereby  abolished.  Sec.  2.  Henceforth  the  rights  and  responsibilities 
of  the  parents,  in  the  absence  of  misconduct,  shall  be  equal.'  The  framers 
of  this  absurd  law  did  not  perceive  that  they  were  merely  heaping  responsi 
bilities  upon  women  without  allowing  them  the  means  of  adequately  dis 
charging  them.  Nor  did  the  Olympia  newspaper  editor  see  more  clearly 
when  he  called  this  '  the  first  married  woman's  emancipation  bill  on  this 
continent.'  The  bill,  such  as  it  was,  passed  without  a  dissenting  voice. 
Olympia  Standard,  Nov.  21  and  Dec.  6,  1879. 


THE  CONSTITUTION.  291 

should  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people  at  the 
general  election  next  following  the  adoption  of  the 
constitution;  the  qualifications  of  voters  who  were 
citizens  of  the  United  States  were  a  residence  of  six 
months  in  the  state,  and  thirty  days  in  the  county, 
and  aliens  must  have  declared  their  intention  of  be 
coming  citizens  six  months  before  voting.  Three 
articles  were  left  to  be  voted  upon  separately,  namely, 
local  option,  a  temperance  measure;  woman  suffrage; 
and  the  annexation  of  the  panhandle  counties  of 
Idaho. 

Such,  briefly,  was  the  instrument  which  occupied 
the  delegates  twenty-four  days  in  completing.  It 
was  submitted  to  the  people  at  the  November  elec 
tion  for  delegates,  and  by  them  adopted.63  Congress 
had  passed  no  enabling  act;  the  convention  was 
purely  voluntary,  and  therefore  the  constitution  in 
effectual  until  ratified. 

Delegate  Thomas  H.  Brents,  elected  in  November, 
offered  the  state  of  Washington  for  adoption  into  the 
union  immediately  on  taking  his  seat  in  congress,  but 
the  candidate  for  the  honors  of  statehood  was  not  re 
garded  in  the  national  legislature  with  favor,  although 
a  rapid  growth  had  set  in  with  the  development 
brought  about  by  navigation  and  railroad  companies, 
and  the  territory  was  in  a  solvent  financial  condition. 

The  members  of  the  legislature  of  1879  were  still 
largely  of  the  pioneer  class,  about  half  the  members 
having  resided  in  the  territory  for  twenty-five  years. 
The  other  half  were  young  men  of  more  recent  immi 
grations,69  the  newer  element  promising  soon  to  be  the 

68  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  delegates:  W.  A.  George,  Elwood  Evans, 
and  S.  M.  Gilmore  were  delegates  at  large;  S.  M.  Wait,  B.  F.  Dennison, 
and  Charles  H.  Larrabee,  from  tho  judicial  districts;  C.  M.  Bradshaw,  H.  B. 
Emory,  D.  B.  Hannah,  Francis  Henry,  A.  S.  Abernethy,  George  H.  Stuart, 
O.  P.  Lacey,  L.  B.  Andrews,  from  council  districts;  and  J.  V.  Odell  and 
Alonzo  Leland  were   delegates   from   north  Idaho.     A.  S.  Abernethy  was 
elected  president  of  the  convention,  W.  Byron  Daniels  secretary,  assisted 
by  William  S.  Clark,  Henry  D.  Cook,  sergeant-at-arms,  John  Bryant  and 
John  W.  Norris,  messengers.     Id,,  June  22,  1878. 

69  The  New  Tacorna  Herald,  Oct.  30,  1879,  is  my  authority  for  the  follow 
ing  condensed  biographies:  President  of  the  counsel,  Francis  H.  Cook,  born 


292  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

founders,  and  to  become  themselves  builders  of  em 
pire.  In  the  judiciary  there  had  occurred  a  change 

in  Ohio;  age  28;  came  to  the  territory  in  1871;  publisher  of  the  Herald. 
Elliot  Cline,  born  in  Pa;  age  GO;  immigrated  in  1852;  farmer  by  occupation; 
residence  New  Dungeness.  J.  H.  Day,  born  in  Va;  age  60;  immigrated  in 
1862;  druggist;  residence  Walla  Walla.  S.  G.  Dudley,  born  in  N.  Y. ;  age 
45;  immigrated  in  1874;  farmer;  residence  Seattle.  R.  0:  Dunbar,  born  in 
111.;  age  45;  immigrated  in  1846;  lawyer;  residence  Goldendale. 
J.  B.  La  Du,  born  in  N.  Y.;  age  45;  immigrated  in  1853;  farmer;  residence 
Mount  Coffin.  John  McGlynn,  born  in  Ireland;  age  34;  came  in  1872;  hotel- 
keeper;  residence  La  Conner.  L.  M.  Ringer,  born  in  Va;  age  44;  came  in 
1873;  merchant;  residence  Almota.  A.  F.  Tullis,  born  in  Ind.;  age  49;  im 
migrated  in  1852;  farmer;  residence  Chehalis.  Allen  Weir,  chief  clerk, 
born  in  Cal. ;  age  25;  came  in  1860;  publisher;  residence  Port  Townsend. 
Samuel  Greene,  assistant  clerk,  born  in  Mass. ;  age  42;  came  in  1874;  farmer; 
residence  Seattle.  W.  R.  Andrews,  enrolling  clerk,  born  in  Mich.;  age  28; 
came  in  1861;  lawyer;  residence  La  Conner.  Emma  Knighton,  born  in  Or.; 
age  21;  came  in  1860;  residence  Olympia.  J.  H.  Wilt,  sergeant-at-arms, 
born  in  Ohio;  age  26;  came  in  1876;  teacher;  residence  Walla  Walla.  G. 
W.  Brant,  door-keeper,  born,  in  Mo.;  age  25;  came  in  1852;  wheelwright; 
residence  Vancouver.  Ruth  Bigclow,  messenger,  born  in  the  territory;  age 
19;  residence  Olympia.  Robert  Wilson,  watchman,  born  in  N.  Y. ;  age  47; 
immigrated  in  1855;  hatter;  residence  Walla  Walla.  J.  R.  Thompson, 
chaplain,  borninEng.;  age  38;  came  in  1870;  presbyterian  preacher;  resi 
dence  Olympia. 

In  the  lower  house,  George  H.  Stewart,  speaker,  born  in  Ind. ;  age  48; 
immigrated  in  1850;  lawyer;  residence  Vancouver.  J.  N.  Baker,  born  in 
Ky;  age  32;  immigrated  in  1853;  farmer;  residence  Oakville,  Chehalis  co. 
H.  Blackman,  born  in  Maine;  age  32;  came  in  1872;  lumberman;  residence 
Snohomish  City.  C.  Catlin,  born  in  111. ;  age  35;  came  in  1850;  farmer;  res 
idence  Freeport,  Cowlitz  co.  M.  F.  Colt,  born  in  N.  Y. ;  age  42;  came  in 
1865;  merchant;  residence  Walla  Walla.  P.  D.  Jorup,  born  in  Denmark; 
age  34;  came  in  1860;  hotel-keeper;  residence  Utsalady.  J.  M.  Deware, 
born  in  Scotland;  age  55;  came  in  1859;  farmer;  residence  Walla  Walla. 
Levi  Farnsworth,  born  in  Maine;  age  70;  immigrated  in  1850;  shipwright; 
residence  Yakima.  J.  J.  Foster,  born  in  South  Carolina;  age  55;  came  in 
1864;  farmer;  residence  Wahkiakum  co.  T.  C.  Frary,  age  39;  came  in 
1876;  physician;  residence  Pomeroy.  J.  E.  Gandy,  born  in  Wis. ;  age  32; 
came  in  1865;  physician;  residence  Puyallup.  D.  C.  Guernsey,  born  in 
Wis.;  age  34;  came  in  1871;  merchant;  residence  Dayton.  M.  V.  Harper, 
born  in  Tenn. ;  age  40;  immigrated  in  1853;  surveyor;  residence  Goldendale. 
S.  W.  Hovey,  born  in  Maine;  age  46;  came  in  1857;  cashier  of  Port  Gamble 
Mill  Co. ;  residence  Port  Gamble.  D.  F.  Percival,  born  in  Maine;  age  39; 
came  in  1872;  farmer;  residence  Rock  Creek.  J.  A.  Perkins,  born  in  111. ; 
age  38;  came  in  1861;  farmer  and  land  speculator.  F.  C.  Purely,  born  in 
Tenn.;  age  52;  settled  in  1854;  farmer;  residence  Skokomish.  F.  M. 
Rhoades,  born  in  Ohio;  age  47;  immigrated  in  1847;  farmer;  residence  Key, 
Thurston  co.  Henry  Roder,  born  in  Germany;  age  54;  came  in  1851; 
farmer;  residence  Whatcom  co.  B.  F.  Shaw,  born  in  Mo.;  age  51;  immi- 

f rated  in  1844;  farmer;  residence  near  Vancouver.  L.  P.  Smith,  born  in 
laine;  age  64;  came  in  1869;  watchmaker;  residence  Seattle.  Alfred 
Snyder,  born  in  N.  J. ;  age  51;  came  in  1870;  salesman  at  Port  Blakcley. 
D.  J.  Storms,  born  in  Ohio;  age  65;  came  in  1872;  farmer;  residence  Waits- 
burg.  J.  A.  Taylor,  born  in  N.  Y.;  age  54;  immigrated  in  1845;  farmer 
and  agent  for  farm  machinery;  residence  Walla  Walla  co.  M.  R.  Tilley, 
born  iu  Ind. ;  age  45;  immigrated  in  1852;  livery-stable;  residence  Olympia. 
S.  Troy,  born  in  Pa;  age  46;  came  in  1873;  farmer;  residence  New  Dim- 
geuess.  A.  H.  Tucker,  born  in  N.  H. ;  age  40;  immigrated  in  1852; 


APPOINTMENTS.  293 

in  1878,  R.  S.  Greene  being  appointed  chief  justice, 
the  place  he  vacated  being  filled  by  John  P.  Hoyt,70 
of  Michigan.  Judge  Wingard  was  reappointed.  The 
other  federal  officers  of  this  administration  were 
N.  H.  Owings,  secretary;  C.  B.  Hopkins,  marshal; 
J.  B.  Allen,  United  States  attorney;  William 
McMicken,  collector  of  internal  revenue;  J.  R.  Hay- 
den,  deputy  collector;  Robert  G.  Stuart,  receiver  of 
public  moneys  at  Olympia;  Josiah  T.  Brown,  register 
of  the  general  land-office;  and  C.  B.  Bagley,  deputy. 

By  an  act  of  congress,  approved  June  19,  1878,  a 
change  of  apportionment  was  made,  to  take  effect  in 
1881,  which  reduced  the  maximum  of  members  of  the 
lower  house  of  the  legislature  to  twenty-four  from 
thirty,  arid  increased  the  council  from  nine  to  twelve. 

In  1884,  William  A.  Newell  was  succeeded  in  the 
executive  office  by  Watson  C.  Squire,71  a  veteran  of 

mechanic;  residence  Port  Townsend.  C.  P.  Twiss,  born  in  N.  H.;  age  50; 
came  in  1870;  farmer;  residence  Napavine.  D.  B.  Ward,  born  in  Ky;  age 
41;  came  in  1859;  teacher;  residence  Seattle.  W.  H.  White,  born  in  Va; 
age  37;  came  in  1871;  lawyer;  residence  Seattle.  W.  C.  Porter,  chief  clerk, 
born  in  N,  Y. ;  age  45;  came  in  1876;  lawyer;  residence  Pomeroy.  William 
Hughes,  assistant  clerk,  born  in  Wales;  age  31;  came  in  1875;  printer;  res 
idence  Seattle.  Louis  B.  Noble,  enrolling  clerk,  born  in  Wis. ;  age  26; 
came  in  1878;  lawyer;  residence  Walla  Walla.  Emma  Harmon,  assistant 
enrolling  clerk,  born  in  Wash.;  age  23;  residence  Steilacoom.  L.  P.  Berry, 
sergeant-at-arms,  born  in  Ind. ;  age  36;  immigrated  in  1853;  commission 
merchant;  residence  Colfax.  G.  1).  Keller,  door-keeper,  born  in  Maine; 
age  71;  came  in  1858;  farmer;  residence  on  White  River.  F.  Seidel,  watch 
man,  born  in  Germany;  age  32;  came  in  1879;  carpenter;  residence  Seattle. 
W.  S.  Hayes,  messenger,  born  in  Ky;  age  68;  farmer;  residence  near  Olym 
pia.  D.  N.  Utter,  chaplain,  born  in  Ind.;  age  35;  came  in  1875;  Unitarian 
preacher;  residence  Olympia.  The  republicans  had  a  small  majority  in  either 
house,  and  7  on  a  joint  ballot.  The  religion  of  the  assembly  was  repre 
sented  by  5  presbyterians,  4  methodists,  4  congregationalists,  2  baptists,  2 
catholics,  2  Unitarians,  2  episcopalians,  and  1  lutheran.  Olympia,  Wash. 
Standard,  Oct.  24,  1878. 

70  Hoyt  had  been  appointed  governor  of  Arizona,  but  resigned.  Olyrnpia 
Transcript,  Dec.  28,  1878. 

71  Governor  Squire  was  born  at  Cape  Vincent,  N.  Y.,  May  18,  1838.     He 
graduated  from  the  Wesleyan  university  of  Middleton,  Conn.,  in  1859,  and 
commenced  the  study  of  the  law,  but  the  war  of  the  rebellion  calling  him  to 
the  service  of  his  country,  he  enlisted  in  1861  as  a  private,  being  promoted 
to  be  first  lieutenant  of  co.  F.,  19th  N.  Y.  infantry.     When  the  three  months' 
men  were  discharged  he  resumed  his  studies  in  Cleveland,  O.,  and  graduated 
from  the  Cleveland  law  school  in  1862,  after  which  he  raised  a  company  of 
sharp-shooters,  and  was  given  the  command  of  a  battalion  of  the  same,  serv 
ing  in  the  army  of  the  Cumberland.     Subsequently  he  was  judge  advocate 
of  the  district  of  Tennessee,  serving  on  the  staffs  of  Maj.-Gen.  Rousseau  and 


294  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  civil  war  and  a  man  of  rare  administrative  ability. 
During  his  term,  and  for  several  preceding  years,  the 
history  of  Washington,  apart  from  the  anti-chinese 
riots  of  1885-6,  was  one  rather  of  material  develop 
ment  than  of  political  significance.  Up  to  that  date, 
the  employment  of  Chinese  in  large  numbers  had 
been  almost  a  necessity,  since  for  the  construction  of 
the  transcontinental  and  other  railroads  no  adequate 
supply  of  white  labor  was  available.  But  now  the 
herding  in  cities  and  towns  of  hordes  of  chinamen 
was  becoming  a  serious  menace  to  society,  and  to  the 
working  classes  an  ever-present  source  of  uneasiness. 
Thus  in  1885,  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  Knights 
of  Labor,  an  organization  mainly  composed  of  foreign 
ers,  to  expel  them  from  the  territory.  At  Tacoma 
they  were  compelled  to  leave  at  a  month's  warning; 
at  Squak  two  were  killed;  but  it  was  at  Seattle  and 
among  the  coal-miners  that  the  agitation  assumed 
its  most  aggravated  form,  resulting  in  bloodshed 
and  general  disorder.  Fortunate  it  was  that  at  this 
juncture  a  ruler  was  at  the  helm  of  state  whose 
soundness  of  judgment  and  promptness  of  action  were 
equal  to  the  emergency. 

On  the  5th  of  November  Governor  Squire  issued 
a  proclamation  calling  on  the  citizens  to  preserve  the 
peace;  but  the  very  next  day  a  number  of  Chinese 
houses  were  set  on  fire  by  an  infuriated  mob.  There 
upon  troops  were  ordered  from  Vancouver,  and  a 
statement  of  the  situation  forwarded  to  the  secretary 
of  the  interior,  resulting  in  a  proclamation  by  the 

Maj.-Gen.  Thomas.  On  the  close  of  the  war,  he  became  agent  for  the  Rem 
ington  Arms  co.,  and  managed  their  operations  to  the  amount  of  $15,000,000. 
In  1876  he  became  interested  in  Washington,  removing  in  1879  to  Seattle, 
where  he  engaged  in  a  number  of  enterprises  tending  to  build  up  the  city  of 
his  adoption,  also  becoming  the  owner  of  one  of  the  largest  dairy  farms  in 
the  territory.  In  recognition  of  his  efforts  to  secure  for  Washington  the 
long-coveted  boon  of  statehood,  he  was  elected  president  of  the  statehood 
committee  held  at  Ellensburg  in  January  1889,  and  as  president  also  of  the 
permanent  committee  labored  assiduously  in  framing  the  memorials  after 
ward  presented  to  congress,  until  finally  his  efforts  and  those  of  his  colleagues 
were  crowned  with  success.  As  a  soldier,  a  statesman,  and  a  politician  his 
reputation  is  stainless,  and  there  are  none  whose  career  has  been  more 
closely  identified  with  the  prosperity  and  development  of  Washington. 


THE  CHINESE  RIOTS.  295 

president,  which  was  duly  published  and  promulgated. 
For  a  time  the  disturbance  subsided,  only  to  break 
out  again  in  more  violent  phase  in  February  of  the 
following  year,  when  lives  were  lost  in  the  effort  to 
protect  the  Chinese,  and  overt  rebellion  existed 
against  the  constituted  authorities.  The  governor 
then  adopted  the  extreme  measure  of  declaring  mar 
tial  law,  and  thus  with  the  aid  of  the  citizens  and  troops 
at  length  succeeded  in  restoring  order.  Though  such 
a  course  subjected  him  to  the  abuse  of  the  proletariat 
and  to  the  hostile  criticisms  of  a  portion  of  the  press, 
his  action  was  approved  by  all  the  more  conservative 
and  law-abiding  people  of  the  community.  By  the 
Cleveland  cabinet  he  was  warmly  commended,  and 
as  a  token  of  its  approval  his  resignation  was  not  ac 
cepted  until  long  after  the  democrats  succeeded  to 
power.  His  conduct  also  received  the  approbation  of 
the  legislature,  and  of  such  representative  associations 
as  the  Seattle  chamber  of  commerce  and  the  bar  as 
sociation  of  King  county.72 

During  the  regime  of  Governor  Squire,  and  at  his 
recommendation,  several  long-deferred  public  needs 
were  supplied,  among  them  the  building  of  the  peni 
tentiary  at  Walla  Walla,  the  addition  of  a  manufac 
turing  department  to  the  penitentiary  at  Seatco,  and 
the  erection  of  a  new  insane  asylum  at  Steilacoom. 
The  finances  of  the  territory  were  carefully  adminis 
tered,  and  at  the  close  of  1885  it  was  free  from  debt, 
and  with  an  available  surplus  of  nearly  $100,000. 
His  reports  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior  are  de 
serving  of  more  than  passing  notice,  as  models  of 
political  literature,  on  the  preparation  of  which  no 
money  or  pains  was  spared.  The  one  for  1884  was 
declared  by  that  official  to  be  "the  best  that  had  ever 
been  given  by  any  governor  of  any  territory."  So 
great  was  the  demand  for  it  throughout  the  east,  that, 

72  The  entire  official  correspondence  relating  to  the  Seattle  riots,  together 
with  a  careful  presentation  of  the  matter,  will  be  found  iii  Governor  Squire's 
report  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior  for  1886. 


296  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  government  edition  being  exhausted,  the  North 
ern  Pacific  railroad  company  ordered  at  its  own  ex 
pense  a  special  edition  of  five  thousand  copies  with 
accompanying  maps.  In  the  opening  paragraph  the 
governor  states  that  as  no  report  had  been  forwarded 
since  1879,  while  those  issued  before  that  date  were 
somewhat  meagre  in  their  treatment,  he  has  thought 
it  best  to  make  a  full  representation  of  the  more  im 
portant  facts  connected  with  the  resources  arid  devel 
opment  of  the  territory.  "For  this  purpose,"  he 
says,  "I  have  diligently  corresponded  with  the  audi 
tors  and  assessors  of  all  the  counties  of  the  territory, 
furnishing  them  printed  blanks  to  be  returned,  and 
with  all  the  managers  of  its  various  educational  and 
business  institutions.  Besides  drawing  on  my  own 
knowledge  of  the  territory,  gleaned  during  a  residence 
here  during  the  past  five  or  six  years,  I  have  gath 
ered  and  compiled  a  variety  of  important  facts  from 
leading  specialists  in  reference  to  the  geographical, 
geologic,  and  climatic  characteristics,  the  coal  and 
iron  mining,  horticultural,  agricultural,  and  manufac 
turing  interests,  the  fisheries,  and  the  flora  and  fauna 
of  the  territory. 

"  The  data  thus  offered,  together  with  the  summary 
reports  of  our  charitable  and  penal  institutions,  and 
an  exhibit  of  the  financial  condition  of  the  territory, 
if  published,  will  not  only  be  of  great  service  in  en 
couraging  and  stimulating  our  people,  but  will  fur 
nish  reliable  information  to  the  intending  immigrant, 
and  will  indicate  to  congress  the  rightful  basis  of  our 
claim  for  admission  into  the  union  of  states." 

In  the  report  for  1885  we  have  a  careful  revision 
of  the  previous  document,  including  more  recent  data. 
Again  the  government  edition  was  speedily  exhausted, 
whereupon  a  special  edition  of  ten  thousand  copies  was 
issued  by  authority  of  the  legislature,  and  included 
the  governor's  biennial  message  for  1885-6.  Under 
the  title  of  the  Resources  and  Development  of  Wash 
ington  Territory,  it  was  scattered  broadcast  through- 


INCREASE  IN   POPULATION.  297 

out  the  United  States  and  Europe,  not  only  by  the 
Northern  Pacific  railroad,  but  by  real  estate  firms  and 
by  the  citizens  of  Washington.  To  the  representa 
tions  of  the  two  reports  is  largely  due  the  immense 
volume  of  immigration  within  the  last  half-decade, 
and  more  than  anything  else  that  has  been  written 
they  have  aided  in  securing  admission  to  statehood. 

The  population  of  Washington  increased  from 
75,000  in  1880  to  210,000  in  1880,  owing  chiefly  to 
the  rapid  construction  of  railroad  lines.  The  North 
ern  Pacific  company  operated  at  the  beginning  of 
this  year  455  miles  of  railway  within  its  limits;  the 
Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  company,  295  miles; 
the  Columbia  and  Puget  Sound  railroad  company, 
44  miles;  the  Puget  Sound  Shore  railroad  company, 
23  miles;  and  the  Olympia  and  Chehalis  railroad, 
15  miles — making,  with  some  newly  completed  por 
tions  of  roads,  866  miles  of  railroad,  where  a  few 
years  previous  only  a  few  miles  of  local  railway  ex 
isted.  The  effect  was  magical,  all  kinds  of  business 
growth  keeping  an  even  pace  with  transportation. 
Leaving  out  the  lumber  and  coal  trade  of  western 
Washington,  and  the  cattle  trade  of  eastern  Wash 
ington,  each  of  which  was  very  considerable,  the 
Northern  Pacific  shipped  to  the  east  4,161  tons  of 
wheat  and  1,600  tons  of  other  grains,  while  the  Ore 
gon  company  carried  out  of  southeastern  Washington 
250,000  tons  of  wheat,  flour,  and  barley.  The  ton 
nage  of  Puget  Sound  vessels,  foreign  and  domestic, 
amounted  to  1,240,499  tons,  and  the  business  of  ship 
building  was  active. 

The  federal  and  territorial  officers,  durino-  the  ad- 

7  O 

ministration  of  Governor  Squire,  were  N.  H.  Owings, 
secretary;  R.  S.  Greene,  chief  justice;  J.  P.  Hoyt, 
S.  C.  Wingard,  and  George  Turner,  associate  justices; 
Jesse  George,  United  States  marshal;  John  B.  Allen, 
United  States  district  attorney;  William  McMicken, 
surveyor-general;  C.  Bash,  customs  collector;  C.  B. 
Bagley  and  E.  L.  Heriffj  internal  revenue  collectors; 


298  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

John  F.  Gowey,  registrar,  and  J.  R.  Hayden,  receiver 
of  the  United  States  land-office  at  Olympia;  F.  W. 
Sparling,  registrar,  and  A.  G.  Marsh,  receiver  at 
Vancouver;  Joseph  Jorgensen,  registrar,  and  James 
Braden,  receiver  at  Walla  Walla;  J.  M.  Armstrong, 
registrar,  and  J.  L.  Wilson,  receiver  at  Spokane;  and 
R.  R.  Kinne,  registrar,  and  J.  M.  Adams,  receiver  at 
Yakima.  Thomas  H.  Brents  was  delegate  to  con 
gress. 


In  1887,  Eugene  Semple  of  Oregon,  democrat,  was 
appointed  governor  of  Washington.  Semple  had 
been  a  newspaper  editor,  and  possessed  fair  talents, 
with  industry.  He  found  public  affairs  somewhat 
disquieted  on  the  questions  of  statehood  and  woman 
suffrage.  After  the  defeat  of  equal  suffrage  by  the 
popular  male  vote  of  1878,  the  legislature  had,  in 
1883-4,  passed  an  act  conferring  upon  women  the 
privilege  of  voting  at  all  elections.  Later,  this  act 
wras  pronounced  unconstitutional,  and  after  voting 
at  two  elections,  serving  upon  juries,  and  holding 
various  offices,  the  women  of  the  commonwealth  were 
disfranchised.  But  there  was  a  sufficiently  strong 
sentiment  in  favor  of  the  political  equality  of  the 
sexes  to  make  it  a  party  question  in  1886,  the  repub 
licans  having  incorporated  equal  suffrage  in  their 
platform,  while  a  respectable  majority  in  both  houses 
of  the  legislature  were  pledged  to  vote  for  a  bill  re 
storing  the  woman  suffrage  law. 

O  O 

Another  matter  upon  which  the  legislature  was 
divided  was  the  proposition  revived  to  remove  the 
capital  from  Olympia  to  some  more  central  location, 
favorable  mention  being  made  of  North  Yakima73  and 

73  Yakima  City  was  incorporated  Dec.  1,  1883.  Twelve  months  later,  when 
it  had  400  inhabitants,  the  surveyors  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  laid  out 
the  town  of  North  Yakima,  4  miles  distant  from  the  old  town,  upon  a  broad 
and  liberal  scale,  and  proposed  to  the  people  of  the  latter  that  if  they  would 
consent  to  be  removed  to  the  new  town  they  should  be  given  as  many  lots 
there  as  they  possessed  in  the  old,  and  have  besides  their  buildings  moved 
upon  them  without  cost  to  the  owners.  Such  an  agreement  in  writing  was 
signed  by  a  majority  of  the  citizens,  and  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1884-5 
over  100  buildings  were  moved  on  trucks  and  rollers,  hotels,  a  bank,  and 


THE  CORPORATION  LAW.  299 

Ellensburg.  Those  who  were  laboring  for  this  end 
expected  that  the  long-coveted  panhandle  of  Idaho 
would  be  joined  to  Washington,  and  intended  to  use 
that  accession  of  territory  as  a  lever  to  effect  the  re 
moval  of  the  capital  east  of  the  mountains.  But  the 
people  of  western  Washington  strenuously  opposed 
the  transference  of  the  government  offices  to  the  Ya- 
kima  valley,  and  succeeded  in  preventing  it. 

The  legislature  of  1887  appointed  a  commission  to 
codify  the  laws  of  Washington,  consisting  of  W.  H. 
Doolittle  of  Tacoma,  J.  H.  Snively  of  Yakima,  Thomas 
H.  Came  of  Seattle,  and  A.  E.  Isham  of  Walla  Walla. 
As  the  passage  of  the  enabling  act  rendered  it  un 
doubted  that  the  state  constitution  would  differ 
materially  from  the  organic  law  of  the  territory,  the 
commission  suspended  its  labors  until  the  state  con 
stitution  had  assumed  definite  form,  when  it  reviewed 
its  work. 

The  corporation  law  received  particular  attention, 
making  provision  for  freights,  for  the  rights  of  differ 
ent  roads  to  the  use  of  each  other's  tracks,  and  the 
rights  and  duties  of  stockholders.  All  telegraph  and 
telephone  companies  were  given  the  right  of  way  on 
the  lines  of  railroad  companies  on  equal  conditions. 
Railroads  might  pass  along  streams,  streets,  or  high 
ways  where  life  and  property  were  not  endangered, 
but  the  companies  must  restore  either  of  these  to  its 
former  condition  of  usefulness.  Every  railroad  must 
construct  not  less  than  five  miles  of  road  each  year 
until  completed,  or  forfeit  its  charter.  Foreign  rail 
roads  could  not  enjoy  greater  privileges  than  domestic 
roads.  An  annual  report  was  to  be  made  by  each 
railroad  to  the  stockholders,  subject  to  the  inspection 
of  the  secretary  of  state;  besides  which  a  sworn  an 
nual  statement  was  required  of  the  officers  of  each 
company. 

other  business  houses  doing  their  usual  business  while  en  route.  This  was  a 
good  stroke  of  policy  on  the  part  of  the  railroad,  general  land  commissioner, 
and  the  company,  as  it  definitely  settled  opposition,  both  to  the  new  town  and 
the  corporation,  which  also  secured  a  year's  growth  for  North  Yakima  in 
ninety  days'  time.  Subsequently  the  town  had  almost  a  phenomenal  growth. 


300  GOVERNMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  federal  officers  during  Semple's  second  term 
were  N.  H.  Owings,  secretary  ;  K.  A.  Jones,  chief  jus 
tice;  W.  G-.  Langford,  George  Turner,  and  Frank 
Allyn,  associate  justices.  Charles  S.  Voorhees  suc 
ceeded  Brents  as  delegate  to  congress.'4  James 
Shields  succeeded  Hayden  in  the  receiver's  office  of 
the  land  department,  and  John  Y.  Ostrander  was 
appointed  registrar  in  1886. 

74  John  B.  Allen,  republican,  was  chosen  for  congressman  by  a  majority  in 
1887  of  7,371,  over  Voorhees,  democrat,  but  was  prevented  taking  his  seat  in 
congress  by  the  prospect  of  the  passage  of  an  enabling  act. 

Among  the  leading  citizens  of  Washington,  in  addition  to  those  mentioned 
elsewhere  in  this  volume,  the  following  residents  of  Spokane  Falls  are  worthy 
of  note: 

J.  N.  Glover,  a  Missoiirian  by  birth,  and,  it  may  be  said,  the  founder  of 
the  city,  settling  there,  or  rather  on  its  site,  in  1873,  and  purchasing  from  two 
squatters  named  Downing  and  Scranton  the  tract  of  land  on  which  their 
shanties  were  then  the  only  buildings.  First  as  the  owner  of  a  saw-mill, 
next  as  a  contractor,  then  as  the  leading  organizer  and  president  of  the  First 
National  Bank,  and  finally  as  mayor  of  Spokane,  he  has  won  for  himself  his 
well-earned  wealth  and  reputation. 

In  connection  with  the  First  National  Bank  should  be  mentioned  Horace 
L.  Cutter,  who  was  also  one  of  its  organizers.  A  native  of  Cleveland,  0., 
in  1871  he  removed  to  Colo,  on  account  of  his  health,  and  in  the  following 
year  to  Cal.,  where  for  eight  years  he  was  secretary  of  the  San  Jose  Savings 
Bank.  Settling  at  Spokane  Falls  in  1882,  he  was  appointed  cashier  and 
manager  of  the  First  National,  and  has  since  been  a  promoter  of  several  lead 
ing  enterprises,  as  the  electric  light  and  cable-road  companies.  He  was  also 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  board  of  trade,  of  which  he  is  treasurer,  and  of 
the  public  librai  y,  of  which  he  is  president. 

The  president  and  manager  of  the  Traders'  National  Bank  is  E.  J.  Brickell, 
a  native  of  Ind.,  but  most  of  whose  lifetime  has  been  passed  in  111.  and  Nev., 
where  he  engaged  in  merchandising  and  lumbering.  In  1884  he  settled  at 
Spokane,  where  he  is  now  the  owner  of  one  of  the  largest  hardware  stores. 
Among  the  directors  of  this  bank,  and  its  former  vice-president,  is  R.  W. 
Forrest,  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  and  now  one  of  the  capitalists  of  Spokane, 
where  his  residence  dates  from  1879. 

Others  deserving  of  notice  are  Col  D.  P.  Jenkins,  a  native  of  O.,  and  a  law 
yer  by  profession,  who,  after  serving  almost  throughout  the  civil  war,  resumed 
practice,  first  in  Tenn.  and  Ind.,  and  later  in  Colo  and  W.  T.,  whither  he  re 
moved  for  his  health's  sake,  settling  at  Spokane  in  1879;  J.  D.  Sherwood,  a 
son  of  the  late  B.  F.  Sherwood  of  San  Francisco,  and  who,  as  one  of  those 
who  established  the  electric-light  works,  as  president  of  the  cable  company, 
and  in  connection  with  other  enterprises,  has  helped  to  build  up  his  adopted 
city;  W.  Pettet,  an  Englishman,  who  visited  California  in  1840,  and  in  1886 
made  his  permanent  home  at  Suokane,  where  he  purchased  the  first  electric- 
light  plant  and  organized  the  company  by  which  it  was  operated;  E.  B. 
Hyde,  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  who  came  to  Spokane  in  1881,  two  years  later 
building,  in  conjunction  with  others,  the  Union  block,  and  since  that  date  add 
ing  a  number  of  handsome  edifices  to  the  improvements  of  the  city;  VV.  M. 
Wolverton,  a  native  of  la,  who,  in  1881,  the  year  after  his  arrival,  erected 
the  first  brick  building  in  Spokane,  where,  until  retiring  from  business  in 
188G,  he  was  the  owner  of  a  flourishing  hardware  store. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

REMARKABLE  GROWTH  OF  THE  TERRITORY — DEMAND  FOR  STATEHOOD — EN 
ABLING  ACT — STATE  CONVENTION — CHARACTER  OF  THE  DELEGATES — 
CONSTITUTION  RATIFIED — WAITING  FOR  A  PROCLAMATION — MEETING  OF 
FIRST  STATE  LEGISLATURE — CHARACTER  OF  MEMBERS — UNEXPECTED 
DELAY  OF  THE  PRESIDENTIAL  PROCLAMATION — ELECTION  OF  SENATORS. 

FROM  1880  to  1888  the  progress  made  in  Washing 
ton  was  phenomenal,  and  was  felt  in  every  direction 
—in  commerce,  manufacture,  banks,  corporations, 
schools,  growth  of  towns,  improved  styles  of  building, 
construction  of  railroads,  mining,  agriculture,  and 
society.  New  towns  had  sprung  up  among  the  firs 
and  cedars,  the  Puget  Sound  country,  and  out  of  the 
treeless  prairies  almost  in  a  night;  and  hitherto  un 
important  villages  had  become  cities  with  corporate 
governments,  grand  hotels,  churches,  colleges,  and 
opera-houses. 

The  board  of  trade  of  Tacoma  in  1886  declared  that 
"the  commercial  independence  of  Washington  terri 
tory  accompanying  the  completion  of  the  direct  lino 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  to  tide-water  should 
be  supplemented  by  its  political  independence  as  a 
state  of  the  American  union.  Admission  cannot  in 
decency  be  delayed  many  years  longer,  whatever 
party  influences  may  sway  congress.  The  census  of 
1890  will  show  a  population  within  the  present  limits 
of  the  territory  exceeding  200,000,  and  a  property 
valuation  of  at  least  $200,000,000.  "l  Governor 

1  The  state  auditor  in  November  1889  reported  the  resources  of  the  com 
monwealth  from  taxes,  licenses,  prison  labor,  etc.,  at  $372. 866. 33. 

(301) 


302  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

Squire  had  said  in  a  report  to  the  secretary  of  the 
interior  that  among  the  reasons  for  the  admission  of 
the  territory  were  the  "sterling,  patriotic,  and  enter 
prising  character  of  its  citizens ;  its  present  and  pro 
spective  maritime  relations  with  the  world ;  its  position 
as  a  border  state  on  the  confines  of  the  dominion  of 
Canada,  the  most  powerful  province  of  Great  Britain ; 
its  wealth  of  natural  resources  and  growing  wealth  of 
its  people;  the  efficiency  of  its  educational  system,  re 
quiring  that  its  school  lands  should  be  allotted  and 
utilized;  its  riparian  rights  should  be  settled,  capital 
and  immigration  encouraged,  and  the  full  manage 
ment  and  control  of  municipal  and  county  affairs 
should  be  assumed  by  the  legislature,  which  is  not 
allowed  during  the  territorial  condition." 

Governor  Semple,  in  his  report  for  1888,  gave  the 
population  as  167,982,  showing  that  the  prophecy  of 
the  board  of  trade  was  not  an  over-estimate  of  the 
probabilities.  The  taxable  property  was  given  at 
$84,021,182,  or  a  gain  of  $65,698,260  in  ten  years, 
which  being  taken  from  the  assessment  roll  was  con 
sidered  conservative  enough  for  the  minimum ;  for  as 
the  governor  quaintly  remarked:  "Whatever  else  an 
average  American  citizen  may  neglect,  he  never  for 
gets  to  beat  down  the  assessor."  The  revenue  pro 
duced  by  a  tax  of  two  and  a  half  mills  was  $212,734.92, 
showing  the  ability  to  erect  and  maintain  the  necessary 
public  works  as  they  should  be  required.  There  were 
in  the  territory  in  operation  762.2  miles  of  standard 
gauge  railroads  belonging  to  the  North  Pacific  railroad 
company;  and  282.6  miles  of  the  same  gauge  belong 
ing  to  the  Oregon  railway  and  navigation  company; 
the  Seattle,  Lake  Shore,  and  Eastern  railroad  com 
pany  operated  58  miles  of  standard  gauge  road;  the 
Columbia  and  Puget  Sound  railroad  44.5  miles;  and 
the  Puget  Sound  and  Gray's  Harbor  railroad  10  miles 
—making  in  all  1,157.3  miles  of  broad-gauge  railways. 
In  addition,  there  were  40  miles  of  narrow-gauge  road, 
divided  between  the  Olympia  and  Chehalis  valley,  the 


PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS.  303 

Mill  Creek  F.  and  M.  company,  and  the  Cascade  rail 
road — making  in  all  1,197.7  miles,  and  the  increase  of 
mileage  was  augmenting  yearly.  The  amount  of  coal 
mined  in  the  territory  in  1888  was  1,133,801  tons. 
The  output  in  lumber  of  the  Washington  mills  in  four 
localities  only  for  the  year  was  320,848,203  feet,  their 
capacity  being  a  million  feet  greater,  shingles  and 
lath  in  proportion.  The  amount  consumed  within  the 
territory  was  105,940,225  feet  of  lumber;  14,474,000 
lath,  and  12,921,250  shingles;  the  remainder  was  ex 
ported.  The  estimated  capacity  of  all  the  mills  was 
1,043,596,000  feet. 

An  insane  asylum,  costing  $100,000,  was  completed 
at  Steilacoom  in  1888,  in  which  were  treated  200  pa 
tients  ;  and  $GO,000  was  appropriated  for  the  erection 
of  a  hospital  for  the  insane  at  Medical  lake  in  eastern 
Washington,  which  was  being  expended  on  the  work. 
Up  to  1887  the  territorial  prisoners  were  confined  in 
a  private  prison,  under  the  control  of  contractors,  but 
in  1887  a  penitentiary  was  completed  at  Walla  Walla, 
costing  $153,000.  At  Vancouver  a  school  for  defect 
ive  youth  was  erected,  partly  by  the  citizens  of  that 
place  donating  land,  and  the  rest  by  the  legislature, 
making  at  two  sessions  appropriations  for  that  pur 
pose.  The  national  guard  had  completed  its  organiza 
tion,  the  legislature  having  levied  a  tax  of  one  fifth  of 
a  mill  for  military  purposes,  and  consisted  of  two  regi 
ments  of  infantry  and  a  troop  of  cavalry — in  all  750 
officers  and  men.  These  and  various  other  matters, 
including  the  question  of  who  should  pick  the  hop 
crop  in  Puyallup  valley,  were  reported  to  the  secre 
tary,  and  Governor  Sample  put  it:  "We  are  rich  and 
reputable,  and  do  not  require  anybody  to  settle  our 
bills.  Give  us  the  right  to  regulate  our  local  affairs, 
and  we  will  not  only  pay  our  own  officers,  but  we  will 
render  much  service  to  the  union." 

In  1888  Miles  C.  Moore  of  Walla  Walla,  republi 
can,  was  appointed  governor  to  succeed  Semple, 
democrat,  but  only  in  time  to  be  immersed  in  the 


304  PROGRESS  AND   STATEHOOD. 

excitement  of  a  change  of  government  forms,  for  con 
gress,  on  the  22d  of  February,  1889  (very  appropri 
ately),  passed  an  enabling  act,  proposing  the  terms  on 
which  the  state  of  Washington  might  be  admitted  to 
the  union.  It  commanded  the  governor  to  issue  a 
proclamation  on  the  15th  of  April  for  an  election  of 
seventy-five  delegates  to  a  constitutional  convention, 
the  election  to  be  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  after  the 
second  Monday  in  May  of  that  year.  The  delegates 
were  directed  to  meet  at  the  capital  on  the  4th  of 
July  for  organization,  and  to  declare,  on  behalf  of  the 
people,  their  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  whereupon  they  should  be  authorized  to  form 
a  constitution  for  the  proposed  state.  The  constitu 
tion  should  be  republican  in  form,  make  no  distinc 
tion  in  civil  or  political  rights  on  account  of  race  or 
color,  except  as  to  Indians  not  taxed,  and  not  be 
repugnant  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States 
and  the  principles  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
It  should  provide,  by  ordinances  irrevocable  without 
the  consent  of  the  United  States  and  the  people  of 
said  states,  that  perfect  toleration  of  religious  senti 
ment  shall  be  secured,  and  no  inhabitant  of  the  state 
ever  molested  on  account  of  his  mode  of  worship;  that 
the  people  of  the  state  should  forever  disclaim  all 
right  to  the  unappropriated  public  lands  lying  within 
the  boundaries  thereof,  or  to  the  Indian  reservations, 
which  should  remain  under  the  absolute  jurisdiction 
and  control  of  congress;  that  the  lands  of  non-resident 
citizens  of  the  United  States  should  never  be  taxed 
at  a  higher  rate  than  the  lands  belonging  to  residents; 
that  no  taxes  should  be  imposed  by  the  state  on  lands 
or  property  therein  belonging  to,  or  which  might  be 
thereafter  purchased  or  reserved  by,  the  United 
States;  but  nothing  in  the  ordinances  should  preclude 
taxing  the  lands  owned  or  held  by  Indians  who  had 
severed  their  tribal  relations  and  obtained  a  title 
thereto  by  patent  or  grant,  except  those  lands  which 
congress  might  have  exempted  from  taxation,  which 


EDUCATIONAL  CONSIDERATION".  305 

tlie  ordinances  should  exempt,  so  long  and  to  such 
extent  as  such  act  of  congress  might  prescribe.  The 
debts  and  liabilities  of  the  territory  should  be  assumed 
and  paid  by  the  state.  Provision  should  bo  made  for 
the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  public  schools, 
which  should  be  open  to  all  the  children  in  the  state, 
and  free  from  sectarian  control. 

On  the  other  hand,  upon  the  admission  of  the  state, 
sections  numbered  sixteen  and  thirty-six  in  every 
township  of  said  state,  or  where  such  sections  or  parts 
of  sections  had  been  disposed  of,  indemnity  lands  were 
granted  to  the  state  for  the  support  of  common 
schools,  except  where  such  sections  were  embraced  in 
grants  or  reservations  by  the  government,  and  until 
they  were  restored  to  the  public  domain.  The  lands 
granted  for  educational  purposes  should  not  be  sold 
for  less  than  ten  dollars  per  acre,  and  only  at  public 
sale,  the  proceeds  to  constitute  a  permanent  school 
fund,  the  interest  only  of  which  should  be  expended 
in  their  support.  But  the  legislature  had  power  to 
prescribe  terms  on  which  the  school  lands  might  be 
leased,  for  periods  of  not  more  than  five  years,  in 
quantities  of  not  more  than  one  section  to  one  person 
or  company;  and  such  lands  should  not  be  subject  to 
entry  under  any  of  the  land  laws  of  the  United  States. 

Fifty  sections  of  selected  public  land  within  the 
state  should  be  granted  for  the  purpose  of  erecting 
public  buildings  at  the  capital  for  legislative  and 
judicial  purposes.  Five  per  centum  of  the  proceeds 
of  the  sales  of  public  lands  within  the  state,  which 
should  be  sold  by  the  United  States  after  its  admis 
sion,  deducting  all  expenses  incident  to  the  same, 
should  be  paid  to  the  state  to  be  used  as  a  permanent 
fund,  the  interest  of  which  only  should  be  expended 
for  the  support  of  common  schools.  Seventy-two 
entire  sections  were  granted  for  university  purposes, 
none  of  which  should  be  disposed  of  at  less  than  ten 
dollars  per  acre;  but,  like  the  common  school  lands, 
they  might  be  leased.  The  schools  and  universities 


HIST.  WASH.- 20 


306  PROGRESS   AXD  STATEHOOD. 

provided  for  in  the  act  should  forever  remain  under 
the  exclusive  control  of  the  state,  and  no  part  of  the 
proceeds  arising  from  the  sale  of  the  granted  lands 
should  be  applied  to  denominational  schools,  colleges, 
or  universities.  Ninety  thousand  acres  should  be 
also  granted  for  the  use  and  support  of  an  agricul 
tural  college.  In  lieu  of  the  grant  of  land  for  pur 
poses  of  internal  improvement  made  to  new  states  by 
the  act  of  September  4,  1841,  and  in  lieu  of  any  claim 
or  demand  by  the  state  under  the  act  of  September 
28,  1850,  and  section  2479  of  the  Revised  Statutes, 
granting  swamp  and  overflowed  lands  to  certain 
states,  and  in  lieu  of  any  grant  of  saline  lands,  there 
was  granted  to  the  state  of  Washington,  for  the 
establishment  and  maintenance  of  a  scientific  school, 
one  hundred  thousand  acres,  the  same  amount  for 
state  normal  schools;  for  public  buildings  at  the 
state  capital,  in  addition  to  the  previous  grant  for 
that  purpose;  and  for  state  charitable,  educational, 
penal,  and  reformatory  institutions,  two  hundred 
thousand  each;  and  the  state  should  be  entitled  to 
no  other  grants  of  land  for  any  purposes.  Mineral 
lands  were  exempted  from  all  the  grants,  but  lieu 
lands  were  allowed  in  their  stead,  where  mineral 
should  be  found  on  the  school  sections.  But  there 
should  be  deducted  from  the  amounts  granted  for  any 
specific  object,  the  number  of  acres  before  donated  by 
congress  to  the  territory  for  similar  objects.2 

The  sum  of  twenty  thousand  dollars,  or  as  much 
as  might  be  necessary,  was  appropriated  for  defray 
ing  the  expenses  of  the  state  constitutional  conven 
tion.  The  state  should  constitute  one  judicial  district, 
to  be  attached  to  the  ninth  judicial  circuit.  There 
should  be  appointed  one  district  judge,  United  States 
attorney,  and  United  States  marshal,  the  judge  to 
receive  a  salary  of  $3,500,  and  to  reside  in  his  dis 
trict,  and  the  clerks  of  the  court  to  keep  their  offices 
at  the  state  capital;  the  regular  terms  of  court  to 

2  See  p.  216,  note,  on  the  misapplication  of  the  university  lands. 


THE  REPRESENTATIVES.  307 

commence  in  April  and  November.  The  courts  of 
the  state  were  made  the  successors  of  the  territorial 
courts,  whose  business  should  be  transferred  to  them 
without  prejudice. 

The  constitutional  convention  might,  by  ordinance, 
provide  for  the  election  of  officers  for  full  state  gov 
ernment,  including  members  of  the  legislature,  arid 
representatives  in  congress;  but  the  state  govern 
ment  should  remain  in  abeyance  until  the  admission 
of  the  state  into  the  union.  Should  the  constitution 
be  ratified  by  the  people,  the  legislature  might  as 
semble,  organize,  and  elect  two  senators  of  the  United 

'  O  7 

States,  whose  election  being  certified  by  the  governor 
and  secretary  of  state,  they  should  be  admitted  to  seats 
in  congress  on  the  admission  of  the  state  into  the  union; 
and  the  officers  elected  to  fill  state  offices  should  in 
the  same  manner  proceed  to  exercise  their  functions. 
The  election  for  the  ratification  of  the  constitution 
should  take  place  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  October. 
Such,  in  brief,  was  the  compact  to  be  accepted  and 
ratified. 

The  delegates  met  on  the  3d  of  July,  at  Olympia, 
and  proceeded  to  business  on  the  4th.3  They  were 

3  The  several  counties  were  represented  as  follows  in  the  convention: 
Stevens,  S.  H.  Manly,  J.  J.  Travis;  Spokane,  C.  P.  Coey,  Geo.  Turner, 
J.  Z.  Moore,  J.  J.  Browne,  T.  C.  Griffitts,  H.  F.  Suksdorf,  Hiram  E.  Allen; 
Lincoln,  H.  W.  Fairweather,  B.  B.  Glascock,  Frank  M.  Dallam;  Kittetass, 
J.  A.  Shoudy,  A.  Mires,  J.  T.  McDonald;  Whitman,  J.  P.  T.  McCloskey, 

C.  H.  Warner,  E.  H.  Sullivan,  J.  M.  Reed,  James  Hungate,  Geo.  Cornegys; 
Adams,   D.   Buchanan;   Garficld,    S.   G.  Cosgrove;  Franklin,  W.   B.   Gray; 
Columbia,  M.  M.  Goodman,  R.  F.  Sturvedant;  Walla  Walla,  Lewis  Neace, 

D.  J.   Crowley,   B.  L.  Sharpstein,  N.  G.  Blalock;  Yakima,  W.  F.  Prosser; 
Clarke,  Louis  Johns,  A.  A.  Lindsley;  Skamania,  G.  H.  Stevenson;  Pacific, 
J.  A.  Burk;  Wahkiakum,  0.  A.  Bowen;  Cowlitz,  Jesse  Van  Name;  Mason, 
Henry  Winsor,  John  McReavy;  Chehalis,  A.  J.  West;  Jefferson,  Allen  Weir, 
George  H.  Jones,  H.  C.  Willison;  Skagit,  James  Power,  Thomas  Hayton,  H. 
Clothier;    Whatcom,    J.    J.    Weisenberger,    E.    Eldridge;    Snohomish,    A. 
Schooley;  Island,   J.  C.    Kellogg;  Kitsap,    S.   A.   Dickey;   King,   R.   Jeffs, 
T.  T.  Minor,  T.  P.  Dyer,  D.  E.  Durie,  John  R.  Kinuear,  John  P.  Hoyt,  M.  J. 
McElroy,  Morgan  Morgans,  George  W.  Tibbetts,  W.  L.  Newton;  Pierce,  T.  L. 
Stiles,  P.  C.  Sullivan,  Gwin  Hicks,  H.  M.  Lillis,  C.  T.  Fay,  R.  S.  Moore, 
Robert  Jamison;  Thurston,  John  F.  Gowey,  T.  M.  Reed,   Francis  Henry; 
Lewis,  O.  H.  Joy,  S.  H.  Berry. 

From  the  Oregonian  of  July  4,  1889,  I  make  the  following  excerpts: 
Gwiu  Hicks  was  the  youngest  member  of  tho  convention.  He  was  born  at 


308  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

a  conservative  body  of  men,  chosen  from  the  various 

Olympia,  Oct.  28,  1857.  He  resided  in  Portland,  Oregon,  from  10  to  18 
years  of  age;  took  a  course  in  the  university  of  California,  supporting  him 
self  by  his  trade  of  printing,  which  he  afterward  followed  in  Portland; 
removed  to  Tacoma  in  18S3,  and  was  engaged  on  the  News  as  editor,  and 
afterward  was  appointed  deputy  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  Wash., 
serving  4  years.  He  was,  at  the  time  of  his  election,  manager  of  the  Tacoma 
Real  Estate  and  Stock  Exchange. 

Hiram  E.  Allen,  born  Aug.  1,  1857,  at  Crawfordsville,  Ind.,  removed  to 
Wash,  in  1872,  practised  law  at  Spokane  Falls  in  partnership  with  his 
brother,  Joseph  S.  Allen.  He  was  also  a  brother  of  Hon.  J.  B.  Allen. 

Jacob  T.  Eshelman,  born  near  Memphis,  Mo.,  in  1852,  came  to  Cal.  in 
187G,  taught  school  in  Napa  co.,  came  to  Wash,  in  1878,  resided  in  Klickitat 
co.  until  1887,  removed  to  North  Yakima  where  he  was  appointed  clerk  of 
the  U.  S.  land-office.  He  was  nominated  by  the  Klickitat  democratic  con 
vention  for  services  rendered  to  the  party  in  that  co.  His  profession  was 
that  of  a  Christian  minister. 

John  R.  Kinnear,  of  King  co.,  was  born  in  Indiana,  but  removed  to 
Woodf ord  co. ,  Illinois,  at  the  age  of  7  years.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and 
educated  at  Washington  high  school,  Eureka  college,  and  Knox  college,  where 
he  took  a  regular  course.  He  enlisted  in  the  army  during  the  war,  and 
served  three  years  as  a  private,  being  in  20  great  battles.  After  the  close  of 
the  war  he  took  a  course  at  the  Chicago  law  school,  and  practised  in  Paxton, 
111.,  for  15  years.  In  1883,  he  removed  to  Seattle,  and  in  1884  was  elected 
representative  from  King  co.  In  1888  he  was  elected  to  the  council,  bat 
the  passage  of  the  enabling  act  prevented  his  taking  his  seat.  In  June  1889 
he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention,  and  took  an  ac 
tive  part  in  framing  that  important  instrument.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  corporation,  and  secured  the  insertion  of  the  clause  in  the  con 
stitution  prohibiting  trusts,  and  another  prohibiting  persons  or  corporations 
supporting  armed  bodies  of  men  in  the  state,  for  any  purpose.  He  received 
130  votes  in  the  republican  state  convention  for  governor. 

George  Comegys,  born  in  St  Charles  co.,  Mo.,  in  1839,  came  to  Or.  in 
1850  with  his  father,  educated  at  the  Willamette  university,  admitted  to 
practise  law  in  the  supreme  court  of  Or.  in  1877,  removed  to  Whitman  co., 
Wash.,  in  1878,  engaged  in  law  practice,  stock-raising,  and  mining,  repre 
sented  Whitman  co.  in  the  legislature  of  1881,  and  was  speaker  of  the  house. 

William  F.  Prosser,  born  in  1834  near  Williamsport,  Penn.,  had  an  aca 
demic  education,  taught  school,  studied  law,  emigrated  to  Cal.  in  1854,  en 
gaged  in  mining;  was  the  first  republican  candidate  for  the  legislature  in 
Trinity  co.  in  1860;  went  east  to  enlist  in  the  union  army  in  1861,  served 
in  the  army  of  the  Cumberland,  was  commissioned  major,  and  lieut-col  and 
col  in  the  Tennessee  cavalry  regt;  located  after  the  war  on  a  farm  near  Nash 
ville,  was  elected  to  the  legislature  of  Tenn.  in  1867,  and  to  congress  in  1868; 
was  postmaster  at  Nashville  for  3  years,  was  a  commissioner  to  the  centen 
nial  exhibition  at  Phila  in  1876;  was  appointed  special  agent  of  the  general 
land-office  for  Or.  and  Wash,  in  1879,  served  6  years,  and  was  removed  by  a 
change  of  administration;  located  a  land  claim  where  the  town  of  Prosser 
was  laid  out  in  Yakima  co.,  elected  auditor  of  that  co.  in  1886,  and  member 
of  the  convention  in  1889.  He  married  Miss  Flora  Thornton  of  Seattle. 

Jesse  F.  Van  Name  was  born  in  Earlsville,  La  Salle  co.,  111.,  in  1857, 
educated  in  the  public  schools,  taught  school,  went  to  the  Black  hills,  to 
Kansas  and  Colorado,  read  law  with  Judge  McAnnelly  of  Fort  Collins,  went 
to  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  and  in  1882  came  to  Wash.  Taught  school  in 
Cowlitz  valley,  and  resumed  law  studies,  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  2d 
judicial  dist,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  locating  in  Kalama  in  1889. 

R.  O.  Dun  bar,  born  in  111.  in  1845,  came  to  Or.  in  1846,  was  educated  at 
Willamette  university,  studied  law  with  Hon.  Elwood  Evans  in  Olympia,  and 
began  practice  in  1870;  removed  to  Klickitat  co.  in  1877;  was  elected  mem- 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  309 

classes.     The  constitution  which  they  framed  for  ac- 

ber  of  the  territorial  council  in  1879,  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  district  in 
1882,  speaker  of  the  house  in  1885,  and  probate  judge  of  Klickitat  co.  in 
1888. 

B.  B.  Glascock,  born  in  Rails  co.,  Mo.,  in  1843,  came  to  Yolo  co.,  Cal., 
in  1852,  removed  to  Wash,  in  1883,  locating  at  Sprague  and  engaging  in 
farming  and  stock-raising.  Was  a  member  of  the  California  constitutional 
convention  in  1878,  and  member  of  the  senate  for  the  two  sessions  imme 
diately  following  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution. 

A.  J.  West  was  born  in  county  Roscommon,  Ireland,  in  1839,  emigrated 
to  Ontario,  Canada,  received  a  common-school  education,  taught  school,  and 
worked  in  a  lumber-mill.  When  the  war  of  the  rebellion  broke  out  he  went 
to  Mich.,  enlisted,  was  commissioned  1st  lieut,  volunteer  infantry,  fought 
in  16  battles,  was  wounded  while  charging  Fort  Wheaton,  was  in  command 
of  his  company  at  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Lee,  and  was  commissioned  captain 
in  May  1805,  a  few  days  before  his  discharge.  Engaged  in  lumbering  in 
Mich,  for  14  years  at  Saginaw,  and  filled  several  town  and  county  offices. 
In  1884  removed  to  Aberdeen,  Chehalis  co.,  and  went  again  into  the  manu 
facture  of  lumber. 

N.  G.  Blalock  was  born  in  North  Carolina  in  1836  on  a  farm,  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools,  except  one  year  in  Tusculum  college,  Tenn.,  paying 
by  laboring  nights  and  mornings  for  his  tuition;  entered  Jefferson  medical 
college  in  1859,  graduating  in  1861,  and  being  commissioned  asst  surgeon  of 
the  115th  111.  vols  in  1862,  and  was  discharged  on  account  of  ill  health  in 
1864.  Came  to  Wash,  in  1873,  invested  in  dry  foot-hill  lands  reputed  worth 
less  for  agriculture,  but  which  proved  most  productive.  In  1881  he  raised 
on  2,200  acres  90,000  bushels  of  wheat.  In  1878  and  1879,  built  a  flume 
from  the  mountains  down  into  the  valley,  28  miles,  costing  $56,000,  for  the 
purpose  of  conveying  lumber,  wood,  and  rails.  His  improvements  greatly 
stimulated  farming  in  Walla  Walla  valley. 

H.  W.  Fair  weather,  born  in  St  Johns,  N.  B.,  in  1852,  came  to  the  U.  S. 
in  1865.  He  was  in  railroad  employ  in  Wyoming  for  3  years,  came  to  Wash. 
in  1871,  was  again  in  the  service  of  transportation  companies,  and  relieved 
L>.  L.  Baker  of  the  management  of  the  Walla  Walla  and  Columbia  River 
railroad.  In  1879,  became  superintendent  of  the  Idaho  division  of  the  N.  P. 
for  3  years;  in  1883,  passenger  agent  of  the  N.  P.  and  0.  R.  &  N.  companies, 
filling  this  position  for  6  years.  He  was  president  of  the  1st  National  Bank 
of  Sprague,  and  director  of  the  1st  National  Bank  of  Spokane  Falls;  was 
mayor  of  Sprague,  and  chief  of  ordnance  with  the  rank  of  colonel  on  the 
staff  of  Gov.  Moore.  He  married  Miss  Matilda  Curtis  in  1885. 

Francis  Henry  was  born  in  Galena,  111.,  in  1827,  was  a  lawyer  by  profes 
sion,  served  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  Mexican  war,  came  to  Cal.  in  1851,  and 
to  Wash,  in  1862,  residing  permanently  in  Olympia;  served  three  terms  in 
the  territorial  assembly;  was  delegate  to  the  constitutional  convention  of 
1878;  served  4  terms  as  probate  judge  of  Thurston  co.;  was  president  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  Olympia;  chief  clerk  of  the  legislative  council  of  1887-8, 
clerk  of  the  supreme  court,  and  treasurer  of  the  city  of  Olympia. 

H.  C.  Wilhsou  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Tippecanoe  co.,  Iiid.,  in  1845, 
graduated  from  the  university  of  the  city  of  New  York,  served  on  the 
medical  staff  of  public  charities  and  correction  of  New  York,  came  to  Wash, 
in  1873,  settled  at  Tacoma,  was  appointed  physician  to  the  territorial  asylum 
and  penitentiary  at  Steilacoom  in  1874,  and  was  instrumental  in  securing 
the  passage  of  a  bill  establishing  the  hospital  for  the  insane  on  more  sanitary 
and  humane  principles  than  the  former  contract  system.  He  removed  to 
Port  Townsend  in  1885,  where  he  continued  to  practise  medicine. 

M.  M.  Goodman,  born  in  Mo.  in  1856,  came  to  Cal.  in  1870,  attended  the 
Pacific  university,  graduating  in  1877,  studied  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  In  1880  he  removed  to  Wash.,  locating  at  Dayton.  He  was  the  only 
democrat  elected  to  the  territorial  council  in  1S»S. 


310  PROGRESS  AND   STATEHOOD. 

ceptance  or  rejection  by  the  people  was  an  instrument 

C.  H.  Warner  was  born  in  the  state  of  N.  Y.  in  1836,  migrated  in  1847 
to  Wis.,  and  in  1854  to  111.;  was  educated  at  Mt  Morris,  111.,  college,  taiight 
school,  and  studied  law.  In  18G2  he  came  to  Cal.,  engaging  in  cattle-raising 
in  Sierra  co. ;  in  1807  went  into  flour  milling  in  Oakland;  in  1879  came  to 
Wash.,  and  engaged  in  milling  at  Colfax.  Ho  was  a  member  of  the  legisla 
ture  in  1883;  appointed  register  of  the  land-office  at  Walla  Walla  in  1885; 
was  chairman  of  the  democratic  convention  which  met  at  Walla  Walla  in 
1884,  and  also  of  the  territorial  democratic  committee. 

J.  P.  T.  McCroskey  was  born  in  East  Tennessee  in  1828,  came  to  Cal.  in 
1852,  via  Panama,  settled  on  Santa  Clara  valley,  made  some  money  in 
wheat-raising  and  lumber-making,  returned  to  Tenn.,  purchased  a  planta 
tion,  and  set  up  a  cotton-gin  and  large  flouring-mill;  but  the  civil  war 
caused  serious  reverses,  from  which  he  had  not  recovered,  when  in  1879  he 
removed  to  Wash,  with  his  family  of  ten  children,  and  located  on  640  acres 
9  miles  north  of  Colfax. 

Samuel  H.  Berry,  born  in  Osage  co.,  Mo.,  in  1849,  received  a  liberal 
education,  was  principal  of  the  Linn  high  school,  and  county  surveyor,  mi 
grated  to  Wash,  in  1881,  and  located  in  Lewis  co.,  where  he  pursued  teach 
ing  and  surveying,  and  was  county  auditor  for  four  years. 

James  Z.  Moore,  born  in  Jefferson  co.,  Ky,  in  1845,  removed  to  Mo. 
in  1856,  was  educated  at  Miami  university,  Oxford,  O.,  graduating  in  1887, 
and  attending  Harvard  law  school  at  Cambridge,  Mass.  In  1808  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  Owensboro,  Ky,  and  had  a  very  successful  prac 
tice.  In  1884  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Chicago  republican  convention,  and 
was  elected  the  Ky  member  of  the  republican  national  committee.  In  1886 
he  removed  to  Spokane  Falls,  Wash.,  and  was  member  of  a  prominent  law 
firm. 

Edward  Eldridge  was  born  at  St  Andrew,  Scotland,  in  1828,  went  to  sea 
in  1841,  to  Cal.  in  1849,  and  to  Wash,  in  1853,  as  mentioned  in  this  history. 
He  made  himself  one  of  the  finest  homes  in  the  country,  at  BellinghamBay; 
has  held  various  offices,  was  speaker  of  the  house  in  1866,  president  of  the 
conventions  which  nomimated  Denny,  Flanders,  and  Garfield  for  congress, 
one  of  the  three  delegates  at  large  in  the  constitutional  convention  at  Walla 
Walla  in  1878. 

R.  S.  Moore  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1828,  immigrated  to  Conn,  in  1831, 
to  Iowa  in  1848,  to  111.  in  1850,  and  to  The  Dalles  in  1852,  removing  in  1853 
to  Steilacoom.  He  was  county  commissioner  of  the  first  territorial  elections 
for  territorial  and  county  officers  in  1854,  and  twice  re-elected;  was  first 
lieut  of  co.  D,  1st  regt  of  Wash,  vols  during  the  Ind.  war  of  1855;  and  was 
one  of  the  company  that  cut  a  wagon-road  through  the  Nachess  pass  in  1853. 

George  Turner  was  born  in  Medina,  Knox  co. ,  Mo.,  in  1850,  and  bred  a 
lawyer.  He  held  the  office  of  U.  S.  marshal  for  the  southern  and  middle 
district  of  Alabama,  and  was  appointed  associate  justice  of  Wash,  in  1884  by 
Arthur.  He  was  chairman  of  the  republican  state  committee  in  Ala.  from 
1876  to  1884;  member  of  the  national  convention  from  Ala.  in  1876-80-84, 
and  in  the  latter  two,  member  at  large  and  chairman  of  the  delegation;  and 
was  one  of  the  306  in  the  convention  for  Grant. 

Theodore  L.  Stiles,  born  at  Medway,  Ohio,  educated  in  the  public  schools, 
at  the  Ohio  university,  and  at  Amherst,  Mass.,  college,  studied  law  at 
Columbia  college  law  school,  and  entered  a  law  office  in  New  York  as  a 
clerk  for  one  year,  after  which  he  began  practice.  In  1877  he  went  to  India 
napolis,  thence  to  Arizona  in  1878,  remaining  in  Tucson  until  1887,  when  he 
came  to  \Va.;h.  and  settled  in  Tacoma. 

James  Power,  born  in  Ireland  in  1849,  but  reared  in  Ohio,  was  by  occu 
pation  a  printer,  and  worked  on  the  Ohio  State  Journal.  In  1870  he  removed 
to  Washington  City,  where  he  worked  in  the  government  printing-office 
until  1873,  when  he  came  to  Wash,  and  started  the  Mail  at  Whatcom,  re 
moving  it  in  1879  to  La  Conner.  He  served  as  inspector  of  the  Puget  Sound 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  311 

well  adapted  to  their  needs.    It  dealt  with  corporations 

district  for  some  time,  and  represented  Whatcom,  Snohomish,  and  Island 
counties  in  the  upper  house  of  the  legislature  in  1883. 

John  F.  Gowey,  born  in  North  Lewisburg,  Ohio,  in  1846,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1809,  member  of  the  Ohio  legislature  in  1873-4-5,  and  pros 
ecuting  attorney  of  his  county  two  terms,  187G-9.  He  was  appointed 
receiver  of  the  U.  S.  land-office  at  Olympia  in  1882,  serving  four  years,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  territorial  council  at  the  session  of  1887-8.  Leaving 
the  practice  of  the  law,  he  became  president  of  the  First  National  bank  of 
Olympia,  and  mayor  of  that  city. 

Austin  Mires,  born  in  Des  Moines  co.,  la,  in  1852,  came  to  Or.  with  his 
parents  in  1853,  who  settled  on  a  farm  in  Umpqua  valley,  where  he  resided 
until  he  was  21  years  of  age,  being  educated  at  the  different  academies  in 
Douglas  and  Polk  counties,  and  in  his  turn  teaching  and  learning  the  print 
ing  trade.  He  was  appointed  mail  agent  in  1887,  resigned  in  1880,  and  went 
to  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  where  he  took  a  law  course  at  the  university,  gradu 
ating  in  1S82.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Or.  in  1882,  and  elected  chief 
clerk  of  the  senate  of  the  Or.  legislature.  In  1883  he  removed  to  Wash., 
locating  at  Ellensburg.  When  the  town  was  incorporated,  Feb.  26,  1885, 
he  was  elected  mayor,  serving  two  terms;  was  siibsequently  city  attorney 
and  city  treasurer;  and  was  elected  vice-president  of  the  Ellensburg  National 
bank  on  its  organization. 

Addison  A.  Lindsley,  born  in  Wis.  in  1848,  and  reared  in  N.  Y.,  came  to 
Portland  in  1868;  occupation,  surveyor  and  civil  engineer;  removed  to  Cal. 
in  1874;  was  elected  surveyor  of  the  city  and  county  of  San  Francisco  in  1879; 
removed  to  Wash,  in  1881;  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  from  Clarke  co. 
in  1SS5-G;  and  was  engaged  in  dairying  and  stock-raising  on  Lewis  river. 

Lewis  Johns,  born  in  Germany  in  1827,  came  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1852, 
and  worked  at  the  trade  of  a  painter  until  1866,  when  he  began  merchandis 
ing  at  Vancouver,  and  was  engaged  in  manufacturing  business  on  Puget 
Sound  and  Columbia  river.  He  built  the  first  barrel  factory  in  the  territory, 
at  Puyallup,  in  1883,  and  in  connection  with  others  established  the  First 
National  bank  at  Vancouver,  of  which  he  was  elected  president.  He  repre 
sented  Clarke  co.  in  the  council;  held  the  office  of  mayor  for  6  years,  and 
was  appointed  by  Gov.'  Squire  a  trustee  of  the  School  for  Defective  Youth  at 
Vancouver. 

J.  J.  Weisenburger,  born  in  Bureau  co.,  111.,  in  1855,  came  with  his  pa 
rents  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1862,  settling  in  Nevada  City.  He  was  bred  a 
lawyer,  admitted  to  practice  in  1879,  and  removed  to  Wash,  in  1883,  locating 
at  Whatcom,  where  he  was  city  attorney  and  justice  of  the  peace. 

D.  Buchanan,  born  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  in  1820,  immigrated  to  Wis.  in 
1850,  and  to  Ritzville,  Wash.,  in  1885.     Occupation,  farmer. 

E.  H.  Sullivan,  born  in  Eaton  co.,  Mich.,  in  1850,  migrated  to  Neb.  in 
1855,  and  to  Or.  in  1862,  removing  to  Wash,  in  1877.     He  was  admitted  to 
the  practice  of  the  law  at  Colfax  in  1880,  where  he  continued  to  reside,  and 
was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  in  1884. 

D.  J.  Crowley,  born  in  Bangor,  Me,  in  1854,  of  Irish  parentage,  came  to 
Wash,  in  1880,  and  practised  law  at  Walla  Walla,  as  a  partner  of  John  B. 
Allen,  delegate  in  congress. 

R.  Jeffs,  born  in  New  York  in  1827,  came  to  King  co.,  Wash.,  in  1857, 
and  was  justice  of  the  peace  for  15  years. 

Dr  J.  C.  Kellogg,  born  in  Yates  co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1821,  came  to  Wash,  when 
it  was  a  part  of  Oregon,  settling  at  South  Bay,  Whidbey  Island,  where  he 
continued  to  reside,  and  served  several  terms  in  the  legislature. 

John  Hoyt,  born  in  Ohio  in  1842,  came  to  Wash,  in  1879;  for  eight  years 
was  judge  of  the  supreme  court;  had  been  a  member  of  the  Mich,  legislature 
2  terms,  and  speaker  of  the  house,  and  was  appointed  governor  of  Arizona. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  banking  firm  of  Dexter,  Horton,  &  Co.  of  Seattle. 

Frank  M.  Dallam,  born  in  Mo.  iu  1849,  but  raised  in  111.,  came  to  Wash. 


312  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

especially,  as  required  by  the  public,  and  settled  the 

in  1882,  settling  at  Spokane  Falls;  was  printer,  publisher,  and  editor  of 
several  journals  in  111.  and  Cal.,  arid  established  the  Spokane  Falls  Review. 

John  M.  Reed,  born  in  Mo.  in  1842,  removed  to  Or.  in  1869,  and  to  Wash. 
in  1879;  had  been  a  member  of  the  Or.  legislature  from  Clackamas  co.,  and 
county  commissioner  of  Whitman  co. ,  W.  T. ;  by  occupation  a  farmer. 

O.  H.  Joy,  born  in  N.  H.  in  1830,  came  to  Cal.  in  1849,  where  he  assisted 
in  forming  the  mining  laws;  removed  to  Wash,  in  1878,  and  settled  at  Bris- 
f ort  iu  Lewis  co. ,  as  a  farmer  and  mill-owner. 

Trusten  P.  Dyer,  born  in  Warren  co.,  Mo.,  in  1856,  graduated  from  the 
Central  Wesleyan  College  of  Warrenton  in  1874,  taught  school  for  3  years, 
was  admitted  to  law  practice  in  1875,  was  chief  clerk  of  the  registry  depart 
ment  of  the  St  Louis  post-office,  city  attorney  of  St  Louis  in  1885-6,  prosecut 
ing  attorney  for  St  Louis  co.,  twice  elected  to  the  legislature,  colonel  of  the 
National  Guard  of  Mo.,  and  member  of  the  national  convention  of  Chicago. 
He  settled  in  Seattle  1888,  was  first  president  of  the  Harrison  legion  of 
that  city,  and  married  Miss  Mary  A.  Pontius,  also  of  Seattle. 

Thomas  Milburne  Reed,  born  in  Sharpsburg,  Ky,  in  1825,  attended  such 
schools  as  the  country  then  afforded  during  the  winter  terms,  at  the  age  of  18 
began  teaching  and  studying  at  the  same  time,  and  was  clerk  in  a  country 
store.  When  gold  was  discovered  in  Cal.  he  came  by  sea  from  N.  0.  to  the 
Pacific  coast,  mined  2  years,  formed  a  partnership  with  John  Conness,  after 
ward  U.  S.  senator  from  Cal.,  in  a  store  at  Georgetown;  went  to  Fraser  river 
in  1858,  and  thence  to  Olympia,  W.  T.,  where  he  continued  to  reside,  with  the 
exception  of  2  years  in  Idaho  during  the  Salmon  river  gold  rush.  He  was 
returned  to  the  Wash,  legislature  from  Lewiston  in  1862-3,  and  to  the  Idaho 
legislative  body  in  1864;  was  admitted  to  practice  law  in  Idaho,  but  returned 
to  Olympia  in  1865,  and  qualified  himself  as  practical  surveyor  and  civil  en 
gineer,  becoming  chief  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  U.  S.  surveyor-general  for 
7  years,  after  which  he  resumed  surveying.  In  1876  he  was  elected  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Wash,  council,  was  chosen  president  at  the  session  of  1877,  and 
appointed  by  the  governor  auditor-general  the  same  year. 

H.  F.  Suksdorf,  born  in  Schleswig  Holstein,  Germany,  in  1843,  came  to 
the  U.  S.  in  1858,  settling  upon  a  farm  in  Scott  co.,  Iowa,  where  he  worked 
until  20  years  of  age,  when  he  began  his  studies  at  the  Quincy,  111.,  acad 
emy  and  Iowa  state  university,  graduating  from  the  law  department  in 
18TO.  Was  appointed  deputy  U.  S.  marshal  to  take  the  census  of  Davenport, 
1870;  elected  delegate  to  the  liberal  republican  national  convention  at  Cin 
cinnati  in  1872,  which  nominated  Horace  Greeley  for  president;  removed  to 
Or.  in  1872,  was  deputy  county  clerk  under  J.  A.  Smith;  was  appointed 
U.  S.  supervisor  of  census  for  Or.  in  1880,  and  removed  to  Spokane  Falls, 
Wash.,  in  1881,  engaging  in  farming. 

T.  T.  Minor,  born  in  Conn.,  in  1844,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools, 
and  studied  medicine.  At  the  age  of  17  years  he  volunteered  as  a  private 
soldier  in  the  7th  Conn,  regt,  was  made  hospital  steward,  and  afterward  asst 
surgeon  of  the  1st  S.  C.  regt.  In  1864  he  resumed  his  medical  studies,  and 
received  his  diploma  from  Yale  in  1867.  The  following  year  he  came  to 
Wash,  for  the  Smithsonian  institution,  and  decided  to  make  his  home  on  Puget 
Sound.  He  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  establishing  the  marine  hospital  at 
Port  Townsend,  but  subsequently  removed  to  Seattle,  of  which  city  he  was 
mayor,  and  a  most  influential  and  helpful  citizen.  His  death  occurred  by 
drowning  in  the  Sound,  together  with  Col  G.  M.  Haller,  son  of  Col  G.  O. 
Haller,  and  Lewis  Cox,  while  hunting  in  canoes,  in  Dec.  1889. 

S.  H.  Marly,  born  in  Norwalk,  O.,  in  1847,  came  to  Wash,  in  1882. 
He  was  a  -physician,  and  had  represented  Whatcom,  San  Juan,  and  Skagit 
counties  in  the  territorial  legislature,  where  he  was  instrumental  in  placing 
the  insane  asylum  in  Pierce  co. 

Lewis  Neace,  born  in  Germany  in  1835,  migrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1847, 
was  brought  up  in  Penn.,  and  came  to  Wash,  in  1859,  locating  in  Walla  Walla 
co.,  where  he  continued  to  reside,  farming  and  stock-raising. 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  313 

vexed  question  of  tide-lands,4  which  it  claimed  for  the 
state,  except  such  as  had  been  patented  by  the  United 
States,  thus  settling  disputed  titles.  It  provided  for 
five  supreme  judges,  and  ordained  superior  courts  in 
all  the  counties.  It  fixed  the  number  of  representa 
tives  at  not  less  than  63,  nor  more  than  99,  and 
the  senate  at  not  more  than  half  nor  less  than  a 
third  of  that  number,  the  first  legislature  to  have  70 
members  in  the  house  and  35  in  the  senate.  The 
salaries  fixed  upon  for  state  officers  were  liberal  with 
out  being  extravagant,  and  left  the  question  of  the 
seat  of  government  to  the  choice  of  the  people  at 
the  election  for  the  constitution;  or  if  not  decided 

James  A.  Hingate,  born  iii  McDonough  co.,  111.,  in  1844.  He  first  set 
tled  in  Uinatilla  co.,  Or.,  then  in  Walla  Walla,  but  removed  to  Pullman  in 
1880.  He  had  served  as  deputy  circuit  clerk  in  111.,  and  had  been  county 
commissioner  in  Or. 

P.  C.  Sullivan,  born  in  Nebraska  in  1859,  came  to  Wash,  in  1883,  settling 
in  Colfax  with  his  brother  E.  H.  Sullivan  in  legal  business,  but  removed  to 
Tacoma  in  1888. 

J.  J.  Travis,  born  in  Tenn.  in  1858.  He  was  appointed  to  the  Colville 
Ind.  agency  during  the  administration  of  President  Cleveland. 

J.  J.  Browne,  born  in  Ohio  in  1844,  was  brought  up  in  Iiid.,  and  became 
a  lawyer  by  profession.  He  removed  to  Kansas  and  thence  to  Or.,  finally 
locating  at  Spokane  Falls,  in  Wash.,  where  he  was  president  of  the  Browne 
National  bank,  and  ranked  as  the  first  capitalist  of  the  city. 

George  H.  Stevenson,  born  in  Iron  co.,  Mo.,  came  to  Wash,  in  1882, 
and  located  at  the  Cascades,  where  he  engaged  in  salmon  fishing.  He  was 
auditor  of  Skamania  co.,  and  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  1887-8. 

Thomas  Hayton,  57  years  of  age,  came  to  Wash,  in  1876,  and  settled  on  a 
farm  in  Skagit  co.,  near  La  Conner. 

S.  A.  Dickey,  born  in  Penn.  iii  1858,  was  a  teacher,  and  superintendent 
of  schools  in  Kitsap  co.,  near  Silverdale. 

H.  M.  Lillis  was  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Tacoma,  and  member 
of  the  city  council. 

C.  T.  Fay  was  GO  years  of  age,  and  had  for  a  number  of  years  resided  in 
the  territory,  and  was  one  of  the  commissioners  of  Pierce  co. 

*  The  vexed  question  of  tide-lands  was  settled  only  as  to  the  future;  but 
the  trouble  of  Seattle  and  Tacoma  was  that  Valentine  and  McKee  held  tide- 
land  in  front  of  these  towns  which  had  been  taken  up  with  scrip  authorized 
by  congress,  to  be  issued  in  payment  for  certain  lands  acquired  by  Valen 
tine,  known  as  the  Mirande  Mexican  grant,  in  Sonoma  co.,  Cal.,  and  which 
he  deeded  to  the  U.  S. ;  the  terms  of  the  certificates  being  that  locations 
could  be  made  on  any  '  unoccupied,  unappropriated  public  lands  of  the  U.  S., 
not  mineral,'  etc.  The  cases  to  be  settled  in  the  courts  will  involve  the  ques 
tion  of  the  right  of  the  U.  S.  to  give  or  sell  the  land  properly  belonging  to  the 
future  state.  The  Seattle  and  Walla  Walla  R.  co.  had  received  a  dona 
tion  of  these  lands  from  the  city  of  Seattle,  and  held  them  peaceably  for 
years;  but  after  outside  lands  began  to  be  valuable,  there  arose  trouble  with 
squatters,  who  disputed  the  right  of  the  city  to  these  lands  belonging  to  the 
government.  The  same  trouble  existed  at  Tacoma,  and  even  at  Walla 
Walla, 


314  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

then  by  a  majority  of  all  the  votes,  to  another  elec 
tion  between  the  two  places  having  the  highest  num 
ber  of  votes;  and  when  it  should  be  located,  it  could 
not  be  changed  except  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  all 
the  electors  of  the  state.  Three  articles  were  to  be 
voted  upon  separately,  namely,  woman  suffrage,  pro 
hibition,  and  the  seat  of  government.5 

Conventions  were  held,  and  party  forces  marshalled 
for  the  election  of  state  officers  and  representatives, 
to  be  held  at  the  same  time  that  the  election  for  the 
constitution  was  commanded  to  be  had;  namely,  on 
the  1st  of  October.  The  returns  showed  that  there 
were  40,152  votes  for  the  constitution,  and  11,879 
against  it.  For  woman  suffrage,  16,527,  and  34,513 
against.6  For  prohibition,  19,546,  and  31,487  against. 
For  the  capital  at  Olympia,  25,490  votes;  for  North 
Yakima,  14,718;  for  Ellensburg,  12,833;  for  Centralia, 
607;  Yakima,  314;  Pasco,  120;  scattering,  1,088— 
leaving  the  seat  of  government  to  be  decided  in  the 
future. 

The  state  officers  elected  were  John  L.  Wilson, 
congressman;  Elisha  Pyre  Ferry,7  governor;  Charles 
E.  Laughton,  formerly  lieutenant-governor  of  Ne 
vada,  lieutenant-governor;  Allen  Weir,  secretary  of 
state;  A.  A.  Lindsley,  treasurer;  T.  M.  Reed,  auditor; 
William  C.  Jones,  attorney-general;  Robert  B.  Bryan, 
superintendent  of  public  instruction;  W.  T.  Forrest, 
commissioner  of  public  lands.  The  supreme  judges 
elected  were  Ralph  O.  Dunbar,  Theodore  L.  Stiles, 
John  P.  Hoyt,  Thomas  J.  Anders,  and  Elman  Scott. 
Every  candidate  elected  was  republican. 

5  I  am  aware  that  this  summary  of  the  constitution  is  too  brief  to  do  jus 
tice  to  that  instrument,  but  space  does  not  permit  me  to  make  an  extended 
review.     Fortunately,  the  instrument  itself  is  open  to  all  in  the  laws  of  the 
new  state. 

6  The  suffragists  laid  the  defeat  of  their  cause  to  the  prohibitionists,  who 
were  hated  by  the  saloon  men,  who  lumped   the  two  together  and   fought 
both.     A  good  many  women  voted  under  the  law  of  1883,  but  their  votes 
were  not  counted,  and  some  suits  at  law  were  threatened  to  grow  out  of  it. 

7  E.  P.  Ferry  was  a  popular  man  with  all  parties,  although  he  polled  only 
the  regular  majority  of  his  party,  8,979,  and~I  regret  that  his  modesty  has 
left  his  antecedents  unknown  to  me. 


DELAY  OF  ADMISSION.  315 

The  election  for  state  senators  and  representatives 
was  an  overwhelming  triumph  for  the  republicans, 
there  being  but  one  democratic  senator  and  six  dem 
ocratic  representatives  elected,  making  the  republican 
majority  on  joint  ballot  96.8  The  choice  of  republican 
senators  was  therefore  assured.  Owing  to  a  delay  in 
the  issuance  of  the  presidential  proclamation,9  the 
state  was  not  admitted  until  after  the  legislature  had 
assembled.  Considerable  confusion  and  agitation  fol 
lowed,  the  several  senatorial  candidates  improving  the 
time  in  labors  to  increase  their  following.10  The  state 

8  These  are  the  names  of  the  first  state  senators,  with  their  counties:    P. 
H.  Luce,   Adams,   Franklin,  and  Okanagan;  C.  G.  Austin,  Asotiu  and  Gar- 
field;  C.  T.  Wooding,  Chehalis;  Henry  Laudes,  Clallain,  Jefferson,  and  San 
Juan;   L.  B.   Clough,   Clarke;    H.   H.    Wolfe,   Columbia;    C.   E.    Forsythe, 
Cowlitz;  J.    M.    Snow,  Douglas  and   Yakima;  Thomas   Paine,  Island   and 
Skagit;  W.  D.  Wood,  J.  H.    Jones,  O.   D.  GUfoil,  John  R.  Kinnear,  W.  V. 
Rinehart,  King;  W.  H.  Kneeland,  Kitsap  and  Mason;  E.  T.  Wilson,  Kitti- 
tass;  Jacob  Hunsaker,  Klickitat  and  Skamania;  J.  H.  Long,  Lewis;  H.  W. 
Fairweather,    Lincoln;  B.  A.    Seaborg,    Pacific   and  Wahkiakum;  John   S. 
Baker,  L.  F.  Thompson,  Henry  Drum,  Pierce  (Drum  was   the  one  democrat 
in  the  senate);  Henry  Vestal,  Snohomish;  Alexander  Watt,  E.  B.  Hyde,  B. 
C.  Van  Houton,  Spokane;  H.  E.  Houghton,  Spokane   and  Stevens;  N.    H. 
Owings,  Thurston;  Platt  A.  Preston,  Geo.    T.  Thompson,  Walla  Walla;  W. 
J.  Parkinson,  Whatcom;  John  C.  Lawrence,    J.   T.    Whaley,  A.  T.  Farris, 
Whitman. 

The  representatives  were  W.  K.  Kennedy,  Adams;  William  Farrish, 
Asotin;  L.  B.  Nims,  J.  D.  Medcalf,  Chehalis;  Amos  F.  Shaw,  John  D. 
Geoghegan,  S.  S.  Cook,  Clarke;  A.  B.  Luce,  Clallam;  A.  H.  Weatherford, 
H.  B.  Day,  Columbia;  Chandler  Huntington,  Jr,  Cowlitz;  E.  D.  Nash, 
Douglas;  C.  H.  Flummerfell,  Franklin;  W.  S.  Oliphant,  Garfield;  George 
W.  Morse,  Island;  Joseph  Kuhn,  Jefferson;  J.  T.Blackburn,  W.  C.  Rutter, 
W.  H.  Hughes,  Alex.  Allen,  W.  J.  Shinn,  George  Both  well,  F.  W.  Bird,  F. 
B.  Grant,  King;  M.  S.  Drew,  Kitsap;  J.  N.  Power,  J.  P.  Sharp,  Kittitass; 
Bruce  F.  Purdy,  R.  H.  Blair,  Klickitat;  S.  C.  Herren,  Charles  Gilchrist, 
Lewis;  P.  R.  Spencer,  T.  C.  Blackfan,  Lincoln;  John  McReavy,  Mason; 
Harry  Hamilton,  Okanagan;  Charles  Foster,  Pacific;  George  Browne,  A. 
Hewitt,  George  B.  Kandle,  Oliff  Peterson,  James  Knox,  Stephen  Judson, 
Pierce;  J.  E.  Tucker,  San  Juan;  J.  E.  Edens,  B.  D.  Miukler,  Skagit;  George 
H.  Stevenson,  Skamania;  Alexander  Robertson,  A.  H.  Eddy,  Snohomish; 
J.  W.  Feighan,  J.  E.  Gandy,  S.  G.  Grubb,  J.  S.  Brown,  A.  K.  Clarke,  E. 
B.  Dean,  Spokane;  M.  A.  Randall,  Stevens;  W.  G.  Bush,  Francis  Rotch, 
Thurston;  Joseph  G.  Megler,  Wahkiakum;  Joseph  Painter,  Z.  K.  Straight, 
James  Cornwall,  Walla  Walla;  R.  W.  Montray,  George  Judson,  Whatcom; 
J.  C.  Turner,  E.  R.  Pickerell,  J.  T.  Peterson,  R.  H.  Hutchiiison,  B.  R. 
Ostrander,  Whitman;  John  Cleman,  Yakima.  The  democrats  in  the  house 
were  Weatherford,  Nash,  Flummerfell,  McReavy,  Judson,  and  Stephenson. 

9  The  delay  was  occasioned  by  the  omission  of  the  signature  of  Gov.  Moore 
to  the  certificate  attached  to  the  copy  of  the  constitution  forwarded,  the  en 
abling  act  requiring  it  to  be  signed  by  both  the  governor  and  secretary. 

10  The  candidates  were,  in  eastern  Washington,  John  B.  Allen,  Thomas 
H.  Brents  of  Walla  Walla,  and  S.  B.  Hyde  and  Ex-judge  George  Turner  of 
Spokane.  Tacouia  furnished  Gen.  J.  W.  Sprague  and  Walter  J.  Thompson, 


316  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

was  admitted  on  the  llth  of  November.  Although 
the  legislature  had  convened  on  the  6th  of  November 
as  required  by  the  constitution,  voting  for  senators 
could  not  take  place,  as  the  lieutenant-governor  could 
not  take  his  seat  as  president  of  the  senate  until  the 
Monday  following,  which  was  the  18th,  and  to  that 
day  the  inauguration  ceremonies  were  postponed. 
Governor  Ferry  was  sworn  in  by  Justice  John  P. 
Hoyt,  and  very  great  enthusiasm  prevailed  at  the 
capital.  On  the  following  day  the  legislature  being 
fully  organized,  balloting  for  senators  took  place  im 
mediately,  J.  B.  Allen11  being  chosen  on  the  first  ballot 
in  both  houses,  the  vote  being  25  in  the  senate  and 
46  in  the  house — total  71.  On  the  second  ballot 
Watson  C.  Squire  was  chosen  by  a  vote  of  30  in  the 
senate,  and  46  in  the  house — total  76,  the  remainder 
scattering. 

The  justices  of  the  supreme  court  had  already  drawn 
their  terms,  Scott  and  Anders  drawing  the  two  slips 
marked  three,  and  Stiles  and  Dunbar  those  marked 
five,  which  left  Hoyt  the  seven  year  term.  Scott  re- 

and  Seattle,  Ex-gov.  Watson  C.  Squire.  These  were  the  principal  aspirants, 
although  Ex-congressman  Voorhees  of  Colfax  was  in  the  field,  with  Chauncey 
W.  Griggs  of  Tacoma.  S.  0.  Hyde  of  Spokane  Falls  withdrew  before  the 
election. 

Thompson  was  the  youngest  man  in  the  race.  He  was  born  in  Wis.  in 
1853,  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Burlington,  and  learned  the  trade 
of  carpentry.  At  18  years  of  age  he  began  to  go  west,  living  a  few  months 
in  Iowa,  in  Hebron,  Nebraska,  2  years,  where  he  was  deputy  county  treas 
urer.  On  attaining  his  majority  in  1873,  he  formed  a  law  partnership,  and 
in  1875  was  admitted  to  practice.  He  also  organized  a  bank,  and  engaged 
in  stock-raising  and  various  undertakings,  in  which  he  was  successful.  In 
1883  he  removed  to  Wash.,  locating  in  Tacoma,  where  he  purchased  the 
bank  of  A.  J.  Baker,  organizing  the  merchants'  national  bank,  of  which  he 
became  president.  From  a  capital  of  $50,000  it  has  increased  to  $250,000. 
Out  of  his  wealth  he  donated  $20,000  to  establish  a  training  school  of  manual 
skill  at  Tacoma.  He  served  in  the  legislature  in  1886,  and  was  elected  to 
the  senate  in  1887-8. 

11  John  Beard  Allen  was  born  in  Crawfordsville,  Montgomery  co.,  Ind., 
May  18,  1843,  received  a  common  school  education,  and  in  1864  enlisted  in 
the  138th  Ind.  infantry,  serving  in  Tenn.  and  Ala.  until  mustered  out, 
when  he  went  to  Rochester,  Minn.,  as  agent  for  a  grain  firm.  He  read  law, 
and  attended  the  law  school  at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  being  admitted  to  prac 
tice  in  1869,  and  coming  to  Wash,  in  1870,  and  opening  an  office  in  Olympia. 
His  talents  were  soon  recognized,  and  he  was  appointed  U.  S.  attorney  for 
W.  T.,  which  position  he  held  for  ten  years.  He  removed  to  Walla  Walla 
in  1881,  and  was,  as  elsewhere  mentioned,  elected  to  congress,  though  he 
did  not  take  his  seat. 


THE  NEW  STATE.  317 

quested  that  Anders,  who  was  his  elder,  should  be 
elected  chief  justice,  which  was  so  done.  Solomon 
Smith  of  Goldendale  was  elected  clerk,  and  the  rules 
of  the  territorial  supreme  court  were  adopted  for  the 
time,  the  court  adjourning  to  the  first  Monday  in 
January.12 

Although  the  new-made  state  had  been  thirty-six 
years  in  the  condition  of  a  territory,  few  of  its  mem 
bers  were  born  on  its  soil.  Yet  the  average  asfe 

o  o 

of  its  first  senators  was  not  far  from  forty  years, 
although  the  young  majority  had  mingled  with  them 
a  dignifying  proportion  of  pioneers,  as  a  few  threads 
of  silver  on  the  brow  of  a  mature  man  add  dignity  to 
his  still  evident  youthfulness.  Only  about  half  a 
dozen  members  of  both  houses  had  resided  in  the 
territory  from  the  year  of  its  organization;  several 
were  Oregonians  or  Californians  by  birth,  and  a  few 
were  of  foreign  birth.  Almost  enough  to  constitute 
a  company  had  fought  in  the  battles  of  the  civil 
war;  some  had  in  other  states  gained  experience  as 
legislators,  and  in  both  bodies  there  was  a  high  order 
of  practical  intelligence.13 

12  Chief  Justice  Anders  was  born  in  Seneca  co.,  Ohio,  in  1838,  and  admit 
ted  to  the  bar  at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  in   1863.     He  came  to  Wash,  in  1871, 
was  associated  with  Thomas  H.  Brents  of  Walla  Walla  in  law  practice,  and 
was  prosecuting  attorney  of  that  district  for  five  terms. 

13  C.  G.  Austin  was  born  in  Avon,  Ohio,  March  18,  1846.     Served  in  the 
war  of  rebellion,  was  twice  clerk  of  the  7th  judicial  district  of  Minnesota, 
and  after  removing  to  Wash,  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  district  court  for 
Garfield  and  Asotin  counties.     His  business  was  that  of  a  dealer  in  grain  and 
agricultural  machinery. 

John  S.  Baker  was  born  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  Nov.  21,  1861,  and  removed 
to  Tacoma  in  1881. 

L.  B.  Clough  was  born  in  Waterbury,  Vt,  May  12,  1850.  He  removed  to 
Vancouver,  W.  T.,  in  1877,  and  engaged  in  fruit-raising.  He  was  elected 
sheriff  in  1884,  and  served  two  years.  In  1888  he  was  elected  representative 
from  Clarke  co.,  but  the  legislature  not  assembling,  he  was  elected  state 
senator. 

Henry  Drum  was  born  in  Girard,  Macoupin  co.,  111.,  in  1857,  and  educated 
at  tho  Illinois  state  university.  He  removed  to  Hebron,  Nebraska,  where 
he  was  a  banker,  and  also  engaged  in  stock-raising  until  1883,  when  he  re 
moved  to  Tacoma,  where  he,  with  Walter  J.  Thompson,  purchased  the  bank 
of  New  Tacoma,  which  was  reorganized  as  the  Merchants'  National  bank,  of 
which  he  was,  when  elected  to  the  senate,  vice-president.  He  was  president 
of  the  school  board  of  Tacoma,  and  was  elected  mayor  in  1888,  serving  one 
year;  and  was  director  in  several  commercial  enterprises. 

A.  T.  Farris  was  born  in  Mount  Pleasant,  Iowa,  which  he  left  in  1867,  and 


318  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

The  machinery  of  the  new  state  was  now  in  motion, 

removed  to  Wash,  in  1883,  where  he  engaged  in  hardware  business  at  Pull 
man.     He  was  elected  to  the  legislature  in  1888,  and  state  senator  in  1889. 

C.  E.  Forsythe  was  born  in  Perm.,  in  1850,  and  received  a  common  school 
education,  with  an  apprenticeship  at  carpentering.  In  1875  he  removed  to 
Hood  river,  Or.,  but  settled  in  Kelso,  Wash.,  where  he  taught  school.  He 
was  elected  coxinty  auditor  in  1880,  on  the  republican  ticket,  serving  four 
years;  was  also  clerk  and  deputy  clerk  of  the  district  court.  Subsequently 
engaged  in  real  estate  and  acquired  a  comfortable  fortune. 

O.  D.  Gilfoil  was  born  at  Rhinebeck,  N.  Y.,  July  8,  1803.  He  was  brought 
up  on  a  farm,  but  worked  himself  up  to  a  railroad  contractor.  In  Wash,  he 
built  bridges  and  constructed  other  works  on  the  Lake  Shore,  Seattle, 
and  Eastern  R.  R.  He  was  the  youngest  man  in  the  senate. 

H.  E.  Houghton,  who  migrated  from  Wisconsin  to  Wash.,  was  about  fifty 
years  of  age,  and  had  been  a  state  senator  in  Wis.  He  was  several  times 
city  attorney  of  Spokane  Palls,  where  he  was  member  of  the  law  firm  of 
Houghton,  Graves,  and  Jones. 

Jacob  Hunsaker  was  a  native  of  Illinois,  about  forty-four  years  of  age. 
In  1846  his  parents  emigrated  to  Or.,  and  he  obtained  his  education  at 
Pacific  university,  after  which  he  taught  school  in  Or.  and  Wash.  He 
wont  to  Peru  and  spent  a  year  on  the  Challas,  Lima,  and  Oroya  R.  R. ,  in  the 
employ  of  Keith  &  co.,  returning  in  1873  to  Thurston  co.,  where  he  married 
a  daughter  of  Hon.  A.  J.  Chambers  of  Olympia,  and  finally  settled  in 
Klickitat  co.,  as  a  merchant  and  farmer.  He  was  county  commissioner  for 
four  years. 

E.  B.  Hyde  was  born  in  Utica,  Winnebago  co.,  Wis.,  Jan.  13,  1849,  and 
resided  on  a  farm  until  he  was  thirty  years  of  age.  He  removed  to  Wash, 
in  May,  1881,  settling  at  Spokake  Falls.  He  was  the  first  marshal  of  that 
city,  holding  the  office  four  terms;  was  a  member  of  the  city  council  two 
years,  and  held  other  minor  offices.  His  business  was  real  estate  and  bank 
ing.  He  was  a  delegate  from  Wash,  to  the  Chicago  republican  convention, 
which  nominated  Benjamin  Harrison  for  president. 

J.  H.  Jones  of  King  co.  was  born  in  England  in  1857,  soon  after  which 
his  parents  removed  to  the  U.  S.,  settling  in  Penn.  He  was  a  coal-miner  in 
Penn.,  and  on  removing  to  Wash.,  in  1885,  again  engaged  in  coal  mining. 
He  was  elected  to  the  legislature  in  1888,  and  the  state  senate  in  1889. 

W.  H.  Kneeland  was  born  in  Lincoln,  Me,  Dec.  11,  1848.  He  secured 
an  education  by  alternate  study  and  teaching.  In  1869  he  engaged  in  lum 
bering  in  Penn.,  and  in  1876  became  interested  in  the  oil  regions.  About 
1880  gas-wells  were  discovered  in  the  northern  end  of  the  petroleum  belt  in 
the  state  of  N.  Y.,  and  he  conceived  the  idea  of  converting  the  gas  to  practi 
cal  use.  To  this  end  he  organized  a  company  with  half  a.  million  capital  stock, 
and  constructed  the  Empire  gas  line,  with  over  100  miles  of  pipe,  and  with 
about  8,000  patrons.  In  1882  he  sold  out  all  his  property,  and  removed  to 
Wash.,  engaging  in  lumber  business,  in  Mason  co.  He  was  unfortunate,  los 
ing  all  his  capital,  but  afterwards  partially  recovering  from  his  losses. 

Henry  Landes  was  born  in  Germany  in  1843,  but  emigrated  thence  with 
his  parents  in  1847.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in  a  union  regiment,  serving  through 
the  war.  At  its  close  he  removed  to  Wash.,  went  to  the  mines  of  B.  C.,  was 
appointed  Indian  trader  at  Neah  Bay  reservation  for  six  years,  after  which 
he  established  himself  in  business  at  Port  Townsend.  He  held  various  city 
offices,  and  was  member  of  the  board  of  commissioners  to  locate  the  govern 
ment  buildings,  the  territorial  penitentiary,  and  the  site  of  deaf,  mute,  blind, 
and  feeble-minded  schools.  He  founded  the  First  National  bank  of  Port 
Townsend  in  1883,  of  which  he  was  president;  was  a  projector  of  and  direc 
tor  in  the  Port  Townsend  Southern  R.  R.  company,  and  president  of  the 
Olympus  water  company,  besides  being  colonel  of  the  national  guard  of 
Washington. 

John  C.  Lawrence  was  born  at  Mount  Gilead,  Morrow  co.,  Ohio,  in  1861. 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  319 

and   running   without  any  perceptible  jar.     It   was 

His  father  dying  when  he  was  young,  he  removed  with  his  mother  to  eastern 
Washington  in  1878.  He  was  county  superintendent  of  schools,  and  mem 
ber  of  the  territorial  board  of  education;  also  for  one  term  superintendent  of 
public  instruction.  Later  he  engaged  in  real  estate  business. 

J.  H.  Long  was  born  near  Columbus,  Ohio,  Nov.  27,  1845,  and  removed 
to  Iowa  with  his  parents  in  1860.  In  1864  he  drove  an  ox-team  to  BoistS 
City,  Idaho,  as  payment  for  his  board  en  route,  and  in  1865  made  a  further 
remove  to  Lewis  co.,  Wash.  He  was  elected  county  assessor  in  1869,  treas 
urer  in  1873,  member  of  the  legislature  in  1877,  and  joint  councilman  of 
Lewis  and  Thurston  counties  in  1881.  He  began  life  in  Wash,  as  a  farm 
hand,  but  became  a  proprietor,  and  engaged  in  cheese-making  in  several 
places,  also  in  milling,  being  president  of  the  Chehalis  flouring  mill  com 
pany,  and  in  stock-raising.  He  married  in  1868  a  daughter  of  Stephen  Hodg- 
den,  a  pioneer  of  1849.  His  daughter  married  Win  B.  Allen,  a  banker  of 
Tacoma. 

F.  H.  Luce  was  born  in  Wisconsin,  May  23,  1859.  He  studied  medicine, 
but  removed  to  Wash,  in  1887,  and  engaged  in  real  estate  and  banking  at 
Davenport,  Lincoln  co. 

Thomas  Payne  of  Skagit  co.  was  born  in  New  York  City  in  1855,  and 
removed  to  Wash,  in  1882.  He  was  a  telegraph  operator,  having  charge  of 
Mount  Vernon  station. 

J.  M.  Snow  was  a  civil  engineer  at  Waterville,  and  about  35  years  of  age. 
N.  H.  Owings  was  born  in  Indianapolis,  Dec.  21,  1836,  and  educated  at 
a  seminary  in  that  city.  He  graduated  from  the  law  school  of  the  North 
western  Christian  university,  and  commenced  practice  in  Indianapolis. 
When  the  rebellion  occurred,  he  enlisted  in  the  Clay  Guards  in  Washington 
City  to  guard  the  white  house,  and  served  60  days,  when  he  was  honorably 
discharged.  He  was  appointed  by  Lincoln  a  general  staff-officer,  with  the 
rank  of  captain,  and  served  on  the  staff  of  Grant  and  Sherman,  receiving  one 
promotion  and  two  brevets,  resigning  in  1865  with  the  rank  of  lieut-col.  He 
wus  appointed  special  agent  of  the  post-office  department,  and  subsequently 
asst  superintendent.  On  the  5th  of  Feb.,  1877,  he  was  appointed  secretary 
of  Washington  territory,  and  held  the  office  four  terms. 

W.  J.  Parkinson  was  born  in  Ireland,  May  10,  1844,  removing  with  his  pa 
rents  to  New  York  in  1845.  He  prepared  for  college  at  Wilbraham  academy, 
Mass.,  and  later  attended  the  Wesleyan  university  at  Middleton,  Conn.,  and 
Columbia  law  school  in  New  York  City.  He  was  a  member  of  the  famous  44th 
Ellsworth  regiment  of  N.  Y.  volunteers  in  1861,  after  which  he  was  clerk  in 
the  private  office  of  the  secretary  of  war.  In  1866  he  was  admitted  to  prac 
tice  at  the  bar  in  New  York.  Removing  to  Kansas,  he  was  elected  attorney 
of  Labette  co.  in  1867.  Subsequently  he  became  principal  of  a  seminary  in 
N.  C.,  but  returned  to  Saratoga  co.,  N.  Y.,  and  was  vice-president  of  the 
county  agricultural  society  in  1887-8,  and  stumped  the  state  of  N.  Y.  for 
Harrison  and  Morton  in  1888. 

Platt  A.  Preston  of  Walla  Walla  co.  was  born  in  Saratoga  co. ,  N.  Y. ,  in 
1837.  He  removed  to  Omaha,  Neb.,  in  1853^,  where  he  was  employed  by 
the  Omaha  and  Nebraska  ferry  company.  In  1860-1  he  went  to  Colorado, 
Montana,  and  Idaho,  and  in  1866  settled  at  Waitsburg,  Wash.,  where  he 
engaged  in  milling  and  merchandising  with  his  brother,  W.  G.  Preston,  and 
S.  M.  Wait,  and  also  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  He  was  elected  to  the 
territorial  legislature,  and  was  mayor  of  Waitsburg  for  several  years. 

W.  V.  Rinehart  of  King  co.  was  born  in  Clinton  co.,  Indiana,  in  1836. 
He  resided  in  Oregon  for  many  years,  and  served  in  the  1st  Oregon  cavalry, 
1862-5,  being  commissioned  captain  and  major.  In  1883  he  removed  to 
Seattle. 

B.  A.  Seaborg,  from  Pacific  co.,  was  born  of  Swedish  parents,  at  Wasa, 
on  the  coast  of  Finland,  July  29,  1841,  removing  to  the  U.  S.  in  1867,  and 
to  Astoria,  Or.,  in  1873,  whence  he  again  removed  to  Ilwaco,  on  the  north 


320  PROGRESS   AND  STATEHOOD. 

richly  endowed  by  nature  and  by  the  general  govern- 

side  of  the  Columbia  in  1880.  Here  he  formed  the  Aberdeen  packing  com 
pany,  and  established  a  salmon  cannery,  as  well  as  one  at  Gray  Harbor  and 
Bay  Centre.  He  was  interested  in  transportation  and  other  enterprises  for 
the  public  benefit.  In  1S83  he  was  elected  commissioner  of  Pacific  co.  He 
was  appointed  pilot  commissioner  by  three  successive  governors,  and  elected 
school  director  of  his  district. 

George  F.  Thompson  of  Walla  Walla  was  about  40  years  of  age,  and  a 
lawyer  by  profession.  He  had  resided  in  the  territory  for  12  years,  and  had 
held  the  offices  of  prosecuting  attorney,  probate  judge,  and  mayor  of  the 
city  of  Walla  Walla. 

L.  P.  Thompson  was  born  in  Jamestown,  Chatauqua  co.,  N.  Y. ,  in  1827, 
and  received  a  common  school  education.  In  1848  he  migrated  to  Chicago, 
whence  in  1849  he  went  to  Sacramento,  Cal.  Observing  that  Oregon  lumber 
was  in  great  demand,  he  went  to  Milwaukee,  Or.,  spending  two  years  in 
alternate  lumbering  and  mining.  In  1852  he  removed  to  Steilacoom  and 
built  a  mill  near  Fort  Nisqually,  which  he  operated  until  the  Indian  war  of 
1855,  when  he  held  a  commission  in  the  regular  army  and  later  in  the  volun 
teer  service  in  the  quartermaster's  department.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
first  legislative  assembly  of  Wash,  territory;  served  in  the  Indian  depart 
ment  several  years;  introduced  hop-growing  north  of  the  Columbia;  was  an 
incorporator  and  director  of  the  Merchants'  National  bank  of  Tacoma;  a 
director  of  the  Washington  National  bank  and  president  of  the  Farmers'  and 
Merchants'  bank  of  King  co.,  and  was  an  extensive  hop-grower  at  Sumner. 

B.  C.  Van  Houton  was  about  38  years  of  age  and  a  successful  business 
man  of  Spokane  Falls,  being  president  of  Citizens'  National  bank,  and  audi 
tor  of  Spokane  co.  for  two  years. 

Samuel  Vestal  was  born  in  Clinton  co.,  Ohio,  in  1845,  and  removed  to 
Wash,  in  1872.  He  taught  school  in  Cowlitz  co.  until  1876,  when  he  engaged 
in  merchandising  at  Kalama,  being  elected  county  treasurer  the  same  year, 
and  re-elected  in  1878  and  1880.  In  1879,  his  store  being  consumed  by  fire, 
he  formed  a  mercantile  partnership  with  H.  C.  Comegys,  and  together  they 
removed  to  Snohomish,  where  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate. 

H.  H.  Wolfe  of  Columbia  co.  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  engaged  in  merchan 
dising  and  farming  at  Dayton,  Wash.  He  had  been  a  long  time  in  the  terri 
tory. 

Alexander  Watt  was  born  in  Jefferson  co.,  Ohio,  in  1834,  immigrating  to 
Cal.  with  his  parents  in  1849.  He  mined  and  prospected  for  gold  in  every 
territory  of  the  northwest  and  in  B.  C.,  finally  settling  in  Yarnhill  co.,  Or., 
where  he  married  and  followed  farming.  In  1879  he  removed  to  Spokane 
co.,  Wash.,  and  was  elected  county  assessor  in  1888,  and  state  senator  in 
1889. 

John  T.  Whalley  was  born  near  Manchester,  Eng.,  in  1856,  and  came  to 
the  U.  S.  in  1871,  settling  in  Illinois  where  he  had  relatives.  In  1873  he 
again  migrated,  this  time  to  Or. ,  where  he  was  employed  on  farms  in  Yam- 
hill  and  Washington  counties  for  one  year,  when  he  began  a  course  of 
study,  graduating  at  Forest  Grove  in  1881.  During  this  time  he  supported 
himself  by  laboring  during  vacations,  or  teaching.  At  the  end  of  the  course 
he  went  east  and  studied  two  years  at  Yale  divinity  school,  and  one  year  at 
Andover  theological  seminary,  after  which  he  was  settled  at  Lawrence,  Mass., 
for  three  years.  He  then  returned  to  the  west  and  resided  at  Coif  ax,  Wash., 
with  the  intention  of  engaging  in  raising  blooded  cattle  and  horses. 

Eugene  T.  Wilson  was  born  at  Madison,  Wis.,  Dec.  11,  1852.  At  the 
age  of  13  years  his  parents  removed  with  him  to  Montana.  In  1876  he  came 
to  Columbia  co.,  Wash.,  and  served  in  the  Indian  war  of  1877  as  1st  lieut  of 
Idaho  volunteers.  In  1881  he  established  the  Pomeroy  Republican,  after 
wards  the  East  Washingtonian,  which  he  sold  out,  and  in  1883,  in  company 
with  F.  M.  McCully,  purchased  the  Columbia  Chronicle  of  Dayton.  This  also 
was  disposed  of  in  1887  to  0.  C.  White,  its  original  proprietor.  In  1885-6 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  321 

ment.     Its  legislature  would  require  several  months, 

he  served  as  clerk  of  the  legislative  council;  and  in  1887  removed  to  Ellens- 
burg,  where  he  took  charge  of  a  mercantile  establishment,  which  was  con 
sumed  by  fire  in  1889.  He  was  a  member  of  the  city  council  of  Ellensburg. 

William  D.  Wood  was  born  in  Marin  co.,  Cal.,  Dec.  1,  1858.  He  resided 
there  on  a  farm,  and  by  labor  earned  the  means  to  educate  himself  at  the 
Napa  collegiate  institute,  and  by  teaching  paid  his  expenses  at  the  Hastings 
law  school  of  S.  F.  He  also  became  a  skilled  stenographer.  In  1882  he 
removed  to  Seattle,  and  the  same  year  he  was  elected  probate  judge  of  King 
co.  He  was  president  of  the  Wood  brothers'  land  and  trust  company,  and 
made  real  estate  investments  and  improvements  at  Green  lake  near  Seattle. 

C.  F.  Wooding  was  a  native  of  Michigan,  about  forty  years  of  age,  and 
a  banker  at  Aberdeen.  He  was  also  engaged  in  improvements  at  Gray 
Harbor. 

The  members  of  the  house  of  representatives  were  known  as  follows: 

Alexander  Allen,  born  in  Scotland  in  1842,  emigrated  thence  with  his 
parents  in  1849,  settling  in  Wis.  He  served  in  the  24th  Wisconsin  reg't 
during  the  war.  In  1875  he  came  to  Wash.,  first  residing  in  Port  Madison, 
but  removing  to  Seattle.  By  occupation  a  ship-builder,  he  was  made  super 
intendent  of  the  Seattle  dry-dock  company. 

F.  W.  Bird,  aged  about  forty  years,  was  a  locomotive  engineer,  who  had 
followed  his  calling  in  King  co.  for  15  years;  but  had  seen  the  want  of  build 
ing  material  in  Seattle,  and  turned  his  attention  to  the  manufacture  of 
brick. 

John  T.  Blackburn  was  born  in  Yorkshire,  Eng.,  Aug.  14,  1844,  and  was 
apprenticed  to  a  horticulturist.  He  emigrated  to  111.  in  1867.  In  1873  he 
married  Miss  J.  P.  Giddings,  niece  of  Joshua  B.  Giddiugs  of  Ohio,  and  in 
1884  removed  to  Vashon  island,  Puget  Sound,  where  he  engaged  in  farming. 
He  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Vashon  in  1885,  and  notary  public  in  1887. 
In  1888  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  which  did  not  assemble. 

C.  T.  Blackfan  was  born  in  111.  and  served  in  the  union  army,  where  he 
was  known  as  the  baby  of  Gen.  Harrison's  brigade.  In  1879  he  removed  to 
farm  in  Wash. 

H.  Blair  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Polk  co.,  Mo.,  Sept.  19,  1855,  where  he 
resided  until  he  came  to  his  majority,  when  he  voted  for  a  republican  presi 
dent.  In  1877  he  removed  to  Vancouver,  teaching  school  in  Clarke  co.,  and 
studying  medicine.  He  graduated  from  the  medical  department  of  the 
Willamette  university  in  1883,  after  which  he  began  the  practice  of  his  pro 
fession  and  settled  in  Bickleton,  1886. 

George  Bothell  of  King  co.  was  born  in  Clarion  co.,  Penn.,  in  1844,  and 
served  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion  in  the  135th  Penn.  infantry  and  14th 
Penn.  cavalry,  being  captured  by  Early 's  forces,  July  4,  1864.  He  came  to 
Wash,  in  1879,  and  engaged  with  his  brother  in  logging  and  shingle-making 
at  Bothell,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Washington. 

Josiah  S.  Brown  was  born  March  6,  1845,  in  the  parish  of  Burton,  Sun- 
bury  co. ,  in  New  Brunswick.  When  9  years  of  age  he  removed  to  Aroostook 
co.,  Me,  where  he  lived  on  a  farm,  and  attended  the  district  school.  He 
served  through  the  civil  war,  being  in  almost  all  the  famous  battles  of  the 
rebellion,  was  wounded,  and  was  but  twenty  years  of  age  when  mustered 
out  in  1865.  In  1867  he  joined  the  engineer  battalion  of  the  U.  S.  army, 
and  came  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1868,  serving  in  five  states  and  territories, 
and  being  wounded  in  the  Modoc  war,  and  specially  mentioned  for  gallantry. 
After  this  last  service  he  came  to  reside  in  Spokane  co.,  Wash.,  on  a  farm. 
He  was  a  delegate  to  the  republican  territorial  convention  at  Ellensburg  iu 
1888,  and  to  the  republican  state  convention  at  Walla  Walla  in  1889. 

George  Browne  was  born  in  Boston  iu  1839,  and  was  an  employee  of  a  bank 
in  Wall  street,  New  York,  before  the  war  broke  out.  During  the  war  he 
was  a  staff  officer;  after  its  close,  he  began  making  investments  in  different 
HIST.  WASH.— 21 


322  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

with  the  assistance   of   the  code  commissioners,    to 

localities,  and  in  1887  settled  in  Tacoma,  where  he  became  one  of  the  incor- 
porators  of  the  Tacoma  and  St  Paul  lumber  company,  and  one  of  the  owners 
of  the  Fern  Hill  Motor  railway. 

W.  0.  Bush,  son  of  George  W.  Bush,  the  colored  pioneer  of  Wash.,  was 
born  in  Mo.  in  1832.  He  was  a  successful  agriculturist,  his  exhibits  of 
wheat  at  the  centennial  exposition  in  1876  taking  the  premium  over  all 
other  wheat  in  the  world.  His  certificate  was  deposited  in  the  state  library 
at  Olympia. 

A.  K.  Clarke  was  born  in  Windsor  co.,  Vt,  in  Dec.  1849.  In  1862  he 
joined  a  Vermont  regiment,  and  was  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  before  he 
was  14  years  old.  He  served  throughout  the  war,  and  after  the  war  began 
attendance  at  a  military  university;  but  the  habit  of  active  life  was  too 
strong,  and  he  entered  the  regular  army  in  1866,  serving  in  Indian  wars  for 
20  years,  his  last  fighting  being  in  the  Nez  Perce  war  of  1877.  He  was  dis 
charged  in  1879  from  Fort  Cceur  d'  Alene,  and  settled  at  Rockford,  in  Spo 
kane  co. 

John  Cleman  was  born  in  Lane  co.,  Or.,  in  1855,  and  removed  to  a  stock 
farm  in  Yakima  co.,  Wash.,  in  1865.  There  he  spent  his  life;  married,  had 
children,  improved  his  land,  and  never  engaged  in  politics.  His  friends  sent 
him  to  the  first  state  legislature. 

S.  S.  Cook,  also  born  in  Or.,  in  1854,  represented  Clarke  co.,  where  he 
had  resided  10  years.  He  was  a  stone-mason,  and  had  contracts  in  Seattle. 

James  M.  Cornwall  was  born  in  Orange  co.,  Ind.,  Aug.  7,  1834,  and  reared 
on  a  farm,  in  Edgar  co.,  111.  At  the  age  of  18  he  started  with  an  elder  brother 
to  cross  the  plains.  James  settled  on  a  land  claim  a  few  miles  west  of  Port 
land,  and  farmed  it  for  ten  years,  having  in  the  mean  time  married  Miss  Mary 
A.  Stott.  In  1860  he  visited  Oro  Fino  mines,  and  examined  the  Walla  Walla 
valley  with  reference  to  settlement,  taking  up  land  near  Dry  creek  for  a  cat 
tle  rancho.  That  winter,  the  severest  in  the  history  of  the  country,  killed 
off  all  his  stock.  In  1868  he  purchased  a  farm  9  miles  from  Walla  Walla, 
where  he  made  his  home.  He  was  elected  joint  representative  of  Whit 
man  and  Walla  Walla  counties  in  1881. 

Henry  B.  Day  was  born  in  Tazewell  co.,  Va,  in  1830.  He  removed  to  Wis. 
in  1847,  and  to  Or.  in  1851.  In  1859  he  took  cattle  into  the  Walla  Walla 
country,  afterwards  mining  in  Montana,  trading  and  packing  until  1870, 
when  he  turned  his  attention  to  sheep-raising  and  stsck  business  generally, 
settling  at  Dayton. 

E.  B.  Dean  was  born  in  Iroquois  co.,  111.,  in  1842,  and  reared  on  a  farm. 
He  served  in  the  18th  Iowa  infantry  during  the  rebellion.  His  occupation 
is  that  of  a  brick-mason. 

M.  S.  Drew  was  born  in  Machias,  Washington  co.,  Me,  in  1827.  He  mi 
grated  to  Minn,  when  18  years  of  age,  and  in  1852  came  to  the  Pacific  coast, 
via  Panama  isthmus.  Two  years  later  he  settled  at  Port  Gamble  in  the  em 
ploy  of  the  Puget  mill  company,  where  he  remained,  except  when  serving 
two  years  as  collector  of  customs  for  Puget  Sound  district,  under  Grant's 
administration. 

A.  H.  Eddy  was  born  at  San  Jose,  Cal.,  in  1853.  Reversing  the  usual 
rule,  he  moved  eastward  to  Illinois,  Texas,  Colorado,  returning  to  Cal.  and 
practising  as  a  physician.  In  1881  he  came  to  Wash.,  and  engaged  in  con 
tracting  and  building. 

John  J.  Edens,  from  Skagit  co.,  was  born  in  Marshall  co.,  Ky,  in  1849, 
and  removed  to  Knox  co.,  Mo.,  at  the  age  of  12  years.  He  joined  the  state 
militia  in  1861,  and  in  1862  enlisted  in  the  10th  Missouri  cavalry  at  St  Louis, 
being  in  14  battles.  In  1867  he  went  to  Denver,  and  in  engaged  in  contract 
ing  and  freighting.  In  1871  settled  at  Guemes  in  Skagit  co. ;  has  held  sev 
eral  county  offices,  and  was  once  elected  joint  representative  of  Skagit  and 
Snohomish  counties. 

William  Farriste  was  born  in  Richibucto,  New  Brunswick,  in  1835,  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  323 

make  and  revise  the  laws,  which  body  is  in  session  as 

Scottish  parents,  and  engaged  in  lumbering  and  mercantile  pursuits  in  that 
country.  He  removed  to  Wash,  in  1878,  where  he  again  engaged  in  lumber 
ing,  and  was  never  in  any  political  office. 

J.  W.  Feighan  was  born  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  in  1844,  but  removed  to  Ky. 
He  graduated  at  Miami  university  in  Ohio,  in  1870,  and  studied  law  in  the 
Cincinnati  law  school,  graduating  in  1872.  He  had  previously  been  in  the 
service  of  his  country  from  1802  to  the  end  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  He 
was  prosecuting  attorney  of  Lincoln  co.,  Kansas,  for  six  years,  and  was  com 
mander  of  that  department  of  the  grand  army  of  the  republic;  and  ran  for 
congress  on  the  republican  ticket  in  the  2d  district  of  Ky  in  1878.  He  came 
to  Spokane  Falls  in  1887,  and  was  for  a  short  term  city  attorney. 

C.  H.  Flummerfell  was  born  July  31,  1863,  in  Delaware,  Warren  co., 
N.  J.  He  studied  telegraphy  and  bookkeeping,  holding  various  positions 
after  the  age  of  19;  was  local  agent  of  the  N.  P.  R.  R.  at  Hawley,  Minn., 
and  in  1885  located  at  Pasco,  Wash.,  in  the  same  capacity,  where  he  remained 
for  three  years.  Becoming  interested  in  cattle-raising  he  removed  Aitapia 
in  the  same  county  where  he  attended  to  his  stock  and  acted  as  telegraph 
operator  for  the  railroad  company. 

Charles  E.  Foster  was  born  in  Bristol,  Me,  Sept.  3,  1844.  At  the  com 
mencement  of  the  war  he  enlisted  in  the  32d  Massachusetts  volunteers, 
served  through  the  war.  In  18G4  President  Lincoln  issued  orders  for  12,000 
men  who  had  followed  the  sea,  and  who  were  in  the  army,  to  be  transferred 
to  the  navy.  Foster  having  a  seafaring  knowledge  was  transferred,  and  was 
with  Farrgut  on  the  U.  S.  sloop-of-war  Richmond,  and  honorably  discharged 
in  1865.  After  this  he  followed  the  sea  for  12  years,  removing  to  Wash, 
with  his  family  in  1877,  settling  at  South  Bend,  on  Shoalwater  bay,  where 
he  erected  a  hotel. 

J.  E.  Gandy  was  born  at  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.,  in  1847.  He  served  through 
the  war  as  a  private  in  the  Union  army,  and  at  its  close  was  commissioned  a 
surgeon  in  the  regular  army.  He  came  to  Wash,  in  1875,  and  practised 
medicine  at  Spokane  Falls. 

J.  D.  Geoghegan  was  born  in  Galway,  Ireland,  about  1843,  and  at  3  years 
of  age  landed  in  New  York,  where  he  attended  the  public  school.  In  1862, 
being  then  in  St  Paul,  Minn.,  he  enlisted,  served  through  the  war,  and  in 
1866  was  commissioned  in  the  regular  army.  He  resigned  in  1869,  came  to 
the  Pacific  coast,  and  served  in  the  Modoc  and  Pez  Perce  Indian  wars,  since 
which  he  has  resided  at  Vancouver,  where  he  is  in  provision  and  grocery 
trade. 

Charles  Gilchrist  was  born  in  Scotland,  in  1841,  and  educated  there. 
At  20  years  of  age  he  migrated  to  Canada,  and  began  farming;  afterward 
mined  in  Nevada  and  California;  and  finally  made  a  fortune  in  lumbering  at 
Washoe,  after  which  he  returned  to  Scotland.  In  1878  he  came  to  Wash., 
and  purchased  a  saw-mill  at  Centralia,  where  he  founded  the  Lewis  county 
bank,  of  which  he  became  president. 

Frederick  J.  Grant  was  born  at  Janesville,  Ohio,  Aug.  17,  1862,  and 
graduated  at  La  Fayette  college,  Penn.,  in  1883.  when  he  removed  to 
Seattle,  and  was  for  5  years  editor  of  the  Post-Intelligencer.  He  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Walla  Walla  state  convention  of  Sept.  4,  1889. 

S.  G.  Grubb  was  born  in  Meadville,  Penn.,  in  1834,  educated  at  the 
Meadville  Normal  school  and  Alleghany  college,  and  taught  school.  By 
trade  he  was  a  mason.  He  enlisted  as  a  private  during  the  war,  and  was 
promoted  to  2d  lieutenant  at  Chickamauga.  In  the  march  to  the  sea  he 
was  ordnance  officer  for  the  artillery  of  the  14th  army  corps.  After  the  war 
he  engaged  in  lumbering  in  northern  Michigan,  and  in  1884  removed  to 
Wash.,  where  he  took  a  homestead  claim. 

Harry  Hamilton  was  born  at  Muncie,  Ind.,  in  1859,  where  he  lived  on  a 
farm  until  1883.  The  following  year  he  settled  upon  a  tract  of  land  in  what 
was  then  Stevens  co.,  Wash.,  35  miles  from  Conconully,  and  engaged  in 
stock-raising. 


324  PROGRESS   AND   STATEHOOD. 

I  write,  and  there  I   leave    them,  confident    in  the 

L.  C.  Herren  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  in  1856,  educated  at  Firmin 
university  and  Wakeforest  college,  and  graduated  at  Greensboro  law  school 
in  1880.  He  was  collector  of  internal  revenue  of  the  llth  division  of  N.  C. 
in  1882;  came  to  Wash,  in  1884,  and  was  elected  to  the  legislature  in  1888. 

A.  8.  Hewitt  was  born  in  the  state  of  N.  Y.,  in  1853.  He  came  from 
Ohio  to  Wash,  in  1877,  and  was  for  many  years  a  locomotive  engineer,  help 
ing  to  organize  the  order  of  brotherhood  of  locomotive  engineers.  He  en 
gaged  in  real  estate  business  upon  the  rapid  rise  of  Tacoma,  in  which  he  was 
extremely  fortunate. 

W.  H.  Hughes  was  35  years  of  age,  and  a  native  of  N.  Y.,  who  came  to 
Wash,  in  1874.  Residence  Seattle. 

Chandler  Huntington  was  born  in  Multnomah  co.,  Or.,  Feb.  24,  1849. 
His  parents  removed  within  the  same  year  to  Monticello,  on  the  Cowlitz 
river,  where  he  has  resided  on  a  stock-farm  ever  since.  He  was  son  of 
H.  D.  Huntington,  member  of  the  first  territorial  legislature. 

R.  H.  Hutchinson  was  born  at  Dixon,  Lee  co.,  111.,  in  1859,  where  he  re 
sided  until  21  years  of  age,  receiving  a  good  education.  He  taught  school, 
and  studied  law,  being  admitted  to  practice  in  1887,  when  he  removed  to 
Wash. 

George  H.  Judson  was  born  in  Thurston  co.,  Wash.,  in  1859,  and  re 
moved  to  Whatcom  co.,  which  he  represented  in  1870.  He  graduated  from 
the  Seattle  university  in  1882,  with  the  degree  of  B.  S.,  and  engaged  in 
surveying  and  engineering. 

Stephen  Judson  was  born  in  Prussia,  in  1837,  his  parents  emigrating 
with  him  to  the  U.  S.  in  1845,  and  settling  at  Galena,  111.  In  1853  they 
crossed  the  plains  with  an  ox-team,  and  entered  Wash,  by  the  Nachess  pass, 
residing  since  that  time  continuously  in  Pierce  co.  He  was  sheriff  of  the 
co.  from  1861  to  1869;  was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  territorial  legis 
lature  in  1871,  1873,  and  1881;  was  co.  treasurer  one  year,  and  trustee  of 
the  Steilacoom  asylum  for  the  insane. 

George  Kandle  was  born  in  Savannah,  Mo.,  in  1851,  and  immigrated 
with  his  parents  to  Portland,  Or.,  the  same  year.  In  1852  they  removed  to 
Wash.,  and  finally  settled  15  miles  south  of  Steilacoom,  in  1865.  In  1871 
he  removed  to  Tacoma,  and  took  charge  of  a  general  merchandise  store. 
He  was  four  times  elected  county  auditor,  and  in  1878  began  real  estate 
and  insurance  business.  He  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
Steilacoom  asylum  for  the  insane,  and  a  member  of  the  city  council. 

William  K.  Kennedy  was  born  in  Chicago,  in  1851,  of  Scotch-Irish  par 
entage,  and  educated  there.  He  removed  from  Iowa  to  Wash.,  and  settled 
near  Ritzville. 

J.  A.  Kuhm  was  born  in  Penn.,  in  1841,  was  a  lawyer  by  profession, 
came  to  Wash,  about  1869,  and  had  served  several  terms  in  the  territorial 
legislature. 

A.  B.  Lull  was  a  physician,  residing  at  Port  Angeles. 

John  McReavy  was  born  in  the  state  of  Maine,  in  1840.  He  had  resided 
for  several  years  in  the  territory,  and  was  a  merchant  at  Skokomish.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  con. 

Wiftiam  J.  Meade  was  born  in  Busti,  Chautauqua,  N".  Y.,  in  Sept.  185(», 
brought  up  on  a  farm,  educated  at  Jamestown  collegiate  institute  and  col 
lege,  taught  school,  studied  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1881.  In 
1883  he  came  to  Wash.,  and  practised  law  in  Tacoma.  In  1884  was  elected 
town  clerk,  and  held  the  office  until  1889.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Fidelity  title  insurance  and  abstract  company,  and  clerk  of  the  Tacoma 
school  district  for  3  years,  and  a  member  of  the  Tacoma  board  of  health. 

G.  Medcalf  was  a  native  of  Canada,  thirty-seven  years  of  age,  a  butcher 
by  occupation,  at  Montesano,  and  had  resided  many  years  in  the  territory. 

D.  B.  Minkler  was  born  in  Wis.  in  1849,  and  bred  a  farmer.  In  1874  he 
came  to  Wash.,  settling  in  Skagit,  in  lumbering  business,  in  1877. 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  325 

hope  that  their  work  will  be  performed  with  a  con- 

G.  W.  Morse  was  born  in  Brunswick,  Me,  in  1830,  and  his  father  being  a 
shipbuilder,  had  sailed  all  over  the  globe.  He  came  to  Wash,  about  1804, 
helped  build  the  General  Harney,  one  of  the  first  vessels  built  on  Puget 
Sound,  and  ran  a  trading  vessel  from  Olympia  to  Alaska.  He  settled  finally 
at  Oak  Harbor,  on  Whidbey  island. 

W.  R.  Moultray  was  born  in  Steels ville,  Crawford  co.,  Mo.,  in  1852,  and 
obtained  a  good  business  education.  He  came  to  Wash,  with  his  father  in 
1872,  and  worked  at  common  labor  and  contracting  for  four  years.  He  then 
purchased  a  trading-post  at  Nooksack  crossing,  and  carried  on  a  profitable 
business  for  a  year,  when  he  began  hop-growing,  which  he  found  remuner 
ative.  He  married  Miss  Lizzie  Walker  in  1877. 

E.  D.  Nash  was  born  in  Chautauqua  co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1836,  but  resided  in 
Mo.  from  1858  to  1883.  He  served  in  the  12th  Missouri  cavalry  as  major 
during  the  rebellion.  He  came  to  Wash,  in  1883,  and  engaged  in  milling 
and  merchandising. 

.1.  G.  Megler  was  born  in  Germany,  in  1838,  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1848, 
attended  school  in  New  York  City,  learned  the  trade  of  a  tinsmith,  and  wf  nt 
to  Cairo,  111.,  in  1853.  When  the  war  was  in  progress  he  entered  the  gun-boat 
service  as  paymaster's  clerk,  was  promoted  to  mate  and  ensign,  and  was  in 
the  battles  of  Shiloh,  Fort  Henry,  Donelson,  and  Vicksburg.  After  the  war 
he  came  to  Wash.,  and  engaged  in  the  business  of  canning  salmon. 

L.  B.  Nims  was  born  in  Wattsburg,  Erie  co.,  Penn.,  in  1836,  removing, 
when  three  years  old,  to  Wis.  He  engaged  in  teaching,  but  the  Pike's 
peak  gold  fever  drew  him  westward,  and  for  several  years  he  drifted  about 
in  all  the  Pacific  states  and  territories,  returning  home  and  entering  Ripon 
college,  Wis.,  in  1862,  where  he  remained  two  years.  In  1884  he  removed 
to  Wash,  from  Minn.,  settling  inChehalisco.,  erecting  a  hotel  in  Cosmopolis, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Chehalis  river. 

W.  S.  Oliphant  was  born  at  Olive  Green,  Noble  co.,  Ohio,  in  1849,  and 
bred  a  farmer.  He  came  to  Wash,  in  1880,  and  was  elected  to  the  legisla 
ture  of  1888,  which  did  assemble. 

B.  R.  Ostrander  was  born  in  Ohio,  in  1843,  and  removed  to  a  farm  in  111., 
in  1855.  He  served  in  the  civil  war,  and  was  mustered  out  as  orderly  ser 
geant,  co.  H.,  83  111.  vols,  in  July  18G5,  after  which  he  attended  Lombard 
university  in  Galesburg,  and  married  in  1870.  Subsequently  he  was  en 
gaged  in  lumber  and  grain  business  for  eleven  years,  in  111.,  and  dealt  in 
lumber  two  years  in  Colorado,  removing  to  Wash,  in  1883,  and  engaging  in 
raising  blooded  stock. 

Joseph  C.  Painter  came  to  Wash,  in  1850  from  St  Genevieve  co.,  Mo. 
At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  he  returned  east,  and  served  in  the  union 
army  to  the  close  of  the  contest. 

J.  T.  Person  was  born  in  White  co.,  Tenn.,  in  1856,  removing  to  Mo.  in 
1859,  and  residing  on  a  farm.  He  came  to  Wash,  in  1881,  settling  at  Endi- 
cott,  and  engaging  in  merchandising. 

Oliff  Peterson  of  Pierce  co.  was  born  in  Knox  co.,  111.,  in  1848,  remov 
ing  in  1857  to  DCS  Moines,  la.  Before  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age  he  en 
listed  in  the  20th  regt  of  Iowa  vols,  and  served  as  a  private  to  the  close  of 
the  war,  being  wounded  several  times.  After  the  war  he  was  a  contractor 
in  la.  In  1875  he  came  to  Wash.,  settling  in  Pierce  co.,  where  he  had,  in 
1889,  1,800  acres,  and  was  engaged  in  hop  and  hay  raising  and  dairying, 
besides  owning  property  in  Tacoma.  He  was  for  several  years  warden  of 
the  insane  asylum  at  Steilacoom. 

E.  R.  Pickerell  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Porter  co.,  Ind.,  in  1858.  He  at 
tended  a  seminary  at  Stewartsville,  Mo.,  the  academic  schools  of  the  Mis 
souri  state  university,  and  afterwards  the  law  school,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1883.  In  1884  he  came  to  Wash.,  locating  at  Palouse  City,  where, 
with  W.  D.  Irwin,  he  founded  the  Palouse  News,  but  soon  after  sold  out  his 
interest  and  confined  himself  to  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  was  a 


326  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

scientious  desire  to  lay  strong  and  broad  and  deep 

delegate  to  the  convention  of  1888,  and  chairman  of  the  committee  on  per 
manent  organization. 

Alfred  A.  Plummer  was  born  in  Port  Townsend,  Sept.  7,  1856,  being  the 
son  of  A.  A.  Plummer,  the  pioneer  settler  of  that  place.  He  was  county 
commissioner  for  four  years,  and  was  business  manager  of  the  Port  Townsend 
foundry  and  machine  company  when  elected  to  the  legislature. 

Isaac  N.  Power  was  born  in  Olympia,  March  16,  1852,  and  removed  to 
Whidbey  island  when  one  year  old,  residing  there  until  1876,  when  he  en 
tered  the  medical  department  of  the  Willamette  university  at  Salem,  Or., 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1877.  He  became  associated  with  Dr  Minor  of 
Port  Townsend  in  the  marine  hospital,  but  removed  in  1878  to  La  Conner, 
and  later  to  Neah  bay.  After  five  years  of  practice  he  took  a  course  of  lec 
tures  in  the  Pacific  medical  college  of  San  Francisco,  and  in  1883  located  in 
Ellensburg. 

Bruce  F.  Purdy  was  born  in  Salem,  Or.,  in  1854,  and  removed  to  Wash, 
in  1875,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  His  parents  were 
from  Ohio. 

Marcy  H.  Randall  was  born  at  Ames,  Montgomery  co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1842, 
migrated  to  Wis.  with  his  father  in  1849,  was  educated  at  Carroll  college, 
Waukesha,  and  was  for  some  years  domiciled  with  his  elder  brother,  Alex. 
W.  Randall,  who  was  governor  of  Wis.,  and  P.  M.  general  under  President 
Lincoln.  In  18G1  enlisted  in  Chicago  in  the  12th  111.  infantry,  was  commis 
sioned  as  captain  in  co.  A,  U.  S.  colored  troops,  resigned  in  1865  on  account 
of  ill  health,  and  removed  to  Montana,  where  he  followed  mining  and  stock- 
raising  until  1886,  when  he  came  to  Wash.,  locating  on  a  stock  farm  near 
Kettle  Falls. 

Alexander  Robertson  was  born  in  Hamilton,  Canada,  in  1844,  and  came 
to  Wash,  in  1879,  settling  near  Stanwood,  and  engaging  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising.  He  served  through  the  war  of  the  rebellion  in  the  union  army,  hav 
ing  his  eyes  seriously  injured  in  the  service. 

Francis  J.  Rotch  was  born  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  15,  1863,  was  educated 
at  the  Johns  Hopkins  university,  Baltimore,  and  at  the  Dresden  polytech 
nic  school  in  Europe.  On  returning  home  he  went  into  the  lumber  trade  in 
Wis.,  and  removed  in  1888  to  Wash.,  where  he  was  secretary  of  the  Seattle 
lumber  manufacturing  company  on  the  Portland  branch  of  the  N.  P.  R.  R. 

W.  C.  Rutter  was  born  in  Westmoreland  co.,  Penn.,  in  1854,  was  brought 
lip  on  a  farm,  received  a  liberal  education,  being  specially  devoted  to  min 
eralogy  and  mining  science.  He  came  to  Wash,  in  1887. 

John  P.  Sharp  was  born  in  Harrison  co.,  Ohio,  in  1842,  removed  with  his 
parents  to  Mo.  in  1848,  and  to  Or.  in  1852,  settling  in  Lane  co.  Afterwards 
spent  some  years  in  eastern  Or.  and  Idaho,  and  married  Miss  Rowland  of 
Yamhill  co.,  Or.,  in  1865,  removing  to  and  settling  on  a  farm  in  Yakima  co., 
Wash.  He  was  elected  county  commissioner  in  1876,  and  again  appointed 
to  the  office  to  fill  a  vacancy,  and  was  a  school  director  and  road  supervisor. 

Amos  F.  Shaw  was  born  in  Franklin,  N.  H.,  in  1839,  and  lived  on  a  farm 
until  1859,  when  he  went  to  the  then  unorganized  territory  of  Dakota,  and 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  provisional  legislature  that  met  at  Sioux  Falls 
in  the  winter  of  1859-60.  Enlisted  in  the  union  army  in  1862,  and  served 
three  and  a  half  years;  was  sheriff  of  Clay  co.,  Da,  from  1866  to  1869,  was 
secretary  of  the  territorial  council  in  1869,  member  of  the  house  of  represen 
tatives  in  1871  and  1875,  and  of  the  council  in  1881.  He  came  to  Vancouver 
in  the  autumn  of  that  year,  bought  and  cleared  land,  and  planted  a  prune 
orchard.  Returning  to  Dakota  in  1884,  was  appointed  warden  of  the  peni 
tentiary,  and  served  two  years.  Returned  to  Wash,  in  1887,  and  formed  a 
company  to  raise  and  pack  prunes. 

W.  A.  Shinn  came  to  Wash,  from  the  eastern  states  in  1884,  was  a  drug 
gist,  and  about  35  years  of  age. 

P.  K.  Spencer  was  born  in  Warren  co.,  Ind.,  in  1849,  received  a  high 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  327 

the  foundations  of  a  commonwealth  destined  to  un- 
imagined  greatness. 

school  education,  and  graduated  in  1873  from  the  Indianapolis  business  col 
lege.  He  went  to  Kansas  the  same  year,  engaging  in  mercantile  pursuits, 
and  from  there  came  to  Wash,  in  1880,  being  employed  as  a  clerk  in  a  store 
for  four  years.  He  was  appointed  auditor  for  Lincoln  co. ,  and  elected  for 
two  succeeding  terms.  Was  elected  joint  representative  for  Lincoln,  Douglas, 
Adams,  and  Franklin  counties  in  1888. 

George  H.  Stevenson  was  born  in  Iron  co.,  Mo.,  in  1857.  He  came  to 
Wash,  in  1882,  settling  at  the  Cascades.  He  was  elected  county  auditor  in 
1882  and  1884;  joint  representative  from  Skamania,  Clarke,  and  Cowlitz 
counties  in  1886;  was  appointed  inspector  of  customs  to  succeed  A.  L.  Sliarp- 
steiu,  but  declined  to  qualify,  fearing  to  jeopardize  his  seat  in  the  legisla 
ture.  He  was  in  the  fishery  business. 

Zebulon  E.  Straight  was  born  in  Wayne  co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1840,  removed  to 
Wis.  in  1846,  to  Iowa  in  1860,  and  to  Minn,  in  1861,  where  he  learned  the  trade 
of  watchmaker  and  jeweller.  In  1870  he  came  to  Wash.,  establishing  him 
self  in  Walla  Walla  City.  He  was  three  times  elected  to  the  city  council, 
and  was  a  member  of  almost  every  political  convention  held  in  his  town  in 
18  years,  including  the  state  convention  of  1889. 

J.  E.  Tucker  of  San  Juan  co.  was  born  in  Ohio,  about  1839,  and  came  to 
Wash,  in  1881,  settling  on  a  farm  at  Friday  Harbor.  He  was  a  lawyer  by 
profession,  and  served  during  the  war  in  the  50th  and  69th  Ohio  regts.  He 
was  probate  judge  of  San  Juan  co. 

John  C.  Turner  was  born  in  Cal.  in  1853,  had  an  academic  education,  and 
the  trade  of  a  cabinet-maker.  He  went  to  Or.  in  1877,  residing  for  three 
years  in  Portland  and  The  Dalles,  removing  to  Colfax  in  1880.  In  1883 
he  became  deputy  auditor  and  recorder,  and  in  1885  was  appointed  to  fill 
the  place  of  auditor  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  his  principal,  being  elected 
to  the  office  in  1887.  He  married  a  daughter  of  John  Boswcll  of  Colfax. 
He  resided  at  the  time  of  his  election  on  a  1,000  acre  farm,  4  miles  S.  E. 
from  Colfax. 

A.  H.  Weatherford  was  born  in  Putnam  co.,  Mo,,  in  1853,  went  to  Or. 
in  1864,  and  came  to  Wash,  in  1871,  residing  in  Columbia  co.  until  1880, 
when  he  went  to  Wasco  co.,  Or.,  where  he  held  the  office  of  commissioner. 
In  1886  he  returned  to  Wash.,  and  was  elected  representative  from  Columbia 
co.  in  1888. 


WASHINGTON  KESOUBCES   AND   INDUSTRIES. 

The  manufactured  products  exported  are:  first,  lumber,  the  chief  article  of 
commerce;  lime,  a  valuable  product  on  account  of  its  almost  entire  absence 
over  a  great  extent  of  Oregon  and  California;  barrels,  staves,  wooden  pipe, 
the  proper  trees  for  which  manufactures  abound  in  the  small  valleys 
about  the  Sound;  canned  fish,  and  coal — if  that  may  be  named  with  manu 
factures.  The  other  products  exported  are  wheat  and  other  grains,  flour, 
wool,  hides,  live-stock,  potatoes,  and  hops. 

Puget  Sound,  from  its  position,  extent,  depth  of  water,  and  its  contiguity  to 
the  materials  required,  should  be  one  of  the  greatest  ship-building  stations  in  the 
world.  In  addition  to  the  bodies  of  iron  and  coal  lying  adjacent  to  navigable 
water,  the  immense  forests  that  skirt  its  shore  line  for  more  than  1,100  miles 
furnish  abundance  of  excellent  timber  for  constructing  every  part  of  sea 
going  vessels,  from  the  tough  knees  of  the  tide-land  spruce  to  the  strong 
durable  planks  of  red  fir,  abies  douglasii,  and  the  tall  tapering  masts  of  yellow 
fir,  abies  grandis.  Oak,  arbutus,  myrtle,  and  maple  furnish  the  fine-grained 
woods  required  for  finishing  the  interior  of  vessels. 

The  great  merit  of  the  firs  is  their  size  and  (furability,  with  their  habit  of 
growing  close  together  like  canes  in  a  brake,  and  to  an  immense  height  with 
out  knots  or  branches.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  a  tree  having  a  diameter 
of  four  feet  at  a  distance  of  ten  feet  from  the  ground,  which  has  attained  an  alti 
tude  of  300  feet;  nor  is  it  unusual  to  find  spar  timbers  150  feet  long  with  a 
diameter  of  eighteen  inches,  perfectly  straight  and  sound.  The  mills  on  Puget 
Sound  find  no  difficulty  in  furnishing  squared  timbers  of  these  dimensions, 
and  often  cut  plank  from  60  to  90  fee*  in  length.  The  fir  has  not  the  cor 
rosive  acid  qualities  of  the  oaks,  and  therefore  iron  bolts  are  not'subject  to 
corrosion,  but  are  held  so  tenacious!}'  by  the  strong  and  pitchy  fibre  of  the 
wood  that  they  will  break  sooner  than  be  drawn  out. 

Numerous  tests  have  been  made  by  the  French  of  the  strength  of  fir  spars, 
as  compared  with  those  of  Riga,  which  showed  that  while  the  bending  and 
breaking  resistance  of  the  two  were  about  the  same,  the  American  wood  pos 
sessed  a  notable  advantage  in  density,  having  a  flexible  and  tenacious  fibre 
that  might  be  bent  and  twisted  several  times  in  contrary  directions  without 
breaking.  Nor  has  the  fir  been  found  lacking  in  durability.  It  has  been  the 
only  wood  in  use  for  repairing  sea-going  vessels  on  the  north-west  coast,  as 
well  as  for  building  numerous  river  boats  and  sea-going  vessels,  which  remain 
sound  after  many  years  of  service.  White  cedar,  another  valuable  timber  for 
ship-building,  is  found  in  certain  localities  about  the  Sound  and  on  the  Colum 
bia  River. 

Want  of  familiarity  with  the  materials  to  be  found  on  the  Pacific  coast 
made  ship-builders  cautious,  and  it  was  only  gradually  that  they  gained  con 
fidence.  The  first  vessel  built  on  Puget  Sound  was  the  schooner  H.  C.  Page, 
at  Whatcom,  by  Peabody  &  Roder,  in  1853.  Her  first  business^  was  a 
charter  offered  by  the  H.  B.  Co.  to  carry  sheep  to  San  Juan  Island  in  1854. 
Roder' s  Bellingham  Bay,  MS.,  29-30.  The  same  year  Bolton  &  Wilson  built 
the  clipper  sloop  Rob  Roy  five  miles  below  Steilacoom.  Olympia  Columbian, 
Oct.  15,  1853.  H.  D.  Morgan  established  a  ship-yard  at  Olympia  in  1854, 
and  launched  the  Emily  Parker,  a  schooner  of  40  tons,  built  to  run  between 
ports  on  the  Sound.  She  was  chartered  by  J.  G.  Parker.  Parker's  Puget 
Sound,  MS.,  4.  The  schooner  Elsie,  20  tons  burden,  built  at  Shoalwater  Bay 

(  S28  ) 


SHIP-BUILDING. 


329 


in  1854  by  Capt.  Hilly er,  Swan's  N.  W.  Coast,  282-3,  completes  the  list  of 
vessels  that  were  put  up  in  Washington  waters  for  these  two  years.  About 
April  1855  the  little  steamer  Water  Lily,  owned  by  William  Webster,  and 
built  at  some  port  on  the  Sound,  commenced  running  between  Olympia  and 


PtTGET    SOTTND. 


Port  Townsend  with  passengers  and  freight.  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem., 
April  7,  1855.  The  first  steamer  of  a  good  size  built  on  tire  Sound  was  the 
Julia  Barclay,  known  commonly  as  the  Julia,  at  Port  Gamble.  She  was 


330  RESOURCES  AND  INDUSTRIES. 

a  stern-wheel  boat  built  for  the  Fraser  River  trade,  and  owned  by  George 
Barclay  of  S.  F.,  but  subsequently  sold  to  the  0.  S.  N.  Co.  Victoria  Gazette, 
Sept.  18,  1858;  Ebey's  Journal,  MS.,  vi.  171.  The  first  ocean  steamer  con 
structed  of  native  woods  in  the  waters  of  the  Sound  was  the  George  8.  Wright, 
launched  May  12,  1860,  at  Port  Ludlow.  She  was  originally  planned  by 
William  Ilammond,  Jr,  and  partially  built  by  him.  It  was  the  intention 
to  have  named  her  the  A.  V.  Brown,  after  the  postmaster-general.  But  her 
frame  being  sold  to  John  T.  Wright,  Jr,  who  enlarged  it,  she  was  called  first 
after  him,  and  then  George  S.  Wright,  after  another  member  of  the  family. 
It  was  as  the  George,  S.  Wright  that  the  vessel  was  known  on  the  coast.  Port 
Toiunsend  Register,  May  16,  1860;  Portland  Times,  April  30,  1860.  She  ran 
from  Portland  to  Victoria  for  some  years,  and  then  from  Portland  to  Sitka.  She 
was  wrecked  in  Jan.  1873,  returning  from  Sitka,  it  was  supposed,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Cape  Caution,  at  the  entrance  to  Queen  Charlotte  Sound.  Every 
soul  on  board  perished,  either  by  drowning  or  at  the  hands  of  the  Indians, 
and  no  reliable  account  of  the  disaster  was  ever  received.  Among  the  lost 
were  Maj.  Walker  and  wife,  and  Lieut  Dodge  of  the  army.  Port  Townsend 
Argus,  March  18,  1873.  There  is  no  complete  list  of  the  vessels  built  previous 
to  1868.  In  the  report  of  the  surveyor-general  for  that  year  it  is  stated  that 
29  vessels  had  been  completed  and  launched,  some  of  them  reaching  600  tons. 
Zabriskie's  Land  Laws,  1076;  and  in  Browne's  Resources  (1869),  574,  I  find  it 
stated  that  probably  about  50  sea-going  vessels  had  been  built,  up  to  that 
time,  on  the  Sound  south  of  Port  Townsend.  The  returns  made  in  the  He- 
ports  of  Commerce  and  Navigation  are  imperfect.  Between  1858  and  1866 
there  are  no  returns,  a  deficiency  only  partly  accounted  for  by  the  destruction 
of  the  custom-house  papers  at  Port  Angeles  in  1863.  The  J.  B.  Libbey,  a  70- 
ton  steamer,  was  launched  from  the  mill  premises  of  Grennan  &  Cranney, 
Utsalady,  in  December  1862,  built  by  Hammond,  Calhoun  &  Alexander. 
Wash.  Scraps,  98.  In  1865  or  1866  a  small  steamer  was  built  at  Port  Madi 
son  for  the  Coal  Creek  Mining  Company,  to  be  used  in  towing  coal  barges  on 
Lake  Washington.  Seattle  Dispatch,  Dec.  2,  1876.  A  steamer  for  the  Sacra 
mento  River  was  built  at  Port  Ludlow  in  1866;  and  another  three  miles  below 
Olympia,  by  Ethridge,  the  same  year.  Olympia  Pac.  Tribune,  Feb.  10,  1866. 
In  1867  the  Chehalis,  for  the  Chehalis  River,  was  built  at  Tumwater,  men 
tioned  elsewhere.  The  following  year  a  steam  yacht,  the  Success,  was  built 
at  Snohomish  by  Thomas  Coupe,  and  launched  in  May,  at  which  time  another 
was  in  process  of  construction — probably  the  Favorite.  S.  F.  Call,  May  10, 
1868.  In  1869  was  built  the  popular  passenger  steamer  Alida,  at  Seattle,  114 
tons  burden.  Port  Townsend  Argus,  Jan.  23,  1875. 

Ship-yards  are  numerous;  ship-builders  William  Hammond  and  E.  S. 
Cheasty  at  Port  Ludlow;  Grennan  &  Cranney  at  Utsalady,  and  later  at 
Snohomish;  Meigs  &  Co.  at  Port  Madison,  under  the  superintendence  of  A. 
J.  Westervelt— the  lumbering  and  ship-building  company  incorporated  in  1877, 
Port  Madison  and  S.  F.,  capital  $1,000,000.  Meigs  had  a  ship-yard  in  1869 
or  before,  as  above.  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  Dec.  1,  1867;  Walla  Walla 
Union,  Aug.  14,  1869.  H.  Williamson  at  Steilacoom;  Hammond,  Calhoun  & 
Alexander  at  Utsalady;  Crowell  at  the  same  place;  Thompson  at  Port  Lud 
low;  OliverEngleblomat  Port  Blakeley;  Bryant  at  Port  Madison;  Hammond 
at  Seattle;  all  before  1870,  and  who  may  be  considered  as  pioneers  in  ship 
building.  After  that  the  business  declined.  In  1869  18  vessels,  including 
two  steamers,  were  built,  but  the  following  two  years  witnessed  great  dul- 
ness  in  the  lumber  trade,  affecting  all  other  branches.  Victor's  Or.,  269; 
Meeker1  s  Wash.  Ter.,  34.  In  1871  a  thousand-ton  ship  was  built  at  Port 
Madison — the  Wildwood,  sold  after  4  years  in  the  lumber  trade  for  a  third 
more  than  her  original  cost.  S.  F.  Alta,  April  1875 — and  at  Seattle  a  steamer 
in  1872,  from  which  time  there  has  been  an  increase  in  the  number  of  yards 
and  of  vessels  built.  Middlemas  had  a  ship-yard  at  Port  Ludlow  in  1870; 
Westervelt  at  Port  Madison  in  1871;  there  w'as  another  at  Freeport — later 
called  Milton — in  1872;  Boole  had  one  at  Utsalady  at  the  same  time;  in  1873 
Reed  Brothers  rented  Yesler's  yard  at  Seattle  and  moved  their  business  to 


SHIP-BUILDING.  331 

that  place  from  Port  Madison,  and  in  1874  Hall  Brothers  from  Cal.  estab 
lished  themselves  at  Port  Ludlow;  after  which  ship-building  became  a  more 
prosperous  industry.  Tacoma  Herald,  May  28,  1875.  At  Port  Madison  were 
built  after  1862  the  barkentine  W.  H.  Ganley,  3GO  tons;  the  bark  Legal 
Tender,  18G3,  190  tons;  bark  Northwest,  1865,  315  tons;  bark  Tidal  Wave, 
1869,  600  tons;  the  whole  four  being  for  the  use  of  the  mill  in  carrying 
lumber.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xxii.  46.  Also  in  1870  the  schooners 
Margaret  Crockard,  169  tons;  W.  S.  Phelps,  90  tons;  and  in  1873  the  Mary 
Hare,  64  tons,  and  Empire  City,  732  tons.  The  Empire  City  was  taken  to 
S.  F.  and  converted  into  a  steamer.  It  was  claimed  that  building  the  steamer 
in  this  manner  saved  $10,000  to  her  owners.  Seattle  Intelligencer,  Nov.  22, 
1873.  In  1874  the  barkentine  S.  M.  Stetson  of  707  tons  was  built  at  Port 
Madison,  and  in  1876  the  sch.  Robert  and  Minnie,  99  tons,  and  str  Dispatch, 
66  tons.  Portland  Board  of  Trade  Report,  1877,  34.  At  Port  Ludlow  the  sch. 
Light  Winy  was  built  in  1870,  101  tons;  and  bark  Forest  Queen,  511  tons;  in 
1873  sloop  Z.  B.  Ileywood,  107  tons;  in  1874  barkentine  Pio  Benito,  278  tons; 
and  schooners  Annie  Gee,  155  tons;  Ellen  J.  McKinnon,  70  tons;  Twilight,  185 
tons;  Jessie  Nickerson,  185  tons;  and  sloop  Mari/  Louisa,  155  tons.  S.  F. 
Bulletin,  Feb.  10, 1875.  The  Ellen  J.  McKinnon  in  1879  became  water- logged 
in  a  gale  and  foundered,  only  one  out  of  10  persons  on  board  escaping.  S.  F. 
Pout,  April  24,  1879.  In  April  1875  the  schooner  Cassie  Hayward,  200  tons, 
was  launched  at  Port  Ludlow,  and  in  Nov.  the  schooners  La  Gironde,  205 
tons;  the  American  Girl,  220  tons;  besides  the  Annie  Lyle,  Ida  Schnauer, 
Emma  Utter,  and  Wm  L.  Beebe,  built  the  same  year.  Seattle  Pac.  Tribune, 
Nov.  27,  1875.  In  the  following  year  there  were  launched  at  this  port  the 
schs  Courser,  357  tons;  Reporter,  337  tons;  Premier,  307  tons;  barkentine 
Quickstep,  423  tons;  and  sloop  Katie  Stevens,  5  tons.  Portland  Board  of  Trade 
Report,  1877,  34.  In  1881  there  were  built  at  Port  Ludlow  the  barkentiaes 
Wrestler,  470  tons;  the  Kitsap,  694  tons;  and  the  sloop  Mystery  of  6  tons 
register.  Seattle  Intelligencer,  Sept.  3,  1882.  From  the  ship-yard  at  Seattle 
in  1870  were  launched  the  sch.  Planter,  121  tons;  the  str  James  Mortie,  8  tons; 
and  the  barge  Diana,  24  tons.  In  1871  the  strs  Comet,  56  tons;  Clara,  26  tou.s; 
Zephyr,  162  tons;  and  the  sch.  Lolita,  120  tons.  In  1874  the  sch.  C.  C.  Per 
kins,  27  tons;  the  scow  Schwabacher,  19  tons;  and  the  strs  Ada,  81  tons,  and 
Lena  C,  Gray,  155  tons.  In  the  following  year  there  were  launched  at  Seattle 
the  strs  Nellie,  100  tons;  Minnie  May,  5  tons;  and  the  barkentine  Kate 
Flickenger,  472  tons.  In  1879  the  str  George  E.  Starr  was  launched  at  Seattle. 
She  was  built  for  L.  M.  Starr  of  the  Puget  Sound  S.  N.  Co.,  was  150  feet 
long,  28  feet  beam,  and  9  feet  hold.  Seattle  Intelligencer,  April  17  and  Aug. 
13,  1879.  In  1881  there  were  built  at  the  same  place  the  City  of  Seattle,  a 
sloop  of  7  tons;  the  sch.  Two  Jacks,  6  tons;  and  the  strs  Jessie,  12  tons;  Sen, 
Witch,  38  tons;  Alki,  45  tons;  and  Lillie,  80  tons.  At  Milton,  opposite 
Seattle,  were  built  the  Etta  White,  str,  97  tons,  in  1871;  the  str  George  &eab?ck, 
39  tons;  the  scow  M.  S.  Drew,  28  tons;  and  the  sch.  Big  River  in  1872;  the 
scow  Western  Terminus,  56  tons,  in  1873;  and  the  barkentine  Ella,  260  tons, 
in  1874.  S.  F  Bulletin,  February  10,  1875.  At  Port  Blakeley  was  built  in 
1868  the  double-topsail  sch.  Alice  Haake,  104  feet  keel,  115  feet  deck,  30  feet, 
beam,  and  10  feet  hold;  owned  by  J.  C.  Haake  &  Co.,  S.  F.  S.  F.  Alia,  Jan. 
10,  1868.  In  1870  the  sch.  Ontario,  14  tons;  in  1872  the  str  Blakeley,  176 
tons;  and  scows  Uncle  Davy,  33  tons,  and  George,  24  tons;  in  1874  the  schs 
Alice,  232  tons;  Una,  200  tons;  and  barkentine  7?.  K.  Ham,  569  tons;  in  1881 
the  schrs  Lottie  Carson,  226  tons,  Maria  Smith,  365  tons,  Annie  Larson,  377 
tons,  and  str  Harriet,  8  tons.  Seattle  Intelligencer,  1882,  passim.  At  Port 
Discovery,  in  1872,  the  schrs  Marietta,  141  tons,  and  Serena,  206  tons;  in  1874, 
the  barkentine  Discovery,  416  tons.  At  Stillaquamish  two  small  sloops  were 
built  between  1870  and  1876,  the  Undine  and  Artful  Dodger;  at  Whidbey 
Island  the  schooner  Dolly  Varden,  19  tons,  and  sloop  Albion,  8  tons;  at  Port 
Gamble  the  schooner  George  Francis  Train,  28  tons,  in  1873,  and  steamer 
Yakima,  174  tons,  in  1874.  On  Orcas  Island  the  sch.  Orcas  was  builb  in  1873, 
11  tons;  at  Steilacoom  the  sloop  Magnolia,  12  tons,  and  scow  Red  Cloud,  34 


332  RESOURCES  AND  INDUSTRIES. 

tons;  at  Tacoma  the  sloop  Polly,  9  tons,  in  1874;  at  Fidalgo  Island  the  sch. 
Fidalgo  Traveller,  9  tons,  in  1876;  at  Port  Townsend  the  sch.  Jennie,  15  tons; 
at  Arcada  the  str  Biz,  SO  tons,  in  1881.  At  Olympia,  in  1876,  were  built  the 
strs  Capital,  24  tons,  and  Messenger,  121.  In  1877  the  Seabeck  Mill  Co.  built 
the  bark  Cassandra  Adajns,  1,127  tons,  and  the  tug  Richard  HolyoTce;  and  in 
1880  a  ship  with  a  keel  214  feet  long,  beam  44  feet,  17  feet  hold,  and  single- 
decked,  probably  the  largest  single-decked  vessel  afloat.  Seattle  Intelligencer, 
July  1,  1879.  John  Kentfield  &  Co.  of  S.  F.  also  built  a  sch.  at  Seabeck  in 
1880.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xxii.  8.  In  1881  two  barken  tines  were  built 
there,  the  Retriever,  548  tons,  and  the  M.  Winkelman,  532  tons.  The  only 
steamboat  built  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Puget  Sound  collection  district, 
which  included  Colville,  was  the  Forty-nine,  owned  by  Leonard  White.  She 
was  launched  at  U.  S.  Fort  Colville,  Nov.  18,  1865.  She  was  114  feet  long 
and  20  feet  4  inches  wide.  She  was  run  as  high  up  as  Death  Rapids,  270 
miles.  See  a  very  interesting  account  of  her  trip  in  Leighton's  Life  at  Puget 
Sound,  63-74.  This  little  book,  by  Caroline  Leigh  ton,  published  in  1884, 
is  unique  in  description  of  Washington  life  from  1865  to  1881,  and  of  the 
natural  scenery  of  the  country.  The  incidents  are  well  chosen  and  style  de 
lightfully  natural. 

In  1869,  a  report  was  made  on  ship-building  to  the  board  of  marine  under 
writers  of  S.  F.,  by  their  secretary,  C.  T.  Hopkins,  and  by  Joseph  Ringot,  in 
favor  of  using  the  Puget  Sound  and  Oregon  timber  for  ships,  and  showing 
that  the  economy  in  wood  more  than  counterbalanced  the  higher  wages  of 
shipwrights  on  this  coast,  and  the  expense  of  importing  copper,  cordage,  and 
other  articles.  Cordage,  linseed  oil,  pitch,  tar,  and  turpentine  could  be  man 
ufactured  here;  and  so  in  time  could  iron  and  copper.  This  report  declared 
that '  sailing  vessels  of  any  size  and  description  can  be  built  at  Puget  Sound,  at 
Coos  Bay,  on  the  Columbia  River,  and  at  several  other  points  north  of  S.  F., 
of  as  good  quality  as  the  vessels  built  of  Maine  materials,  and  for  less  money 
in  gold  than  at  New  York  or  Boston,  provided  the  business  be  undertaken 
on  a  large  scale  by  experienced  and  prudent  mechanics,  backed  up  by  a  large 
capital. '  Hopkins'  Ship-Building,  26.  The  cost  per  ton  of  a  first  class  New 
York  sailing  vessel,  exclusive  of  coppering,  was,  fora  100-ton  vessel,  $115,  300 
tons  $109,  600  tons  $96,  1,000  tons  $87.  The  Northwest,  315  tons,  built 
in  the  Sound,  cost  $87  per  ton  coppered;  the  Tidal  Wave,  600  tons,  cost  $83 
per  ton  without  copper;  the  Forest  Queen,  511  tons,  cost  $117  per  ton  with 
out  copper;  the  Wildwood  of  1,000  tons,  $73  per  ton  coppered;  the  barkentine 
Modoc,  built  at  Utsalady  in  1873,  $99  per  ton  without  copper.  These  varia 
tions  in  cost  depended  upon  the  amount  of  capital  at  hand  and  local  circum 
stances.  To  construct  a  1,200-ton  ship  there  were  required  10,000  working 
days  of  all  classes  of  mechanics  and  laborers,  3,500  days  in  the  yard.  Olympia, 
Transcript,  March  18,  1876;  Tacoma  Pac.  Tribune,  Sept.  24,  1874. 

Propositions  to  form  a  company  with  five  millions  capital  to  enter  upon 
ship-building  on  Puget  Sound  was  made  by  the  S.  F.  board  of  underwriters 
in  1874,  which  was  not,  however,  acted  upon,  the  chief  difficulty  appearing  to 
be  that  mechanics  could  not  be  secured  in  sufficient  numbers  at  reasonable 
wages,  owing  to  the  expense  at  that  time  of  travelling  from  Maine  to  Wash 
ington.  Undoubtedly  the  shipping  interest  has  suffered  through  the  indiffer 
ence  of  congress  to  its  importance.  What  with  the  whale  and  other  fisheries 
of  the  Northwest  Coast,  and  the  coal  and  lumber  trade,  large  fleets  of  vessels 
of  moderate  size  should  be  furnished  by  Puget  Sound  ship-yards.  Down  to 
1880  there  had  been  between  forty  and  fifty  steamers  built  and  employed  in 
the  Puget  Sound  trade.  Olympia  Pac.  Tribune,  Sept.  14,  1872;  Stuart's  Wash. 
Ter.,  14;  New  Tacoma  N.  P.  Coast,  Jan.  15,  1880. 

Prior  to  1872  there  were  between  90  and  100  sailing  vessels  built,  most  of 
them  of  small  size,  for  the  local  freight  service,  the  larger  ones  for  the  lum 
ber  trade.  In  the  ten  years  following  there  were  from  ten  to  twenty  vessels 
built  annually,  yet  the  vast  inland  sea  still  looked  solitary,  and  hundreds  of 
miles  of  wooded  shores  were  as  silent  as  when  Vancouver  explored  them 
nearly  a  century  before.  During  the  year  ending  June  30,  1878,  69  sailing  and 


MARITIME  COMMERCE.  333 

39  steam  vessels  were  documented  at  Port  Townsend,  the  port  of  entry  of 
Puget  Sound  collection  district,  with  a  carrying  capacity  of  31,000  tons.  This 
tonnage  was  exceeded  by  only  28  of  the  125  collection  districts  of  the  U.  S. 
American  vessels  in  the  foreign  trade  entered  in  the  same  year  were  263,  with 
a  tonnage  of  152,828;  there  were  cleared  284,  with  a  tonnage  of  167,178.  This 
surpassed  that  of  vessels  so  entered  and  cleared  during  the  same  time  at  120  of 
the  125  ports  of  entry  in  the  U.  S.,  being  exceeded  only  by  Boston,  Charles 
ton,  New  York,  Detroit,  and  San  Francisco.  Rept  of  Chief  of  Bureau  of 
Statistics,  1878,  pt  ii.  802-4.  Foreign  vessels  entered  at  Port  Townsend  dur 
ing  the  same  time  46,  with  a  tonnage  of  19,915;  cleared  61,  with  a  tonnage  of 
30,962.  This  was  exceeded  by  but  31  out  of  the  125  ports  of  entry  of  the 
U.  S.  American  ocean  steam-vessels  in  the  foreign  trade  entered  during  the 
same  time  at  Port  Townsend  were  178,  with  a  tonnage  of  130,471;  cleared 
183,  with  a  tonnage  of  131,432;  exceeded  by  only  2  other  ports  of  entry  in 
the  U.  S. — N.  Y.  and  S.  F.  The  tonnage  of  foreign  ocean  steam-vessels  in 
the  foreign  trade,  which  entered  and  cleared  at  Port  Townsend  during  the 
year  ending  June  30,  1878,  was  exceeded  but  by  10  other  ports  of  the  U.  S. 
It  was  estimated  that  at  least  75  deep-sea  vessels  in  the  general  coasting 
trade,  which  were  enrolled  and  licensed,  and  did  not  make  entry  or  clear 
ance,  were  employed  in  the  Puget  Sound  trade,  only  about  one  third  of  which 
were  documented  in  this  district,  the  remainder  in  S.  F.  In  1880  there 
cleared  from  Port  Townsend,  for  the  four  months  from  July  to  Oct.,  66  Amer 
ican  sailing  vessels  for  foreign  ports,  with  a  tonnage  of  46,244.  For  the  same 
months  in  1881  the  tonnage  of  this  class  was  65,393.  The  number  of  Ameri 
can  vessels  entering  from  foreign  ports  in  the  same  months  of  1880  was  62; 
in  1881  it  was  115.  The  number  of  American  steam-vessels  entering  from 
foreign  ports  in  the  same  months  of  1880  was  30;  in  1881  it  was  72.  The 
number  clearing  was  33  in  1880,  and  73  in  1881.  The  increase  in  ocean  ton 
nage  from  and  to  foreign  ports  during  the  same  mouths  of  1881  over  1880  was 
100  per  cent. 

Out  of  the  large  number  of  vessels  which  have  come  and  gone  in  the  thirty- 
four  years  since  the  Orbit  sailed  up  to  Olympia,  few  comparatively  have  been 
wrecked.  I  have  mentioned  the  loss  of  the  Robert  Bruce  by  fire  in  Shoal- 
water  Bay,  and  the  brig  Una  on  Cape  Flattery,  both  in  1851.  In  1852  the 
northern  Indians  reported  the  wreck  of  an  unknown  vessel  on  the  coast  of 
V.  I.,  with  all  on  board  lost.  Hancock's  Thirteen  Tears,  MS.,  234-5.  In  the 
winter  of  1852-3  the  brig  Willimnntic,  Capt.  Vail,  was  driven  ashore  at  Eld 
Island,  at  the  entrance  to  Gray  Harbor,  but  she  did  not  go  to  pieces.  After 
vainly  attempting  to  launch  her  toward  the  sea,  she  was  dragged  across  the 
island  and  launched  on  the  other  side.  Sivan's  N.  W.  Coast,  43;  Davidson's 
Coast  Pilot,  171.  In  Sept.  1853  the  brig  Palos  was  wrecked  on  Leadbetter 
Point,  at  the  mouth  of  Shoalwater  Bay.  Passengers  saved,  but  the  capt. 
drowned.  In  1854  a  Chilean  bark  was  wrecked  off  Cape  Classet  by  becoming 
water-logged;  14  persons  drowned,  1  saved,  but  died  of  exhaustion  at  Steila- 
coom.  Or.  Statesman,  April  11,  1854.  In  this  year,  also,  the  steamer  South 
erner  was  wrecked  near  the  mouth  of  the  Quillehuy te  River.  Hist.  Or. ,  ii. 
this  series.  H.  Y.  Sewell,  of  Whidbey  Island,  went  across  the  mountains  to 
the  wreck  to  save  the  mail,  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  and  held  for 
some  time,  but  succeeded  in  his  undertaking.  He  was  the  first  white  man 
to  cross  the  Olympian  range  to  the  coast  so  far  north.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter., 
MS.,  ii.,  58.  The  schooner  Empire,  Capt.  Davis,  loaded  with  oysters,  struck 
on  a  spit  at  the  north  entrance  of  Shoalwater  Bay,  where  she  remained  fast 
and  perished.  Swan  says  that  the  Empire  and  Palos  were  both  lost  through 
carelessness,  and  were  the  only  vessels  wrecked  at  this  entrance  up  to  1856. 
Northwest  Coast,  365.  The  Hawaiian  bark  LouiJca,  Capt.  Willfong,  went 
ashore  on  San  Juan  Island  in  July  1855.  She  was  a  total  loss.  Ebey's  Jour 
nal,  MS.,  Hi.,  73,  81.  The  Major  Tompkins,  wrecked  off  Esquimault  harbor, 
Feb.  25,  1855,  has  been  noticed.  No  lives  lost.  Olympia'  Pioneer  and  Dem., 
March  3.  1855.  Also  the  Fairy,  the  first  steamer  in  any  trade  on  the  Sound. 
She  blew  up  at  her  wharf  at  Steilacoom.  Id.,  Oct.  23,  1857.  The  steamer 


334  RESOURCES  AND  INDUSTRIES. 

Sea  Bird  was  burned  on  Fraser  River,  14  miles  above  Langley,  Sept.  10,  1858. 
The  Traveller,  a  Sound  steamer,  was  lost  in  1858,  with  five  persons  on  board, 
by  foundering.  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  March  12,  1858;  Morse's  Wash. 
Ter.,  MS.,  iv.  60.  In  1859  the  schooner  Caroline  was  upset  on  her  way  into 
the  Sound,  near  the  Lummi  Islands;  no  lives  lost.  Ebey's  Journal,  MS.,  vi. 
126.  In  Jan.  of  the  same  year  the  brig  Cyrus,  at  port  San  Juan,  was  wrecked 
in  a  gale,  and  became  a  total  loss.  Or.  Statesman,  Jan.  25,  1859.  The  ocean 
steamer  Northerner,  Capt.  Dall,  running  between  S.  F.  and  the  Sound  ports 
with  the  mails,  was  lost  by  striking  a  sunken  rock  two  miles  below  Blunt 
reef,  opposite  Cape  Mendocino,  Jan.  5,  1860,  and  36  lives  lost.  Steilacoom 
Herald,  Jan.  20,  1860;  Ebey's  Journal,  MS.,  vi.  260.  The  American  clipper 
ship  Northern  Eayle,  valued  at  $60,000,  was  burned  in  Esquimault  harbor  in 
Sept.  1859.  She  was  en  route  to  Puget  Sound  to  load  with  lumber  for  Mel 
bourne.  Loss  from  $100,000  to  $150,000.  Steilacoom  P.  S.  Herald,  Oct.  8, 
1859.  On  the  10th  of  May,  1860,  the  ocean  mail-steamer  Panamd,  Capt. 
Hudson,  went  ashore  on  Point  Hudson,  at  the  entrance  to  Port  Townsend 
hai'bor.  She  was  worked  off  at  high  tide,  and  continued  to  visit  Sound 
ports  as  late  as  1876.  Ebey's  Journal,  MS.,  vi.  306.  Says  C.  M.  Bradshaw, 
in  Wash.  Ter.  Sketches,  MS.,  69-70:  'Before  the  erection  of  the  light-house  it 
was  not  unusual  to  hear  guns  fired  in  the  night  as  signals  of  distress,  or  to 
«n  wake  and  find  some  good  ship  beating  upon  the  beach,  at  the  mercy  of  the 
remorseless  surf.  On  such  occasions  the  settlers  would  rally  and  assist  in 
getting  the  seamen  on  shore,  and  saving  property  from  the  wreck  for  the  ben- 
t'iJt  of  its  owners,  or  aid  in  getting  the  ship  off,  if  possible,  without  fee  or 
reward.  Many  is  the  ship-master  who  has  had  abundant  reason  to  thank  the 
Dungeness  farmers  for  assistance  in  dire  necessity.'  In  May  1859  the  bark 
Mury  Slade,  from  Steilacoom  to  S.  F.,  was  wrecked  near  Mendocino,  and  be 
came  a  total  loss;  no  lives  lost.  In  March  1862  the  schr  Tolo  was  capsized 
in  a  squall  near  San  Juan,  and  Capt.  Maloney  and  all  her  passengers  and 
crew,  except  two,  drowned.  Ebey's  Journal,  MS.,  vii.  81.  The  schr  Restless 
soon  after  capsized  and  drifted  on  Maylor  Point,  Whidbey  Island,  where  it 
was  broken  up.  The  sloop  Comet,  running  between  Penn  Cove  and  Utsalady 
Mills,  a  distance  of  10  miles,  disappeared  with  all  on  board,  supposed  to  have 
been  sunk  by  ice.  Wash.  Scraps,  19,  131.  A  large  British  ship  was  wrecked 
on  Race  Rocks,  in  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  and  a  heavy  cargo  of  goods  lost,  in  the 
winter  of  1862.  Or.  Statesman,  Dec.  22,  1862.  The  British  ship  Fanny  and 
Hawaiian  bark  Rosalia  were  wrecked  on  Discovery  Island,  at  the  entrance  to 
the  Canal  de  Haro,  in  the  spring  of  1868;  no  lives  lost.  Seattle  Intelligencer, 
March  30,  1868.  The  schr  Growler  was  wrecked  in  the  spring  of  1867,  and 
such  of  the  crew  as  escaped  were  slain  by  the  northern  Indians.  Portland 
Orerjonian,  May  18  and  June  30,  1867.  The  schr  Champion  was  wrecked  at 
Sho'alwater  Bay  in  April  1870.  Seattle  Intelligencer,  May  2,  1870.  The  schr 
Rosa  Perry  was  cast  away  at  the  entrance  to  Shoalwater  Bay,  Oct.  2,  1872. 
The  crew  were  rescued  by  the  light-house  tender  Shubrick.  Olympia  Tran 
script,  Oct.  12,  1872.  The  Walter  Raleigh  was  lost  near  Cape  Flattery  in  the 
winter  of  1872.  S.  F.  Call,  Dec.  14,  1872.  The  Nicaraguan  ship  Pelican  was 
lost  at  the  west  end  of  Neah  Bay  in  Jan.  1875;  no  lives  lost.  The  American 
ship  Emily  Farnum,  Austin  master,  struck  on  a  rock  off  Destruction  Island, 
Nov.  18th,  and  broke  up.  Two  men  were  drowned.  About  the  same  time  the 
schr  Sunshine  was  found  bottom  up,  off  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  She  had 
25  persons  on  board,  all  lost.  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  Dec.  11,  1875.  The 
bark  David  Hoadley  ran  ashore  on  Rocky  Point,  in  the  Straits,  Dec.  4,  1880, 
and  was  lost.  The  steam  tug-boat  Resolute  exploded  her  boiler  in  North  Bay, 
15  miles  from  Olympia,  Aug.  19,  1868;  six  lives  lost.  Olympia  Pac.  Tribune, 
Aug.  22,  1868.  The  most  shocking  calamity  in  the  way  of  shipwreck  which 
has  ever  happened  in  Washington  waters  occurred  in  the  loss  of  the  old  and 
unseaworthy  ocean  mail-steamer  Pacific,  Nov.  4,  1875.  She  left  Victoria  in  the 
morning,  and  in  the  evening,  about  40  miles  south  of  Cape  Flattery,  she  col  - 
lided  with  a  sailing  vessel  and  went  down  in  less  than  an  hour,  with  275  souls 
on  board.  Two  persons  only  were  saved.  The  two  saved,  who  were  picked 


WRECKS,  PILOTS,  AND  LIGHT-HOUSES.  335 

up  from  floating  debris  36  and  48  hours  after  the  wreck,  were  a  quartermas 
ter,  name  unknown,  and  a  Canadian,  Henry  Frederick  Jelly.  The  loss  of 
ship  and  cargo  was  estimated  at  $125,000,  and  the  treasure  on  board  at 
$88,000.  S.  F.  Call,  Nov.  9  and  11,  1875.  Since  this  disaster  three  large 
steam-colliers,  belonging  to  the  Central  Pacitic  R.  Co.,  have  been  wrecked — 
the  Mississippi,  burned  at  Seattle;  the  Tacoma,  going  ashore  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Umpqua;  and  the  Umatilla,  running  on  the  rocks  at  false  Cape  Flattery, 
all  within  the  years  1883-4.  The  two  lost  at  sea  were  doubtless  lost 
through  the  wrong  policy  of  the  company  in  employing  captains  unacquainted 
with  the  coast.  The  escape  of  vessels  from  shipwreck  for  many  years  on  the 
Sound,  where  there  was  no  system  of  pilotage  established,  and  light-houses 
were  wanting,  is  worthy  of  remark.  Pilotage  has  never  been  deemed  im 
portant,  owing  to  the  width  of  the  straits  and  the  depth  of  water;  but 
light-houses  have  been  urgently  demanded  of  congress  by  successive  legisla 
tures.  Pilotage  was  not  established  by  act  of  the  legislature  until  1S67-8. 
Wash.  Stat.,  1867-8,  33-9.  The  chairman  of  the  first  board  was  E.  S. 
Fowler,  and  the  secretary  James  G.  Swan.  During  1868  9  pilots  were  ap 
pointed,  4  of  whom  resigned,  and  one  was  dismissed.  The  service  was  not 
considered  remunerative,  and  was  alleged  to  be  unnecessary  by  many,  who 
contended  it  was  simply  taxing  commerce  for  the  benefit  of  individuals. 
Olympia  Transcript,  March  28  and  Oct.  3,  1868;  Port  Townsend  Message,  Oct. 
8,  1868;  Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1869,  app.  21-7;  Olympia  Wash.  Standard, 
Dec.  10,  1880.  The  organic  act  of  Oregon  territory  appropriated  fifteen 
thousand  dollars  for  the  construction  of  light-houses  at  Cape  Disappointment 
and  New  Dungeness,  and  for  buoys  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  U.  S.  Stat. 
1848-9,  323.  Another  act,  passed  a  fortnight  later,  making  appropriations 
for  light-houses  and  for  other  purposes,  appropriated  money  for  the  above- 
mentioned  lights,  and  for  another  on  Tatoosh  Island,  off  Cape  Flattery,  at  the 
entrance  to  the  Strait  of  Fuca.  H.  Misc.  Doc.,  vol.  i.  57,  31st cong.  Istsess. 
Congress,  in  Aug.  1854,  appropriated  §25,000  for  a  light-house  on  Blunt  or 
Smith  Island,  in  the  straits;  the  same  amount  for  a  light-house  at  Shoalwater 
Bay;  and  for  the  erection  of  the  Tatoosh  and  New  Dungeness  lights,  in  addi 
tion  to  any  balance  that  might  remain  in  the  treasury  after  the  completion  of 
the  Cape  Disappointment  light-house,  belonging  to  that  appropriation,  $39,000. 
Eight  thousand  dollars  was  also  granted  for  placing  buoys  at  the  entrances 
of  Shoalwater  Bay  and  New  Dungeness  harbor.  Cong.  Globe,  2249,  33d  cong. 
1st  sess. 

The  light  house  at  Cape  Disappointment  was  not  completed  as  soon  as  ex 
pected,  owing  to  the  loss  of  the  bark  Oriole  with  the  material  on  board  in  1853. 
The  contractors,  Gibbons  arid  Kelly,  recovered  §10,558  from  the  government 
for  the  loss  of  their  material.  //.  Ex.  Doc.,  113,  2-3.  Lieut  G.  H.  Derby 
was  appointed  to  superintend  the  construction  of  light-houses  on  the  Oregon 
and  Washington  coast  in  1854,  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  July  22,  1854, 
when  the  work  was  finally  begun  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  It  was  com 
pleted  about  1856,  and  orders  issued  to  begin  the  work  on  the  others;  but  the 
Indian  war  and  other  causes  delayed  operations  for  some  time.  The  first 
light  displayed  at  New  Dungeness  was  on  the  12th  of  Dec.  1857.  Ebey's  Jour 
nal,  MS.,  v.  203;  Light-house  board  rept,  in  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  3,  287,  35th  cong. 
2d  sess.  It  was  of  the  third  order  of  Fresnel.  Tatoosh  Island  light  was 
displayed  about  the  same  time.  These  two  light-houses  were  erected  under 
the  superintendency  of  Isaac  Smith.  Those  on  Blunt  Island  and  at  Shoal 
water  Bay  were  completed  in  1858.  In  1872  a  first-class  steam  fog-whistle 
was  added,  the  fog-bell  in  use  being  insufficient.  Gov.  's  mess. ,  in  Wash.  Jovr. 
House,  1858-9,  18.  The  Tatooshes  were  much  disturbed  by  the  light  on  the 
island;  they  said  it  kept  away  the  whales,  which  did  not  come  in  their  usual 
numbers  that  season.  Ind.  Aff.  Rept,  1858,  232,  236-8;  Davidson's  Coast  Pilot, 
1 79-80.  A  light-house  was  completed  and  light  exhibited  at  Admiralty  Head, 
or  Kellogg  Point,  on  Whidbey  Island,  in  Jan.  1861 ,  an  appropriation  of  twenty  - 
five  thousand  dollars  having  been  made  in  1856  for  this  purpose.  Finance 
Rept,  1861,  205;  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  Jan.  26,  1861;  U.  S.  Statutes, 


336  RESOURCES  AND  INDUSTRIES. 

1855-6.  The  light-house  board  in  their  report  for  1872  represented  that  the 
rapidly  increasing  commerce  of  Puget  Sound  demanded  an  increase  of  lights, 
and  asked  for  an  appropriation  of  $25,000  each  for  light-houses  at  Point  No- 
Point,  between  Port  Townsend  and  Seattle,  at  West  Point,  entrance  to 
D  wamish  Bay,  and  at  Point  Defiance,  nine  miles  north  of  Steilacoom.  To  erect 
a  steam  fog- whistle  at  New  Dungeness,  $8,000  was  asked  for.  Congress  in 
the  following  March  appropriated  the  required  sums  for  the  fog-whistle,  and 
for  a  light-house  at  Point  No-Point.  Cong.  Globe,  app.  271,  42dcong.  3dsess. ; 
Gov.'s  mess.,  in  Wash.  Jour.  Council,  1871,  app.  110;  //.  Ex.  Doc.,  2,  549- 
50,  42d  cong.  3d  sess.  A  bell  struck  by  machinery  at  interval  of  ten  seconds 
was  added  in  1880.  The  legislature  in  1858-9  petitioned  for  a  light-house  on 
Hood  Canal,  and  another  on  Point  Roberts,  the  most  northern  point  of  the 
straits  leading  into  the  gulf  of  Georgia.  The  next  legislature  memorialized 
congress  on  the  need  of  a  light  at  Gray  Harbor;  and  the  assembly  of  18GO-1 
asked  for  one  at  the  north-west  point  of  Vashon  Island,  another  at  the  entrance 
to  Bellingham  Bay,  and  a  third  at  Point  Hudson.  The  sum  of  $20,000  was 
appropriated  in  June  1860  for  a  light-house  at  Gray  Harbor,  but  nothing  hav 
ing  been  done  toward  erecting  one  in  1865,  the  legislative  assembly  of  that 
winter  memorialized  congress  on  the  subject.  The  number  of  light-houses  had 
not,  however,  been  added  to,  notwithstanding  periodical  memorials,  and  sug 
gestions  as  to  Alki  Point,  Foulweather  Bluff,  and  Cypress  Island,  in  addition 
to  those  before  prayed  for,  when  in  1876  negotiations  were  in  progress  to  pur 
chase  land  at  Point  No-Point  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  light  at  that 
place.  A  light  has  since  been  established  there.  There  were  in  1884  ten 
lights  on  the  whole  coast  of  Washington,  including  the  Strait  of  Fuca  and 
Puget  Sound;  on  Cape  Disappointment  or  Hancock,  one  of  the  1st  order, 
Shoal  water  Bay  one  of  the  4th  order;  Cape  Flattery  one  of  the  1st  order; 
Ediz  Hook  (Port  Angeles)  one  of  the  5th  order;  New  Dungeness  one  of  the 
3d  order;  Smith  or  Blunt  Island,  Admiralty  Head,  and  Point  Wilson  each 
one  of  the  4th  order;  Point  No-Point  one  of  the  5th,  and  at  West  or  Sandy 
Point  one  of  the  4th  order.  A  light  of  the  1st  class  can  be  seen  about  20 
miles,  of  the  5th  half  that  distance.  List  of  Light-houses,  1884,  66. 

An  act  of  congress  approved  June  20,  1874,  authorized  the  establishment 
of  three  life-boat  stations  on  the  coast  of  Washington,  with  keepers  at  $200 
a  year.  Life-Saving  Service  Rept,  1876,  55-7.  The  act,  on  account  of  many 
imperfections,  was  practically  inoperative.  To  remedy  this  inefficiency,  con 
gress  in  1878  passed  another  act  organizing  the  service  into  a  regular  estab 
lishment  under  a  general  superintendent,  whose  powers  and  duties  were  de 
fined  by  law,  prolonging  the  period  of  active  service  from  the  first  of  Sept.  to 
the  first  of  May,  increasing  the  pay  of  the  keepers,  and  extending  their  func 
tions  so  as  to  include  those  of  inspectors  of  customs,  and  detailing  officers  of 
the  revenue  marine  corps  for  the  duty  of  inspecting  these  stations.  The  sta 
tions  authorized  in  1 874  were  at  Neah  Bay,  on  the  Indian  reservation ;  at 
Shoalwater  Bay  near  the  light-house  landing;  and  at  Baker's  Bay,  Cape  Dis 
appointment.  These  three  life-saving  stations  were  not  completed  until  1878, 
and  cannot  be  regarded  as  of  very  great  value,  since  they  are  dependent  upon 
the  services  of  volunteers,  who  might  not  be  at  hand  in  the  moment  of  need. 

From  a  memorial  passed  by  the  legislature  of  1859-60,  it  appears  that  a 
marine  hospital  being  necessary,  I.  N.  Ebey,  then  collector  of  customs  at  Port 
Townsend  for  the  district  of  Puget  Sound,  entered  into  a  contract  with 
Samuel  McCurdy,  April  2,  1885,  to  receive  into  his  hospital  all  sick  and 
disabled  seamen,  and  provide  for  them  the  proper  medical  attendance,  with 
board  and  lodging,  for  the  sum  of  four  dollars  per  day  for  each  patient.  In 
Nov.  McCurdy  joined  the  volunteer  service  as  surgeon  of  the  northern  bat 
talion,  and  remained  with  it  until  it  disbanded  in  1856,  when  he  renewed  his 
contract  with  Ebey's  successor,  M.  H.  Frost,  at  the  price  of  three  dollars  per 
day  for  each  patient,  continuing  to  receive  and  provide  for  disabled  seamen 
until  July  1858,  when  the  contract  passed  into  other  hands,  McCurdy  having 
received  nothing  for  his  services  and  outlay.  Wash.  StaL,  1859-60,  503.  Mc 
Curdy  had  several  successors.  P.  M.  O'Brien,  who  died  a  resident  of  San  Jose", 


LUMBER  TRADE.  337 

Cal.,  was  at  one  time  medical  director  of  the  marine  hospital  at  Port  Townsend, 
but  being  in  sympathy  with  rebellion,  bis  resignation  was  desired  and  accepted. 
O'Brien  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Hibemia  Bank  of  S.  F. ,  and  died 
wealthy.  Quit/ley's  Irish  Race,  475-6.  One  of  the  most  worthy  and  success 
ful  of  the  directors  was  T.  T.  Minor,  who  was  for  several  years  in  charge,  and 
made  many  improvements.  Minor  was  born  in  Conn.,  and  educated  at  Yale 
college,  where  he  was  studying  medicine  when  the  war  of  the  rebellion  began. 
Although  but  17  years  of  age  he  enlisted  as  a  private,  and  was  assigned  to 
the  medical  department  in  Higginson's  IstS.  C.  colored  regiment.  In  1864  ho 
was  promoted  to  be  surgeon.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  his 
studies  at  New  Haven.  In  1868  he  was  appointed  to  visit  Alaska  and  make 
a  collection  illustrative  of  the  resources  of  that  territory.  On  his  return  lie 
settled  at  Port  Townsend  and  took  charge  of  the  marine  hospital,  while 
also  conducting  a  private  hospital.  Portland  West  Shore,  Dec.  1876. 

The  chief  article  of  export  since  1851  has  been  lumber.  The  piles  and 
squared  timbers  constituting  the  earliest  shipments  were  cut  by  settlers  and 
ship  crews  and  dragged  by  hand  to  the  water's  edge.  The  skippers  paid  eight 
cents  a  foot  for  piles  delivered  alongside  the  vessel,  and  sold  them  in  S.  F. 
for  a  dollar  a  foot.  Among  the  first  vessels  after  the  Orbit  and  the  George 
Emory  to  load  with  timber  was  the  G.  W.  Kendall.  She  was  sent  to  Puget 
Sound  toward  spring  in  1851  to  get  a  cargo  of  ice  by  her  owner,  Samuel 
Merritt  of  S.  F.  When  he  returned  the  captain  met  Merritt  with  the  an 
nouncement,  'Doctor,  water  don't  freeze  in  Puget  Sound!'  But  he  had 
brought  back  a  profitable  cargo  of  piles,  and  the  doctor  was  consoled  for  his 
disappointment.  Contemporary  Biog.,  ii.  94.  Getting  out  spars  became  a 
regular  business  before  1856.  Thomas  Cranney  was  one  of  the  first  to  make 
it  a  trade,  about  1S55.  He  says  he  had  9  yokes  of  cattle,  with  ropes  and 
blocks  equal  to  90  more,  and  with  all  this  power  was  from  2  to  3  clays  getting 
out  one  spar.  But  after  he  had  completed  his  expensive  education,  he  could 
haul  '2  in  a  day  with  a  single  block  and  lead.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xxii. 
47-8.  On  the  island  of  Caamafio,  in  1858,  a  company  of  Irish  Canadians  were 
getting  out  masts  for  shipment  to  Europe.  Itossi's  Souvenirs,  165;  Stevens' 
Northwest,  9-10.  For  this  market  the  timber  had  to  be  hewed  to  an  eight- 
sided  form  from  end  to  end.  For  the  China  market  they  were  hewed  square 
to  where  they  pass  through  the  vessel's  deck,  and  above  that  round  to  the 
end  of  the  stick.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xxii.  48.  Later  they  were 
made  square  to  avoid  import  duties.  A  skidded  road  was  prepared  on  which 
the  spar  was  to  run,  a  heavy  block  was  made  fast  to  it,  and  another  to  a  tree 
ahead,  the  oxen  slowly  pulling  it  by  the  rope  between,  along  the  track,  the 
forward  block  being  shifted  farther  ahead  as  the  spar  advanced,  until  the  chute 
was  reached,  which  conducted  it  to  the  vessel.  S.  F.  Alta,  Oct.  20,  1862.  In 
loading  spars  some  space  is  necessarily  left,  which  is  filled  in  with  pickets 
and  lath  from  the  mills.  Morse's  W(ish.  Ter.,  MS.,  xxii.  48.  But  previous  to 
this,  as  early  as  1855,  the  bark  Anadyr,  Capt.  J.  H.  Swift,  sailed  from  Utsa- 
lady  with  a  cargo  of  spars,  consigned  to  the  French  navy-yard  at  Brest.  The 
shipment  was  made  by  Breunan  and  Thompson  to  fill  a  contract  made  by 
Isaac  Friedlander  of  S.  F.  In  1857  the  same  ship  took  a  cargo  of  spars  from 
Utsalady  to  the  English  navy-yard  at  Chatham.  The  spars  sent  to  France 
were  subjected  to  rigid  tests,  and  found  equal  to  the  best.  Since  1856  spara 
have  been  regularly  sent  to  these  markets,  and  to  Spain,  Mauritius,  China, 
and  elsewhere.  The  Dutch  ship  Williamberrj,  in  1856,  took  out  over  100 
spars  from  80  to  120  feet  long,  and  from  30  to  43  inches  diameter  at  the  but, 
the  largest  weighing  from  18  to  20  tons  apiece.  S.  F.  Alta,  Dec.  29,  1856; 
Sac.  Union,  Nov.  13,  1857.  The  first  vessel  direct  from  China  that  ever  ar 
rived  in  Puget  Sound  was  the  Lizzie  Jarvis,  in  Oct.  1858,  to  load  with  spars 
for  that  empire.  In  1860  the  first  cargo  of  yellow-fir  spars  was  shipped  to  the 
Atlantic  ports  of  the  U.  S.  in  the  Lawmii,  of  Bath,  Maine.  These  sticks  were 
from  GO  to  118  feet  in  length,  and  were  furnished  by  the  Port  Gamble  mill 
company.  Port  Townsend  Northwest,  Aug.  1860.  In  the  following  year 
HIST.  WASH.— 22 


338  RESOURCES  AND  INDUSTRIES. 

the  ship  Indiaman  loaded  with  spars  at  Utsalady  for  the  Spanish  naval  sta 
tion  near  St  Urbes,  and  the  ship  True.  Briton  for  London.  Id.,  Oct.  '20,  1SG1; 
Wash.  Scraps,  20;  Seattle  Intelligencer,  Aug.  20,  1879.  The  annual  shipment 
is  about  three  cargoes.  In  18G9  2,000  spars  were  shipped,  at  a  value  of 
$2,067,000.  Scammon,  in  Overland  Monthly,  v.  GO. 

Milled  lumber,  owing  to  the  necessities  of  California,  was  early  in  demand 
on  Puget  Sound.  From  the  date  when  Yesler  first  established  a  steam-mill 
at  Seattle  there  has  been  a  forward  progress  in  the  facilities  and  extent  of 
this  h'rst  of  manufactures,  until  in  1879,  a  year  of  depression,  the  estimated 
product  of  the  Sound  mills  was  120,500,000  feet.  The  pioneer  lumbering  es 
tablishment  on  Puget  Sound  was  erected  in  1847,  by  M.  T.  Simmons  and  as 
sociates,  at  Tumwater,  as  I  have  said.  Its  first  shipment  was  in  1848,  when 
the  H.  B.  Co.'s  str  Beaver  took  a  cargo  for  their  northern  posts.  Olympla 
Transcript,  May  23,  1868.  The  second  saw-mill  was  erected  by  James  Mc 
Allister,  in  1851.  It  was  a  small  gate  or  sash  mill  driven  by  water-power, 
cutting  from  500  to  1,000  feet  per  day.  Wash.  Ter.  True  Exhibit,  1880.  59; 
£>ayt»n  Dem.  State  Jour.,  Nov.  17,  1882.  A.  S.  Abernethy  erected  a  water- 
power  mill  at  Oak  Point  on  the  Columbia  in  1848-9.  In  1872  it  was  turn 
ing  out  4,000,000  feet  of  lumber  annually.  Victor's  Or.  and  Wash.,  64.  In  the 
winter  of  1852-3  Yesler  put  up  a  steam  saw-mill  at  Seattle,  which  turned  out 
from  10,000  to  15,000  feet  per  day.  The  sawdust  was  used  in  filling  in  marshy 
ground  on  the  beach,  where  it  forms  a  considerable  part  of  the  water-front  of 
the  city.  The  mill-waste  and  slabs  were  converted  into  a  wharf.  The  mill 
was  rebuilt  in  1868.  Ten  years  afterward  the  old  machinery  was  in  use  in 
a  grist-mill  at  Seattle.  Yesler's  Settlement  of  Seattle,  MS.,  1,  3,  7. 

In  1852  a  mill  was  erected  at  Shoalwater  Bay  by  David  K.  Weldon  and 
George  Watkins.  Swan's  N.  W.  Coast,  64-5.  In  the  spring  of  1853  Nicholas 
Delin,  M.  T.  Simmons,  and  Smith  Hays  formed  a  partnership  to  erect  two 
mills,  one  at  the  head  of  Commencement  Bay,  and  the  other  upon  Skookum 
Bay,  north-west  of  Olympia.  The  first  was  completed  in  May,  and  2  cargoes 
of  lumber  were  shipped  on  the  George  Emory  to  S.  F. ;  but  the  mill  proved  to 
be  badly  situated,  and  was  abandoned,  even  before  the  Indian  war.  Evans, 
in  New  Tacoma  Ledger,  July  9,  1880.  A  mill  was  built  in  the  winter  of 
1852-3  at  Whatcom,  Belliugham  Bay,  by  Roder  &  Peabody,  but  water 
failed  in  summer.  Its  capacity  wras  4,000  feet  per  day  during  high  water.  It 
was  burned  in  1873,  and  not  rebuilt,  fioder's  Bellinyham  Bay,  MS.,  17;  El- 
dridfje's  Sketch,  MS.,  4.  At  Port  Ludlow,  G.  K.  Thorndike,  in  1852,  began 
erecting  a  mill;  in  the  spring  following  he  was  joined  by  W.  T.  Say  ward 
of  S.  F.,  and  a  large  steam-mill  built.  In  1858  it  was  leased  to  Arthur  Phin- 
ney  for  $500  a  month,  who  finally,  in  1874,  purchased  the  property.  Say- 
ward's  Pioneer  Reminiscences,  MS.,  34.  Phinney  died  in  1887,  and  on  the 
settlement  of  the  estate  the  mill  was  boiight  by  the  Puget  Mill  Co.  for  $64,000. 
Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xiii.  1-2;  S.  F.  Chronicle,  Nov.  9,  1878.  Another 
large  mill  was  begun  in  1852  by  the  Puget  Mill  Co.,  at  Port  Gamble,  by  Jo- 
siah  P.  Keller,  W.  C.  Talbot,  and  Andrew  J.  Pope.  A  village  sprung  up, 
originally  called  Teekalet.  These  proprietors  purchased  large  tracts  of  tim 
ber.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xxii.  43.  The  capacity  of  the  Port  Gamble 
mill  in  1879  was  36,000,000  feet  annually.  ' 

In  1852  Edmund  Martin,  J.  J.  Phelps,  and  Ware  built  a  steam-mill  at 
Appletree  Cove  on  the  west  side  of  Admiralty  Inlet.  Martin  was  afterward 
a  large  liquor-dealer  in  S.  F.,  and  cashier  of  the  Hibernia  Bank.  He  died 
about  1880.  Before  this  mill  was  fairly  in  successful  operation  it  was  sold  to 
G.  A.  Meigs  in  1853,  who  removed  it  to  Port  Madison  the  same  year.  In 
Dec.  1854  it  was  burned,  but  rebuilt,  and  in  March  1861  the  boilers  of  the 
new  mill  exploded,  killing  6  men  and  stopping  work  for  2  weeks,  when  it 
resumed  and  ran  until  May  1864,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  but  was 
again  rebuilt.  In  1872  the  firm  was  Meigs  &  Gawley.  Owing  to  basinesa 
complications  and  embarrassments  from  losses,  it  was  not  until  1877  that 
Meigs  was  able  to  clear  the  establishment,  and  to  associate  with  himself  others 
who  formed  the  Meigs  Lumber  and  Ship-building  Company.  Of  all  the 


MILLS  ON  THE  SOUND.  339 

Numbering  establishments  none  were  more  complete  than  this.  Its  ca 
pacity  iii  1880  was  200,000  feet  in  12  hours,  and  it  could  cut  logs  132  feet  long. 
It  has  an  iron  and  brass  foundery,  machine,  blacksmith,  and  carpenter  shops, 
and  ship-yard.  The  village  was  a  model  one,  with  neat  dwellings  tor  the  opera 
tives,  a  public  hall,  library,  hotel,  and  store.  Masonic  and  good  templar's 
lodges,  with  dancing  assemblies,  lectures,  and  out-door  sports,  were  features  of 
the  place.  About  300  people  were  employed,  and  no  liquor  sold  in  the  place. 
Miegs  was  a  Vermonter.  Yesler^  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  5-6;  Murphy  and  Harned's 
P.  S.  Directory,  1872,  147;  Seattle  Pac.  Tribune,  Aug.  17,  1877,  Scammon,  in 
Overland  Monthly,  v.  59;  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xxii.  44-6.  Another  of  the 
early  mills  was  that  of  Port  Orchard.  It  was  first  put  up  at  Alki  Point,  called 
New  York,  by  C.  0.  Terry  and  William  H.  Renton  in  1853-4,  but  removed 
after  2  or  3  years  to  Port  Orchard,  which  had  a  better  harbor.  The  mill  was 
afterward  sold  to  Coleman  and  Glynden,  who  rebuilt  it  in  1868-9,  but  became 
bankrupt,  and  the  mill  was  burned  before  any  capital  came  to  relieve  it. 
Ydfler's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  4-5;  Seattle  Intelligencer,  March  11,  1869.  After 
selling  the  Port  Orchard  mill,  Renton  &  Howard  went  to  Port  Blakeley,  Ktlfiiles 
distant  from  and  opposite  to  Seattle,  and  erected  a  large  lumbering  establish 
ment,  costing  $80,000,  and  capable  of  turning  out  50,000  feet  a  day.  It  began 
sawing  in  April  1864,  cutting  an  average  of  19,000,000  feet  annually  down  to 
18SO,  when  its  capacity  was  increased  to  200,000  per  day.  Howard  died 
before  the  completion  of  the  mill,  in  1863,  and  the  firm  incorporated  as  Renton, 
Holmes  &  Co.,  but  in  1876  became  again  incorporated  as  the  Port  Blakeley 
Mill  Company,  with  a  capital  of  $600,000.  Wash.  Ter.  True  Exhibit,  1880, 
GO.  This  mill  shipped,  in  1883,  54,000,000  feet  of  lumber,  and  could  cut  200,- 
003  feet  in  12  hours.  It  had  80  saws  of  all  kinds;  19  boilers  and  7  engines, 
with  a  united  power  of  1,200  horse.  It  was  lighted  by  16  electric  lights,  and 
was  every  way  the  most  complete  lumbering  establishment  in  this,  if  not  in 
any,  country.  In  1858  the  frame  of  the  Utsalady  mill  was  hewn  out  for  Gren- 
nau  &  Cranney,  who  began  sawing  in  Feb.  1858.  The  sole  owner  in  Dec.  1869 
was  Thomas  Crauney.  In  1873,  Cranney  &  Chisholm  owned  it;  but  in  1876 
it  was  sold  to  the  Puget  Mill  Co.  for  about  $35,000,  and  was  closed  for  two 
years.  It  cut  for  11  years  an  average  of  17,000,000  feet  annually,  and  after 
ward  more  than  double  that  amount.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xxii.  43,  47-8. 
In  1858-9  S.  L.  Mastick  &  Co.  of  S.  F.  erected  a  mill  at  Port  Discovery, 
which  iu  the  first  18  months  cut  8,500,000  feet  of  lumber.  It  employed  iu 
1871  50  men,  and  turned  out  12,000,000  feet  of  lumber  and  200,000  laths. 
This  amount  was  increased  in  1874  to  18,000,000  feet  annually,  but  dropped 
to  12,000,000  from  1875  to  1879;  since  which  time  its  capacity  has  been 
doubled.  Id.,  MS.,  xxiii.  2-3;  Portland  Orer/onian,  May  29,  1875.  In  1862  a 
firm  known  as  the  Washington  Mill  Company,  consisting  of  Marshall  Blinii, 
W.  J.  Adams,  John  R.  Williamson,  W.  B.  Sinclair,  and  Hill  Harmon,  built 
a  mill  at  Seabeck  on  Hood  Canal,  with  an  average  capacity  of  11,000,000 
feet  per  annum,  at  a  cost  of  $80,000.  Blinn  &  Adams  were  the  principal 
owners.  In  1879  Adams  was  sole  proprietor.  The  establishment  owned  two 
vessels,  the  Cassandra  Adams  and  the  Dublin.  In  1865  J.  R.  Williamson 
and  others  built  a  mill  at  Freeport  (now  Milton),  opposite  Seattle,  which  was 
sold  to  Marshall  &  Co.,  about  1874.  Its  capacity  was  about  35,000  feet 
per  day.  In  1868  Ackerson  &  Russ  of  Cal.  erected  a  mill  at  Tacoma  (then 
called  Commencement  City).  In  1877  the  firm  was  Hanson,  Ackerman  &  Co., 
and  the  mill  was  cutting  over  81,000  feet  per  day.  New  Tacoma  Ledger,  May 
7,  1880;  Olympia  Transcript,  Feb.  15,  1870;  Portland  West  Shore,  Oct.  1877. 
Of  local  mills  and  those  connected  with  other  manufacturers,  run  by  water  or 
by  steam,  there  were  about  50  others  in  western  Washington,  on  Gray  Harbor, 
Shoalwater  Bay,  the  Willopah,  Chehalis,  Cowlitz,  and  Columbia  rivers,  and 
scattered  through  the  settlements. 

In  a  review  of  the  market  for  1880  it  was  stated  that  the  capacity  of  the 
Puget  Sound  mills  was  about  two  hundred  million  feet  a  year,  and  the  ship 
ments  about  eight  million  feet  under  that.  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  Jan.  27, 
1883;  Commercial  Herald,  in  La  Conner  P.  S.  Mail,  Feb.  12,  1881.  The 


.340  RESOURCES  AND  INDUSTRIES. 

capacity  of  these  mills  is  given  in  1883  as  1,306,000  feet  daily,  or  over  three 
hundred  millions  annually. 

An  interesting  feature  of  the  lumber  business  is  that  part  of  it  known  as 
'  logging,'  which  is  carried  on  by  companies,  on  an  extensive  scale.  Wilkexoii's 
Puget  Sound,  13-14;  Rept  of  Com.  Agriculture,  1875,  332;  Evans1  Wash.  Ter., 
41-2;  Dayton  Dem,  State  Journal,  Nov.  17,  1882. 

The  second  most  important  article  of  export  from  Washington  5a  coal. 
The  first  discoveries  were  made  in  the  Cowlitz  Valley  in  1 848,  whence  several 
barrels  were  shipped  to  Cal.  to  be  tested,  but  which  was  condemned  as  a  pool- 
quality  of  lignite.  Lewis'  Coal  Discov.,  MS.,  8,  13;  S.  I.  Polynesian,  v.  2,  7; 
Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  ii.  57.  About  that  time,  or  previous  to  1850,  a 
Frenchman  named  Remeau  discovered  coal  on  the  Skookum  Chuck,  which 
created  considerable  interest  at  Olympia,  and  was  the  motive  whicli  inspired 
the  first  idea  of  a  railroad  toward  the  Columbia,  a  survey  being  made  by  J. 
W.  Trutchin  the  autumn  of  1852.  In  1849  Samuel  Hancock,  while  trading 
with  the  Lummi,  was  told  that  they  had  seen  black  stones  at  Bellingham  Bay. 
Subsequently  he  found  coal  on  the  Stillaquamish,  but  was  forbidden  to  work 
it  by  the  Indians  who  told  him  of  it.  Hancock's  Thirteen  Years,  MS.,  145-9, 
174;  Olympia  Columbian,  Oct.  16,  1852. 

In  1850  H.  A.  Goldsborough  explored  several  affluents  of  Puget  Sound  and 
found  croppings  of  coal  on  a  number  of  them,  of  which  an  analysis  was  made 
in  Feb.  1851,  by  Walter  R.  Johnson  for  the  secretary  of  the  navy.  About 
this  time  the  P.  M.  S.  Co.  employed  agents  to  explore  for  coal  in  Oregon  and 
Washington,  one  of  whom,  YVilliam  A.  Howard,  afterward  in  the  revenue 
service,  together  with  E.  D.  Warbass,  made  an  expedition  from  the  Chebalis 
up  the  coast  to  a  point  north  of  Quinault.  Meanwhile  William  Pattle,  an 
English  subject,  who  was  looking  for  spar  timber  among  the  islands  of  the 
Haro  archipelago,  found  coal  at  Bellingham  Bay  in  Oct.  1852,  and  took  a 
claim  on  the  land  just  south  of  the  town  site  of  Sehome  as  subsequently  lo 
cated.  Two  other  claims  were  taken  adjoining  by  Pattle's  associates,  Morri 
son  and  Thomas.  They  succeeded  in  negotiating  with  a  company  called  the 
Puget  Sound  Coal  Mining  Association.  From  1860  to  1879  there  was  an 
average  annual  yield  of  thirteen  thousand  tons.  Another  coal  deposit  was 
discovered  in  1862  on  the  Strait  of  Fuca  not  far  from  Clallam  Bay,  by  J.  K. 
Thorndike,  and  in  1867  was  organized  the  Phoenix  Coal  Mining  Co. 

The  earliest  attempted  development  of  coal  west  of  Admiralty  Inlet  wag 
by  Dr  R.  H.  Bigelow,  who  partially  opened  a  coal  vein  on  Black  River, 
known  as  the  Bigelow  mine,  lying  about  ten  miles  south-east  from  Seattle. 
There  was  no  means  of  getting  coal  to  navigable  water  without  expensive  im 
provements  in  roads  and  barges,  and  the  mine  was  abandoned.  About  1867 
S.  B.  Hinds  &  Co.  of  Seattle  purchased  the  claim,  and  sunk  a  shaft  to  the 
vein,  a  distance  of  70  feet;  but  the  mine  never  became  productive  of  market 
able  coals. 

East  of  Seattle  several  discoveries  were  made  about  1859,  some  of  which 
have  proved  valuable.  David  Mowery,  a  Pa  German,  found  coal  on  his  claim 
in  the  Squak  Valley,  fourteen  miles  east  of  the  Sound.  With  W.  B.  Andrews, 
he  took  out  a  few  tons,  which  were  disposed  of  in  Seattle.  At  a  later  date, 
William  Thompson  also  mined  in  this  coal  to  a  small  extent,  when  it  was 
abandoned.  Lewis'  Coal  Discoveries,  MS.,  1.  A  claim  of  160  acres  of  coal 
land  eleven  miles  south-east  of  Seattle  was  taken  up  in  1863  by  Philip  H. 
Lewis,  and  work  begun  upon  it  in  the  following  year.  Lewis  was  born  in 
111.  in  1828,  and  came  to  Or.  from  Cal.  in  1851.  His  example  was  followed 
by  Edwin  Richardson,  who  took  a  claim  next  to  him,  while  Josiah  Settle 
claimed  another  quarter-section  adjoining.  Richardson  changed  his  location, 
more  than  once,  finally  fixing  upon  the  one  later  worked  by  the  Seattle  Coal 
and  Transportation  Co.  The  original  owners  opened  a  road  in  1867,  and 
brought  out  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  in  wagons,  which  was  sold  for  ten 
dollars  a  ton  at  the  wharf  in  Seattle,  and  burned  on  some  of  the  steamers  that 
plied  on  the  Sound.  The  mine  was  then  sought  for,  and  a  company  consist- 


COAL  MINES.  341 

ing  of  Daniel  Bagley,  George  F.  Whitworth,  P.  H.  Lewis,  Josiah  Settle,  and 
Saiucius  Gartk-lde,  called  tlie  Lake  Washington  Company,  was  formed.  Bag- 
ley  purchased  the  Richardson  claim  and  a  portion  of  each  of  the  other  two, 
\\  hitworth  owning  a  part  of  Lewis'  claim.  Clarence  Bagley  and  Garfielde 
took  up  some  additional  land,  which  went  into  the  company  organization. 
The  object  of  the  new  arrangement  was  to  get  a  rail  or  tram  road  from  the 
east  side  of  Lake  Washington  to  the  coal  beds.  A  company  was  formed,  and 
an  act  passed  by  the  legislature  of  18GG-7  incorporating  the  Coal  Creek  Road 
Company.  Wash.  Stat.,  18G6-7,  202-3.  The  road  company  was  composed  of 
W.  W.  Perkins,  John  Denny,  Henry  L.  Yesler,  John  J.  McGilvra,  C.  J. 
Noyes,  C.  H.  Hale,  and  Lewis  C.  Gunn.  Capital  stock  §5,000,  with  power 
to  increase  to  §500,000.  In  Aug.  following  the  mining  company  incorporated 
as  the  Lake  Washington  Company,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $500,000,  with  the 
privilege  of  increasing  it  to  a  million.  Lewis  withdrew  from  the  mining  or 
ganization,  after  which  it  sold  out,  in  1870,  to  Ruel  Robinson,  Amos  Hurst, 
and  others,  residents  of  Seattle,  for  $25,000,  all  the  land  that  had  been  put 
in  being  included  in  the  sale,  the  new  organization  styling  itself  the  Seattle 
Coal  Company.  Under  the  new  management  there  was  a  tramway  built  from, 
the  mine  to  Lake  Washington,  and  a  wooden  road  on  the  west  side  of  the 
lake  to  Seattle.  A  scow  was  built  for  transportation  across  the  lake;  a  small 
steamer,  the  Phfmtom,  was  constructed  for  towing.  In  1872  Robinson  sold  to 
C.  B.  Shattuck  and  others  of  S.  F.  for  $51,000,  and  capital  put  in;  since 
which  the  Seattle  mine  has  produced  well,  and  been  a  profitable  investment. 
The  company  had  steam  tow-boats  on  lakes  Washington  and  Union,  the  Clara 
and  Chchalis,  connecting  with  the  tramway  from  the  mine  across  the  isthmus 
between  the  lakes,  and  from  Lake  Union  to  the  wharf  in  Seattle.  The  flat- 
boats  were  run  upon  trucks  across  the  isthmus,  and  thence  across  the  second 
lake,  to  avoid  handling.  Meekcr's  Wash.  Ter.;  McFarlan's  Coal  Region*; 
Goudyear's  Coal  Mines,  106-7;  Seattle  Intelligencer,  Sept.  11,  1871. 

The  discovery  next  in  point  of  time  and  importance  to  the  Seattle  coal  was 
that  of  the  Renton  mine.  David  Mowery  first  made  the  discovery,  but  not 
thinking  well  of  the  coal,  sold  the  claim  to  Robert  Abrams  about  1800.  It 
was  not  until  1873  that  it  was  again  remembered,  when  E.  M.  Smithers,  on 
his  adjoining  claim,  found  pieces  of  coal  in  a  small  stream  on  his  farm,  and 
following  up  the  indications,  tunnelled  into  the  hill  where  they  appeared, 
striking  at  the  distance  of  100  feet  two  horizontal  ledges  of  pure  coal  extend 
ing  into  it.  Having  demonstrated  the  contents  of  his  land,  he  sold  it  for 
$25,000  to  Ruel  Robinson,  who  also  purchased  the  adjoining  lands  of  Abrams 
and  McAllister.  A  company  was  at  once  formed,  with  a  capital  of  $300,000. 
A  number  of  mines  have  been  prospected,  and  a  great  abundance  of  coal 
found  to  exist  on  the  east  side  of  the  Sound.  Among  others  was  the  Cedar 
Mountain  mine,  on  the  same  ridge  with  the  Renton;  and  near  the  junction  of 
Cedar  and  Black  rivers  the  Clymer  mine  was  discovered  at  an  early  day  on 
the  land  of  C.  Clymer.  On  the  Stillaquamish,  the  Snohomish,  and  the  Skagit 
rivers,  coal  was  known  to  exist.  La  lloque's  Skagit  Mines,  MS.,  21.  It  had 
long  been  known  by  some  of  the  early  residents  of  the  Puyallup  Valley  that 
coal  was  to  be  found  there.  Eastwick's  Purjet  Sound,  MS. ,  3.  The  first  actual 
prospecting  was  done  by  Gale  and  two  half-breeds  named  Flett.  This  small 
company  took  a  mining  claim  in  187-1,  drifting  in  about  sixty  feet,  on  a  vein 
discovered  on  Flett  Creek,  a  tributary  of  South  Prairie  Creek,  which  is  a 
branch  of  the  Puyallup.  During  the  same  season  E.  L.  Smith  of  Olympia,  a 
surveyor,  discovered  coal  about  half  a  mile  north  of  the  Gale  mine,  on  laud 
belonging  to  the  Northern  Pacific  R.  Co.,  which  led  to  an  examination  of  the 
country  over  an  area  of  twenty-five  square  miles  in  the  coal  district. 

It  is  conjectured  that  the  region  about  Steilacoom  is  underlaid  with  a  coal 
deposit.  But  it  is  farther  south  than  this  that  the  actual  discoveries  have 
been  made.  In  1 865  a  vein  was  found  upon  the  land  of  Wallace  and  P.  W. 
Crawford  opposite  to  and  two  miles  above  Monticello.  The  (Construction  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  from  the  Columbia  to  the  Sound  revived  the 
interest  in  the  coal-fields  of  the  region  south  of  Olympia.  J.  B.  Montgomery, 


342 


RESOURCES  AND  INDUSTRIES. 


contractor  upon  that  road,  in  187'2  purchased  nine  hundred  acres  of  coal  lands 
near  the  Chehalis  River  between  Claquato  and  Skookum  Chuck,  and  two  miles 
west  of  the  road.  It  was  proposed  to  clear  the  obstructions  from  the  Chehalis 
sufficiently  to  enable  a  steamer  to  tow  barges  from  Claquato  to  Gray  Harbor 
for  ocean  shipment,  hut  this  scheme  has  not  been  carried  out. 

In  1873  the  Tenino  mine,  within  half  a  mile  of  the  Northern  Pacific  road 
track,  was  prospected  by  Ex-gov.  E.  S.  Salomon  and  Col  F.  Bee  of  S.  F. 
The  Olympia  and  Tenino  R.  Co.  took  shares,  and  called  it  the  Olympia 
Railway  and  Mining  Co. 


KINO  COUNTY  COAL-FIKLDS. 

Another  mine  near  Chehalis  station  on  the  Northern  Pacific  was  opened 
in  1875  by  Rosen  thai,  a  merchant  of  Olympia. 

A  mine  known  as  the  Seatco,  situated  on  land  owned  by  T.  F.  McElroy 
and  Oliver  Shead  of  Olympia,  near  the  Skookum  Chuck  station,  was  opened 
in  1877.  In  the  autumn  of  1879  it  had  a  daily  capacity  of  fifty  tons. 

Coal-oil  has  been  discovered  in  some  parts  of  these  extensive  coal  regions. 
George  Waunch,  of  pioneer  antecedents,  sent  samples  to  Portland,  in  1808, 
from  the  Skookum  Chuck  district.  It  was  also  found  in  the  Puyallup  Valley 
near  Elhi  in^  1882.  The  annual  production  was  estimated  in  1880,  for  the 
whole'of  Washington,  to  be  161,708  tons. 

Gold  and  silver  mining  is  still  carried  on  in  Washington,  although  as  an  in- 


GOLD  AND  SILVER.  343 

tlustry  it  is  comparatively  small.  For  the  year  ending  in  May  1880,  the  total 
value  of  the  deep  mine  production  was  reported  at  §22,036,  the  principal  part 
of  this  being  from  the  Peshoston  district  in  the  Yakima  country,  and  of  placer 
mines  $120,010.  In  1881  the  yield  was  not  much'  if  any  more,  and  in  1883 
the  production  of  the  precious  metals  had  fallen  off  from  former  figures,  not 
reaching  to  8100,000.  This  is  not  altogether  from  a  poverty  of  resources,  but 
is  partly  due  to  the  more  sure  and  rapid  returns  from  other  industries  which 
have  been  enjoyed  in  eastern  Washington  for  the  last  decade.  The  Yakima 
country  was  the  first  to  give  any  returns  from  quartz-mining.  The  gold  ia 
free-milling,  and  it  is  believed  will  give  place  at  a  greater  depth  to  silver. 


EASTERN  WASHINGTON. 


The  total  amount  of  land  surveyed  in  Washington  down  to  June  1880  was 
15, 959,1 7o  out  of  the  44,796, 100  acres  constituting  the  area  of  the  state.  For 
many  years  the  fortunate  combination  of  soil  and  climate  in  eastern  Washing 
ton,  whereby  all  the  cereals  can  be  produced  in  the  greatest  abundance  and 
of  the  highest  excellence,  was  not  understood.  The  first  settlers  in  the  Walla 
Walla  Valley  went  there  to  raise  cattle  on  the  nutritious  bunch-grass  which 
gave  their  stock  so  round  an  appearance* with  such  glossy  hides.  The  gold 
crusade  carried  thither  merchants  and  settlers  of  another  sort,  and  it  war 
found  that  people  must  eat  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth  in  the  country  where 


344  RESOURCES  AND  INDUSTRIES. 

their  tents  were  pitched.  This  necessity  led  to  farming,  at  first  in  the  creek 
valleys,  then  on  the  hill-sides,  and  lastly  on  the  tops  of  the  hills  quite  away 
from  the  possibility  of  irrigation,  where  to  everybody's  surprise  wheat  grew 
the  best  of  all.  It  then  began  to  be  known  that  where  bunch-grass  would 
naturally  grow,  wheat  especially,  and  the  other  cereals,  would  flourish  sur 
prisingly.  The  area  of  wheat  land  in  eastern  Washington  has  been  estimated 
as  capable  of  yielding,  under  ordinary  culture,  more  than  a  hundred  million 
bushels  annually,  50  to  GO  bushels  to  the  acre  being  no  uncommon  return. 
Message  of  Governor  Ferry,  1878,  4-6. 

The  soil  which  is  so  fruitful  is  a  dark  loam,  composed  of  a  deep  rich  allu 
vial  deposit,  combined  with  volcanic  ash,  overlying  a  clay  subsoil.  On  the 
hills  and  southern  exposures  the  clay  comes  nearer  to  the  surface.  The 
whole  subsoil  rests  on  a  basaltic  formation  so  deep  as  to  be  discoverable  only 
on  the  deep  watercourses.  The  climate  is  dry,  with  showers  at  rare  inter 
vals  in  summer,  with  fall  rains  and  brief  winters,  during  which  there  is  usually 
some  snowfall,  and  occasional  hard  winters  when  the  snow  is  deep  enough  to 
fill  all  the  streams  to  overflowing  in  the  spring,  which  comes  early. 

The  first  wheat-fields  of  western  Washington  were  those  cultivated  by  the 
H.  B.  Co.  in  the  Columbia  and  Cowlitz  valleys,  which  yielded  well,  the  Cow- 
litz  farm  producing  from  30  to  50  bushels  per  acre  of  white  winter  wheat. 
The  heavily  timbered  valleys  about  Puget  Sound  furnished  tracts  of  open 
land  well  adapted  to  wheat-growing,  but  taken  as  a  whole  this  region  has 
never  been  regarded  as  a  grain-producing  country.  The  reclamation  of  tide- 
lands  about  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  which  flow  into  the  Fuca  Sea,  opposite 
the  strait  of  that  name,  added  a  considerable  area  to  the  grain-fields  of 
western  Washington. 

The  first  settlers  upon  the  tide-lands  were  Samuel  Calhoun  and  Michael 
Sullivan,  who  in  1864  took  claims  on  the  Swiuomish  River  or  bayou,  which 
connects  with  the  Skagit  by  extensive  marshes.  Sullivan  made  his  first  en 
closure  in  1865,  and  three  years  afterward  raised  a  crop  of  37  acres  of  oats. 
He  sowed  five  bushels  of  seed  to  the  acre,  intending  to  cut  it  for  hay,  but 
allowing  it  to  ripen,  obtained  4,000  bushels  of  oats.  Calhoun  raised  21  acres  of 
barley  in  1869  with  like  favorable  results.  From  this  time  there  was  an 
annual  increase  of  reclaimed  land.  Its  productiveness  may  be  inferred  from 
the  statement  that  on  600  acres  at  La  Conner,  belonging  to  J.  S.  Conner,  about 
1.000  tons  of  oats  and  barley  were  produced  annually.  Morse's  Wash.  Tcr., 
MS.,  xxii.  13.  There  were  in.  1875  about  20  settlers  011  the  Swiuomish  tide- 
lands,  who  had  100  acres  each  in  cultivation,  and  raised  on  them  40  bushels 
of  spring  wheat,  80  bushels  of  winter  wheat,  75  bushels  of  barley,  and  80 
bushels  of  oats  to  the  acre.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xxii.  15. 

In  1881  the  experiment  was  tried  of  shipping  cargoes  of  eastern  Wash 
ington  and  Oregon  wheat  by  the  way  of  Puget  bound,  instead  of  via  Port 
land,  Astoria,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  to  avoid  the  risk  of  the  bar 
and  a  part  of  the  expense  of  pilotage  and  lightering. 

No  climate  in  the  world  is  more  suited  to  the  growth  of  nutritious  grasses 
than  that  of  Washington.  The  bunch-grass  of  the  eastern  division  is,  how 
ever,  from  being  dry  a  large  portion  of  the  year,  not  so  well  adapted  to  the 
uses  of  dairymen  as  the  lush  growth  of  the  moister  climate  of  Puget  Sound, 
where  the  rich  bottom  and  diked  lands  yield  from  three  to  four  tons  of  hay 
to  the  acre.  Dairy  products  have  not  yet  been  counted  amongst  the  articles 
of  export,  because  farmers  have  preferred  to  engage  in  other  branches  of  busi 
ness.  Up  to  1877  there  was  no  cheese  in  the  markets  of  the  territory  except 
that  which  was  imported.  In  that  year  two  cheese  factories  were  started, 
one  at  Claquato  by  Long  &  Birmingham,  and  another  at  Chimacum,  in  Jef 
ferson  county.  The  former  made  over  28.000  lt>s  the  first  year.  The  North 
ern  Pacific  cheese  factory,  at  Chimacum,  nine  miles  south-west  of  Port  Towns- 
end,  was  a  gradual  growth,  William  Bishop  being  a  pioneer  of  1856,  who 
settled  in  the  Chimacum  Valley  and  cleared  and  improved  a  farm.  When  he 
had  60  cows  he  began  cheese-making  for  the  market  abroad,  producing  1,500 
Ibs  of  cheese  and  50  Ibs  of  butter  per  day.  A  third  factory  was  established 


FARMING  AND  FISHERIES.  345 

in  1879  by  Long  &  Birmingham  on  the  Maddox  farm,  in  White  River  Val 
ley,  the  prospect  being  that  the  Puget  Sound  farmers  would  convert  their 
grain-fields  into  hay-fields  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  that  dairy-farming 
would  become  the  chief  business  on  the  valley  and  tide  lands. 

The  experiment  of  hop-farming  was  first  tried  in  1804  by  Jacob  Meeker, 
who  planted  a  half-acre  on  his  farm  in  the  Puyallup  Valley.  The  yield  was  200 
pounds,  which  sold  for  85  cents  per  pound.  Thompson  &  Meade  estab 
lished  the  first  hop-yard  in  1872.  The  following  year  Ezra  and  J.  V.  Meeker 
and  J.  P.  Stewart  followed.  The  desire  to  encourage  agriculture  has  led  to 
the  formation  of  agricultural  societies  in  several  counties  of  the  territory, 
Walla  Walla  taking  the  lead,  by  a  few  persons  calling  a  meeting  in  Feb.  1805, 
to  be  held  April  2i2d,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing.  It  was  not  until  18G7 
that  a  fair  was  held,  the  address  at  the  opening  of  the  exhibition  being  pro 
nounced  by  Philip  liitz.  In  1809  the  Washington  Agricultural  and  Manufac 
turing  Society  was  formed  and  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  territory. 
Laud  was  purchased,  buildings  erected,  and  the  first  fair  of  the  new  organi 
zation  held  in  Sept.,  from  the  21st  to  the  23th,  1870.  A  pomological  and 
horticultural  society  was  also  formed  this  year  at  Walla  Walla.  Clarke  county 
organized,  in  July  1SG8,  an  agricultural  and  mechanical  society,  and  held  a 
fair  the  following  Sept.,  the  opening  address  being  by  Governor  Salomon. 
Whatcom  county  oi'ganized  an  agricultural  society  in  18G6,  and  Lewis  county 
in  1877.  This  being  the  oldest  farming  region  away  from  the  Columbia,  the 
society  was  prosperous  at  the  start,  and  the  first  exhibit  a  good  one.  C.  T. 
Fay  was  chosen  president,  and  L.  P.  Venen  delivered  the  opening  address. 
Vancouver  liegister,  Oct.  1,  1870;  Olympia  Transcript,  Oct.  12,  1872;  Olympia 
Wash.  Standard,  June  2,  1S77.  In  1871  a  meeting  was  held  in  Olympia  in 
the  interest  of  agriculture  by  a  mutual  aid  society,  or  farmer's  club,  which 
displayed  specimens  of  productions.  The  meeting  was  addressed  by  Judge 
McFadden  at  the  close  of  the  exhibit,  and  steps  taken  to  organize  a  territorial 
agricultural  society,  under  the  name  of  Western  Washington  Industrial  As 
sociation,  which  held  its  first  annual  exhibition  in  Oct.  1872  at  Olympia.  The 
second  annual  territorial  fair  was  held  at  Seattle,  in  the  university  grounds. 

One  of  the  great  natural  resources  of  western  Washington  which  has  been 
turned  to  account  is  the  fish  product,  although  as  yet  imperfectly  understood 
or  developed.  The  whale  fishery  is  prosecuted  only  by  the  Indians  of  Cape 
Flattery  and  the  gulf  of  Georgia.  Among  the  species  taken  on  the  coast  are 
the  sperm  whale,  Calif ornia  gray,  right  whale,  and  sulphur-bottom.  Up  the 
strait  of  Fuca  and  in  the  gulf  of  Georgia  hump-backs  are  numerous.  For 
merly  the  Indians  took  more  whales  than  now,  their  attention  being  at  present 
turned  to  sea] -hunting.  With  only  their  canoes  and  rude  appliances  the 
Makahs  of  Cape  Flattery  saved  in  1856  oil  for  export  to  the  amount  of  §8,000. 
Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  March  5,  1856;  Stevens'  Northwest,  10;  Wash. 
Topog.,  15,  31;  KeptUom.  Ind.  Aff.,  1858,  232.  Cod  of  two  or  more  varieties 
are  found  from  Shoalwater  Bay  to  Alaska  and  beyond.  They  are  of  excellent 
quality  when  properly  cured.  The  climate  of  Alaska  being  too  moist,  and  the 
air  of  California  drying  them  too  much  in  the  curing  process,  rendering  them 
hard,  it  is  believed  that  in  Puget  Sound  may  be  found  the  requisite  moisture, 
coolness,  and  evenness  of  climate  to  properly  save  the  cod  for  export,  but  no 
systematic  experiments  have  been  made.  It  was  the  practice  as  early  as  185G-7 
to  pickle  cod  instead  of  drying,  and  for  several  years  200  barrels  annually 
were  put  up.  In  1861  cod  were  very  plentiful  in  the  strait  of  Fuca,  so  that 
the  schooners  Sarah  Newton,  the  Elizabeth,  and  other  Puget  Sound  vessels 
picked  up  several  thousand  pounds.  In  1869  cod  brought  from  §16  to  $20 
per  barrel.  In  1864  Thomas  H.  Stratton  fitted  out  the  sch.  Brandt  for  the 
cod  and  halibut  fisheries.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xvii.  47-8.  In  Jan. 
18G6  the  legislature  memorialized  the  president,  asking  that  arrangements  be 
made  with  Russia  to  enable  U.  S.  fishing- vessels  to  visit  the  various  ports  in 
the  Russian  possessions  to  obtain  supplies,  cure  fish,  and  make  repairs;  also 
to  enable  Puget  Sound  fishermen  to  obtain  the  same  bounty  paid  to  those  of 


346  RESOURCES  AND  INDUSTRIES. 

the  Atlantic  coast,  and  that  ships  be  sent  to  survey  the  banks  to  Bering 
Scraits.  The  same  year  Crosby  took  the  forty-ton  schooner  Spray  to  the  fish 
ing-grounds,  leaving  Port  Angeles  June  1st,  and  returned  in  October  with  nine 
tons  of  codfish  taken  in  the  Kadiak  Sea,  1 ,000  miles  north  of  Puget  Sound.  In 
1 869  two  schooners,  the  Ada  M.  Fnje  and  Shooting  Star,  arrived  on  the  North 
west  Coast  from  Rocklaud,  Maine,  with  full  crews,  to  engage  in  cod-fishing, 
other  vessels  following.  Nineteen  vessels  sailed  from  S.  F.  the  same  season  for 
the  Okhotsk  Sea  on  a  fishing  expedition,  and  returned  with  an  average  of  55,000 
fish  each.  The  ensuing  year  the  catch  amounted  to  1,000  quintals.  As  late 
as  1878Slocum,  of  the  schooner  Pato,  advised  the  Portland  board  of  trade 
concerning  the  existence  of  codfish  banks  off  the  coast  of  Washington,  from 
Shoalwater  to  Neah  bays,  and  solicited  aid  in  establishing  their  existence. 

Halibut  grounds  were  known  to  be  located  nine  miles  west  of  Tatoosh 
Island,  in  56  fathoms  of  water,  and  these  fish  abound  in  the  Fuca  Sea  and 
Bellingham  Bay,  but  are  not  found  in  the  Sound  or  Hood  Canal.  Strong 
and  Webster  put  up  100  barrels  in  1857.  In  1874  halibut  was  furnished  to 
the  S.  F.  market,  packed  in  ice,  and  again  in  1879,  the  fish  arriving  in  good 
condition.  The  schooner  Emily  Stephens  was  built  for  this  trade  with  ten  ice 
compartments.  Port  Towmend  Argus,  Sept.  5,  1874;  Hesperian  Mag.,  iii. 
409;  Portland  Oregoniati,  April  5,  1879;  Hittell's  Commerce  and  Industries, 
359.  The  average  size  of  the  halibut  caught  on  this  coast  is  60  pounds,  the 
largest  weighing  200.  They  are  taken  with  a  hook  and  line  from  March  to 
August. 

Herring  have  for  several  years  been  an  article  of  export  from  Puget  Sound. 
E.  Hammond  and  H.  13.  Emery  established  a  fishery  at  Port  Madison  about 
1870.  The  herring,  though  of  good  flavor,  are  smaller  than  those  of  the  At 
lantic,  and  are  caught  with  a  seine.  A  thousand  barrels  of  fish  have  been 
taken  at  a  single  liaiil.  This  fishery  has  put  up  10,000  boxes,  of  six  dozen 
each,  of  smoked  and  dried  herring  in  a  season,  and  delivered  them  on  the 
wharf  for  30  cents  a  box.  Seattle  Rural,  March  1877.  36.  This  establishment 
has  pressed  from  herring  2,000  gallons  of  oil  per  month.  Other  herring  fish 
eries  were  on  San  Juan  Island  and  at  various  other  points  on  the  Sound. 

The  eulachan,  or  candle-fish,  so  called  because  when  dried  it  burns  like  a 
candle,  is  another  marketable  fish  of  the  coast  from  Cape  Blanco  to  Sitka.  It 
resembles  smelt,  is  very  fat,  and  of  line  grain  and  delicate  flavor.  It  appears 
in  shoals,  and  is  caught  with  a  scoop-net  or  rake.  The  Indians  formerly  took 
them  to  make  oil,  but  the  II.  B.  Co.  salted  them  down  in  kegs  for  eating. 
They  are  now  dried  like  herring. 

Sturgeon  are  plentiful  in  the  Columbia  and  Fraser  rivers,  and  in  the  in 
terior  lakes  of  British  Columbia.  They  are  superior  in  size  and  flavor  to  the  At 
lantic  sturgeon,  being  less  tough  and  less  oily,  and  are  found  in  the  markets  of 
Portland  and  S.  F.  The  H.  B.  Co.  manufactured  isinglass  from  them  for 
export. 

Rock-cod  and  tomcod  are  taken  in  the  Sound,  and  are  regularly  furnished 
to  the  markets;  as  are  also  smelts,  sardines,  flounders,  perch,  turbot,  skate, 
chub,  plaice,  stickleback,  and  other  varieties.  A  kind  of  shark,  known  as 
dog-fish  from  its  long  jaws  and  formidable  teeth,  visits  the  Sound  in  great 
shoals  in  the  autumn,  and  is  used  by  the  Indians  for  food  and  oil.  Ebrifs 
Journal,  MS.,  iii.  42.  In  1871  S.  B.  Pardee  made  oil  from  dog-fish  at  Gig 
Harbor.  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  April  8,  1871.  In  the  following  year  a 
co.  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  Cal.  as  the  North  Pacific  Commercial 
Company,  the  principal  object  of  which  was  the  taking  of  dog-fish  for  oil. 
The  works  were  located  on  Fox  Island,  ten  miles  from  Steilacoom,  the  site 
taking  the  name  of  Castlenook.  The  daily  catch  by  means  of  wears,  pounds, 
seines,  and  trawls  was  from  3,000  to  4,000  large  fish.  One  hundred  and  sev 
enty-seven  fish  were  taken  at  one  set  of  the  lines  at  Oyster  Bay.  Olympia 
Transcript,  May  2,  1868. 

As  soon  as  spring  opens,  or  whenever  the  weather  will  permit  after  the 
first  of  Jan.,  the  Indians  at  Cape  Flattery  put  out  to  sea  in  their  canoes  a  dis 
tance  of  10  or  15  miles  to  catch  seals,  which  at  this  season  of  the  year  are 


SEALS  AND  OYSTERS.  347 

migrating  north  in  myriads,  and  on  a  bright  day  may  be  seen  for  miles  jump 
ing,  splashing,  and  playing  iii  the  water.  When  fatigued  with  this  sport 
they  turn  over  on  their  backs  and  go  to  sleep,  at  which  time  the  Indians  ap 
proach  cautiously  and  dart  their  spears  into  the  nearest.  They  catch  eight 
or  ten  a  day  in  this  manner.  Later  they  used  the  pilot-boat  to  go  out  and 
return,  taking  their  canoes  and  cargoes  on  board.  Port  Townaend  Messaije,  Jan. 
31,  1871.  Occasionally  they  killed  forty  or  fifty  a  day. 

Ten  vessels  were  employed  in  1881,  the  catch  being  about  8,000  seal-skins, 
worth  from  §7  to  §0  each.  The  number  of  Indians  engaged  was  over  200,  and 
their  prolit  on  the  season's  catch  about  §200  each  for  skins,  besides  1,500  gal 
lons  of  oil  for  food. 

The  sea-otter,  which  formerly  was  taken  in  great  numbers  at  Point  Gren- 
ville,  (iO  miles  north  of  Shoal  water  Bay,  has  become  comparatively  rare.  The 
Keah  Bay  Indians  monopolize  the  hunt  011  that  part  of  the  coast,  while  at 
Gray  Harbor  white  men  take  them,  using  rifles,  and  perching  themselves  oil 
ladders  placed  at  intervals  along  the  beach,  from  which  they  can  discern  the 
otter,  which  seldom  comes  nearer  than  300  yards.  It  requires  skill  to  shoot 
them  swimming  at  that  distance,  but  they  have  been  killed  at  800  yards. 
The  average  was  about  two  otter-skins  a  mouth  to  each  hunter,  worth  from 
$30  to  §50  each.  Laud  otter-skins  were  very  rare;  but  about  four  thousand 
beaver  pelts  were  annually  shipped  from  Washington. 

The  lirst  discovery  of  oysters  on  the  Pacific  Coast  was  made  at  Shoalwater 
Bay  by  C.  J.  W.  Russell,  between  1849  and  1851.  In  the  autumn  of  1851 
the  schooner  Two  Brothers,  Capt.  Fieldsen,  came  into  the  bay  and  loaded  with 
oysters  for  S.  F.  They  all  died  on  the  way,  but  another  attempt  by  Anthony  Lud- 
luin,  was  more  successful.  A  writer  in  the  Portland  West  Shore,  Aug.  1878, 
claims  the  discovery  for  Fieldsen;  but  as  Swan  was  on  the  ground  soon  after, 
and  knew  all  the  persons  concerned,  I  adopt  his  account.  Natural  oyster-beds 
stretched  over  a  distance  of  thirty  miles  in  length  and  from  four  to  seven 
in  width.  These  beds  were  common  property.  The  first  territorial  legisla 
ture  passed  an  net  prohibiting  the  taking  of  oysters  by  any  person  who  had 
not  been  a  resident  of  the  territory  for  one  month,  without  a  license.  The 
next  legislature  prohibited  their  being  gathered  by  non-residents.  The  use  of 
dredgers  was  forbidden,  the  oystering  season  was  designated,  and  all  small 
oysters  were  to  be  returned  to  their  beds.  The  legislature  of  18G4-5  granted 
Michael  S.  Drew  and  associates  the  exclusive  privilege  of  planting,  cultivat 
ing,  and  gathering  oysters  in  Port  Gamble  Bay,  and  to  Henry  Winsor  and  L. 
D.  Durgiu  the  same  exclusive  right  in  Budd  Inlet. 

An  act  approved  Oct.  31,  1873,  granted  to  each  person  planting  oysters  in 
localities  where  no  natural  beds  existed  ten  acres,  to  hold  while  the  planting 
should  be  regularly  maintained.  Locations  could  be  made  in  detached  parcels, 
and  in  Shoalwater  Bay  20  acres  might  be  taken;  but  in  no  case  might  the 
beds  interfere  with  the  logging  interest.  Where  marketable  oysters  were 
bedded  a  location  was  restricted  to  20,000  feet  superficial  area.  These 
privileges  were  to  extend  to  citizens  of  the  territory  only. 

In  1SG1-2  the  oysters  at  Shoalwater  Bay  were  nearly  all  destroyed  by  frost 
and  low  tides.  Their  enemies  were  the  skates  and  drum-fish,  to  protect  them 
against  which  it  was  sometimes  necessary  to  surround  the  beds  by  a  fence  of 
closely  set  pickets. 

In  1853-4  there  were  from  150  to  200  men  on  Shoalwater  Bay  and  affluents 
who  lived  chiefly  by  oystering.  Up  to  1859  all  the  oysters  shipped  came  from 
natural  beds,  but  in  that  year  planting  began.  The  trade  steadily  increased 
until  the  opening  of  the  first  transcontinental  railroad,  when  the  shipment  of 
eastern  oysters  began,  which  materially  decreased  the  demand  for  the  native 
mollusk.  The  shipments  made  from  Shoalwater  Bay  in  1874  amounted  to 
120,000  baskets.  Portland  Went  Shore,  Aug.  1878,  2.  This  locality  had  now 
to  contend  not  only  with  the  importation  of  eastern  oysters,  but  with  the  beds 
of  Totten  Inlet  and  other  parts  of  1'uget  Sound,  which  ship  by  railroad  in  any 
desired  quantities,  while  the  Shoalwater  Bay  oystermen  must  ship  iii  large 
quantities,  because  they  depend  on  vessels.  Natural  beds  of  oysters  are  found 


348  RESOURCES  AND  INDUSTRIES. 

everywhere  in  Pugct  Sound,  the  quality  and  size  being  affected  somewhat  by 
the  locality  and  the  density  of  the  masses  in  which  they  grow,  the  better  fish 
being  where  they  are  most  scattered.  Near  Olympia  they  exist  in  banks  sev 
eral  feet  thick.  They  are  abundant  in  all  the  tide-waters  adjacent  to  the 
strait  of  Fuca,  in  Beliingham  Bay,  in  Commencement  Bay,  and  are  found  in 
Gray  Harbor.  The  native  oyster  has  a  slightly  coppery  taste,  which  does  not 
come  from  copper  beds,  but  from  the  mud  flats  in  which  they  grow,  and  it 
disappears  with  cooking.  They  are  of  a  delicate  flavor,  not  so  rank  as  the 
eastern  oyster.  The  Olympia  beds  are  said  to  be  superior  to  others.  In  1880 
$100,000  worth  were  shipped  from  the  beds  in  the  Sound  to  Portland. 

Another  shell-fish  which  is  found  in  inexhaustible  quantities  in  Washing 
ton  is  the  clam,  of  which  there  are  several  species,  from  the  immense  quoho0f, 
the  meat  of  which  will  weigh  three  pounds,  to  the  small  blue  clam,  preferred  by 
some  to  the  oyster,  the  white  clam,  also  small,  and  the  long  razor-clam  of  the 
ocean  beach.  This  testaceous  fish  has  furnished  many  generations  of  Indians 
with  a  considerable  portion  of  their  food  supply,  and  fed  hungry  white  men 
as  well  in  the  early  settlements  of  the  country.  Narrative  of  B.  F.  Broicu, 
MS.  In  1879  a  company  was  formed  in  Olympia  for  the  preserving  of  clams 
by  the  process  of  canning,  similar  to  the  method  used  in  preserving  beef  and 
salmon,  and  from  which  a  delicious  chowder  was  quickly  prepared  for  the 
table.  The  company  consisted  of  E.  N.  Ouimette,  N.  H.  Ownings,  S.  G. 
Ward,  J.  R.  Hayden.  Olympia,  Wash.  Standard,  April  2,  1880. 

Salmon-fishing,  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  resources  of  both  Oregon 
and  Washington,  I  have  treated  of  in  my  History  of  Oregon.  There  are 
many  salmon  taken  in  the  Sound  and  its  affluents,  though  not  so  easily  caught, 
or  of  so  uniformly  good  quality,  as  those  of  the  Columbia.  In  1873  V.  T. 
Tull  of  Olympia  established  a  salmon  fishery  at  Mukilteo,  principally  for 
putting  up  fish  in  barrels.  The  first  year  500  bbls  were  packed  at  Mukilteo, 
after  which  the  fishery  was  moved  temporarily  to  Seattle  to  take  the  late  run 
up  the  Dwamish  River,  which  is  usually  large.  Fifteen  hundred  good  large 
salmon  have  been  taken  at  one  haul  of  the  seine  in  the  Pujyallup.  Olympia 
Columbian,  Sept.  10,  1853.  In  1877  Jackson  Myres  &  Co.,  formerly  of  Port- 
laud,  erected  a  canning  establishment  at  Mukilteo,  and  made  of  it  a  suc 
cessful  enterprise;  but  it  had  not,  in  1880,  been  followed  by  any  others.  The 
catch  of  1877  \vas  estimated  at  10,000  cases,  and  over  2,000  barrels,  valued  at 
877,300.  Snohomish  Northern  Star,  Sept.  22,  1877;  Olympia  Transcript,  Dec. 
1,  1877.  In  1874  Corbctt  &  Maclcay,  of  Portland,  founded  a  fishery  at 
Tacoma.  Sixty  barrels  were  packed  in  five  days,  only  three  men  being  em 
ployed.  New  Tacoma  Tribune,  Nov.  14,  1874.  In  1870  John  Bryggot,  a 
Norwegian,  founded  another  fishery  at  Salmon  Bay,  six  miles  north  of 
Olympia.  In  1878  a  company  of  Puget  Sound  men  established  a  fourth  at 
Clallam  Bay.  They  put  up  the  first  season  GOO  casks  of  salmon  and  700 
of  halibut.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xviii.  17-18.  In  the  following  season 
D.  H.  Hume  established  a  fishery  near  Steilacoom  for  the  purpose  of  salt 
ing  salmon.  In  1880  H.  Levy,  of  Seattle,  went  to  London  with  100  barrels 
to  introduce  Puget  Sound  salted  salmon  to  that  market.  In  1882  a  salmon- 
packing  establishment  was  opened  at  Old  Tacoma  by  Williams.  Salmon  ran 
in  great  numbers  this  year.  One  boat  brought  in  a  thousand  fish.  Queniult 
River,  on  the  coast,  produced  salmon  quite  equal  to  the  best  Chinook  or 
Columbia  River  fish,  though  they  were  small,  averaging  five  pounds.  The 
territory  has  by  legislative  enactment  endeavored  to  save  the  salmon  product, 
it  being  unlawful  to  place  traps,  or  other  obstructions,  across  streams  with 
out  leaving  a  chute  for  the  passage  of  fish.  An  act  of  18G8  also  pro 
vided  for  an  inspector  of  salmon  in  each  county  where  it  was  put  up  for  ex 
port.  All  packages  marked  bad  by  the  inspector  were  condemned.  No  pack 
ages  could  be  sold  unbranded  with  the  name  of  the  packer  and  the  year  of 
the  catch;  and  penalties  were  imposed  for  counterfeiting  brands. 

In  February  1859  an  act  was  passed  prohibiting  non-residents  from  taking 
fish  on  the  beach  of  the  Columbia,  between  Point  Ellis  and  Cape  Hancock. 
Wash.  Slat.,  1858-9,  26.  On  the  20th  of  Jan.,  18G1,  J.  T.  Lovelace  and  W. 


SALMON  AND  CATTLE.  349 

H.  Dillon  were  granted  the  exclusive  right  to  fish  in  the  Columbia  for  a  dis 
tance  of  one  mile  along  its  banks,  and  extending  from  low-water  mark  half  a 
mile  toward  the  middle  of  the  stream.  An  act  of  the  legislature  of  1 805 
gave  C.  C.  Terry  and  Joseph  Cushman  the  right  to  introduce  into  and  stock 
the  waters  of  lakes  Washington  and  Union  with  shad  and  alewives,  with  the 
exclusive  privilege  for  30  years  of  taking  all  these  fish  in  these  lakes,  and 
their  tributaries  and  outlets,  provided  the  lakes  should  be  stocked  within  5 
years.  This  law  was  modified  in  1809  by  substituting  the  name  of  Frank 
Matthias  for  that  of  Terry,  by  the  addition  of  white-fish,  and  by  extending 
the  time  for  planting,  and  also  making  the  grant  30  years  from  that  time. 

The  value  of  the  salmon  exported  in  barrels  or  cans  is  not  given  authen 
tically  in  any  published  reports.  During  the  season  of  1880,  100,000  cases  of 
canned  salmon  were  shipped  from  the  Washington  side  of  the  Columbia  to 
foreign  markets,  each  case  containing  four  dozen  one-pound  cans,  or  7,680.000 
pounds  of  fish  ready  for  the  table.  The  price  varied  from  year  to  year.  Be 
tween  1870  and  1881  it  ranged  from  $9.50  to  $4  a  case,  averaging  nearly 
$6  a  case,  making  a  total  average  for  canned  salmon  of  about  $900,000  annu 
ally.  Pickled  or  salt  salmon  sold  at  from  $0  to  88  a  barrel,  and  each  cannery 
puts  up  from  300  to  800  barrels  in  addition  to  the  canned  fish.  Giving  a  value 
merely  conjectural  but  moderate  for  the  salted  salmon  of  the  Sound  from 
half  a  dozen  fisheries,  and  that  of  the  Columbia  pickled  salmon  from  eight 
or  more  factories,  another  §50,000  may  be  safely  supposed  to  have  been  added 
to  the  sum  total  for  salmon. 

There  is  but  one  other  source  of  wealth  to  be  noticed  in  this  place,  which 
pertains  principally  to  the  eastern  division  of  the  territory,  namely,  live 
stock.  Two  thirds  of  this  part  of  the  territory  is  excellent  grazing  land,  and 
has  raised  immense  herds  of  cattle  and  sheep,  which  have  been  a  convenient 
means  of  income  to  the  people.  Nothing  has  been  required  generally,  except 
to  herd  sheep  and  brand  cattle,  which  fed  at  pleasure  over  the  boundless 
stretches  of  unoccupied  land.  Great  as  has  been  the  reputation  of  the  Walla 
Walla  Valley,  from  the  time  when  Bonneville  and  Missionary  Parker  won 
dered  at  the  riches  of  the  Cayuses,  represented  by  their  hundreds  of  horses, 
the  Yakima  country  eclipses  it  as  a  stock-range,  both  on  account  of  pastur 
age  and  mildness  of  climate.  The  Palouse  region,  later  converted  into  grain- 
fields,  has  also  been  a  famous  stock-range  for  many  years;  and  for  many  years 
to  come  there  will  be  enough  uufenced  land  to  support  millions  of  dollars' 
worth  of  cattle,  horses,  and  sheep.  About  one  winter  in  five  is  severe  enough 
to  require  the  housing  and  feeding  of  cattle.  It  is  then  that  the  stock-raiser, 
grown  careless  and  confident,  has  cause  to  lament  his  indolence  in  not  pro 
viding  for  the  protection  of  his  property.  Yet,  with  occasional  severe  losses, 
Washington  has  had  from  an  early  day  a  sure  and  easy  means  of  livelihood, 
if  not  of  wealth. 

To  what  an  extent  the  people  of  the  Puget  Sound  country  and  the  Cowlitz 
and  Chehalis  valleys  depended  upon  their  cattle  for  support  was  illustrated  in 
1 803,  when  the  government  prohibited  for  a  time  the  exportation  of  live-stock. 
The  order  was  in  consequence  of  Canada  being  made  a  field  of  operations  for 
the  leaders  of  the  rebellion,  and  the  danger  that  supplies  might  be  shipped  to 
them  from  the  British  provinces.  It  was  not  intended  to  affect  Washington. 
S.  F.  Alia,  July  30,  18G3;  Portland  Oregonian,  Sept.  3,  1863;  Or.  Argus,  Aug. 
17,  1863.  Exports  into  V.  I.  from  the  Pacific  United  States  in  1862  amounted 
to  three  millions  of  dollars.  Of  this  amount  about  one  million  was  in  cattle 
from  Oregon  and  Washington  that  were  carried  by  the  way  of  Portland  and 
Puget  Sound  to  Victoria.  Those  driven  into  B.  C.  east  of  the  Cascades  were 
not  taken  into  the  account.  They  were  to  stock  the  country,  as  well  as  for 
beef.  A  small  proportion  of  them  only  were  from  Oregon,  while  they  repre 
sented  the  ready  cash  of  the  farmers  of  Washington.  The  order  from  the  de 
partment  of  state  deprived  them  of  this  income,  as  well  as  the  British  colonies 
of  beef.  Victor  Smith  was  then  collector  of  the  Puget  Sound  district;  and 
although  Governor  Pickering  was  of  opinion  that  the  law  wag  not  applicable 


350  RESOURCES  AND  INDUSTRIES. 

to  the  territory,  he  insisted  upon  its  observance.  Much  of  the  hostility  felt 
toward  the  collector  and  his  schemes  came  from  this.  Pickering  visited  Gov. 
Douglas  to  explain  the  embargo,  and  for  a  number  of  months  much  excitement 
and  evident  inconvenience  prevailed  on  both  sides  of  the  straits.  When  at 
last  the  embargo  was  raised,  there  was  a  corresponding  rejoicing.  Instantly 
the  H.  B.  Co.  despatched  a  steamer  for  a  cargo  of  live-stock,  and  the  money 
market  was  relieved.  But  there  had  also  been  evasion  of  the  law  by  the  ship 
ment  of  cattle  to  San  Juan  Island,  then  neutral  territory,  and  thence  to  V.  I. 
For  a  brief  period  the  patriotic  citizens  of  Puget  Sound  had  cause  to  congrat 
ulate  themselves  that  the  boundary  question  was  still  unsettled. 

The  prices  obtained  for  cattle  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  country  were 
great,  as  great  almost  as  in  Oregon  when  the  Willamette  Cattle  Company  was 
formed  in  1838.  I  find  several  entries  in  Ebey's  Journal,  MS.,  which  throw 
light  on  this  subject.  In  volume  v.  26,  he  says  that  his  brother,  I.  N.  Ebey, 
sold,  in  1857,  four  Spanish  cows  with  calves  for  $80  each.  The  following  year, 
at  a  sale  of  cattle  on  Whidbey  Island,  by  W.  S.  Ebey,  49  head  brought  $2,324. 
At  another  sale  in  1859,  at  the  same  place,  25  cows  and  heifers  brought  §959, 
or  an  average  of  over  $38  each,  common  stock.  In  1863,  when  the  embargo 
was  raised,  beef  cattle  on  foot,  for  shipment,  brought  from  3  to  6  cents  per 
pound,  showing  the  gradual  decline  in  prices  with  the  increase  of  numbers. 

Notwithstanding  this  decline,  the  value  of  live-stock  exported  from 
Puget  Sound  in  1867-8  was  §106,989  for  9,476  animals  of  all  kinds.  In  the 
following  year  there  were  exported  over  13,000  animals  at  an  aggregate 
value  of  nearly  $200,000.  The  total  value  of  live-stock  in  the  territory  in 
1870  was$2,103,3i3;  in  1873  there  were  23,000  neat- cattle  owned  in  Walla 
Walla  county  alone,  and  20,000  sheep.  For  a  number  of  years  cattle  and 
sheep  were  driven  from  the  plains  of  eastern  Washington  to  Nebraska  to  be 
shipped  to  eastern  markets.  Sheep  were  sometimes  two  or  three  years  on  the 
road,  notwithstanding  the  first  Oregon  importations  overland  came  through 
from  the  Missouri  in  one  season.  Sheep-raising  both  for  mutton  and  wool  be 
came  a  most  profitable  industry  in  all  parts  of  the  territory,  but  particularly 
in  the  eastern  division.  Large  tracts  of  land  on  the  Cowlitz  prairie,  the  Nfe- 
qually  plains,  the  islands  of  the  Haro  archipelago,  and  Whidbey  Island  are 
peculiarly  adopted  to  sheep-farming,  while  the  whole  of  eastern  Washington 
is  favorable  both  in  climate  and  natural  food  to  the  production  and  improve 
ment  of  sheep.  Inferior  breeds  average  five  pounds  of  wool  per  annum,  and 
the  finer  breeds  as  much  as  in  any  country  of  the  world.  It  was  estimated 
that  in  1865,  50,000  pounds  of  wool  were  shipped  from  Washington  to  Cal., 
which  brought  the  highest  average  price  in  the  market  because  cleaner  than 
the  Cal.  wool.  Yet  sheep  were  comparatively  scarce  considering  the  demand, 
and  worth  $4  each  by  the  drove.  In  1870,  according  to  the  census  report, 
nearly  200,000  pouuds  of  wool  were  exported.  Since  that  time  large  numbers 
of  sheep  have  been  driven  out  of  the  territory. 

Historically  speaking,  the  H.  B.  Co.  introduced  the  first  sheep,  both  com 
mon  from  Cal.  and  Saxony  and  merino  from  Eng.  Watt  and  other  Oregon 
stock-farmers  followed  later  with  various  improved  breeds.  The  first  wool 
shipment  of  Washington  was  15,000  pounds  from  Puget  Sound  in  1860  by 
William  Rutledge,  Jr,  for  which  he  paid  from  twelve  to  sixteen  cents  per 
pound.  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  July  27;  1860.  The  wool  was  of  good 
quality  and  neatly  put  up.  A  legislative  act  was  passed  in  Jan.  1860  incor 
porating  the  Puget  Sound  Woollen  Manufacturing  Company  of  Turn  water, 
but  nothing  ever  came  of  it  except  the  name,  which  was  suggestive  of  what 
ought  to  be  done,  if  no  more.  Again,  five  years  later,  the  Washington 
Woollen  Manufacturing  Company  of  Thurston  county  was  incorporated,  with 
like  results.  There  was  an  attempt  made  by  A.  R.  Elder  and  Clark  to  estab 
lish  a  woollen-mill  on  Steilacoom  Creek.  The  carding-machine  was  purchased 
by  Elder  in  North  Andover,  Massachusetts,  with  the  design  of  putting  it  up 
in  Olympia,  but  Clark  selling  out  to  Elder,  it  went  to  Steilacoom.  A  build 
ing  50  by  80  feet  was  erected,  four  stories  high.  The  factory  had  a  capacity 
for  carding  250  pounds  a  day,  three  spinning-jacks  of  240  spindles  each,  and 


SHEEP,  HORSES,  AND  FLOUR.  351 

four  looms  of  different  sizes.  The  cost  was  over  $33,000,  and  it  was  com 
pleted,  together  with  a  boarding  house  for  operatives,  in  the  spring  of  1870. 
It  was  bid  off  at  auction  for  $10,050  in  June  1871,  when  it  stopped  running. 
Oli/mpia  Pac.  Tribune,  April  11,  1868;  Olympia  Commercial  Age,  Jan.  8,  1870; 
Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  Oct.  29,  1870;  Olympia  Transcript,  Juno  17,  1871. 
Alfred  Ridgely  Elder  was  born  in  Lexington,  Ky,  Aug.  10,  1806.  He  re 
moved  to  Springfield,  111.,  where  he  was  a  neighbor  and  friend  of  Lincoln. 
He  came  to  Oregon  in  1849  and  settled  in  Yamhill  county,  where  he  farmed 
and  preached,  being  a  presbyterian.  In  1862  he  was  appointed  Indian  agent 
at  the  Puyallup  reservation,  where  he  resided  for  8  years.  He  was  subse 
quently  elected  probate  judge  of  Thurston  county.  He  died  Feb.  14,  1882,  at 
Olympia.  Three  sons  and  4  daughters  survived  him.  Olympia  Courier,  Feb. 
17,  1882.  The  first  successful  woollen  company  was  one  organized  in  Dayton, 
Columbia  county,  of  which  S.  M.  Wait  was  president  and  Reynolds  of  Walla 
Walla  a  large  owner.  The  foundation  was  laid  in  1872,  the  capital  stock  be 
ing  $40,000.  Over  $30,000  was  paid  out  in  1878  for  raw  wool. 

The  natives  of  eastern  Washington  found  horse-raising  a  profitable  pursuit, 
and  white  breeders  are  equally  prosperous.  They  are  raised  with  little  ex 
pense,  which  enables  the  owner  to  sell  them  cheap  at  home,  while  they  bring 
a  good  price  abroad  for  speed  and  endurance.  Hog-raising,  especially  adapted 
to  the  coast  counties,  has  been  neglected,  although  hogs  will  thrive  on  clover 
and  grasses,  and  could  be  cheaply  fattened  on  pease,  to  which  the  soil  and  cli 
mate  are  peculiarly  favorable.  Corn,  upon  which  farmers  east  of  the  Missouri 
depend  for  making  pork,  does  not  produce  a  good  crop  in  the  moist  and  cool 
climate  of  western  Washington,  but  grows  and  ripens  well  in  the  eastern 
portion  of  the  territory,  and,  together  with  the  waste  of  the  wheat-fields, 
should  furnish  the  material  for  much  of  the  meat  consumed  on  the  coast. 
Bees  were  introduced  into  the  territory  about  1858  from  southern  Oregon,  but 
little  honey  has  been  furnished  to  the  markets.  That  which  is  made  in  the 
Columbia  River  region,  and  sold  in  Portland,  is  of  great  excellence,  white, 
pure,  and  of  a  delicate  flavor. 

Of  manufactures  from  native  resoiirces,  flour  is  one  of  the  most  important. 
The  first  flouring-mill  in  the  territory  was  erected  at  Vancouver  in  1830  by 
the  H.  B.  Co.,  and  was  a  set  of  ordinary  mill-stones  run  by  ox-power.  In 
1832  a  mill  was  erected  seven  miles  above  Vancouver,  on  Mill  Creek,  to  run 
by  water-power.  Whitman  built  a  small  flouring  mill  at  Waiilatpu,  which 
was  in  use  about  1840.  The  first  American  colony  on  Puget  Sound  erected  a 
rude  grist-mill  at  the  falls  of  the  Des  Chutes,  in  the  village  of  Tumwater,  in 
1846.  This  sufficed  to  pulverize  the  wheat,  but  not  to  bolt  the  flour.  In 
1851-2  a  good  grist-mill  was  erected  by  Drew  at  Cowlitz  landing,  and  later 
in  the  same  year  a  larger  one  on  the  Chehalis  by  Armstrong.  In  1854  Ward 
&  Hays  of  Tumwater  built  a  complete  flouring  mill  at  that  place,  which 
superseded  the  pioneer  mill  of  Simmons  and  his  neighbors.  The  next  flour 
ing  mill  was  put  up  by  Chambers  at  the  mouth  of  Steilacoom  Creek,  in  1858. 
In  18GO  there  were,  according  to  the  U.  S.  census,  no  more  than  six  mills  in 
the  territory.  Law/ley's  Pacific  Coast  Directory  for  1871-3  gave  a  table  of  23, 
all  run  by  water-power  except  Yesler's,  at  Seattle,  and  erected  at  an  aggre 
gate  cost  of  over  §300,000,  two  thirds  of  that  amount  being  invested  in 
Walla  Walla  county,  at  that  time  recently  settled.  Several  were  erected  in 
that  county  between  1864  and  1867,  among  them  a  mill  by  S.  M.  WTait  on  the 
Touchet,  in  1865,  this  being  the  initial  point  in  the  settling  of  Waitaburg. 
Wait's  mill  had  a  capacity  of  100  barrels  a  day,  being  exceeded  only  by  one 
other  mill  in  the  territory  at  that  time,  that  of  the  Lincoln  mill  at  Tumwater, 
which  could  grind  150  barrels  daily.  The  average  capacity  of  all  the  mills 
was  about  40  barrels,  or  a  little  over  900  barrels  daily.  S.  M.  Wait  was  the 
first  man  to  export  flour  from  the  WTalla  Walla  Valley.  Having  a  surplus, 
he  sent  a  cargo  to  Liverpool,  realizing  a  profit  of  $1  a  barrel,  which,  consid 
ering  the  then  high  rates  of  transportation  to  Portland  to  be  shipped  aboard 
a  vessel,  was  a  noteworthy  success.  H.  P.  Isaacs  of  Walla  Walla  was  one  of 


352  RESOURCES  AND  INDUSTRIES. 

the  first  millers  in  the  valley,  and  became  proprietor  of  the  North  Pacific 
Mills  at  that  place.  In  1880  there  were  16  grist-mills  east  of  the  Cascades, 
against  11  in  1873. 

Lime  was  first  made  in  1860  on  the  west  side  of  San  Juan  Island,  by 
Augustus  Hibbard.  He  was  killed  by  N.  C.  Bailey,  his  partner,  in  a  quarrel 
about  an  Indian  woman,  June  17,  1868.  The  works  remained  closed  and  in 
possession  of  the  military  authorities  from  that  time  to  1871,  when  Hibbard's 
heir  came  from  the  east  and  reopened  them.  Two  years  afterward  he  died. 
Before  his  death  Bailey  returned  and  took  possession  of  his  interest.  James 
McCurdy  held  a  mortgage  on  the  works,  taken  in  1866,  and  when  Bailey  died 
in  1874  he  came  into  possession  of  the  whole.  The  San  Juan  Island  lime- 
works  are  the  largest  north  of  Cal.,  and  of  great  value  to  the  country.  The 
average  sales  for  several  j'ears  prior  to  1879  were  from  1,200  to  1,500  barrels 
per  annum.  The  capacity  of  the  kilns  was  26,400  barrels.  There  were  ten 
acres  of  limestone  at  the  McCurdy  works.  It  was  of  a  light  gray  color,  very 
compact,  and  suitable  for  building  stone  if  not  too  costly  to  work. 

New  lime-works  were  opened  on  the  north  end  of  the  island  in  1S79  by 
Messrs  Ross  &  Scurr,  who  had  as  much  limestone  as  McCurdy.  The  same 
year  McLaughlin  &  Lee  opened  a  third  kiln  on  the  east  side  of  the  island, 
with  a  capacity  of  275  barrels,  and  burned  about  one  kiln  a  week.  This 
ledge  was  first  worked  lay  Eoberts,  who  was  drowned  about  1863.  La  Name 
of  Victoria  then  claimed  it,  but  failed  to  perfect  his  title  subsequent  to  the 
settlement  of  the  boundary  question,  and  it  was  taken  by  the  present  owners. 

On  Orcas  Island  was  the  Port  Langdon  lime-kiln,  situated  on  the  east  side  of 
Buck's  Bay,  first  worked  about  1862  by  Shottler  &  Co.  It  was  sold  to  Daniel 
McLaughlin,  of  the  last-named  firm,  and  R.  Caines  in  1874,  Caines  subse 
quently  buying  out  McLaughlin.  Between  1874  and  1879  more  than  20,000 
barrels  of  lime  were  sold  from  this  quarry,  which  covered  but  two  acres.  The 
kiln  had  a  capacity  of  1 75  barrels,  and  burned  forty  per  day. 

In  1878  a  quarry  was  opened  on  land  leased  from  the  Northern  Pacific  R. 
Co.,  situated  in  the  Puyallup  Valley  near  Adlerton  station.  Two  furnaces 
were  running  in  Nov.,  owned  by  Crouk  &  Griffith,  having  an  aggregate 
capacity  of  275  barrels.  An  extensive  quarry  was  discovered  in  1882  on  the 
Skagit  River;  and  limestone  was  reported  as  found  near  Walla  Walla  in  1872. 
The  production  of  lime  in  1880  was  65,000  barrels,  worth  §84,500. 

A  kindred  industry  was  the  manufacture  of  cement  from  nodules  of  a  yellow 
ish  limestone  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Columbia  about  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  This  manufacture  was  commenced  in  1868  by  Knapp  &  Burrell  of 
Portland,  at  Kuappton  opposite  Astoria.  The  works  yielded  in  the  beginning 
35  barrels  daily. 

Taking  into  consideration  that  both  Oregon  and  Washington  are  stock- 
raising  countries,  little  attention  is  paid  to  the  manufacture  of  leather. 
Three  small  tanneries,  at  Tumwater,  Olympia,  and  Steilacoom,  complete  the 
list.  The  first  was  erected  by  James  B.  Biles  and  Young,  in  1857,  and  was  still 
in  operation  in  1885. 

Soap  was  first  made  at  Steilacoom  in  March  1862  by  the  Messrs  Meekers. 
The  manufacture  was  discontinued. 

The  manufacture  of  tobacco,  from  plants  grown  by  himself,  was  begun  at 
Elhi,  Pierce  county,  by  T.  E.  Pattoii,  in  1877. 

Fruit  canning  and  drying  was  first  engaged  in  by  an  organized  company 
in  1883,  at  Walla  Walla. 

Brooms  have  for  several  years  been  manufactured  at  Olympia,  and  broom- 
corn  raised  in  Yakima  county. 

Gloves  were  first  made  at  a  factory  established  in  Olympia  in  1880  by 
Weston  &  Swichart. 

A  sash,  door,  and  blind  factory  was  established  at  Tumwater  in  1871  by 
Leonard,  Crosby,  &  Cooper.  Cooper  soon  became  sole  manager. 

A  chair  factory   was  erected  at  Seattle  in  1879  by  Newell  &  Cosgriff. 


MISCELLANEOUS  PRODUCTS.  333 

The  Seattle  lumber  mills  run  machinery  for  manufacturing  sash,  doors,  and 
blinds,  and  scroll  and  ornamental  work  for  house-building. 

Water-pipe  was  first  manufactured  in  1868,  at  Tumwater,  by  W.  N.  Hor- 
ton.  In  1870  C.  H.  Hale  and  S.  D.  Howe  were  admitted  to  a  partnership, 
and  the  company  called  the  Washington  Water -Pipe  Manufacturing  and 
Water  Company.  It  subsequently  passed  into  the  hands  of  D.  F.  Finch.  The 
capacity  of  the  works  was  from  2,500  to  3,000  feet  per  day  of  finished  pipe. 
The  material  used  was  wood,  bored,  bound  with  iron  hoops,  and  soaked  in  as- 
phaltum.  In  1877  a  new  company  was  organized  in  S.  F.,  under  the  title 
to  American  Water-Pipe  Company,  with  a  capital  of  $250,000,  for  the  [pur 
pose  of  manufacturing  wooden  pipe  at  Tumwater  for  both  gas  and  water 
service. 

Two  stave,  box,  and  excelsior  mills  are  operated  on  a  large  scale  at  Seattle 
and  Puyallup  by  the  S.  F.  Mattullath  Manufacturing  Company.  The  build 
ings  at  Seattle  cover  four  acres,  200  persons  are  employed,  and  the  staves  and 
heads  for  5,000  barrels  a  day  turned  out.  The  waste  is  used  to  make  boxes. 
This  company  have  patented  several  machines,  and  have  a  process  of  their 
own  for  making  barrels.  The  sides  are  made  of  a  single  sheet,  which  takes 
the  place  of  separate  staves.  These  sheets  are  cut  from  a  large  log  by  revolv 
ing  it  against  a  large  knife.  Another  patent  of  this  company  is  a  petroleum- 
barrel,  which  is  a  tin  cask  inside  a  wooden  one,  the  intervening  space  being 
filled  with  cement.  HittelVs  Commerce  and  Industries,  624^5. 

The  Puyallup  factory  employs  sixty  men,  and  turns  out  1,500  barrels  per 
day,  the  staves  and  heads  being  sent  to  S.  F.  to  be  set  up.  Excelsior  is  made 
at  this  establishment  from  the  cottonwood  trees  of  the  bottom-lands. 

Wagon-making  is  carried  on  to  some  extent.  The  first  stage-coach,  Con 
cord  make,  ever  built  north  of  S.  F.  was  manufactured  in  Walla  Walla  in 
1867. 

The  first  brick  was  made  in  the  territory  by  Samuel  Hancock,  on  the  Cow- 
litz  prairie.  Good  brick  were  scarce  as  late  as  1867,  and  brought  twenty  dol 
lars  a  thousand. 

The  largest  brewery  in  Washington  is  at  Seattle,  owned  by  Schaffer  & 
Howard. 

Until  quite  recently  no  iron-works  of  any  extent  existed  north  of  the  Co 
lumbia.  The  Port  Madison  Mills  had  a  machine-shop  attached  to  their  lum 
ber  establishment  previous  to  1870.  In  1877  Lister  &  Burse  opened  work 
in  an  iron-founclery  at  New  Tacoma,  employing  twenty  men.  In  1878  the 
North  Pacific  Foundery  and  Machine-shop,  Seattle  Coal  Company's  machine- 
shop,  and  the  Williamson  Machine-shop  were  all  running  at  Seattle.  The 
North  Pacific  Company  put  up  new  works  the  following  year.  There  was 
also  a  foundery  at  Walla  Walla. 

In  1880  the  Puget  Sound  Iron  Company,  Cyrus  Walker  president,  erected 
a  furnace  for  smelting  iron  near  Port  Townsend.  The  place  was  called  Iron- 
dale,  where  work  was  commenced  in  January  1881.  The  first  iron  was  made 
on  the  23d  of  that  month.  Ore  used  was  obtained  from  the  iron-beds  which 
underlie  the  dairy  farm  of  William  Bishop  at  Chimacum,  and  from  Texada 
Island  in  the  gulf  of  Georgia.  The  Chimacum  mine  was  a  stratum  of  bog- 
ore  twenty-two  inches  thick,  lying  two  feet  beneath  the  surface,  and  exten 
sive  enough  to  keep  a  forty-ton  furnace  running  for  twenty  years.  The  Tex 
ada  mine  was  found  in  a  fissure  vein  eighty  feet  wide,  containing  62  per  cent  of 
metal,  the  quantity  of  which  is  inexhaustible,  and  the  quality  excellent,  al 
though  the  ore  has  to  be  desulphurized  by  roasting.  The  ores,  delivered  at 
the  furnace,  cost  about  two  dollars  a  ton,  including  a  royalty  to  the  owners. 
The  Chimacum  iron  being  soft  and  the  Texada  hard,  they  are  mixed  to  obtain 
the  proper  density.  Charcoal  is  made  from  the  timber  at  hand;  lime  is  brought 
from  San  Juan  and  Orcas  islands  at  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  ton — all  of  which 
greatly  cheapens  and  facilitates  the  production  of  the  iron,  which  is  worth  in 
the  market  thirty  dollars  per  ton.  The  experiment  being  successful  beyond 
expectation,  the  works  are  being  enlarged. 
HIST.  WASH.— 28 


354  COUNTIES  AND  TOWNS. 

COUNTIES  AND  TOWNS  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Of  the  three  judicial  districts  into  which  Washington  is  divided,  the  first 
comprises  the  counties  of  Walla  Walla,  Whitman,  Stevens,  Spokane,  Colum 
bia,  Yakima,  Lincoln,  Garficld,  Kittitass,  and  Klikitat;  the  second,  Ska- 
mania,  Clarke,  Cowlite,  Wahkiakum,  Pacific,  Thurston,  Lewis,  Chehalis,  and 
Mason;  the  third,  Pierce,  King,  Snohomish,  Whatcom,  Island,  San  Juan, 
Clallam,  Jefferson,  and  Kitsap.  Walla  Walla  co.  in  1880  had  an  area  of 
1,000  square  miles,  a  population  of  6,212,  and  taxable  property  to  the  amount 
of  $2,971,560.  New  Tacoma  N.  P.  Coast,  Feb.  1,  1880.  Whitman  co.  was 
established  by  setting  off  the  southern  portion  of  Stevens,  Nov.  21,  1871.  It 
was  named  after  Marcus  Whitman,  its  first  American  settler.  Recent  settle 
ment  began  in  1870.  Its  area  was  4,300  square  miles;  population  7,014; 
taxable  property  $1,237,189.  The  first  county  commissioners  were  G.  D. 
Wilbur,  William  R.  Rexford,  and  Henry  S.  Burlingame;  sheriff,  Charles 
D.  Porter;  treasurer,  W.  A.  Belcher;  auditor,  John  Ewart;  probate  judge, 
John  Denny;  supt.  of  schools,  C.  E.  White;  coroner,  John  Fincher;  com 
missioners  to  locate  the  county  seat,  William  Lucas,  Jesse  Logsdon,  and 
J.  A.  Perkins.  The  county  seat  is  Colfax.  Wash.  Slat.,  1871,  134-5.  Henry 
H.  Spaulding,  son  of  the  missionary  Spaulding,  was  born  at  Lapwai,  in  Idaho, 
Nov.  24,  1839.  He  settled  at  Almota  in  1872,  and  opened  the  first  road  to 
Colfax.  In  1875  he  married  Mary  Warren,  and  has  several  children.  L.  M. 
Ringer,  born  in  Washington  co.,  Ind.,  in  1834,  immigrated  to  Or.  in  1870, 
settling  at  Eugene.  In  1872  he  took  a  land  claim  3  miles  from  the  present 
town  of  Colfax.  Five  years  later  he  removed  to  Almota  and  erected  a  flouring 
mill,  half  of  which  he  sold  to  Adams  Bros  &  Co.,  forming  a  partnership  with 
them  in  merchandising,  subsequently  purchasing  their  interest.  He  married, 
in  1859,  Sophie  W.  Owen,  and  had  in  1875  six  children.  Stevens  co.  had 
a  remaining  area  of  3  or  4  times  that  of  Whitman,  and  in  1879  Spokane  co. 
was  set  off  from  it  with  a  pop.  of  4,262.  Its  valuation  in  1885  was  over  a  million 
and  a  half.  County  seat,  Spokane  Falls.  Daniel  F.  Percival,  born  in  Bangor, 
Me.,  in  1839,  immigrated  to  Montana  in  1866,  whence  he  went  to  San 
Diego,  Cal. ,  and  thence,  after  a  residence  of  2  years,  to  Or. ,  where  he  spent  2 
years.  In  1872  he  spttled  in  Spokane  co.,  at  farming  and  stock-raising.  He 
was  elected  county  commissioner  in  1876,  and  was  a  member  of  the  legislative 
assembly  in  1877  and  1879.  He  married  Lizzie  Blythein  1871.  Residence  at 
Cheney.  Elijah  L.  Smith,  born  in  Jefferson,  Iowa,  in  1842,  came  overland  to 
Or.  with  his  father,  Elijah  Smith,  a  resident  of  Salem,  aged  80  years,  having 
a  numerous  family.  Of  1 1  children  of  the  elder  Smith  3  sons  resided  in  Wash 
ington,  and  the  remainder  in  the  Willamette  Valley.  Elijah  L.  married  Julia 
Tate  in  1871.  In  1862  he  went  to  the  Florence  mines,  and  followed  the  Rocky 
Mountains  from  Kootenai  to  Arizona,  working  in  every  camp  of  importance. 
In  1873  he  came  to  the  Spokane  country  to  engage  in  stock-raising,  where  he 
remained  permanently,  with  the  exception  of  4  years  spent  in  Or.  In  1879  he 
took  up  a  body  of  land  surrounding  Medical  Lake.  William  Bigham,  born  in 
Amsterdam,  N.  Y.,  in  1831,  came  by  sea  to  Cal.  in  1852,  where  he  mined  for 
6  months,  going  to  Or.  in  the  autumn,  and  residing  there  until  1859,  when  he 
removed  to  the  Walla  Walla  Valley,  having  married,  2  years  previous,  Jane 
Ann  Kelly.  In  1870  he  removed  to  Butte  Creek  in  Wasco  co.,  where  he  re 
mained  until  1878,  when  he  returned  to  Washington  and  settled  at  Cheney  in 
Spokane  co. ,  where  he  engaged  in  the  business  of  stock-raising.  Vrpman  W.  Van 
Wie,  born  in  Cayuga  co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1833,  came  overland  to  Cal.  in  1852.  Mined 
on  the  upper  Sacramento  until  the  following  spring,  and  then  drove  a  freight 
team  to  Shasta.  He  soon  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  supplied  milk  to 
customers  for  5  years,  after  which  he  farmed  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Jos6  for 
some  time.  In  1861  he  came  to  the  Walla  Walla  Valley,  going  hence  to  the 
Florence  mines,  and  to  Montana,  following  the  Rocky  Mountains  south  to 
the  Colorado  River,  then  going  to  Pahranagat  and  White  Pine,  Nev.  He 
built  the  first  house  in  Shermantown.  Afterward  he  returned  to  "Washing 
ton  with  the  N.  P.  R.  R.  party  which  first  broke  sod  at  Kalama,  and  remained 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  355 

in  the  Puget  Sound  country  3  years.  In  1872  he  settled  in  Stevens  co.  (later 
Spokane)  and  engaged  in  stock-raising.  In  1884  he  went  into  merchandising  at 
Medical  Lake,  the  firm  being  Campbell  &  Van  Wie.  His  farm  was  3J-  miles 
from  the  lakes.  He  married,  in  1871,  Mrs  M.  L.  Harris.  Columbia  co.  was 
set  off  from  the  eastern  portion  of  Walla  Walla,  Nov.  11,  1875.  County  seat, 
Dayton;  pop.  in  1880,  6,894;  taxable  property,  $1,948,050;  area,  2,000  square 
miles.  S.  L.  Gilbreth,  born  in  Knox  co.,  Tenn.,  in  1825,  immigrated  to 
Oregon,  and  settled  in  Yamhill  co.,  in  1852.  In  1859,  or  as  soon  as  the 
Walla  Walla  Valley  was  opened  for  settlement,  he  removed  to  his  residence 
4  miles  from  Dayton,  and  was  the  first  sheriff  of  the  county.  He  married, 
in  1859,  M.  H.  Fanning,  and  had  in  1855  3  sons  and  6  daughters.  His 
brother,  Joseph  Gilbreth,  who  came  to  Or.  with  him,  died  in  Yamhill  co. 

Yakima  co.,  established  in  1865,  area  9,224  square  miles;  had  a  popu 
lation  in  1885  of  about  2,000,  and  a  valuation  of  about  $1,000,000.  County 
seat,  Yakima  City.  Among  the  settlers  of  Yakima  co.  wasj-^JE.  Adkins,  who 
was  born  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  in  1838,  and  came  to  Honey  Lake  Valley,  Cal.,  in 

1860.  Thence  he  went  to  Nevada,  and  in  1862  started  to  the  Salmon  River 
mines  in  Id.,  but  stopped  in  the  Powder  River  Valley,  Or.,  being  one  of  the 
first  California  company  which  came  overland  to  these  mines.     Adkins  went 
to  driving  a  freight  wagon  between  Canon  City  and  The  Dalles,  or  Bois6  City, 
and  was  so  occupied  3  years.     In  1865  he  opened  a  photograph  gallery  in 
Umatilla,  and  subsequently  a  livery-stable,  but  failed,  and  went  next  in  to  the 
dairying  business.     In  1867  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Umatilla,  and 
had  a  contract  to  carry  the  mail  to  the  Yakima  country  for  6  years.     In  1872 
he  settled  in  Yakima  City  at  hotel-keeping,  having  married  Flora  Markham 
of  the  former  place. 

George  S.  Taylor,  born  in  Fountain  co.,  Ind.,  in  1832,  at  20  years  of  age 
removed  to  Iowa,  where  he  resided  12  years,  immigrating  to  Umatilla  co.  Or., 
in  1864,  and  removing  to  Yakima  co.,  Washington,  in  1866.  He  settled  in 
the  Selah  Valley,  8  miles  from  Yakima  City,  on  a  stock  farm,  when  there 
were  but  2  families  in  the  valley,  those  of  Alfred  Henson  and  William  Mc 
Allister.  Taylor  was  married  in  1857  to  Rebecca  McLaughlin. 

H.  M.  Benton  was  born  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  in  1836.  He  came  to  Cal. 
by  sea  in  1859,  around  the  Horn  in  a  sailing  vessel.  He  sailed  for  3  years 
between  San  Francisco  and  China  and  Japan,  then  came  to  the  Columbia 
River  and  vas  employed  by  the  O.  S.  N.  Co.  to  run  their  steamers,  until  1S69, 
when  he  settled  in  the  Ahtanam  Valley,  Yakima  co.,  which  was  then  with 
out  towns  except  the  small  settlement  of  Moxie,  the  county  seat,  opposite  the 
present  Yakima  City.  He  was  elected  auditor  in  1872,  to  succeed  C.  P.  Cook, 
the  first  auditor  of  the  county,  and  served  5  years.  He  was  first  clerk  of  the 
district  court,  when  1  clerk  was  allowed  for  each  court,  and  deputy  clerk 
when  only  one  was  allowed  in  a  district.  There  being  no  county  buildings, 
he  carried  the  county  records  about  with  him,  until  the  district  court  was 
established.  Judge  J.  R.  Lewis  organized  the  first  court,  and  first  Sunday- 
school,  in  what  was  known  as  Schanno's  Hall,  the  only  public  room  in  tlie 
county.  The  first  grand  jury  met  in  a  small  school-room  outside  the  limits  of 
the  town.  Previously  justice  had  been  loosely  administered.  James  CathreU 
was  justice,  in  a  case  of  assault,  and  there  not  being  a  sufficient  num'/er  of 
men  for  a  jury,  put  the  sheriff  on  the  panel.  The  man  was  bound  uver  to 
appear  at  the  next  term  of  court  at  Colville — Yakima  being,  it  was  believed, 
joined  to  Stevens  co.  for  judicial  purposes,  whereas  it  belonged  to  Walla 
Walla.  Such  was  pioneer  law.  Benton  married,  in  1869,  Mary  A.  Allen,  a 
native  of  Oregon.  They  had  2  children,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  the  first 
white  native  of  Ahtanam  Valley. 

A.  J.  Splawn,  born  in  Holt  co.,  Mo.,  in  1845,  immigrated  to  Linn  co.,  Or., 
with  his  mother  and  family  in  1852.  He  settled  in  the  Yakima  Valley  in 

1861 ,  when  only  2  other  men,  Charles  Splawn  and  M.  Thorp,  were  in  that  part 
of  the  country,  the  former  being  the  first  sheriff  of  the  county.     Two  other 
brothers  settled  in  Yakima  Valley.     A.  J.  Splawn  married  Melissa  Thorp  in 
1868;  and  again  in  1873  married  Mary  A.  Davison. 


356  COUNTIES  AND  TOWNS. 

Garfield  county  was  established  in  1881  out  of  the  eastern  portion  of  Co 
lumbia  co.  County  seat,  Pomeroy. 

George  W.  James,  born  in  Muskingurn  co.,  Ohio,  in  1836,  immigrated  to 
Cal.  overland,  in  company  with  1  brother,  Preston  James,  in  1856,  remaining 
in  Honey  Lake  Valley  3  years,  when  he  went  to  Virginia  City,  Nev.,  and 
from  there  to  Sacramento  Valley  in  1862,  taking  a  farm  near  Marysville,  where 
he  resided  7  years.  In  1878  he  left  Cal.  for  the  Walla  Walla  Valley,  settling 
in  Columbia  co.  (now  Garfield),  near  Ilia.  He  married  Rosanna  Sharp  in  1856, 
and  had  4  sons  and  3  daughters. 

Moses  Wright,  born  in  Franklin  co.,  Va,  came  to  Cal.  overland  with  the 
Tornado  Train  in  1851.  He  went  to  Siskiyou  co.  and  engaged  in  packing, 
which  he  followed  until  1857,  when  he  removed  to  Benton  co.,  Or.,  with  his 
brother  John,  who  resided  near  Corvallis.  In  1864  he  returned  to  Cal. 
with  horses  and  cattle,  remaining  there  3  years,  settling  in  Walla  Walla  Val 
ley  in  1867,  uear  Ilia,  in  what  is  now  Garfield  co.  He  married  Louisa  Spawr 
in  1863,  by  whom  he  has  3  sons.  She  died,  and  in  1884  he  was  married  again 
to  Mrs  Huldah  Lewis. 

Ransom  Long,  born  in  Kanawha  co.,  West  Va,  in  1812,  immigrated  over 
land  in  1852  to  the  Willamette  Valley,  Or.,  with  his  brother  Gabriel.  In 
1872  he  removed  to  Walla  Walla  Valley,  settling  near  the  present  town  of 
Pomeroy,  in  Garfield  co.  He  was  married,  in  1833,  to  Rosette  Clark,  and  had 
5  sons  and  2  daughters. 

_._William  C.  Gains,  born  in  Niagara,  province  of  Ontario,  C.  E.,  in  1835, 
came  to  Cal.  in  1858  by  sea.  He  resided  in  Cal.  until  1865,  when  he  went 
to  Montana,  remaining  there  until  1878.  In  that  year  he  settled  in  Garfield 
co.,  8  miles  from  Pomeroy. 

N.  C.  Williams,  born  in  Surrey  co.,  N.  C.,  in  1824,  came  overland  by  rail 
in  1873,  settling  near  Pataha  City.  He  married,  in  1848,  Catherine  B.  Martin, 
and  had  5  sons  and  6  daughters,  all  of  whom,  with  one  exception,  settled 
about  him. 

George  W.  Burford,  born  in  Lloyd  co.,  Ind.,  in  1832,  immigrated  overland, 
in  Mason's  Train,  to  Yamhill  co.,  Or.,  in  1852,  with  his  father  and  family, 
consisting  of  8  children.  In  1854  he  went  to  Yreka,  Cal.,  to  work  in  the 
mines,  and  in  1858  returned  to  Polk  co.,  Or.  In  1862  he  married  S.  E.  Cul- 
lough,  by  whom  he  has  3  daughters,  and  3  years  afterward  went  to  reside  at 
The  Dalles,  whence  he  came  to  Ilia  in  1877. 

Kittitass  county  was  organized  out  of  Yakima  county  in  1884.  County 
seat,  Ellensburg.  It  is  rapidly  filling  up  with  farmers  and  stock-raisers. 
Some  of  the  pioneers  are  the  following:  -SajnueLC-MIller,  born  in  Ashland 
co.,  Ohio,  in  1828,  came  to  Cal.  in  1852,  overland,  and  settled  in  Nevada  co., 
where  he  resided  9  years,  less  1  spent  east.  In  1861  he  removed  to  Umatilla, 
Or.,  engaging  in  the  business  of  packing  freight  to  the  mines  of  John  Day, 
taking  two  partners,  so  extending  his  lines  in  1864  as  to  have  trains  running 
in  all  directions  where  packing  was  required.  In  1872  the  firm  removed  to 
the  Wenatchee  Valley,  then  in  Yakima  co.,  bringing  a  train  load  of  goods, 
buying  out  another  trading  firm,  Ingraham  &  McBride,  and  setting  up  as 
merchants,  where  there  was  but  one  other  white  man,  John  Goler.  One  of 
his  pa-tners,  Frank  Freer,  died  in  1878,  leaving  David  Freer  and  Miller  to 
continue  the  business.  The  Freers  were  also  from  Ohio,  and  came  out  in 
1855  and  1857.  There  were  in  1885  11  families  in  Wenatchee  Valley  and  44 
voters,  the  first  settlers  being  single  men.  This  valley,  says  Miller,  is  800 
feet  lower  that  the  Kittitass  Valley,  after  which  the  county  is  named,  which 
recommends  it  to  fruit-growers  and  farmers. 

Thomas  Haley,  born  in  Onondaga  co.,  N.Y.,  in  1847,  came  to  Washington 
in  1869,  and  settled  in  Kittitass  Valley,  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising. 
Married,  in  1878,  Vancha  Hackett,  a  native  of  Or. 

Charles  B.  Reed,  born  in  Indiana,  town  and  county,  Penn.,  in  1838,  went 
to  Pike's  Peak  in  search  of  gold  in  1860,  and  thence  to  Montana  in  1863.  He 
discovered  the  Snow  Shoe  Gulch  mines  of  Butte  district,  with  Joseph  Bowers 
and  Jack  Swartz,  in  the  winter  of  1864-5,  and  went  from  there  to  Deer  Lodge, 


KITTITASS  AND  KLIKITAT.  357 

where  he  remained  until  1869.  Starting  for  Puget  Sound,  he  was  attracted 
by  the  advantages  of  Kittitass  Valley  for  stock-raising,  and  remained  here, 
where  in  1883  he  was  appointed  postmaster.  He  married  Mary  Ebey,  a 
native  of  Penn.,  at  Deer  Lodge,  in  1865,  and  had  4  sons  and  1  daughter.  His 
second  son  was  the  first  boy  born  in  Kittitass  Valley.  Reed,  with  F.  D. 
Schnebly,  Charles  S.  Schnebly,  Charles  Kenneth,  and  John  Catlin,  constituted 
a  party  who  went  out  to  capture  the  Yakima  murderers  of  the  Perkins  family 
in  1878.  William  Splawn  headed  another  party  which  joined  Reed's,  and 
they  with  the  assistance  of  chief  Moses  effected  the  capture,  and  prevented 
a  war. 

David  Murray,  born  in  Maine  in  1831,  came  to  Cal.  in  1852  by  sea,  and 
went  to  the  mines  at  Auburn,  but  returned  to  the  ship  which  brought  him 
out,  Queen  of  the  Eavt,  Capt.  Bartlett,  and  helped  to  unload  the  dry-dock, 
which  she  had  in  her  hold,  at  Mare  Island.  For  3  or  4  years  he  mined  and 
worked  at  the  navy-yard  alternately,  and  in  1859  purchased  a  farm  near 
Mare  Island,  where  he  resided  until  1862,  when  he  went  to  the  British 
Columbia  mines,  remaining  in  that  country  10  years,  when  he  returned  to 
Cal.  and  the  east.  In  1870  he  settled  in  Yakima  co.,  Washington,  of  which 
he  was  a  commissioner,  but  in  1883  removed  to  Kittitass  Valley,  and  resided 
at  Ellensburg.  His  business  was  stock-raising.  He  married  Minnie  May  of 
111.  in  1878,  who  died  in  1885. 

Charles  P.  Cooke,  born  in  Erie  co.,  Ohio,  in  1824,  was  brought  up  in  San- 
dusky  City.  He  came  to  Cal.  overland  in  1849,  and  after  1  year  in  the  mines 
of  the  south  fork  of  Feather  River  removed  to  Independence,  Polk  co. ,  Or. 
On  the  establishment  of  a  post-office  at  that  place  in  1851,  and  the  appoint 
ment  of  Leonard  Williams  postmaster,  Cooke  was  made  his  deputy,  until 
1853,  when  he  was  appointed  postmaster,  which  office  he  held  until  1867.  He 
was  also  a  justice  of  the  peace  from  1851  to  1867,  when  he  removed  to  the 
Yakima  country,  settling  in  Moxie  Valley,  across  the  river  from  the  present 
Yakima  City.  On  the  17th  of  March,  a  few  days  after  his  arrival,  the  county 
was  organized,  only  17  voters  being  present.  In  June  1868  he  was  elected 
auditor  for  2  years,  and  was  chosen  county  commissioner  several  times.  In 
1870  he  removed  to  Kittitass  Valley.  In  1873  he  was  elected  joint  assembly 
man  for  Yakima  and  Klikitat  counties;  and  in  1875  was  again  elected  from 
Yakima  co.  The  legislature  of  1883  appointed  him  one  of  the  commissioners 
of  the  new  county  of  Kittitass,  which  he  helped  to  organize  the  following 
year,  when  he  was  elected  joint  assemblyman  for  Yakima  and  Kittitass 
counties.  Cooke  says  that  in  1870  there  were  only  6  other  white  settlers  in 
what  is  now  Kittitass  co.,  viz.,  F.  M.  Thorp,  Charles  Splawn,  Mathias  Baker, 
S.  R.  Geddes,  Tillman  Houser,  and  P.  Doveran,  all  with  families.  There  were 
about  as  many  single  men.  Cooke  married  Susan  E.  Brewster,  born  at  Saratoga, 
N.  Y.,  but  brought  up  in  Ohio,  a  descendant  of  the  Vandercooks  of  the  old 
Dutch  colony  of  N.  Y.  They  had  6  sons  and  4  daughters.  This  is  the  same 
Cooke  family  which  furnished  Jay  Cooke,  Henry  D.  Cooke,  and  in  Or.  E.  N. 
Cooke. 

Thomas  Johnson,  born  in  Prescott,  Canada  West,  in  1839,  immigrated  to 
Vancouver,  V.  I.,  in  1862,  and  settled  in  Klikitat  co.,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Columbia,  the  following  year,  running  a  ferry  between  Rocklin  and  The 
Dalles  for  3  years.  In  1871  he  surveyed  the  town  of  Goldendale,  erected  the 
first  house  and  store,  and  opened  trade,  and  also  built  the  first  flouring  mill, 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1875. 

The  first  organization  of  Klikitat  co.  in  1859  having  been  practically  aban 
doned,  but  three  families  residing  there,  viz.,  Parrott,  J.  S.  Bergen,  and 
Doty,  in  1867  the  legislature  again  appointed  county  officers.  H.  M.  Mc- 
Nary  and  A.  Schuster  were  chosen  commissioners,  A.  H.  Simmons  sheriff, 
William  Connell  treasure!-,  and  Johnson  auditor,  which  office  he  held  for  3 
years,  after  which  he  was  elected  probate  judge,  and  again  treasurer.  In 
1882  he  removed  to  Kittitass  Valley,  having  a  contract  with  the  N.  P.  R.  R. 
to  furnish  lumber.  He  erected  a  largo  mill  and  opened  a  store,  which  prop 
erty  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1883,  enl ailing  a  loss  of  $26,000.  Johnson  mar 
ried  Ann  Connell  of  Spruceville,  C.  W.,  in  1866. 


358  COUNTIES  AND  TOWNS, 

John  A.  Shoudy,  born  in  Rock  Island  co.,  111.,  in  1840,  served  in  the  U. 
S.  army  during  the  civil  war,  and  in  1864  immigrated  to  the  Pacific  coast  via 
Panama,  spending  1  year  in  Cal.  In  1865  he  removed  to  Seattle,  on  Puget 
Sound,  and  in  1871  to  the  Kittitass  Valley,  where  he  purchased  the  small 
stock  of  merchandise  of  A.  J.  Splawn,  and  settled  down  to  trade  with  the  12  or 
14  other  settlers,  where  in  1885  there  were  4  general  merchandise  stores,  carry 
ing  each  a  stock  of  from  $25,000  to  $40,000.  Shoudy  took  a  preemption  claim, 
a  soldier's  homestead  claim,  of  160  acres  each,  and  having  purchased  another 
160  acres,  laid  out  the  town  of  Ellensburg,  naming  it  after  his  wife,  Mary 
Ellen  Stewart  of  Ky,  whom  he  married  in  1867.  Shoudy  was  in  1882  elected 
to  represent  Yakima  co.  in  the  legislative  assembly. 

James  H.  Stevens,  born  in  Beaver  co.,  Penn.,  in  1842,  immigrated  via 
Seattle  in  1873,  and  settled  at  once  on  a  farm  in  the  Kittitass  Valley,  where 
he  raised  wheat,  which  he  used  to  fatten  hogs,  with  a  profit.  He  married 
Mary  C.  Eego  of  Ind.  in  1870,  and  had  2  children. 

John  P.  Sharpe,  born  in  Harrison  co.,  Ohio,  in  1842,  came  to  Or.  overland 
with  his  parents  in  1852,  and  settled  in  Lane  co.  In  1862  he  removed  to  the 
neighborhood  of  The  Dalles,  and  in  1874  again  removed  to  Kittitass  Valley, 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  stock.  In  1865  he  married  Nancy  J.  Roland,  a 
native  of  Or. ,  and  had  8  children. 

John  M.  Shelton,  born  in  Wythe  co.,  Va,  in  1841,  went  to  Pike's  Peak 
for  gold  in  1860,  revisiting  his  home  and  returning  to  Denver  in  1865,  where 
he  remained  until  1882,  when  he  came  to  Kittitass  Valley  to  reside.  He 
married  Carrie  C.  Jones  of  Mo.  in  1866,  and  has  4  children. 

Klikitat  county,  which  was  established  Dec.  20,  1859,  has  an  area  of 
2,088  square  miles.  The  county  seat  was  first  temporarily  located  on  the 
land  claim  of  Alfred  Allen.  First  co.  com.,  Alfred  Allen,  Richard  Tartar, 
and  Jacob  Halstead;  probate  judge,  Willis  Jenkins;  sheriff,  James  Clarke; 
auditor,  Nelson  Whitney;  assessor,  Edwin  Grant;  treasurer,  William  Mur 
phy;  justice  of  the  peace,  John  Nelson.  Wash.  Stat.,  1859-60,  420-1.  The 
boundary  of  this  county  was  changed  in  Jan.  1861  by  extending  the  west  line 
north  to  the  north-east  corner  of  Skamania  co. ,  and  thence  east  to  a  point  due 
north  of  ths  mouth  of  Rock  Creek,  thence  to  the  Columbia,  and  back  through 
the  middle  of  the  river  to  the  place  of  beginning.  The  county  seat  was  then 
located  'upon  the  land  of  G.  W.  Phillips,'  until  fixed  by  a  majority  of  the  legal 
voters  of  said  county  at  a  general  election.  Nelson  was  then  appointed  probate 
judge,  Jenkins  treasurer,  Phillips  auditor,  W.  T.  Waters  sheriff,  James  H. 
Hermains,  A.  Waters,  and  A.  Davis  co.  com.,  C.  J.  McFarland,  S.  Peasly,  and 
W.  T.  Murphy  justices  of  the  peace.  In  Jan.  1867  the  county  seat  was  located 
at  Rockland  by  legislative  enactment,  but  subject  to  be  changed  by  a  majority 
of  votes  at  the  next  election.  A  new  set  of  officers  were  appointed  to  hold 
until  others  should  be  elected.  Rockland  remained  the  county  seat  until 
it  was  removed  to  Goldendale.  This  county  contains  the  Yakima  Indian 
reservation.  It  had  a  population  in  1871  of  2,898,  and  taxable  property  to 
the  amount  of  $732,737.  New  TacomaN.  P.  Coast,  Feb.  1,  1880. 

Skamania,  which  embraces  the  mountainous  region  of  the  Cascades, 
was  established  in  1854  by  the  first  territorial  legislature,  can  never  be 
a  populous  county.  Its  area  is  2,300  square  miles,  pop.  495,  and  tax 
able  property  $143,793.  Co.  seat  Lower  Cascades.  Clarke  co.,  whose  his 
tory  has  been  often  referred  to,  has  an  area  of  725  square  miles,  pop.  4,294, 
taxable  property  $924,100.  County  seat  Vancouver.  Cowlitz,  set  off  from 
Lewis  in  1854,  has  an  area  of  1,100  square  miles,  a  pop.  of  1,810,  and  taxable 
property  to  the  amount  of  $938,170.  Co.  seat  Kalama.  Wahkiakum  co., 
established  in  1854,  has  an  area  of  360  square  miles,  population  504,  taxable 
property  $158,606.  County  seat  at  Cathlamet.  Pacific  co. ,  organized  in  1851 
by  the  Or.  legislature,  has  an  area  of  550  square  miles,  pop.  1,315,  taxable 
property  $379,258.  Co.  seat  Oysterville.  Thurston  co.,  established  in  1852 
by  the  Or.  leg.,  has  an  area  of  750  square  miles,  a  pop.  of  3,246,  and  taxable 
property  amounting  to  $] ,  628, 108.  Co.  seat  Olympia.  Lewis  co. ,  established 
in  1845  by  the  Or.  leg.,  has  an  area  of  1,800  square  miles,  pop.  2,095,  taxable 


WHATCOM  COUNTY.  359 

property  $743, 571  County  seat  Chehalis.  Id.  Chehalis  co,,  established  in 
1854,  has  an  area  of  2,800  square  miles,  pop.  808,  taxable  property  $304,801. 
County  seat  Montesano.  Mason  county,  organized  as  Sawamish  in  1854,  has 
a  present  area  of  900  square  miles,  pop.  560,  taxable  property  $570,331.  Co. 
seat  Oakland.  Pierce  co.  was  organized  by  the  Or.  leg.  in  1852.  It  has  an 
area  of  1,800  square  miles,  a  pop.  of  2,051,  and  taxable  property  to  the  amount 
of  $1,669,444.  Co.  seat  Steilacoom,  later  changed  to  New  Tacoma.  Kingco. , 
established  in  1852,  has  an  area  of  1,900  square  miles,  pop.  5,183,  taxable 
property  $1,997,679.  Co.  seat  Seattle.  Snohomish  co.  was  established  in 
1861.  The  first  com.,  E.  C.  Ferguson,  Henry  McClurg,  and  John  Hervey; 
sheriff,  Jacob  Summers;  auditor,  J.  D.  Fowler;  probate  judge,  Charles  Short; 
treasurer,  John  Harvey.  The  co.  seat  was  located  at  Point  Elliot,  or  Mukil- 
teo,  until  it  should  be  changed  by  election  of  the  voters  of  the  county.  Its 
present  county  seat  is  Snohomish  Cityj^rea  of  the  county  1,000  square  miles, 
pop.  1,080,  taxable  property  $390,354.<^Whatcom  co.  was  first  organized  in 
March  1854  out  of  a  portion  of  Island  co.  The  next  leg.  located  the  co.  seat 
at  the  land  claim  of  11.  V.  Peabody  until  the  com.  should  select  a  site.  Wash. 
Stat.,  1854,  475.  Area  3,840  square  miles,  pop.  2,331,  taxable  property 
$735,003.  Co.  seat  Whatcom,  on  the  Peabody  claim. 

The  earliest  settler  in  Whatcom  co.  was  William  Jarmau,  an  Englishman 
formerly  in  the  service  of  the  H.  B.  Co. ,  who  located  himself  on  the  SamishRiver 
in  1852.  To  Whatcom  co.  belong  certain  islands  of  the  Haro  or  Fuca  archipel 
ago,  one  of  which  is  Lummi  Island,  9  miles  long  by  If  miles  wide,  the  south 
end  being  a  bold  eminence  rising  1,560  feet,  and  the  north  end  level  forest 
land.  There  is  also  an  island,  or  delta,  formed  by  the  two  mouths  of  the 
Nootsack  River,  on  which  is  the  reservation  of  the  Nootsacks.  Christian 
Tutts  was  the  first  permanent  settler  on  Lummi.  Samish  Island  is  3^ 
miles  long,  lies  east  and  west,  and  varies  in  width  from  25  rods  about  the 
middle  to  260  rods  at  the  western,  and  a  mile  at  its  eastern  end.  It  was  set 
tled  first  in  1S70,  by  Daniel  Dingwall,  followed  by  a  number  of  farmers.  Bel- 
lin(jham  Bay  Mail,  April  6,  1875.  Fidalgo  Island  contains  about  25,000 
acres,  and  combines  a  remarkable  variety  of  scenery,  soil,  and  climate.  The 
eastern  portion,  fronting  on  Swinomish  Slough,  is  connected  with  the  main 
island  only  by  a  narrow  peninsula,  and  is  occupied  as  the  reservation  of  the 
Swinomish  Indians,  containing  about  7,000  acres.  The  first  white  settlement 
was  made  on  Fidalgo  Bay,  probably,  by  William  Monks.  The  island  has  a 
number  of  bays  offering  attractions  for  settlement — Simelk,  Fidalgo,  Padilla, 
and  Squaw  bays.  Mount  Erie,  1,250  feet  high,  rises  about  2  miles  soxith-west 
of  the  head  of  Fidalgo  Bay.  Lake  Erie,  and  several  small  lakes,  add  diver 
sity  to  the  landscape.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xvi.  25-6.  Guemes  Island, 
first  settled  in  1862  by  J.  F.  Mathews,  contains  about  7,000  acres,  most  of 
which  is  occupied.  There  is  a  post-office  and  steamboat  landing  on  Ship 
Harbor  channel.  There  is  a  copper  mine  on  this  island,  discovered  by  Hugh 
D.  O.  Bryant,  born  in  Georgia,  one  of  the  Or.  pioneers  of  1843.  He  removed 
to  Puget  Sound  in  1853,  residing  first  at  Olympia,  but  settling  on  Guemes 
Island  in  1866.  The  copper  mine  is  on  his  farm,  and  was  located  and  tested 
in  1875.  It  is  in  the  hands  of  a  stock  company  at  present.  Cypress  Island 
was  settled  in  1869,  by  J.  M.  Griswold.  It  is  about  five  miles  long  and  three 
miles  wide,  has  a  mountain  1,525  feet  high,  with  lakes  and  diversified  scen 
ery.  Only  a  small  portion  of  the  land  is  tillable.  Secret  Harbor.  Strawberry 
Bay,  and  Eagle  Harbor  are  the  settlements.  Sheep-raising  and  fishing  are 
the  industries  of  the  island.  Sinclair  Island,  sometimes  called  Cottonwood, 
lies  between  Cypress  and  Lummi  islands,  containing  an  area  of  1,050  acres, 
of  which  1,000  are  cultivable.  It  was  settled  by  A.  C.  Kittles  in  1868.  Kit 
tles  went  from  Cal.  to  the  Fraser  mines,  thence  to  Orcas  and  Fidalgo  islands, 
and  finally  here.  He  keeps  cattle  and  sheep.  There  were  no  whiteVomen  on 
Sinclair  or  Cypress  islands  in  1885.  The  first  settlement  on  Skagit  River  was 
made  in  1859  by  William  H.  Sortwell,  formerly  of  Snohomish.  On  the  Noot- 
sack  the  first  resident  was  Patterson,  who  cut  the  first  cattle-trail  from  where 
Renton  now  stands.  There  are  many  Swedes  and  Norwegians  on  the  Skagit 
and  Swinomish,  who  make  excellent  farmers. 


360 


COUNTIES  AND  TOWNS. 


Island  co.  was  established  in  Jan.  1853,  just  before  the  organization  of  the 
territory.  Its  first  limits  were  very  indefinite,  and  Whatcom  county  was 
taken  off  from  it.  Its  present  area  is  250  square  miles,  embracing  Camano 
and  Whidbey  islands.  The  area  of  the  latter  is  115,000  acres,  of  the  former 
30,000.  Pop.  633;  taxable  property  $372,821.  Co.  seat  Coupeville. 

San  Juan  county  was  established  October  1873,  being  constituted  of  the 
islands  of  the  Haro  archipelago,  containing  an  area  of  280  square  miles,  pop 
ulation  of  838,  and  taxable  property  to  the  amount  of  $182,147.  Co.  seat 
San  Juan. 


THE  HARO  ARCHIPELAGO. 


San  Juan  co.  was  in  dispute  between  Eng.  and  the  U.  S.  when,  during  the 
Fraser  River  excitement,  it  received  a  first  rapid  accession  of  American  pop 
ulation.  Many  of  these  settlers  will  hardly  come  under  the  Washington 
Pioneer  Society's  rule  for  pioneers,  yet  to  all  intents  and  purposes  belong  to 
that  class,  and  deserve  mention.  C.  Rosier  was  a  soldier  in  Co.  D,  9th  U. 
S.  infantry,  under  Captain  Pickett,  from  1855  to  I860.  After  his  discharge 
he  settled  on  the  island  of  San  Juan.  Robert  Frasier  settled  in  November 
1859.  He  came  to  the  coast  in  1856,  and  went  to  Fraser  River  in  1848.  D. 
W.  Oaks,  a  native  of  Maine,  went  to  the  Fraser  mines  in  1858  from  Cal.,  and 
returning  settled  on  the  island  three  weeks  before  Pickett  landed  with  Am. 
troops,  and  helped  to  raise  the  first  Am.  flag.  McGarry  was  another  settler 
of  1859,  whose  widow  remained  on  the  island.  S.  V.  Boyce,  a  returned 
miner  of  1859,  erected  the  first  building  in  the  town  of  San  Juan.  Charles 
McKay  and  Henry  Quinlan  also  selected  homes  on  the  island  the  same  year. 


CLALLAM  COUNTY  AND  SEATTLE.  361 

Frederick  Jones  came  to  Puget  Sound  in  1854,  left  in  1856,  returned  in  1858, 
and  settled  on  the  east  side  of  San  Juan  Island,  south  of  Friday  Harbor.  He 
is  a  sheep-farmer  and  fruit-grower.  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Weeks,  the  first  prot- 
estant  minister  to  settle  on  San  Juan,  acquired  title  after  the  abandonment 
of  Camp  Pickett  to  the  quarters  formerly  occupied  by  the  officer  in  command, 
and  he  and  Robert  Firth  secured  possession  of  this  historic  ground.  Morse's 
Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xv.  36-42.  Morse  gives  many  other  names  from  1862  to 
1870.  The  part  of  the  settlement  has  been  made  since  1870. 

Clallam  co.  was  organized  by  the  first  ter.  leg.  in  April  1854.  Its  area  is 
2,050  square  miles,  population  469,  taxable  property  $154,351,  co.  seat  New 
Dungeness.  New  Tacoma,  N.  P.  Coast,  Feb.  1,  1880.  Jefferson  co.  was  es 
tablished  in  1852  by  the  Or.  leg.  Its  area  is  2,500  square  miles,  population 
1,427,  taxable  property,  $469,161,  co.  seat  Port  Townsend.  Kitsap  co.  was 
established  in  Jan.  1857,  under  the  name  of  Slaughter,  in  memory  of  the  gal 
lant  officer  of  that  name  who  defended  the  firesides  of  the  early  settlers 
against  the  hostile  chief  whose  name  the  com.  finally  adopted,  and  whose 
home  was  on  the  peninsula  which  constituted  the  co.  between  Admiralty  In 
let  and  Hood  Canal.  The  first  board  of  co.  com.  were  Daniel  S.  Howard,  G. 
A.  Meigs,  and  Cyrus  Walker;  sheriff,  G.  A.  Page;  auditor,  Delos  Waterman; 
assessor,  S.  B.  Hines;  treasurer,  S.  B.  Wilson;  justices  of  the  peace,  William 
Hubner,  William  Renton,  and  M.  S  Drew.  Wash.  Stat.,  1856-7,  52.  A  sup 
plementary  act  provided  that  the  legal  voters  of  Slaughter  co.  should  at  the 
next  annual  election  decide  upon  a  name  for  the  county,  which  they  did.  A 
third  act  appointed  Henry  C.  Wilson  probate  judge  for  the  county.  The  area 
of  Kitsap  is  540  square  miles,  pop.  1,799,  taxable  property  $1,044,673,  co.  seat 
Port  Madison.  Quillehyute  co.  was  created  iu  Jan.  1868,  out  of  that  portion 
of  the  coast  south  of  the  Quillehyute  River,  north  of  Chehalis  co. ,  and  west 
of  the  Olympic  range;  but  there  being  not  pop.  enough  to  fill  the  co.  offices, 
the  act  was  repealed  the  following  year.  Wash.  Stat. 

Taking  the  population  and  wealth  of  the  first  district,  which  is  purely  an 
agricultural  one,  and  comparing  it  with  that  of  the  other  two,  which  are  largely 
commercial,  it  appears,  according  to  the  statistics  for  1879,  furnished  by  the  co. 
officers,  that  eastern  Washington  had  at  that  time  a  pop.  in  its  six  counties  only 
five  thousand  less  than  western  Washington  with  its  eighteen  counties,  and 
had  taxable  property  to  the  amount  of  $8,185,774,  against  $12,761,080  on  the 
west  side  of  the  mountains.  Four  counties  were  organized  since  1879  in  the 
eastern  division.  The  growth  of  the  country  on  both  sides  of  the  Cascades 
has  been  rapid,  almost  doubling  its  population  in  five  years,  and  adding  50 
per  cent  to  its  capital,  which  in  a  new  country  is  a  large  increase. 

Seattle,  the  metropolis  of  Washington,  in  1880  had  7,000  inhabitants,  and 
property  valued  at  something  over  four  millions.  Its  manufactures  com 
prised  three  ship-yards,  three  founderies,  two  breweries,  one  tannery,  three 
boiler-shops,  six  sash  and  door  factories,  five  machine-shops,  six  saw-mills, 
three  brick-yards,  three  fish-packing  factories,  one  fish  cannery,  one  barrel 
factory,  one  ice  factory,  one  soda-water  factory,  besides  boot  and  shoe  shops, 
tin-shops,  and  other  minor  industries.  The  commerce  of  Seattle  with  the  coast 
line  of  settlements  was  considerable;  but  the  chief  export  is  coal  from  the 
mines  east  of  Lake  Washington.  There  were  few  public  buildings  except 
churches,  of  which  there  were  ten,  besides  the  hall  and  reading-room  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  The  university,  whose  early  history 
has  been  given,  was  in  as  flourishing  a  condition  as  an  institution  without  a 
plentiful  endowment  could  be.  In  connection  with  the  university  there  was 
a  society  of  naturalists  numbering  23  young  men,  whose  cabinet  was  valued 
at  $3,000.  The  building  occupied  by  their  cabinet  was  furnished  by  A.  A. 
Denny,  to  be  enlarged  as  required.  The  officers  were:  W.  Hall,  president; 
E.  S.  Meany,  vice-president;  H.  Jacobs,  secretary;  F.  M.  Hall,  assistant 
secretary;  C.  L.  Denny,  librarian;  A.  M.  White,  treasurer;  and  J.  D.  Young, 
marshal.  Seattle  Evening  Herald,  Dec.  22,  1883.  The  lesser  towns  of  King 
county  are:  Newcastle,  Renton,  Dwamish,  Black  River,  Fall  City,  Slaughter, 
White  River,  Snoqualimich,  Squak,  Quilleyute,  and  Quillieene. 


362  COUNTIES  AND  TOWNS. 

The  second  town  in  size  on  Puget  Sound  in  1885  was  New  Tacoma,  popu 
lation  4,000.  Old  Tacoma,  become  a  suburb  of  its  younger  rival,  was  a  pretty 
village  facing  the  bay  around  a  point  a  little  to  the  west  of  the  new  town. 
The  first  to  project  a  town  on  Commencement  Bay  was  Morton  M.  McCarver, 
who  belonged  to  the  Oregon  immigration  of  1843.  In  1868  he  visited  Puget 
Sound  in  search  of  the  probable  terminus  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railway, 
and  fixed  upon  Commencement  Bay.  Together  with  L.  M.  Starr  and  James 
Steele  he  purchased  the  land  of  Job  Carr  and  laid  off  the  town  of  old 
Tacoma,  built  a  house,  and  induced  Ackerson  and  Hanson  to  erect  a  mill 
there.  He  gave  200  or  300  acres  to  the  railroad  company,  and  purchased  sev 
eral  thousand  more  for  them,  the  terminus  being  located,  as  it  was  believed, 
on  this  land  July  14,  1873.  He  died  April  17,  1875.  Letter  of  Mrs  Julia  A. 
McCarver,  in  Historical  Correspondence,  MS.  McCarver  was  born  in  Lexing 
ton,  Ky,  Jan.  14,  1807.  He  settled  in  Galena,  111.,  in  1830.  He  took  part 
in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  founded  the  town  of  Burlington,  Iowa,  had  a  stake 
in  Chicago  and  Sacramento,  but  lost  heavily  by  fire  in  Idaho,  and  suffered  by 
the  failure  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.  Pacific  Tribune,  April  23,  1875;  Portland 
Welcome,  March  28,  1875;  Olympia  Courier,  April  24,  1875;  Or.  City  Enter 
prise,  April  23,  1873;  Gilbert's  Logging  and  E.  If.  Building.  Tacoma  was 
called  by  Ackerson  after  the  Indian  name  of  Mount  Tokomah,  meaning  great 
ness.  Wash.  Scraps,  230.  New  Tacoma  was  laid  out  principally  on  the  dona 
tion  claim  of  Peter  Judson  of  the  immigration  of  1853,  while  old  Tacoma 
site  was  purchased  from  Job  Carr,  a  more  recent  settler.  New  Tacoma  owes 
its  first  rapid  growth  to  the  promise  of  the  manipulators  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  railroad  to  make  it  the  terminus.  It  was  laid  out  by  Ex-surveyor- 
general  James  Tilton  and  Theodore  Hosmer  on  the  heights  overlooking  the 
bay,  about  two  miles  south-east  of  the  old  town,  and  was  divided  into  500 
blocks  of  six  lots  each,  and  planned  by  Olmstead,  modelled  after  Melbourne. 
The  site  is  fine,  being  high  above  the  water,  with  the  Puyallup  Valley  at  its 
door  and  Mount  Tacoma  rearing  its  triple  crest  high  above  the  Cascade  range 
directly  to  the  east,  and  seeming  not  an  hour's  journey  away.  The  first 
municipal  election  of  New  Tacoma  was  held  on  Monday,  June  8,  1874.  Job 
Carr,  A.  C.  Campbell,  J.  W.  Chambers,  A.  Walters,  and  S.  C.  Howes  were 
elected  town  trustees.  It  was  chosen  the  seat  of  Pierce  county  in  1880. 
Tacoma  Tribune,  June  12,  1874. 

Olympia  in  1885  was  next  to  New  Tacoma  in  point  of  population,  number 
ing  3,500.  The  first  land  claim  taken  on  the  site  was  located  in  1846  by 
Levi  L.  Smith,  and  held  in  partnership  with  Edmund  Sylvester.  First  cus 
tom-house  established  at  Olympia  Nov.  10,  1851.  First  weekly  mail  to  the 
Columbia  from  this  place  in  1851;  first  mail  from  here  down  the  Sound  car 
ried  in  1854.  First  newspaper  published  here  Sept.  11,  1852.  First  store  or 
American  trading-house  opened  here  by  M.  T.  Simmons  in  1850.  There  had 
been  a  trading-house  on  the  east  side  of  Budd  Inlet  previously,  at  the  catho 
lic  mission.  The  first  child  born  in  Olympia  was  a  son  to  S.  P.  Moses,  the 
first  collector  of  customs.  The  first  marriage  of  Americans  in  the  territory 
was  at  Tumwater,  a  suburb  of  Olympia,  in  1848,  between  Daniel  D.  Kinsey 
and  Ruth  Brock,  M.  T.  Simmons  officiating.  First  school  in  the  territory 
taught  in  1852,  in  a  small  building  on  the  site  of  the  present  post-office,  by 
A.  W.  Moore.  First  term  of  court  held  on  Puget  Sound — except  the  extraor 
dinary  one  of  18494-was  held  at  Olympia  Jan.  20,  1852.  The  first  session 
of  the  legislature  was  held  in  the  building  now  occupied  by  Breckenfield  as  a 
tobacco-store.  First  town  incorporated  on  Puget  Sound  was  Olympia,  iu 
1859.  First  trustees  were  George  A.  Barnes,  Joseph  Cushman,  James  Cush- 
man,  T.  F.  McElroy,  and  Elwood  Evans.  First  marshal,  W.  H.  Mitchell. 
Wash.  Standard,  Jan.  13,  1872.  First  hotel  put  up  in  1851,  the  Columbian, 
was  torn  down  in  1872.  Olympia  Transcript,  March  9,  1872.  Swanton,  a 
suburb  of  Olympia,  separated  from  it  only  by  a  creek,  and  a  thriving  village, 
was  named  after  John  M.  Swan,  its  original  proprietor,  and  a  nurseryman. 
Sylvester's  Olympia,  MS.,  11;  Morse's  Wa*h.  Ter.,  MS.,  ii.  22;  Olympia  Club, 
MS.,  1-20.  The  first  brick  building  erected  in  Olympia  was  the  banking- 


RAILROADS. 


363 


house  of  George  A.  Barnes,  one  of  its  earliest  settlers,  the  plan  being  furnished 
by  R.  A.  Abbott,  and  the  structure  completed  in  1870.  Other  brick  build 
ings  followed  in  the  business  portion  of  the  town,  but  wood  is  still  the  ma 
terial  chiefly  in  use  for  architectural  purposes,  from  which  circumstance  the 
pla«e  has  been  subjected  to  loss  by  several  devastating  fires. 


RAILROADS  OF  EASTERN  WASHINGTON. 


Previous  to  the  location  of  the  railroad  the  people  of  Olympia  had  expected 
that  their  city  would  be  the  tei-minal  point,  founding  their  expectations  upon 
the  natural  advantages  of  the  place,  the  importance  of  Tumwater  Falls  to 
manufactures,  and  nearness  to  the  Columbia  and  Portland,  to  which  place  the 
company's  charter  compelled  them  to  build  their  road.  But  as  steam  had  ren 
dered  manufactures  comparatively  independent  of  water-power,  railroad 
companies  preferred  to  select  town  sites  for  themselves,  and  there  was  the 
certainty  that  whenever  a  railroad  should  be  constructed  over  the  Cascade 
Mountains  it  would  seek  a  terminus  nearer  the  strait  of  Fuca.  These  and 
other  considerations  caused  the  company  to  fix  upon  Tacoma,  whence  at  any 
time  they  could  withdraw  to  a  still  more  northern  terminus. 

The  location  of  their  line  fifteen  miles  east  of  Olympia,  and  the  depression 
in  business  to  which  this  action  led,  left  the  town  almost  stationary  for  several 
years.  EllicotCs  Puyct  Sound,  MS.,  7-8.  In  the  mean  time  a  grant  was  ob 
tained  from  congress  by  the  Olympia  Branch  Railroad  to  1,300  or  1,400  acrea 


364  COUNTIES  AND  TOWNS. 

of  tide-flats  at  the  south  end  of  Budd  Inlet,  and  connection  made  with  the 
Northern  Pacific,  in  1878. 

Samuel  Holmes,  who  came  to  Pnget  Sound  in  1852,  died  at  Swanton 
Nov.  5,  1873,  aged  56  years.  F.  K.  Perkins,  a  settler  of  1852,  died  at  Susan- 
ville,  in  Gal.,  after  20  years'  residence  in  Olympia,  July  22,  1872.  Leyi 
Shelton,  a  native  of  Nortli  Carolina,  immigrated  to  Puget  Sound  in  1852,  re 
siding  at  Olympia  and  taking  part  in  public  affairs.  He  died  in  August  1878, 
aged  62  years.  James  Allen,  who  settled  in  Washington  in  1852,  died  at 
Olympia  in  Nov.  1868,  aged  74  years.  Dr  Uzal  G.  Warbass,  born  in  New 
Jersey  April  4,  1822,  came  to  Washington  in  1854,  settling  in  Olympia  in 
1858.  He  served  as  surgeon  in  the  Indian  war  of  1855-6,  was  a  representa 
tive  in  the  legislature,  and  territorial  treasurer,  besides  practising  medicine. 
He  died  in  July  1863.  Dr  G.  K.  Willard  was  born  in  New  York,  and  came 
to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1852,  settling  in  Olympia.  He  was  surgeon-general 
under  Stevens  in  1856.  His  death  occurred  in  Dec.  1866.  H.  11.  Woodward, 
born  in  N.  Y.,  emigrated  from  Mich,  in  1852,  settling  near  Olympia.  He  was 
;i  scientific  agriculturist.  He  died  in  Nov.  1872.  Joseph  Shaw  came  to  Puget 
Sound  at  the  age  of  21,  and  settled  on  the  east  side  of  Budd  Inlet,  about  4 
miles  below  Olympia.  He  was  accidentally  killed  in  July  1869.  G.  W.  Dun- 
lap,  born  in  Maine,  was  educated  atBowdoin  college,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1845.  He  shipped  before  the  mast  on  a  whaler  from  New  York  in  1847,  cruis 
ing  in  the  Pacific  two  years,  and  residing  for  a  period  in  Honolulu  as  book 
keeper  to  a  mercantile  firm.  In  1854  he  came  to  Puget  Sound  as  agent  for 
this  house,  but  remained  and  went  into  business  for  himself  at  Olympia.  For 
a  few  months  he  was  clerk  of  the  Indian  department  under  Kendall.  He  died 
June  16,  1862,  aged  36  years,  and  every  business  house  in  Olympia  closed  its 
doors  on  the  day  of  his  funeral.  Silas  Galliher  immigrated  to  Olympia  from 
the  western  states  in  1854  with  his  family.  He  built  the  Tacoma  House  and 
conducted  it  for  19  years.  His  death  occurred  in  April  1873,  at  the  age  of 
46.  His  wife  and  six  children  survived  him.  J.  H.  Kellet,  another  pioneer  of 
Olympia,  died  in  April  1873.  He  was  for  many  years  sheriff  of  Thurston  co., 
and  a  successful  tradesman.  Gideon  Thompson,  bcm  in  Ohio  in  1829,  came 
to  Washington  in  1857,  settling  3^  miles  from  Olympia;  died  in  October  1861. 
Isaac  Wood,  who  settled  in  Olympia  in  1857,  died  April  16,  1869.  Thomas 
James,  born  in  England  in  1838,  emigrated  thence  to  the  U.  S.  in  1842,  and 
to  Washington  in  1851,  settling  near  Olympia  with  his  parents  after  a  tempo 
rary  residence  in  Victoria.  He  died  in  Feb.  1872.  William  F.  0.  Hoover,  a 
settler  of  1852,  died  suddenly  of  heart  disease  in  Oct.  1875,  aged  59  years. 
Charles  Graham,  born  in  N.  Y.,  came  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1850,  and  in  1852 
to  Puget  Sound,  residing  in  Thurston  and  Mason  counties  down  to  the  time 
of  his  demise  in  Feb.  1877,  at  the  age  of  78  years.  Jared  S.  Hurd,  born  in 
N.  Y.,  came  to  Olympia  in  1852  or  1853  from  Cal.  He  was  a  civil  engineer 
and  surveyor.  In  the  Indian  war  of  1855-6  he  served  as  maj.  of  vol.  He  died 
in  May  1873.  Edwin  Marsh,  a  native  of  Conn.,  came  to  Olympia_about  1851 
and  took  a  claim  on  the  west  side  of  the  inlet,  which  was  sometimes  called 
Marshville.  He  was  employed  for  a  short  time  in  1862  on  the  Queniult 
reservation,  but  with  that  exception  resided  constantly  in  Olympia.  He 
was  appointed  register  of  the  land-office  by  President  Lincoln,  which  office  he 
held  until  1868.  He  was  afterward  incumbent  of  several  municipal  offices, 
and  was  justice  of  the  peace  in  1879,  when  he  mysteriously  disappeared,  and  it 
was  conjectured  that  he  might  have  committed  suicide  in  a  despondent  mood 
occasioned  by  ill  health.  A  pioneer  of  Thurston  co.  was  Steven  Hodgdoa, 
who  was  born  in  Portland,  Maine,  in  1807.  He  came  to  Cal.  in  1849,  and  in 
1851  to  Washington,  where  he  was  industriously  employed  as  a  carpenter, 
and  took  a  donation  claim  of  640  acres  at  the  present  site  of  Tenino.  He  lived 
on  his  land  most  of  the  time  until  his  death,  Sept.  26,  1882.  His  only  child 
was  married  to  J.  H.  Long  of  Chehalis.  Asher  Sarjent  was  an  immigrant  of 
1850.  accompanied  by  his  sons  E.  N.  and  A.  W.  Sarjent.  In  1852  he  re 
turned  to  the  east  and  brought  out  his  wife  and  remaining  children — a  son  and 
two  daughters — being  captain  of  a  company  of  25  families  in  1853.  Nelson 


TUMWATEE  AND  VANCOUVER.  365 

Sarjent  met  them  on  the  new  immigrant  road  through  the  Nachess  Pass  and 
piloted  them  through.  Sarjent  took  up  a  claim  on  Mound  prairie,  where  he 
resided  during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  except  a  brief  period  when  he  was  on 
the  Queen  Charlotte  Island  expedition  and  a  prisoner  among  the  northern 
Indians.  He  was  born  in  Maryland,  but  when  young  removed  to  Indiana. 
Olyuipia  Standard,  Feb.  16,  1883.  Other  immigrants  settled  on  Mound 
prairie  in  1854;  namely,  Van  Warmer,  Goodell,  and  Judson.  Ebey's  Journal, 
MS.,  ii.  108.  An  examination  of  the  map  in  the  stir. -gen. 's  office  shows 
claims  to  have  been  taken  under  the  donation  law  on  Budd  Inlet,  or  near  it, 
by  D.  E.  Bumtrager,  E.  L.  Allen,  John  Butler,  G.  W.  French,  B.  F.  Brown, 
M.  Hurd,  T.  B.  Dickerson,  E.  W.  Austin,  W.  Dobbins,  S.  Percival,  Waison, 
S.  Hays,  Nelson  Barnes,  R.  M.  Walker,  E.  H.  Wilson,  L.  Offut,  J.  C.  Head, 
G.  Agnew,  D.  R.  Bigelow,  C.  H.  Hale,  Pascal  Ricard,  Hugh  P.  O'Bryant,  G. 
Whitworth.  D.  Hays,  W.  Billings,  A.  Moore,  W.  Lyle,  and  Dofflemeyer,  in 
addition  to  the  pioneers  above  named. 

Tumwater,  the  initial  point  in  the 'history  of  the  settlement  of  Puget 
Sound,  was  incorporated  in  Nov.  1869.  In  time  it  numbered  more  manu 
factories  than  any  other  town  on  the  Sound. 

Vancouver  was  the  fourth  town  in  size  in  western  Washington,  having  in 
1880  about  3,000  inhabitants.  It  was  made  the  county  seat  of  Clarke  co.  by 
the  first  legislative  assembly  of  Washington,  in  March  1854,  its  pioneers,  both 
English  and  American,  long  retaining  their  residences.  Among  the  early  set 
tlers  were  James  Turubull,  born  in  England,  came  to  Washington  in  1852, 
and  with  him  William  Turnbull,  his  nephew,  long  known  in  connection  with 
ateamboating  on  the  Columbia.  Both  died  in  1874.  P.  Ahern,  born  in  Ire 
land,  came  to  Vancouver  with  troops  in  1852.  Was  elected  co.  auditor  in  1855, 
and  representative  in  1857.  Stephen  P.  McDonald,  born  in  111.,  came  with 
the  immigration  of  1852  to  Washington.  Engaged  in  printing,  and  was  pub 
lisher  of  the  Vancouver  Register  for  a  time.  He  represented  Clarke  co.  in  the 
legislature  in  1869,  after  which  he  was  city  recorder  and  clerk  of  the  city 
council.  He  died  Oct.  24,  1876.  J.  S.  Hathaway,  a  native  of  N.  Y.,  re 
moved  to  Mich,  when  young,  married  in  that  state  in  1847  and  came  to  Clarke 
eo.  in  1852.  He  was  active  in  the  volunteer  service  during  the  Indian  war, 
and  was  afterward  co.  judge.  He  died  Jan.  12,  1876,  at  the  age  of  52  years. 
Levi  Douthitt,  born  in  N.  C. ,  immigrated  in  1852,  settling  near  Vancouver, 
where  he  resided  until  1870,  when  he  removed  to  Marion  co.,  Or.,  where  he 
died  in  Dec.  1872,  aged  61  years.  A.  G.  Tripp,  a  native  of  R.  I.,  immi 
grated  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1849.  He  was  employed  in  government  service 
at  Benicia,  California,  The  Dalles,  Oregon,  Sitka,  Alaska,  and  Vancouver. 
He  settled  at  the  latter  place  in  1857.  He  was  chosen  to  represent  Clarke  co. 
in  the  legislature,  but  did  not  serve  owing  to  absence  in  service  of  the  gov 
ernment.  He  was  mayor  of  Vancouver  for  several  years.  His  death  occurred 
Sept  17,  1875,  at  the  age  of  64  years.  William  Kelly  came  to  the  Pacific 
coast  as  sergeant  in  Co.  G,  4th  U.  S.  inf.,  and  was  transferred  from  Cal.  to 
Fort  Vancouver,  where  he  remained  until  discharged  in  1854,  when  he  settled 
in  the  town.  In  1866  he  was  made  a  capt.  in  the  8th  U.  S.  cav.,  and  was 
stationed  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico.  He  died  at  Denver,  Colorado,  while 
en  route  to  Vancouver  to  visit  his  wife  and  children.  Charles  Proux,  a  Cana 
dian  voyageur,  had  resided  near  Vancouver  since  1833  and  acquired  a  hand 
some  property.  He  died  Jan.  10,  1868.  Ingersoll  Stanwood  and  his  wife, 
Matilda,  came  from  111.  to  Or.  in  1852,  settling  near  Vancouver.  Mrs  Stan- 
wood  died  in  April  1882,  leaving  11  children  with  their  father.  Thomas 
Nertou,  born  in  Eng.  in  1822,  married  Eliza  Lakin  in  1852,  and  immigrated 
to  Or.  the  same  year.  He  settled  in  Washington  in  1855,  residing  in  Clarka 
co.  until  his  death  in  Sept.  1882.  He  left  a  wife  and  13  children.  H.  Mar 
tin,  a  veteran  mountain  man,  a  North  Carolinian  by  birth,  settled  north  of 
the  Columbia  in  or  about  1840.  He  planted  8  orchards  in  Washington,  and 
ate  of  the  fruits  of  each  successively.  He  died  in  June  1862,  aged  85  years. 
Frederick  Shobert,  a  native  of  Penn.,  came  to  Or.  in  1851,  settling  in  Clarke 
oo.  He  died  in  Sept.  1871,  aged  65  years.  Two  pioneers  of  1848,  Felix  Dodd 
and  Henry  Beckman,  residents  of  Clarke  co.,  died  in  April  1879,  penniless. 


366  COUNTIES  AND  TOWNS. 

Port  Townsend,  situated  on  Quimper  peninsula,  ranked  fifth  in  point  of  pop 
ulation  among  the  towns  of  western  Washington.  It  was  incorporated  in  1860, 
the  act  being  amended  in  1871  and  1873.  Occupying  a  commanding  position, 
it  was  regarded  as  the  key  of  Admiralty  Inlet  as  well  as  Port  Townsend  Bay. 
There  is  a  tradition  that  had  the  original  owners  of  the  town  site  been  more 
liberal  they  might  have  benefited  themselves.  Brigg's  Port  Townsend,  MS., 
26-8.  Loren  B.  Hastings,  came  to  Or.  in  1847  and  settled  at  Portland,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  1st  municipal  council  of  that  city.  On  the  20th  of  Oct. 
1851  he  set  out  for  Puget  Sound,  travelling  by  canoe  to  Cowlitz  landing,  and 
on  foot  from  there  to  the  Sound.  Hastings  was  successful  in  business,  and 
filled  the  various  offices  of  justice  of  the  peace,  county  treasurer,  and  repre 
sentative  in  the  legislature.  He  died  in  June  1881,  and  was  buried  with 
masonic  ceremonies.  Port  Townsend  Puget  Sound  Argus.  June  17,  1881. 
Thomas  Stimpson,  a  settler  of  Port  Townsend,  and  a  native  of  Maine,  was 
swept  overboard  from  the  deck  of  the  fishing  schooner  Shooting  Star  Septem 
ber  15,  1870,  and  drowned.  He  was  the  pioneer  captain  of  the  fishing  fleet, 
and  much  regretted  by  the  people  among  whom  he  lived.  His  wife  and  2 
children  survived  him.  Frederick  A.  Wilson,  born  in  Providence,  R.  I.,  came 
to  Puget  Sound  about  1856,  and  was  collector  of  customs  for  several  years. 
He  removed  to  Cal.  about  1866,  and  died  at  San  Rafael,  Dec.  28,  1876. 
Seattle  Pac.  Tribune,  Jan.  26,  1877.  Edward  Lill,  a  native  of  Eng.,  came  to 
Puget  Sound  in  1853,  and  settled  on  Colseed  Inlet.  He  died  at  Port  Towns- 
end,  June  1876,  aged  48  years.  Olympia  Transcript,  June  10,  1876.  D.  C. 
H.  Rothschild,  merchant,  settled  in  Port  Townsend  in  1858.  He  came  to 
Cal.  in  1849.  Portland  West  Shore,  Dec.  1876,  64.  Henry  L.  Tibbals  also 
settled  in  1858.  He  died  in  Jan.  1883.  Oliver  Franklin  Gerrish  settled  in 
1 863,  too  late  to  be  a  pioneer,  but  was  identified  with  the  affairs  of  Jefferson 
co.,  and  had  attained  the  highest  degree  of  free-masonry.  He  was  a  native  of 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  born  April  14,  1830,  and  died  at  Victoria,  B.  C.,  Oct.  2, 
1878.  Port  Townsend  Argus,  Oct.  3,  1878. 

Steilacoom,  the  contemporary  of  Olympia,  is  most  beautifully  situated. 
Lafayette  Balsh  erected  the  first  house,  having  brought  the  materials  from 
the  east  in  his  vessel.  The  first  house  built  out  of  native  wood  was  put  up  by 
John  Collins,  a  discharged  soldier.  Collins  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  born  in 
1812,  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1840,  was  in  the  Mexican  war,  in  which  he 
won  a  medal.  Morse's  Wash.  Tcr.,  MS.,  ii.  111-15.  William  Bolton,  a 
deserter  from  the  English  ship  Albion  in  1850,  located  a  claim  two  miles  north 
of  Steilacoom,  where  he  had  a  ship-yard  and  built  several  of  the  early  sloops 
which  traversed  the  waters  of  the  Sound.  Evans'  Notes,  MS.,  v.  Lemuel 
Bills,  a  native  of  Vt,  came  to  Puget  Sound  about  1851  and  settled  at  Steila 
coom  soon  after.  He  died  in  August  1875,  aged  73  years.  Steilacoom  Express, 
Aug.  12, 1875.  Bills'  claim  joined  Balch's  on  the  east.  Abner  Martin,  nativo 
of  Va,  immigrated  in  1852,  settling  in  Pierce  co.  the  same  fall.  He  died  in 
April  1880,  at  the  age  of  80  years.  Hill  Harmon  came  to  Puget  Sound  in 
1850,  engaged  in  various  enterprises,  was  in  charge  of  the  insane  asylum  at 
one  time,  owned  a  logging  camp,  built  the  Harmon  hotel  at  Steilacoom  and 
resided  there,  and  had  an  extensive  acquaintance  with  the  most  prominent 
men  in  this  country.  His  wife  was  the  first  white  woman  at  Port  Gamble, 
her  daughter  Emma  being  the  first  white  child  born  at  that  place.  Mrs 
Harmon  died  in  Dec.  1876,  soon  after  returning  to  Steilacoom  from  her  for 
mer  home  in  Maine.  Mason  Guess,  an  immigrant  of  1853,  and  a  volunteer 
in  the  Indian  war,  resided  at  Steilacoom,  and  carried  the  mail  from  that 
place.  John  Walker  came  to  the  Pacific  coast  from  Newark,  N.  J.,  in  1849, 
and  settled  in  1851  or  1852  in  Pierce  co.  He  died  in  1869  in  the  Puyallup 
Valley.  William  M.  Kincaid,  born  in  Lexington,  Ky.,  who  belonged  to  the 
immigration  of  1853,  with  his  7  children,  4  boys  and  3  girls,  his  wife  being 
dead,  settled  in  the  Puyallup  Valley,  and  was  driven  out  by  the  Indian  war, 
but  returned  after  several  years.  His  death  occurred  in  Feb.  1870,  at  the 
age  of  71  years.  John  R.,  Joseph,  and  Christopher  Kincaid  are  his  sons. 
Seattle  Intelligencer,  Feb.  21,  1870.  J.  B.  Webber,  E.  A.  Light,  James  Hughes, 


WHATCOM  AND  CONNER.  367 

Samuel  McCaw,  and  Rodgers  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  SteilacAom. 
The  donation  claimants  in  the  immediate  vicinity  were,  after  L.  Balch,  C. 
Chapman,  and  L.  Bills:  Thomas  Chambers,  J.  "Van  Buskirk,  W.  Wallace,  M. 
Byrd,  John  Rigney,  W.  P.  Dougherty,  L.  Reach,  James  H.  Minson,  M.  Faley, 
G.  Gibbs,  Peter  Smith,  J.  Faucett,  I.  Talentire,  W.  P.  Melville,  Henry  Johns, 
W.  D.  Bushaker,  C.  Mahan,  W.  Downey,  W.  N.  Savage,  T.  Sears,  H.  Barnes, 
W.  Northover,  H.  M.  Percy,  J.  Thompson,  Jesse  Dunlnp,  E.  Meeker,  J. 
Montgomery,  Frederick  Mayer,  G.  Brown.  Other  towns  of  Pierce  count? 
were  Puyallup,  in  the  hop-growing  region  of  that  valley,  Franklin,  Alertou, 
Orting,  Wilkeson,  Lake  View,  Sumner,  Elhi,  and  Nisqually. 

Of  towns  that  once  had  the  promise  of  a  great  future,  Whatcom  is  one. 
It  was  named  after  a  chief  of  the  Nooksacks,  whose  grave  is  a  mile  above  the 
Bellingham  Bay  coal  mine.  For  a  short  time  during  the  Fraser  River  furore 
it  had  10,000  people,  and  a  fleet  of  vessels  coming  and  going.  The  order  of 
Douglas,  turning  traffic  to  Victoria,  caused  all  the  better  portion  of  the 
buildings  to  be  taken  down  and  removed  thither.  The  single  brick  house 
erected  by  John  Alexander  remained,  and  was  converted  to  the  use  of  the 
county.  Eld  ridge's  Sketch,  MS.,  31-2;  Coleman,  in  Harper's  Magazine,  xxxix. 
796;  Waddincjtoit,  8-9;  Rossi's  Souvenirs,  156-7.  After  this  turn  in  the 
fortunes  of  Whatcom  it  remained  uninhabited,  except  by  its  owners  and  the 
coal  company,  for  several  years,  or  until  about  1870,  when  the  N.  1'.  R.  Co. 
turned  attention  to  Bellingham  Bay  as  a  possible  terminus  of  their  road,  and 
all  the  available  land  fronting  on  the  bay  was  bought  up.  In  1882  the  agent 
of  a  Kansas  colony,  looking  for  a  location,  fixed  on  Whatcom  county  and  town, 
and  made  arrangements  for  settling  there  GOO  immigrants.  The  owners  of 
the  town  site  agreed  to  donate  a  half-interest  in  the  town  site  to  the  colo 
nists,  but  refused  after  the  latter  had  complied  with  the  stipulations.  New 
Whatcom  was  thereupon  laid  off  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  creek,  and  also  a 
town  called  Fairhaven  west  of  that,  while  other  colonists  settled  at  Sehome, 
named  after  a  chief  of  the  Samish  tribe,  and  laid  off  by  E.  C.  Fitz- 
hugh,  James  Tilton,  and  C.  Vail,  on  the  land  claim  of  Vail  and  De  Lacy, 
in  1858.  Another  town  to  which  the  mining  rush  gave  birth  was  Semialvnoo, 
on  the  beautiful  land-locked  bay  of  that  name,  ten  miles  east  of  Point  Rob 
erta,  and  just  below  the  southern  boundary  of  B.  C. 

Of  the  towns  founded  since  the  pioneer  period  in  this  region,  La  Conner 
was  for  some  years  the  chief.  It  was  founded  by  J.  S.  Conner,  and  named 
after  his  wife,  Louise  Agnes  Conner,  the  first  white  woman  who  settled  on 
the  flats.  Tiie  post-office  was  established  in  1870,  a  school  in  1873,  a  catho 
lic  church  in  1874,  and  a  grangers'  hall  in  1875,  which  served  for  all  public 
uses  and  county  offices.  Conner  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1838,  and  came  to 
the-  U.  S.  in  1840.  He  married  Miss  L.  A.  Seigfried  in  1863,  and  came  to 
Wash,  in  1869,  purchasing  a  small  trading-post  and  some  land  from  his 
cousin,  J.  J.  Conner,  and  taking  a  pre-emption  claim  on  the  tide-lands.  He 
soon  became  wealthy,  but  died  in  1884,  his  wife  and  9  children  surviving 
him;  Ida  R.,  who  married  W.  H.  Talbot;  Herberts.,  who  managed  the  estate; 
Lillian  J.,  Mary  V.,  Francis  J.,  Louisa  A.,  Guy  W.,  Martin  E.,  and  William. 

Another  of  the  thriving  modern  northern  towns  is  Snohomish  City, 
situated  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Snohomish  River,  in  the  midst  of  an 
extensive  tract  of  agricultural  and  timbered  country.  Its  founder  was  E.  C. 
Ferguson,  who,  assisted  by  other  progressive  citizens,  imparted  to  the 
place  a  character  for  enterprise  unusual  in  towns  of  its  size  and  age  which 
have  been  planted  in  a  new  agricultural  and  lumbering .  country.  Ferguson 
waa  born  in  N.  Y.  in  1832.  He  came  to  Cal.  in  1854,  and  went  to  Fraser 
River  in  1858.  Returning  unsuccessful,  he  tarried  A  while  in  Steilacoom,  and 
labored  at  carpentering  until  1860,  when  he,  with  E.  F.  Cady,  located  upon 
the  land  where  Snohomish  City  now  stands.  They  were  successful  from  the 
first  in  their  undertakings.  Ferguson  has  been  a  merchant,  has  held  several 
county  offices,  has  served  four  terms  in  the  legislative  council  of  the  territory, 
and  one  in  the  lower  house.  Morse's  Wash.  Ter.,  MS.,  xxi.  13-14;  Portland 


368  COUNTIES  AND  TOWNS. 

West  Shore,  Dec.  1876;  Seattle  Tribune,  Oct.  22,  1875.  Then  there  were 
(Jiark  and  Theron  Ferguson,  Isaac  Cathcart,  a  native  of  Ireland;  A.  C.  Fol- 
som,  born  in  N.  H.  in  1 827,  a  man  of  travel  and  numerous  adventures  in  the 
service  of  the  government;  J.  H.  Plaskett,  George  G.  England,  L.  Wilbur 
from  Michigan,  the  Blackburn  brothers  and  J.  H.  Hilton  from  Maine,  Henry 
F.  Jackson,  W.  H.  Ward,  William  Whitfield  from  England,  H.  A.  Gregory, 
and  C.  A.  Missimer.  Mr  Morse,  from  whom  I  obtained  a  valuable  series  of 
manuscripts  on  Washington  in  23  vols,  was  a  resident  of  Snohomish  City, 
where  he  published  the  Northern  Star  newspaper  in  1876-9.  He  was  bom 
in  Ct,  April  14,  1847.  At  the  age  of  18  he  enlisted  in  the  battalion  of  engi 
neer  troops,  U.  S.  A.,  and  was  discharged  at  the  end  of  3  years  in  S.  F., 
whence  he  returned  to  Ct  and  removed  to  Iowa.  In  1870  he  graduated  from 
the  law  school  of  the  Michigan  university,  and  practised  in  Albia,  Iowa, 
until  1872,  when  he  came  to  Snohomish  City  and  engaged  in  law  practice 
there,  starting  the  first  newspaper.  After  discontinuing  his  paper  he  trav 
elled  extensively  about  the  Sound,  picking  up  every  species  of  information,  a 
portion  of  which  I  have  embodied  in  this  history.  Morris  H.  Frost  was  a 
pioneer  at  Mukilteo.  He  was  born  in  N".  Y.  in  1806,  removing  to  Mich,  in 
1832, and  to  Chicago,  111.,  in  1849,  immigrating  thence  in  1S52  to  Or.  and  settling 
at  Steilacoom  the  following  summer.  In  1856  he  was  appointed  collector  of 
customs  in  place  of  I.  N.  Ebey,  which  position  he  occupied  until  1860.  It  is 
claimed  that  he  erected  the  first  brick  building  on  Puget  Sound  in  1857  for  a 
custom-house,  the  same  later  occupied  by  N.  D.  Hill  for  a  drug-store.  In 
1861  he  removed  to  .Mukilteo  with  Jacob  D.  Fowler,  another  New  Yorker, 
where  they  were  engaged  in  merchandising,  fishing,  beer-brewing,  and  hotel- 
keeping.  With  the  selfish  policy  which  hindered  other  new  settlements,  they 
refused  to  sell  real  estate;  hence  when  other  towns  sprang  up  which  com 
peted  for  the  trade  of  the  country,  they  had  no  settlers  near  them  to  sustain 
business.  About  1880  they  consented  to  sell,  and  quite  a  settlement  sprang 
up  at  Mukilteo,  which,  lying  in  the  path  of  all  the  steamboats  that  ply  east 
of  Whidbey  Island,  caught  considerable  trade.  Besides  Mukilteo,  on  the 
Sound,  was  Lowell,  nine  miles  up  the  Snohomish  River,  Tulalip  Indian 
agency,  at  the  mouth  of  that  river,  Qualco,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Skikomish, 
and  Stamwood,  on  the  tide-flats  of  the  Stillaquamish,  which  in  1884  were  all 
the  towns  in  Snohomish  county.  The  last-mentioned  settlement  is  largely 
Norwegian.  That  people  have  a  neat  church,  lutheran,  at  Stamwood, 
erected  in  1879,  and  a  pastor  of  their  own  nationality.  The  main  Norwe 
gian  settlement  was  made  between  1876  and  1880,  both  on  the  tide-flats  and 
up  the  river.  Martin  and  Christian  Tafteson  immigrated  to  the  U.  S.  from 
the  north  of  Norway  in  1848,  and  to  Puget  Sound  in  1851,  settling  at  Oak 
Harbor,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Skagit.  Christian  Tafteson  was  born  in  1816 
and  married  in  1840.  From  1833  to  1845  he  was  a  trader  at  Alten  Parish,  50 
miles  south  of  Hammerfest,  west  Lapland.  He  afterward  resided  in  east 
Lapland,  and  was  a  landsman,  or  sheriff,  as  well  as  municipal  chairman  and 
court  interpreter  of  the  Tapish  and  Finnish  languages,  with  which,  and  the 
Swedish  and  English,  he  was  well  acquainted.  A  thriving  agricultural  set 
tlement  was  pioneered  by  H.  D.  Morgan  and  sons,  millmen,  on  the  Pill 
Chuck  Creek,  a  stream  flowing  into  the  Snohomish  just  above  Snohomish 
City.  H.  D.  Morgan  was  Indian  agent  at  Tulalip.  He  was  of  service  in  the 
Indian  war  in  controlling  the  neutrals,  and  established  the  reservation  on 
Squaxon  Island  in  Nov.  1855.  Morse,  MS. ,  iv.  116.  He  was  not  one  of  the  earli 
est  settlers  of  the  co.,  but  located  there  about  1874.  W.  B.  Sinclair,  formerly 
of  Port  Madison,  was  ten  years  earlier,  and  Mary  E. ,  his  wife,  was  tho  first 
white  woman  who  settled  in  the  county.  She  was  a  daughter  of  J.  N.  Low 
of  Seattle,  pioneer  of  Alki  Point.  Sinclair  was  the  first  regular  merchant  of 
Snohomish.  He  died  about  1870  or  1871;  Mrs  Sinclair  continued  to  reside  at 
Snohomish  City. 

The  Snoqualimich  prairie,  which  is  in  King  county,  above  the  Snoqnali- 
mich  Falls,  was  first  settled  in  1859,  by  J.  Borst,  Spencer  Kellogg,  O.  E. 
Kellogg,  and  A.  0.  Kim  ball.  About  the  same  time  Frederick  Dunbar,  R.  Bizer, 


MINOR  SETTLEMENTS  369 

Patterson,  and  one  other  man  located  themselves  on  Griffin  prairie,  below  the 
falls;  and  the  following  year  Peter  Peterson,  M.  Peterson,  Robert  Smallman, 
Joseph  Ferris,  and  his  wife  Lucinda,  on  Snoqualimich  prairie.  Mrs  Ferris 
was  the  first  white  woman  in  the  Snoqualimich  valley.  Fall  City  is  the 
name  of  a  settlement  two  or  three  miles  below  the  cataract  of  the  Snoquali 
mich  river.  OLher  post-office  stations  to  the  number  of  ten  or  a  dozen  were 
all  to  be  found  in  King  county  in  1884. 

In  Clallam  county  were  Neah  bay,  New  Dungeness,  and  the  remains  of 
Port  Angeles.  Jefferson  co.,  besides  Port  Townsend,  had  the  ports  of  Lud- 
low,  Discovery,  and  the  new  milling  town  of  Irondale.  Island  co.  had  Coupe- 
villc,  founded  by  Thomas  Coupe,  who  settled  on  the  south  side  of  Penn  Cove 
in  1853,  and  Covcland,  on  the  west  end  of  the  Cove,  both  on  Whidbey  island, 
and  Utsalady,  on  the  north  end  of  Camafin  island.  Kitsap  co.  had  four  milling 
towns — Port  Madison,  Port  Blakeley,  Port  Gamble,  and  Seabeck.  Mason, 
besides  the  county  seat,  had  but  Arcadia,  Kamilchie,  Skokomish,  and  Union 
City,  none  of  them  of  any  commercial  importance.  Thurston  co.  had,  besides 
Olympia  and  Tumwatcr,  Tenino,  Oakville,  Beaver,  and  Tenalquot,  all  insig 
nificant  places.  Lewis  co.  had  not  a  single  town  of  any  consequence.  After 
Chchalis,  the  county  seat — which  was  laid  off  in  1873,  on  the  donation  claim 
of  S.  S.  Saundcrs  and  wife,  and  called  Saundersville  until  recently- 
come  Claquato,  Skookum  Chuck,  Mossy  Rock,  Napavine,  Newaukum,  Silver 
Creek,  Winlock,  Glen  Eden,  Boisfort,  Little  Falls,  and  Cowlitz,  all  without 
interest  in  this  history,  except  Claquato,  which,  being  a  prettily  situated 
place,  the  earliest  American  town  in  the  county,  and  for  a  long  time  the 
county  seat,  deserves  more  than  a  passing  mention.  It  was  the  centre  of  an 
agricultural  district,  and  before  the  completion  of  the  Olympia  and  Tenino 
railroad  was  upon  the  mail  route  from  the  Columbia  to  Puget  sound,  as  well 
as  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Chehalis,  and  had  several  roads  radiat 
ing  from  it.  Julien  Bernier,  native  of  Quebec,  died  June  8,  1871,  at  Ncwau- 
knm  prairie,  aged  87  years.  He  came  to  Astoria  with  the  Astor  co.  in 
1812,  and  remained  in  the  service  of  Astor's  successors.  He  went  to  Red 
river,  married,  and  resided  there  a  few  years,  but  returned  to  Washington 
to  settle  permanently.  His  son  Marcellus  became 'a  resident  of  Newaukum 
prairie.  Olympia  Transcript,  June  17,  1871.  Lewis  H.  Davis,  a  native  of 
Vt,  crossed  the  plains  in  1831  from  Ind.,  and  settled  in  Claqv.ato.  He  died 
Nov.  18,  1864,  aged  72  years.  He  had  prospered  greatly  in  his  new  home. 
Olympia,  Standard,  Nov.  26,  1864.  Turner  Richerson  Roundtree  was  the  old 
est  son  of  Dudley  Roundtree  of  Green  River,  Ky,  where  he  was  born  in  1795. 
He  served  under  Harrison  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  took  part  in  the  battles  of 
Thames,  Maiden,  etc.  He  married  Miss  Ferguson,  a  Scotch  woman,  a  cousin 
of  Patrick  Henry.  In  1830  he  removed  to  111.,  serving  as  a  lieut  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war.  He  was  frequently  tendered  nominations  for  office,  but  invaria 
bly  declined.  On  coming  to  Washington  in  1833  he  settled  on  Boisfort  prai 
rie,  where  he  amassed  a  comfortable  fortune,  besides  expending  his  means 
freely  upon  public  works,  and  in  hospitalities.  His  family  consisted  of  7 
children,  33  grandchildren,  and  10  great-grandchildren.  He  died  March  21, 
1868,  on  board  tne  steamer  Carrie  Davis,  en  route  to  his  home  from  Claquato. 
Other  early  settlers  were  H.  Buchanan  1832,  A.  F.  Tullis  1833,  John  Hague 
1852,  George  Hague  1854,  C.  F.  White  1852,  Albert  Purcell  1859.  Morse's 
Wash.  Tcr.,  MS.,  ii.  70-1. 

Montcsano  became  the  principal  town  in  Chehalis  county.  At  Gray  Har 
bor  resided  Alexander  C.  Smith,  who  was  a  native  of  Jacksonville,  111.,  and 
came  to  Or.  in  1852.  He  finally  settled  in  Pacific  co.,  but  was  at  one  time 
associate  justice  of  the  sup.  ct  of  Idaho.  He  died  at  Kalama,  May  9,  1875. 
Wallet  Walla  Union,  May  22,  1875.  Cosmopolis,  Elma,  Satsop,  Sharon, 
Cedarvillc,  and  Iloquiam  were  the  other  settlements  in  this  county. 

Oystcrvillc  was  made  the  county  seat  of  Pacific  county.  'The  origi 
nal  owner  was  J.  A.  Clark,  who  located  it  in  1854.  The  other  settle 
ments  were  Willopah,  Bruceport,  Centreville,  or  Bay  Centre,  South  Bend, 
Riverside,  Woodard  Landing,  Ilwaco,  Chinook,  Knappton,  Gray  River,  and 
HIST.  WASH.— 24 


370  COUNTIES  AND  TOWNS. 

Brookfield.  Bruceport  was  the  oldest  settlement.  I  have  given  elsewhere 
some  names  of  the  first  comers.  John  Briscoe,  from  Newtown,  settled  on 
Shoalwater  Bay  in  Sept.  1852.  B.  Loomis,  from  N.  Y.,  arrived  in  Cal.  in 
1849,  and  came  to  Pacific  co.  in  1850.  G.  Y.  Easterbrook,  fromR.  I.,  brought 
the  ship  Pacific  to  S.  F.  in  1S49.  In  1850  he  came  to  Or.,  and  settled  in  1853 
at  West  Beach,  Shoalwater  Bay,  giving  up  the  sea  in  1859.  J.  L.  Stout, 
born  in  Ohio  in  1822,  came  to  Cal.  in  1850,  and  the  same  year  to  Or.,  but  did 
not  settle  at  Oysterville  till  1859.  Other  settlers  were  Benjamin  Hutton,  Os- 
borne  Coulter,  Espy,  and  Albert  Fisher.  Morse's  ll'ash.  Ter.,  MS.,  ii.  85-7. 
Mrs  Gilbert  Stevens  was  the  first  white  woman  who  settled  at  Oysterville. 
She  died  March  1,  1877,  aged  55  years.  Oli/mpia  Transcript,  March  7,  1877. 

Kalama  was  made  the  county  seat  of  Cowlitz.  It  came  into  existence  in 
Feb.  1S70  as  the  initial  point  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railway  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Columbia  in  western  Washington,  and  after  a  brief  period  of 
prosperity  fell  into  decay.  The  other  towns  of  Cowlitz  co.  were  Martin's 
Bluff,  Carroll,  Moutj cello,'  Freeport,  Mount  Coffin,  Oak  Point,  Cowlitz,  Pekin, 
Silver  Lake,  and  Olequa.  Seth  Catlin,  a  pioneer  of  Freeport,  was  a  member 
of  the  first  territorial  legislature,  and  was  elected  to  the  Oregon  legislature  in 
1852  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the  council  caused  by  the  resignation  of  Lancaster. 
He  was  president  of  the  council  of  Washington  in  1855  and  1856.  His  son, 
Robert  Catlin,  was  appointed  to  West  Point  by  delegate  Stevens,  and  grad- 
iiated  with  honor,  receiving  his  commission  as  lieut  of  the  5th  art.  in  18G3. 
In  1871  Seth  Catlin,  while  en  route  to  Texas,  was  drowned  in  the  Arkansas 
River.  Olympia  Tribune,  Aug.  26,  1871;  Bancrofts  Hand-Book,  1864,  354; 
W.  W.  Statesman,  Oct.  17,  1863. 

Cathlamet,  county  seat  of  Wahkiakum  county,  built  upon  a  bench  of  land 
on  the  north  bank  of  the  Columbia  thirty-five  miles  from  its  mouth,  had  few 
inhabitants,  and  little  business  besides  Warren's  fishery.  James  Biniic,  one 
of  the  oldest  H.  B.  Co.  's  men,  lived  here  many  years.  James  Allen,  also  of 
the  company,  lived  some  time  with  the  family  of  Birnie.  Here  died  George 
B.  Roberts,  whose  biography  forms  an  interesting  portion  of  the  history  of 
western  Washington.  Eagle  Cliff  was  a  fishing  establishment  and  village, 
Skamokawa  a  farming  settlement  on  a  creek  of  that  name,  and  Waterford, 
the  most  eastern  river  settlement  of  the  county.  Salmon -canning  and  butter- 
making  were  in  1885  leading  industries  in  all  these  places.  Hapgood  and 
William  Hume  planted  the  pioneer  salmon  cannery  at  Eagle  Cliff. 

William  Hume  came  to  Cal.  in  1850  from  Augusta,  Me,  and  engaged  in 
salmon-fishing  in  the  Sacramento  River,  and  was  joined  in  a  year  or  two  by 
his  brothers,  George  W.  and  John.  George  W.  returned  to  Maine,  and  meet 
ing  an  old  schoolmate,  Andrew  S.  Hapgood,  who  was  a  tinner,  and  who  had 
Borne  knowledge  of  canning  fish,  they  together  formed  a  plan  for  fish-canning 
on  the  Sacramento  should  it  meet  William  Hume's  views,  who  found  it  sat 
isfactory,  and  who  sent  for  Hapgood  and  his  brother,  Robert  D.  Hume,  in 
1864.  For  various  reasons,  it  was  found  unprofitable  canning  salmon  at  Sac 
ramento.  They  then  determined  to  try  the  fish  and  climate  of  the  Columbia 
River,  sending  William  Hume  in  18GG  to  spy  out  the  land.  The  only  fisher 
ies  on  the  Washington  side  of  the  Columbia  at  this  time  were  three,  which 
Eut  up  fish  in  barrels:  one  owned  by  Reed  &  Hodgkins  at  Oak  Point,  one 
y  Fitzpatrick  at  Tenas  Illihee,  and  another  by  Welsh.  William  was  joined 
by  Geoige  W.  Hume,  and  an  establishment  was  erected  in  1806  at  Eagle 
Cliff,  which  in  the  following  year  put  up  4,000  cases  of  salmon,  which  found  a 
ready  sale.  In  1867  George  W.  retired  from  the  business  at  Eagle  Cliff,  and 
built  a  second  factory  one  fourth  of  a  mile  below  the  first,  William  and  Hap 
good  carrying  on  the  business  of  Hapgood,  Hume,  &  Co.,  and  Robert  D.  soon 
after  withdrawing  from  the  firm  to  join  his  brother  George  W.  at  the  lower 
fishery.  In  1870  Hapgood  and  Hume  sold  their  establishment  to  Robert  D. 
Hume,  who  subsequently  also  sold  it,  and  built  another  at  Bay  View,  and 
also  one  on  Rogue  River.  The  Humes,  who  were  the  pioneers  in  salmon- 
canning,  have  made  half  a  million  dollars  each  in  the  business.  From  a  dkta~ 
tion  ly  Robert  D.  Hume,  MS. 


WALLA  WALLA  AND  DAYTON.  371 

The  principal  town  of  eastern  Washington  in  1887  was  Walla  Walla. 
From  its  first  settlement  it  was  the  business  centre  for  the  region  east  of  the 
Cascades,  whence  radiated  routes  to  the  mines,  and  later  to  all  the  other 
points  in  that  division  of  the  country.  The  place  was  laid  out  on  the  land 
claim  of  A.  J.  Cain,  and  first  called  Steptoe  City,  after  Col  Steptoe,  in  com 
mand  of  Fort  Walla  Walla,  but  was  incorporated  as  Walla  Walla  City  by  an 
act  of  the  legislature  passed  Jan.  11,  1802.  Cain,  who  was  born  in  Iiid.,  came 
to  Washington  as  one  of  Stevens'  secretaries,  and  was  afterward  Indian  agent. 
He  practised  law  at  Walla  Walla,  and  was  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  dis 
trict.  He  was  connected  with  several  newspapers,  and  started  the  Umatiila 
Press,  the  Walla  Walla  Heal  Estate  Gazette,  and  Dayton  News,  the  latter  in 
1874.  He  died,  aged  about  50  years,  in  July  1879.  Walla  Walla  Union, 
July  12,  1879;  Waituburr/  Times,  July  10,  1879;  Columbia  C'/ironicle,  July  12, 
1879.  The  officers  appointed  by  the  legislature  to  hold  until  the  first  election 
were  B.  P.  Standerfcr  mayor,  James  Gailbreth  recorder,  H.  C.  Coulson,  B.  F. 
Whitman,  D.  S.  Baker,  and  Schwabacker  members  of  the  council,  George 
H.  Porter  marshal.  Wash.  Stat.,  1801-2, 16-24.  As  Walla  Walla  was  a  distrib 
uting  point  for  the  mines  from  1800,  its  early  history  was  marked  by  scenes 
of  disorder.  Walla  Walla  county  had  few  towns.  Wallula.  founded  on  the 
site  of  the  Fort  Walla  Walla  of  the  H.  B.  Co.,  was  laid  oif  by  J.  M.  Van 
Sykle,  who  kept  a  ferry  at  that  place  in  mining  times.  It  became  the  land 
ing  of  the  0.  S.  N.  Co.'s  boats.  Whitman,  or  Frenchtown  as  it  is  sometimes 
called,  was  a  settlement  formed  near  the  Waiilatpu  mission  by  the  catholic, 
French,  and  half-caste  population,  between  1S47  and  1855,  situated  on  the 
Walla  Walla  and  Wallula  railroad  a  few  miles  west  of  Walla  Walla  City. 

Van  Sykle  was  a  native  of  Ohio  who  came  to  Cal.  in  early  mining  times, 
and  was  employed  as  express  agent.  From  Stockton  he  went  to  Portland, 
and  served  in  the  same  capacity  there  until  he  went  to  Wallula.  He  engaged 
in  general  business  at  that  place,  where  he  remained  from  1859  to  1801,  when 
he  removed  to  WTalla  \\ralla.  He  represented  his  district  in  the  legislature  aa 
councilman  for  one  term,  and  was  a  writer  of  good  abilities.  He  died  Mai-cb 
4,  1875.  Walla  Walla  Union,  March  6,  1875;  Walla  Walla  Spirit  of  the  Went, 
March  5,  1875. 

Dayton,  now  the  county  seat  of  Columbia,  was  founded  by  S.  M.  Wait, 
the  former  proprietor  of  Waitsburg,  some  time  between  1870  and  1875,  when 
the  new  county  was  set  off.  It  had  the  only  woollen  factory  in  Washington. 
Beside  Colfax,  the  county  seat,  there  were  in  1887  in  Whitman  co.  Grange 
City,  Texas  Landing,  Panawawa,  Almota  on  Snake  Paver,  Leitchville,  Owens- 
burg,  Ewartsville,  Union  Flat,  Palouse,  Lincoln,  Cedar  Creek,  Steptoe,  Wal 
ton,  and  Rosalia.  Spokane  Falls  became  the  county  seat  of  Spokane  county 
by  reason  of  its  great  water-power  and  prospective  importance.  There  were 
also  in  Spokane  co.  Deep  Creek  Falls,  Fair  View,  Larene,  Marshall,  Miles, 
Plaza,  Rock  Creek,  Rockford,  Sedalia,  Spangle.  Sprague,  Crab  Creek,  Four 
Lakes,  and  Pine  Grove.  Colville,  not  the  H.  B.  Co.'s  fort  at  Kettle  Falls,  nor 
the  United  States  post  at  a  few  miles  distance  east  of  that  spot,  formerly 
called  Pinkney  City,  but  a  little  town  near  by  the  latter — all  having  the  same 
appellation — was  chosen  the  county  seat  of  Stevens  co.  A  settlement  was 
formed  at  Walker's  prairie,  the  place  of  the  former  presbyterian  mission. 
Goldendale  in  Klikitat  county  was  the  seat  of  justice,  besides  which  there 
were  in  this  co.  Klikitat  City  and  Columbus.  Yakima  City  was  made  the 
co.  seat  of  Yakima  co.  The  Kittitass  and  Ahtanam  and  upper  Yakima  val 
leys  contained  several  settlements  in  1887,  among  which  were  Pleasant  Grove, 
Kittitass,  Namun,  and  Ellenburg.  Half  a  dozen  small  quartz-mills  were  in 
operation  in  the  Fehnstin  district,  seventeen  miles  from  Ellenburg,  in  1878. 

Seven  new  counties  were  created  by  the  Washington  legislature  of  1883: 
Skagit,  cut  from  Whatcom,  with  Mount  Vernon  as  co.  seat;  Assotin,  cut  from 
Gariield,  with  Assotin  City  as  co.  seat;  Lincoln,  cut  from  Spokane,  with 
Davenport  as  co.  seat;  Douglas,  also  cut  from  Spokane,  with  Okanagan  as 
co.  seat;  Kittitass,  cut  from  Yakima;  Franklin  from  Whitman,  and  Adams 
from  Whitman.  S.  F.  Chronicle,  Dec.  3,  1883;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  3,  1883. 


372  CHURCHES,  SCHOOLS,  AND  NEWSPAPERS. 

CHURCHES,  SCHOOLS,  AND  NEWSPAPERS  OP  WASHINGTON. 

When  the  first  American  immigrants  to  Puget  Sound  arrived  in  1845  at 
the  head  of  Budd  Inlet,  they  found  the  methodist  mission  at  American  Lake, 
near  Nisqually,  abandoned.  The  catholics,  however,  still  held  their  ground 
among  the  natives  and  H.  B.  Co.'s  servants;  and  there  was  the  mission  church 
of  St  Francis  Xavier  at  Cowlitz  farm,  and  what  was  claimed,  for  preemption 
purposes,  to  be  a  chapel,  on  Whidbey  Island.  At  Vancouver  in  1840  the 
church  of  St  James,  begun  the  year  previous,  was  completed,  by  which  the 
catholic  church  subsequently  endeavored  to  hold  the  town  site  of  Vancouver, 
and  the  garrison  grounds  with  property  which  was  worth  a  million  of  dollars. 
This  claim,  as  well  as  the  one  on  Whidbey  Island,  failed  after  long  litigation. 
East  of  the  Cascades  in  1846  were  already  established  the  mission  of  St  Igna 
tius  in  the  Flathead  country,  the  chapel  of  St  Paul  near  Fort  Colville,  while 
St  Francis  Regis  in  the  Colville  Valley  was  projected.  These  were  the  works 
of  the  Jesuits  under  De  Smet.  In  the  Stillaquamish  Valley  Hancock  in  1849 
found  the  Indians  making  the  sign  of  the  cross.  Hancock's  Thirteen  Years, 
MS.,  100.  The  year  previous  Pascal  Ricard  of  the  Oblate  fathers,  with 
some  lay  brethren,  established  the  mission  of  St  Joseph  on  the  east  side  of 
Budd  Inlet  a  mile  north  of  Olympia,  on  the  14th  of  June,  securing  by  a  con 
tinuous  residence  a  donation  claim  for  his  church.  At  the  same  time  or  a 
little  earlier  the  same  order  established  the  Ahtanam  mission  in  the  Yakima 
country.  The  Cayuse  war  and  other  causes  operated  against  missionary  work 
among  the  Indians;  but  Blanchet,  bishop  of  Walla  Walla,  remained  for  some 
time  in  the  Cayuse  country  and  stationed  a  priest  in  the  valley  when  he  left 
it  to  go  abroad.  Father  Lionnet  took  up  his  residence  among  the  Chinooks 
in  1851,  accompanied  by  an  associate,  Le  Pretre.  According  to  Swan,  they 
made  little  progress  beyond  baptizing  their  so-called  converts.  Near  the 
forks  of  the  Chehalis  river  the  church  secured  640  acres  of  land,  and  the 
claim  formerly  occupied  by  Thibault,  at  Monticello. 

After  the  close  of  the  Indian  war  on  Puget  Sound,  in  1857,  the  diocese  of 
Nisqually  being  divided  into  four  districts,  Blanchet  appointed  the  abb6 
Rossi  cure  of  Puget  Sound,  to  minister  to  those  of  his  denomination  whom  he 
might  find  there,  and  to  act  as  vicar  of  the  lay  brethren  established  among 
the  natives.  He  established  himself  near  Fort  Steilacoom,  where  was  erected 
for  him  a  rude  chapel  and  residence,  and  where  he  could  enjoy  the  society  of 
the  officers  of  the  garrison,  as  well  as  endeavor  to  restrain  the  intemperance 
of  the  soldiers.  During  the  six  years  of  his  residence  in  Washington  half  his 
congregation  were  non-catholic.  During  his  stay  he  baptized  400  or  500  native 
children,  performed  20  marriages,  erected  six  churches,  and  received  the 
abjurgation  of  three  protestants.  The  church  at  Port  Townsend,  for  which 
5,000  francs  had  been  collected,  called  Etoile  do  la  Mer,  was  erected  in  1859 
-60.  The  church  at  Olympia  was  small,  but  must  have  been  sufficient  for  the 
congregation,  which  numbered  but  fifteen  parishioners,  including  children 
learning  the  catechism.  Six  lay  fathers  had  an  establishment  an  hour's  ride 
south-west  from  Olympia,  where  the  superior  had  taken  a  claim  of  half  a  sec 
tion  of  land,  and  where  there  was  a  dwelling-house,  chapel,  huts  for  the 
Indians,  a  garden,  and  orchard.  In  1858  the  superior  of  this  community 
returned  to  Europe,  and  two  others  established  a  mission  oil  the  Snohomish 
River,  another  opened  a  mission  at  Esquimault,  and  the  youngest  two  joined 
the  two  priests  at  Olympia.  The  Snohomish  mission  was  but  a  hut  of  bark, 
with  a  few  boards,  and  straw  thatch. 

Rossi — see  Souvenirs  d'un  Voyage  en  Orfyon  et  en  Californie — appears  to 
have  been  industrious,  and  to  have  preached  whenever  occasion  offered,  to 
catholics  and  protestants  alike.  In  1859  he  prevailed  upon  the  legislative 
assembly  to  incorporate  the  Sisters  of  Charity  at  Vancouver,  where  they  had 
established  an  orphanage,  and  it  was  greatly  through  his  influence  that  the 
care  of  the  insane  of  the  territory  was  committed  to  them.  He  left  Wash 
ington  for  Cal.  in  I860,  but  did  not  abandon  the  territory  definitely  until 
18G3. 


METHODISTS  AND  PRESBYTERIANS.  373 

In  the  latter  year  J.  B.  Brouillettc  purchased  forty  acres  of  land  from  E. 
H.  Barren  near  Walla,  Walla,  and  erected  on  it  St  Vincent's  Academy  for 
girls,  which  was  opened  in  1804.  A  chapel  was  also  erected  on  the  land  of 
William  McBean  on  the  Walla  Walla  Paver  at  or  near  the  site  of  the  modern 
Whitman.  St  Joseph's  school  for  boys  was  opened  at  Walla  Walla  about 
the  same  time,  and  in  18G5  a  church  was  dedicated  at  that  place,  fathers 
Holdc  and  Delahunty  officiating.  Father  Cherouse,  who  was  formerly  at 
Walla  W'alla,  waa  in  1808  conducting  an  Indian  boys'  school  at  Tulalip 
reservation.  A  building  was  subsequently  erected  for  girls,  who  were  in 
structed  by  Sisters  of  Charity. 

The  first  catholic  church  dedicated  in  Olympia  was  in  1870;  the  first  in 
Seattle  in  1871,  the  latter  being  built  under  the  superintendence  of  Father 
Prefoutaine.  Rcattlt,  Times,  April  2,  1871. 

In  1852  the  mcthodist  conference  of  Oregon  assigned  Benjamin  Close  to  a 
pastorate  at  Olympia.  He  preached  his  first  sermon  on  the  26th  of  Dec.  in 
a-  school-house  just  erected  in  that  place.  The  congregation  had  but  just  left 
it  when  the  roof  fell  in  from  the  weight  of  accumulated  snow.  O'ympia 
Columbian,  Dec.  25,  1852,  and  Jan.  1,  1853;  Rodcr's  Bellingham  Ba>/,  MS., 
18.  The  snowfall  of  1852-3  was  excessive,  being  about  4  feet  in  depth.  A 
meeting-house  was  erected  in  the  following  April,  services  being  held  in  the 
mean  time  in  any  rooms  which  could  be  obtained.  The  same  mouth  Close  and 
an  associate,  Morse,  made  a  tour  of  the  settlements  down  the  Sound,  and  Morse 
wa3  assigned  to  duty.  A  methodist  church  was  dedicated  at  Stcilacoom  in 
Feb.  1851,  the  pastor  being  J.  F.  Devore,  who  preached  the  dedication  ser 
mon,  an  address  being  delivered  also  by  I.  I.  Stevens,  the  newly  arrived 
governor.  Devore,  politician  as  well  as  preacher,  arrived  by  sea  in  August 
1853.  At  the  same  time  arrived  D.  Blain,  who  was  stationed  at  Seattle. 

In  the  spring  of  1854  George  F.  Whitworth  arrived  at  Olympia,  having 
immigrated  from  Ind.  the  previous  autumn,  and  wintered  at  Portland,  where 
the  Or.  presbytery  had  assigned  him  to  Puget  Sound  as  the  first  missionary 
of  the  presbytcrian  church  since  the  destruction  of  the  mission  in  the  Cayuse 
country,  and  the  abandonment  of  those  of  Lapwai  and  Chemakanc.  He  began 
preaching  iu  the  hall  of  representatives  in  July,  organizing  a  sabbath-school, 
and  dividing  his  time  between  Olympia,  Grand  Mound  prairie,  and  Claquato, 
until  the  Indian  war  interrupted  travel  between  these  points  and  forced  the 
Bottlers  into  block-houses.  Olympia  Echo,  July  31,  1873;  WliitwortHa  State- 
men*,  MS.,  1-3.  The  first  prcsbyterian  church  of  Olympia  was  organized  by 
Whitworth  in  1854,  and  according  to  Edward  R.  Geary,  who  wrote  a  cen 
tennial  history  of  the  Oregon  presbytery  in  1876,  Mr  Goodscll  of  that  organ 
ization  formed  tho  church  at  Grand  Mound  prairie.  Whitworth  continued 
preaching  and  teaching,  being  at  one  time  in  charge  of  the  territorial  univer 
sity  at  Seattle,  and  engaging  subsequently  in  various  enterprises  more  profit 
able  than  those  pertaining  to  his  profession  in  a  new  country. 

The  first  prcsbyterian  church  incorporated  by  legislative  enactment  was 
that  of  Chambers'  prairie — the  Presbytcrian  Church  and  School  of  Chambers' 
Prairie — Feb.  1,  1858,  with  A.  J.  Chambers,  Joseph  White,  A.  W.  Stewart, 
Marcus  McMillan,  David  Chambers,  and  Abijah  O'Neal  as  trustees.  Wash. 
Mat.,  1857-8,  4G-7 — and  the  second  that  of  Olympia  in  1860 — trustees  T. 
M.  Heed,  W.  G.  Dunlap,  R.  L.  Doyle,  J.  K.  Hall,  and  Butler  P.  Anderson. 
In  1858  the  presbytery  of  Puget  Sound,  embracing  all  Washington,  was 
erected,  the  members  being  Goodscll,  Whitworth,  and  G.  W.  Sloane.  Good- 
sell  died  in  I860,  and  about  this  time  Mr  Evans  arrived  at  Olympia  from  Pa 
and  took  his  place,  but  he  too  soon  sank  under  the  hardships  of  pioneer  life. 
Before  I860  the  Puget  Sound  presbytery  had  lapsed,  and  the  churches  coining 
under  the  care  of  the  Oregon  presbytery,  Anthony  Simpson  was  assigned  to 
Olympia  in  this  year.  In  1863  John  R.  Thompson,  a  native  of  Prince  Ed 
ward  Island,  and  educated  in  Scotland,  succeeded  to  the  ministry  of  the 
church  in  Olympia,  where  he  remained.  In  1873  this  church  was  repaired, 
refurnished,  and  rcdcdicatcd,  a  tower  and  spire  being  added.  In  1875  H.  P. 
Dunning  began  preaching  to  a  congregation  of  presbyterians  at  Seattle,  and 
a  church  edifice  was  later  erected. 


374  CHURCHES,  SCHOOLS,  AND  NEWSPAPERS. 

In  May  1854  Thomas  F.  Scott,  missionary  bishop  of  the  episcopal  church 
for  Oregon  and  Washington,  visited  Olympia,  holding  services  in  the  hall  of 
representatives.  But  it  was  not  until  about  1865  that  he  was  able  to  send  a 
clergyman  to  take  charge  of  the  episcopal  society  in  the  capital  of  Washing, 
ton,  when  P.  E.  Hyland  resigned  the  rectorship  of  Trinity  church,  Portland, 
to  assume  this  duty.  In  the  mean  time  the  bishop  and  occasional  missionary 
clergy  had  ministered,  the  communicants  numbering  ten  at  Olympia.  When 
Hyland  settled  here  a  church  edifice  was  already  completed  by  this  small 
mrmber,  none  of  whom  were  rich.  The  conseci-ation  of  "St  John's  Episcopal 
Church  of  Olympia  took  place  September  3,  1805.  There  was  at  the  same 
time  at  Seattle  a  lay  reader,  C.  Bennett,  who  also  superintended  a  Sunday- 
school.  At  Port  Townsend  a  church  that  had  been  three  years  in  building 
was  completed  in  1865.  After  the  death  of  Scott,  which  occurred  in  1867, 
little  advancement  was  made  until  the  arrival  of  the  newly  elected  missionary 
bishop,  B.  Wistar  Morris,  who  displayed  much  energy  in  founding  churches 
and  schools.  The  number  of  episcopal  churches  and  chapels  in  1880  was  as 
follows:  St  Luke's  church  of  Vancouver,  communicants  35;  St  John's  church 
of  Olympia,  com.  37;  Trinity  church  of  Seattle,  com.  77;  St  Paul's  church  of 
Port  Townsend,  com.  21;  St  Paul's  church  of  Walla  Walla,  com.  26;  St  Peter's 
chapel  of  old  Tacoma,  com.  11;  St  Luke's  church  of  New  Tacoma,  com.  4; 
St  Andrew's  chapel  of  Kalama,  congregation  small;  Upper  Columbia  mission, 
com.  17;  other  communicants  100. 

The  fourth  denomination  in  Olympia  to  erect  a  house  of  worship  to  the 
same  deity  was  the  baptist  society,  which,  although  somewhat  numerous,  did 
not  file  articles  of  incorporation  until  the  15th  of  March,  1872.  The  board  of 
trustees  were  William  H.  Mitchell,  Bennett  W.  Johns,  M.  E.  Traver,  F.  W. 
Fine,  and  Roger  S.  Greene.  Olympia  Standard,  Dec.  28,  1878.  Two  years 
afterward  a  church  was  erected  and  paid  for,  the  pulpit  being  successively 
filled  by  Joseph  Castro,  Roger  S.  Greene,  and  J.  P.  Ludlow;  one  was  also 
built  at  Seattle.  In  1877  the  baptist  association  of  Puget  Sound  proposed  to 
place  a  gospel-ship  on  the  waters  of  the  Sound — a  floating  missionary  estab 
lishment,  propelled  by  steam,  which  could  visit  all  the  out-of-the-way  places 
on  the  Sound  and  in  B.  C.  waters.  '  We  would  thus  have  work  for  our  pas 
tors,  gospel  bands,  or  general  missionary,  the  readiest,  cheapest,  and  most 
practical  conveyance  for  years  to  come,'  said  the  circular.  Ludlow,  Greene, 
and  Wirth  were  appointed  a  committee  to  present  the  matter  to  the  churches. 
Olympia  Waah.  Standard,  Dec.  29,  1877.  In  time  the  little  steamer  was 
built  and  furnished — and  used  as  a  tug-boat. 

There  were  several  preachers,  chiefly  mcthodists,  who  followed  the  mining 
exodus  from  the  Willamette  Valley  in  1862-4,  and  who  held  services  weekly 
wherever  a  congregation  could  be  had.  Ebey's  Journal,  MS.,  8,  77.  The  first 
minister  settled  in  eastern  Washington,  not  of  the  Roman  church,  was  P.  B. 
Chamberlain,  who  in  the  spring  of  1864  purchased  a  building  known  as  Ryan's 
Hall  and  fitted  it  up  as  a  church,  where  he  made  war  on  wickedness  with  a 
singleness  of  purpose  rare  in  modern  times.  Chamberlain  founded  the  first 
congregational  church  in  Washington.  Nine  years  afterward  a  church  of  this 
denomination  was  organized  at  Olympia,  which  purchased  the  lot  and  build 
ing  formerly  owned  by  the  catholic  church  on  Main  street  for  a  few  hundred 
dollai-s,  and  in  Sept.  1874  repairs  had  made  the  edifice  fit  to  be  again  dedi 
cated  to  religious  worship.  Services  were  kept  up  to  1876  by  volunteer 
preaching,  C.  A.  Huntington,  George  H.  Atkinson,  and  Gushing  Eells  offici 
ating.  The  first  regular  pastor  was  G.  W.  Skinner,  who  remained  but  six 
months,  when  he  returned  to  Kansas,  and  David  Thomas  succeeded  him. 

In  1885  there  were  in  Olympia  seven  churches,  including  the  modern  Ro 
man  catholic  and  the  Unitarian,  the  latter  in  charge  of  D.  N.  Utter. 
Seattle  had  six,  Port  Townsend  three,  and  the  whole  number  for  western 
Washington  was  about  thirty.  The  whole  number  in  eastern  Washington  was 
given  at  nineteen,  seven  of  these  being  at  Walla  Walla,  namely,  the  metho- 
dist,  Cumberland  presbyterian,  episcopal,  congregational,  catholic,  seventh- 
day  adventists,  and  united  brethren. 


EDUCATION.  375 

A  school  was  opened  in  Olympia,  Nov.  22,  1852,  by  A.  W.  Moore,  first 
teacher  and  postmaster  on  Puget  Sound  after  its  settlement  by  American 
colonists.  Moore  died  in  1875,  aged  55  years,  having  always  labored  for  the 
best  interests  of  society.  The  first  school-house,  it  is  claimed,  was  on  the 
Kindred  farm,  on  Bush  prairie,  and  was  erected  by  the  Kindred  family  and 
their  neighbors.  Phillips  first  taught  in  this  place.  During  the  winter  of 
1S5--3  a  tax  was  levied  on  the  Olympia  precinct,  and  money  collected  to  erect 
a  public  school-house,  which  was  demolished  by  the  heavy  snow  of  that  win 
ter,  as  before  related.  The  Columbian  of  July  10,  1853,  remarks  that  it  had 
known  of  only  three  schools  north  of  Cowlitz  landing,  one  in  Olympia,  taught 
by  E.  A.  Bradford,  one  at  the  house  of  William  Packard,  taught  by  Miss 
White,  and  one  near  the  house  of  S.  D.  Ruddell,  taught  by  D.  L.  Phillips, 
probably  the  one  above  mentioned. 

About  this  time  the  owners  of  the  Seattle  town  site  offered  a  liberal  dona 
tion  of  land  to  the  methodist  church  if  they  would  erect  an  institution  of 
learning,  to  be  called  the  Seattle  Institute,  within  2  years.  The  matter  was 
laid  before  the  conference  by  Benjamin  Close,  but  the  offer  does  not  appear  to 
havo  been  accepted.  Meantime  the  common  school  at  Olympia  was  continued, 
Moses  Hurd,  C.  II.  Hale,  and  D.  R.  Bigelow  being  trustees. 

In  May  1854  Bernard  Cornelius,  from  Victoria,  V.  I.,  and  graduate  of 
Trinity  college,  Dublin,  took  charge  of  the  Olympia  school,  and  seems  to  have 
been  a  competent  and  industrious  educator.  He  proposed  to  establish  a 
'classical,  mathematical,  commercial,  and  training  school,'  and  conducted  the 
public  instruction  of  the  youth  of  the  district  for  one  year  satisfactorily,  when 
he  set  up  a  private  school,  with  what  success  I  know  not.  In  Dec.  1856  the 
methodists  incorporated  the  Puget  Sound  Wcslcyan  Institute,  located  on  a 
point  of  land  midway  between  Olympia  and  Tumwater.  The  school  opened 
that  year  under  the  charge  of  Isaac  Dillon  and  wife.  The  trustees  were  D. 
R.  Bigelow,  G.  A.  Barnes,  C.  B.  Baker,  F.  A.  Chenoweth,  A.  A.  Denny,  G.  M. 
Berry,  R.  H.  Lansdale,  A.  S.  Abernethy,  James  Biles,  W.  S.  Parsons,  Wil 
liam  Wright,  J.  S.  Smith,  W.  D.  Van  Buren,  T.  F.  Berry,  B.  F.  Yantis,  W. 
N.  Ayres,  Edward  Lander,  W.  W.  Miller,  J.  F.  Devore,  John  Briscoe,  G.  K. 
Willard,  Isaac  Dillon,  L.  A.  Davis,  W.  Rutledge,  Morris  Littlejohn,  R.  M. 
Walker,  C.  H.  Hale,  and  Elwood  Evans.  In  Ebcy's  Journal,  MS.,  iii.  45,  I 
find  mention  of  a  school-house  erected  at  Port  Townsend  in  1855,  where  a 
Mr  Taylor  had  opened  a  school;  and  I  find  that  the  public  school  of  Seattle 
was  closed  in  Oct.  1860,  owing  to  the  mining  excitement  having  carried  off 
the  teacher,  while  other  schools  at  Port  Madison,  Teekalct,  Whidbcy  Island, 
Port  Townsend,  and  Olympia  were  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

As  there  was  no  school  fund  from  the  sale  of  the  16th  and  36th  sections 
until  the  same  should  be  surveyed,  and  the  commissioner  of  the  land-office  hav 
ing  decided  that  the  grant  was  not  available  until  the  territory  should  become 
a  state,  the  common  schools  were  supported  by  a  tax  annually  levied,  and  by 
fines  arising  from  a  breach  of  any  penal  laws  of  the  territory. 

County  superintendents  were  provided  for  by  the  law  of  1854,  to  be  elected 
at  the  annual  elections.  In  1861  it  was  enacted  that  a  territorial  superin 
tendent  should  be  chosen  triennially  by  the  legislature,  whose  dxity  it  should 
be  to  collect  such  information  as  might  be  deemed  important,  reporting  an 
nually  to  that  body,  and  supervising  the  expenditure  of  the  school  fund.  An 
act  approved  Nov.  29,  1871,  provided  that  the  territorial  superintendent 
should  be  elected  in  joint  convention  of  the  legislature  during  that  and  every 
subsequent  session,  his  duties  being  to  disseminate  intelligence  in  relation  to 
the  methods  and  value  of  education,  to  issue  certificates  to  teachers,  call 
teachers'  conventions,  consolidate  the  reports  of  county  superintendents, 
recommend  text-books,  and  report  to  the  legislative  assembly,  for  all  of 
which  he  was  to  receive  §300.  Nelson  Rounds  was  the  first  sup.  under  the 
this  law,  and  gave  an  elaborate  report.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Hamilton  uni 
versity,  and  was  in  the  methodist  ministry  nearly  40  years.  During  this  time 
he  was  connected  with  several  schools,  and  was  four  years  editor  of  the  North 
ern  Christian  Advocate.  Ho  came  from  Binghamptou,  N.  Y.,  to  take  the  presi- 


376  CHURCHES,  SCHOOLS,  AND  NEWSPAPERS. 

dency  of  the  Willamette  University  in  1868,  bnt  resigned  in  1870  and  removed 
to  Washington.  He  died  at  Union  Ridge  Jan.  2,  1874.  0/>/mpia  Standard, 
Jan.  10,  1874.  Congress  passed  a  special  act  in  1873  providing  that  the  ter. 
supt  should  be  appointed  by  the  gov.  and  confirmed  by  the  council.  In  a 
synopsis  of  the  reports  of  the  public  schools  of  Washington  by  G.  H.  Atkin 
son  for  the  centennial  of  1876,  it  is  stated  that  the  number  of  school-houses 
reported  was  283,  the  number  of  pupils  enrolled  7,116,  the  amount  paid  to 
teachers  about  $55,000  in  1875,  and  other  minor  facts. 

Eastern  Washington  was  in  a  somewhat  more  chaotic  state  with  regard  to 
education.  Walla  Walla,  however,  being  the  historic  battle-ground  of  sec 
tarianism,  derived  a  benefit  from  it  in  the  way  of  schools.  Whitman  Semi 
nary  was  chartered  in  1859-60,  and  built  in  1867,  to  commemorate  the  labors 
and  tragic  death  of  Marcus  Whitman,  missionary  to  the  Cayuscs. 

The  lirst  private  school  taught  in  Walla  Walla  was  opened  in  1864,  by 
P.  B.  Chamberlain  and  wife.  There  was  also  a  public  school  of  63  pupils. 
The  catholic  schools  for  boys  and  girls  were  well  sustained.  There  was  also 
St  Paul's  episcopal  seminary  for  young  women,  and  two  other  private  insti 
tutions  of  learning,  besides  the  three  free  schools  of  the  city.  The  catholics 
established  the  hospital  of  St  Mary's,  with  accommodations  for  about  70 
patients. 

Vancouver  had  a  greater  number  of  academies  in  proportion  to  its  popu 
lation  in  1SS5  than  any  other  town  in  Washington.  The  Sisters'  House  of 
Providence,  established  in  1856,  was  the  oldest  academy  then  in  the  territory, 
besides  which  the  methodists  and  episcopalians  had  a  seminary,  and  the  cath 
olics  a  boys'  school,  in  addition  to  the  public  school.  The  Ellensburg  Acad 
emy,  located  at  Ellensburg,  Kittitass  co.,  was  founded  in  1884,  by  James 
H.  Laurie.  It  had  a  good  attendance  from  the  start.  By  act  of  con 
gress  approved  July  2,  1862,  30,000  acres  of  land  for  each  senator  and  rep 
resentative  to  which  the  states  were  respectively  entitled  was  granted  for 
agricultural  colleges.  Under  the  provisions  of  this  act  the  legislature  of 
1864-5  passed  an  act  establishing  Washington  College  at  or  near  Vancouver, 
and  vested  its  government  in  a  board  of  trustees,  of  Avhich  the  governor  was 
ex  officio  a  member.  Trustees — E.  S.  Fowler,  M.  Wintler,  John  Sheets,  S. 
W.  Brown,  Gay  Hayden,  and  John  II.  Timmons.  Wash.  Stat.,  1864-5,  32-6. 
At  the  following  session  congress  was  informed  by  memorial  of  the  selection 
of  a  site,  the  purchase  of  which  was  contracted  for,  and  the  lands  selected, 
but  that  upon  attempting  to  enter  this  land  the  trustees  had  been  notified  by 
the  commissioner  of  the  general  land-office  that  the  act  of  congress  was  only 
applicable  to  states.  The  memorial  prayed  for  the  extension  of  the  benefits 
of  the  act  to  Washington  territory.  This  gift  was,  however,  withheld  until 
the  state  should  become  entitled  to  it  under  the  act. 

Of  libraries,  the  territorial  was  the  first,  being  a  part  of  the  endowment  of 
the  general  government  on  the  establishment  of  the  territory  of  Washington. 
The  books  were  purchased  by  Gov.  Stevens,  and  numbered  about  2,000,  in 
cluding  unbound  documents,  with  a  pair  of  globes,  and  five  mounted  maps. 
B.  F.  Kendall  was  appointed  first  librarian,  and  held  office  until  Jan.  1857, 
when  Henry  R.  Crosbie  was  elected.  At  this  session  of  the  legislature  the  li 
brarian  was  made  temtorial  auditor,  the  joint  salary  amounting  to  §325.  This 
arrangement  lasted' till  1862.  Urban  E.  Hicks  succeeded  Crosbie  in  1858, 
followed  by  A.  J.  Moses  in  1859,  and  J.  C.  Head  in  1860,  who  was  reelected 
in  1861.  In  1862  Thomas  Taylor  wras  chosen  librarian,  and  R.  M.  Walker 
elected  auditor.  In  Feb.  1858  an  act  was  passed  incorporating  the  Stcilacoom 
Library  Association.  The  incorporators  were:  A.  B.  Dcelin,  A.  F.  Byrd, 
E.  A.  Light,  W.  H.  Wallace,  W.  R.  Downy,  W.  P.  Dougherty,  William 
Lane,  S.  McCaw,  B.  Pierce,  Frank  Clark,  Sherwood  Boney,  0.  H.  White, 
E.  M.  Meeker,  William  N.  Savage,  and  Nathaniel  Orr.  Wash.  Stat.,  1857-8, 
47-8.  In  1860  a  library  of  300  vols  was  established  at  Port  Madison.  At 
Seattle,  in  1862,  the  university  library  was  established.  It  numbered  in  1862 
800  vols.  The  Temperance  Tacoma  Lodge  of  Olympia  established  a  library 
in  1869  of  700  vols.  A  catholic  library  was  organized  at  Vancouver  in  1870 


LIBRARIES  AND  PRINTING.  377 

•which  in  1872  numbered  1,000  vols.  In  the  following  year  at  a  meeting  of 
the  citizens  of  Vancouver  a  library  association  was  formed,  and  in  1872  Turn- 
water  followed  with  a  collection  of  290  vols.  Walla  Walla  organized  a 
library  association  and  free  reading-room,  which  was  supported  by  citi/ens 
for  the  benefit  of  strangers,  and  had  a  literary  and  lecture  society,  to  which 
the  officers  from  the  garrison  gave  much  time.  The  literary  society  was  es 
tablished  as  early  as  18G5. 

The  first  printing  done  in  this  section  was  at  the  missionary  station  of 
Lapwai,  in  what  was  then  Oregon,  and  was  afterward  Washington,  and  :inally 
Idaho.  The  printer  was  Edwin  0.  Hall  of  the  Honolulu  mission,  subsequently 
editor  of  the  Polynesian.  Accompanied  by  his  wife,  he  visited  Lapwai  in  the 
spring  of  1S39,  bringing  with  him  a  small  press  and  material,  to  the  value  of 
§JOO,  a  present  from  the  Honolulu  converts.  With  this  he  instructed  Smith 
and  Rogers  of  Lapwai  in  the  printing  art,  remaining  until  1841,  during  which 
time  translations  of  a  part  of  the  book  of  Matthew,  some  hymns,  and  school 
primers  were  printed  in  the  Ncz  Perc6  language  for  Spalding's  use  in  teaching. 
The  hi3toric  press  was  placed  among  the  public  relics  of  Oregon. 

The  earliest  newspaper  published  in  Washington  was  the  Columbian,  first 
issued  at  Olympia,  Sept.  11,  1852,  by  J.  W.  Wiley  and  T.  F.  McElroy.  The 
press  on  which  it  was  printed  was  the  one  on  which  the  first  number  of  the 
Orcgoniaii  was  printed.  It  was  an  old  Ramage,  and  was  discarded  by  Dryer 
after  a  year  or  two,  purchased  for  Olympia,  sent  to  Port  Townsend,  and 
thencD  on  L.  B.  Hastings'  schooner  to  its  destination.  In  March  1853  Wiley 
retired  from  the  Columbian,  which  had  remained  neutral  in  politics,  devoting 
itself  to  the  establishment  of  the  territory,  and  was  succeeded  by  J.  J.  Beebe, 
who  remained  in  the  firm  only  four  months,  retiring  July  13th. 

On  the  17th  of  Sept.  McElroy  retired,  and  Matt.  K.  Smith  took  charge  of 
the  paper.  This  proprietorship  lasted  until  Dec.  3d,  when  J.  W.  Wiley  and 

A.  M.  Berry  appeared  as  publishers,  Wiley  being  editor,  and  the  Columbian 
was  changed  to  the  Washington  Pioneer,  '  a  straight-out,  radical  democratic 
journ:-,l.'     In  Feb.  1834  the  name  was  changed  to  Pioneerand  Democrat,  which 
it  retained  during  the  most  interesting  portion  of  territorial  history.     At  the 
same  time  R.  L.  Doyle  joined  the  publishing  firm,  and  Berry,  going  cast  to  at 
tend  to  the  printing  of  the  territorial  statutes,  for  which  they  had  taken  a  con 
tract,  died  in  Aug.  at  Greenland,  N.  II.     Doyle  had  issued  a  prospectus  of  a 
journal  to  be  called  the  Northwest  Democrat,  in  Nov.  1853,  but  was  induced 
to  come  into  the  arrangement  with  Wiley  as  above.     On  Dec.  10, 185-1,  George 

B.  Goudy  became  associated  with  the  publishers  of  tho  Pioneer  and  Democrat, 
and  in  Aug.  1855  became  sole  publisher,  Wiley  remaining  editor;  but  in  Aug. 
1853  retired,  and  C.  Furste  became  publisher  in  connection  with  Wiley,     "^fi 
latter  soon  drew  out  of  the  publishing  business,  leaving  Furste  to  conduct  it- 
alone,  who  also  joined  the  editorial  staff  in  Feb.  1857.       In  May  1S5S  Furste 
became  sole  editor  and  proprietor.     He  sold  the  paper  to  James  Lodge  in  Nov. 
I860  who  assumed  the  entire  control,  but  the  paper  was  discontinued  in  the 
spring  of  1SG1.     Wiley  died  March  30,  I860,  at  Olympia,  in  his  40th  year. 

The  second  newspaper  published  in  Washington  was  the  Pugct  Sound 
Courier,  a  whig  journal  issued  at  Stcilacoom  May  19,  1855,  by  William  B. 
Affleck  and  E.  T.  Gunn  for  about  one  year.  The  Courier  was  revived  in 
Olympia  in  Jan.  1871,  and  issued  weekly  by  the  Puget  Sound  Printing  Co. 
Bagley  and  Ilarned  published  it  from  June  1  to  Nov.  15,  1873,  when  the 
firm  became  C.  B.  Bagley  &  Co.,  and  in  Nov.  1875  C.  B.  Baglcy  alone.  The 
first  number  of  tho  Pwji-t  Sound  Daily  Courier  was  issued  in  Jan.  1872,  and 
in  Dec.  1874  it  suspended  for  lack  of  support,  but  reissued  as  the  Daily 
Courier  early  in  1877,  having  consolidated  with  the  Olympian,  which  had  a 
brief  existence.  The  Washington  He^ublican  was  first  published  at  Stcila 
coom  April  3,  1857,  Frank  Balch  editor,  and  \V.  B.  Affleck  printer.  It  was 
designed  to  promulgate  the  principles  of  the  then  new  republican  party,  and 
advocate  the  election  of  W.  II.  Wallace  to  the  office  of  delegate  to  congress. 
When  it  had  served  its  purpose  it  suspended.  Ebey's  Journal,  MS.,  v.  16. 


378  CHURCHES,  SCHOOLS,  AND  NEWSPAPERS. 

The  Piifjet  Sound  Herald,  published  by  George  W.  Lee  and  Charles  Prosch 
at  Steilacoom,  March  12,  1858,  was  printed  on  the  press  which  had  served  for 
the  Courier  and  Republican  in  turn.  It  passed  entirely  into  the  hands  of 
Prosch  the  second  month  of  its  existence,  who  undertook  the  somewhat  diffi 
cult  task  of  publishing  an  impartial  and  politically  independent  newspaper. 
That  he  succeeded,  by  laboring  for  the  material  interests  of  the  Puget  Sound 
region,  in  keeping  his  journal  alive  through  several  years  of  the  most  depress 
ing  period  of  its  financial  history,  proves  his  ability  as  a  journalist.  The 
Northern  Light  was  started  at  Whatcom  about  the  1st  of  July,  1858,  by  W. 
Bausman  &  Co. ,  but  suspended  in  Sept.  when  that  place  was  deserted.  The 
Port  Townscnd  Register,  conducted  by  Travers  Daniels,  was  first  issued  at 
that  place  Dec.  23,  1859.  It  was  devoted  to  news,  literature,  and  local  inter 
ests.  In  March  I860  Daniels  returned  to  Va  and  Mr  Whitacre  took  charge. 
The  paper  did  not  long  survive,  being  suspended  in  August.  It  was,  how 
ever,  subsequently  revived  by  P.  M.  O'Brien  and  H.  M.  Frost  as  publishers, 
and  II.  L.  Sutton  editor,  with  democratic  politics.  The  North-  West  began  its 
precarious  existence  early  in  July  1800  at  Port  Townsend.  It  was  conducted 
by  E.  S.  Dyer  in  the  beginning,  who  was  independent  in  politics.  He  issued 
but  one  or  two  numbers,  however,  before  John  F.  Damon,  the  publisher,  took 
the  editorial  chair,  who  conducted  a  republican  paper  fora  time  with  no  very 
encouraging  prospects,  when  it  expired  in  Dec.  1801.  The  Vancouver  Chron 
icle  was  started  in  July  I860  by  L.  E.  V.  Coon  and  John  M.  Murphy,  and 
devoted  to  the  material  interests  of  the  territory.  In  the  following  Sept. 
Murphy  retired  from  the  Chronicle.  H.  G.  Struve  edited  it  until  about  the 
close  of  1SG1,  when  the  name  was  changed  to  Vancouver  Telegraph,  and 
Urban  E.  Hicks  assumed  editorial  control.  The  Register  was  subsequently 
revived  and  is  still  published. 

The  Oiympia  Washington  Standard  was  founded  by  John  Miller  Murphy 
Nov.  17,  1800.  In  March  1801  was  founded  the  Weekly  Pacific  Tribune  of 
Olympia,  a  republican  paper,  which  at  first  appeared  without  individual 
sponsors,  but  which,  having  the  territorial  patronage,  took  a  longer  lease  of 
life  than  many  of  its  predecessors.  In  1 806  R.  W.  Hewitt  had  charge  of  the 
paper,  followed  in  1807  by  Charles  Prosch  &  Co.,  in  1808  by  Charles  Prosch, 
later  by  Charles  Prosch  &  Sons,  in  1S70  by  Charles  Prosch  &  Son,  and  in 
1872  by  Charles  Prosch  again,  and  in  1873  by  Thomas  W.  Prosch.  In  Dec. 
1807  an  attempt  was  made  to  establish  a  daily,  which  was  not  successful;  but 
on  the  4th  of  Oct.,  1809,  a  daily  was  published,  the  first  of  the  Olympia 
Daily  Pacific  Tribune  regular  issues.  The  Daily  Pacific  Tribune  appeared  in 
Tacoma  in  1874,  with  Thomas  W.  Prosch  editor,  and  in  Seattle  in  1875 
with  the  same  editor,  who  was  succeeded  in  1878  by  E.  A.  Turner,  Charles 
Prosch  remaining  publisher.  The  Overland  Press  was  next  started  at 
Olympia  by  Alonzo  M.  Poe,  publisher  and  editor,  presumably  to  fill  the  place 
of  the  Pioneer  and  Democrat  with  the  democratic  party.  It  was  first  issued 
in  July  1801,  and  survived  for  a  year  or  two,  being  edited  by  B.  F.  Kendall 
at  the  time  of  his  death  in  Jan.  1802,  soon  after  which  it  suspended.  In  the 
mean  time,  the  eastern  portion  of  Washington  being  rapidly  settled,  a  paper 
was  started  at  Walla  Walla  called  the  Northern  Light,  in  September  1801,  by 
Daniel  Dodge,  who  had  contemplated  setting  up  his  establishment  at  Seattle. 
It  had  a  brief  existence. 

The  Washington  Statesman  followed  on  the  29th  of  November,  published 
by  N.  Northrup,  R.  B.  Smith,  and  R.  R.  Rees.  It  was  subsequently  pur 
chased  by  W.  H.  Newell,  formerly  connected  with  the  Dalles  Mountaineer, 
who  used  it  in  support  of  democratic  principles  down  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
twenty  years  later.  It  was  ably  conducted,  and  prospered,  its  name  being 
changed  to  Walla  Walla  Statesman  after  a  few  months.  Nehemiah  Northrop 
was  a  native  of  New  York.  In  1853  he,  in  company  with  his  brother  Henry 
and  Alonzo  Leland,  published  the  Portland  Democratic  Standard.  In  1859  he 
was  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  San  Francisco  Evening  Journal,  but  sold  hia 
interest  in  1800,  and  the  following  year  removed  to  Walla  Walla.  He  died 
in  Feb.  1803  of  consumption,  at  the  age  of  27  years.  Olympia  Wash.  Stand 
ard,  Feb.  28,  1SG3. 


THE  WASHINGTON  PRESS.  379 

The  Golden  Age  was  first  published  at  Lewiston,  then  in  Washington  terri 
tory,  August  11,  1802,  by  A.  S.  Gould,  who  had  been  connected  with  a  Port 
land  paper,  and  was  subsequently  engaged  in  journalism  in  Utah.  It  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Alonzo  Leland,  who  has  conducted  it  for  many  years.  In 
politics  it  was  republican  under  Gould  and  democratic  under  Leland.  The 
Walla  Walla  Messenger  was  started  at  that  place  by  R.  B.  Smith  and  A. 
Leland  in  Aug.  1862, 'but  was  not  long  published.  On  the  lf>th  of  August, 
1SG3,  the  first  number  of  the  Washington  Gazette  appeared  without  the  names 
of  editor  or  publisher.  On  the  10th  day  of  Dec.  it  reappeared  as  the  Seattle 
Gazette,  with  W.  B.  Watson  editor,  and  ran  until  June  1SG4,  when  it  sus 
pended,  Watson  being  elected  to  the  legislature  on  the  republican  ticket. 
The  Washington  Democrat  was  next  started  at  Olympia  in  Nov.  18G4,  which, 
as  its  name  indicated,  was  devoted  to  anti-administration  politics,  its  editor 
being  U.  E.  Hicks.  It  had  but  a  brief  existence.  The  Far  Went  was  a  mag 
azine  published  by  E.  W.  Foster  at  Olympia,  devoted  to  morals,  religion, 
health,  education,  and  agriculture.  Like  all  other  such  publications,  it  failed 
because  it  could  not  compete  with  better  ones  received  daily  from  older  com 
munities.  It  was  first  issued  in  1865.  The  Olympia  Transcript  first  appeared 
November  30,  1SG7,  published  by  E.  T.  Gunn  and  J.  N.  Gale.  The  follow 
ing  year  T.  F.  McElroy  and  S.  D.  Howe  were  principal  owners,  but  about 
1870  it  passed  entirely  into  the  hands  of  Gunn,  who  owned  and  conducted 
it  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1885.  In  politics  it  was  independent. 

The  Weekly  Message  was  first  published  at  Port  Townsend  by  A.  Petty- 
grove  in  May  18G7.  It  was  a  small  sheet,  with  only  a  local  interest.  It  was 
succeeded  by  the  Argus,  also  edited  by  Pcttygrove,  and  later  by  C.  W.  Phil- 
brick.  The  Territorial  Republican  issued  its  first  number  Aug.  10,  1SGS.  pub 
lished  by  J.  R,.  Watson.  As  its  name  implied,  it  was  in  the  interest  of 
republicanism.  After  running  one  year  the  Republican  Printing  Co.  became 
its  publishers,  but  it  was  extinct  before  1872.  The  Weekly  Intelligencer,  of 
Seattle,  published  its  initial  number  on  the  5th  of  Aug.,  18G7.  It  was  neutral 
in  politics,  and  issued  by  S.  L.  Maxwell.  It  began  publishing  a  tri-wcekly 
Aug.  9,  1870,  and  a  daily  in  Sept.  following.  The  Walla,  Walla  Union,  the 
first  republican  paper  published  in  the  Walla  Walla  Valley,  issued  its  initial 
number  on  the  17th  of  April,  18G9,  being  published  by  an  association  of  citi 
zens.  In  May,  R.  M.  Smith  &  Co.  were  announced  as  publishers.  It  continued, 
with  P.  B.  Johnson  editor,  as  an  able  country  journal.  The  Walla  Walla 
Viatchman  was  a  denominational  paper.  The  Alaska  Times,  conducted  by 
Thomas  G.  Murphy,  was  first  issued  at  Sitka,  April  23,  18G9,  but  owing  to 
lack  of  support  and  changes  in  the  military  department,  was  removed  to 
Seattle  October,  23,  1870,  where  it  was  published  weekly  as  a  Sunday  paper 
for  a  year  or  two  longer,  when  it  suspended.  The  Pugct  Sound  Dispatch  was 
founded  in  18G9  by  C.  II.  Larrabee  and  Beriah  Brown.  Brown  was  from 
Wisconsin,  and  had  been  editor  of  a  republican  paper  at  Sacramento,  Cal. ,  and 
of  a  democratic  paper  at  San  Francisco,  and  was  what  was  known  as  a 
copperhead  in  war  times.  Though  an  able  writer,  Larrabee  soon  dropped 
out  of  the  journal,  and  Brown  conducted  it  alone  in  the  interests  of  democracy. 
In  1878,  after  several  changes,  it  was  merged  in  the  Intelligencer.  It  was 
the  first  paper  to  publish  a  daily.  The  North  Pacific.  Ruml,  a  farmer's  journal, 
and  the  Post  were  both  started  in  1878.  The  Post  was  soon  consolidated 
with  the  Intelligencer.  The  Seattle  Evening  Herald  was  first  issued  July  5, 
1882,  by  a  company  consisting  of  W.  G.  C.  Pitt,  T.  H.  Bates,  and  Thaddcus 
Hanford.  It  was  printed  with  the  material  of  the  old  Pacific  Tribune.  The 
Mirror  was  issued  as  a  temperance  journal,  the  Sunday  Star  a  society  paper, 
both  of  Seattle.  The  Temperance  Echo  was  published  at  Olympia  by  J.  H. 
Munson,  in  1872,  as  the  organ  of  the  grand  lodge  of  the  good  templars,  de 
voted  to  temperance,  education,  and  morality.  The  Kalama  Beacon,  issued 
first  in  May  1870,  was  owned  and  controlled  by  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad 
company,  and  published  in  its  interest.  It  was  suspended  when  the  railroad 
work  was  temporarily  discontinued  in  Washington  territory.  The  North 
Pacific  Coast,  a  semi-monthly  journal  devoted  to  the  dissemination  of  iuforma- 


380  INDIAN  RESERVATIONS. 

tion  concerning  Washington,  was  first  published  at  New  Tacoma,  Dec.  15, 
1879,  presumably  in  the  interest  of  the  land  department  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  railroad  company.  No  names  of  publishers  creditors  appeared.  The 
Weekly  Ledger,  an  independent  journal,  'devoted  to  the  development  of  the 
resources  of  Washington,'  began  publication  at  New  Tacoma  by  Radebaugh 
&  Co.  in  April  1880.  Then  there  was  the  Tacoma  News;  also  the  Bellingharn 
Bay  Mail,  edited  and  published  by  James  Powers,  republican  in  politics;  the 
Vancouver  Independent,  W.  Byron  Daniels  editor;  the  Spirit  of  the  West,  Walla 
Walla,  B.  M.Washburne  editor,  independent  in  politics;  Olympia  Northwest 
Farmer;  the  Dai/ton  News,  founded  in  1874  by  A.  J.  Cain;  the  Wattxbury 
Times;  and  Columbia  Chronicle,  of  eastern  Washington;  and  the  weekly 
Pu'jct  Sound  Express,  Steilacoom,  Julius  Dickens  editor. 

WASHINGTON  INDIAN  RESERVATIONS. 

The  Indian  reservations  of  Washington  occupy  land  as  follows:  There  were 
five  reserves  belonging  to  one  agency,  the  Puyallup,  covering  altogether 
about  29,000  acres.  The  reservation  situated  on  this  river  contained  Over 
18,000  acres,  for  the  most  part  heavily  timbered.  The  aggregate  of  land 
under  cultivation  was  in  1885  less  than  1,000  acres,  though  over  150  home 
steads  had  been  taken,  chiefly  in  forty-acre  lots.  Nisqually  reservation,  on 
that  river,  contained  4,717  acres.  The  Chehalis  reservation,  half  of  which 
was  good  agricultural  land,  contained  4,224  acres.  On  Shoal  water  Bay  were 
reserved  ,340  acres.  The  Squoxin  reservation  covered  an  island  in  Mason  co., 
containing  about  1,500  acres,  little  of  which  was  improved.  Tulalip  agency 
embraced  the  reservations  of  Tulalip  Bay,  Muckleshoot  prairie,  Port  Madi 
son,  Swinomish  River,  and  Lummi  delta,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nooksack 
River,  comprising  52,G48  acres.  The  headquarters  for  these  various  reserva 
tions  was  at  Tulalip  Bay,  where  there  were  between  15,000  and  20,000  acres  of 
the  richest  land.  This  agency  was  in  charge  of  the  catholics,  who  had  a 
chapel  on  each  of  the  reservations.  Schools  were  taught,  and  about  three 
fourths  of  the  Indians  cultivated  gardens  or  farms.  The  Indian  town  was 
built  in  a  triangular  form  around  a  flag-staff  and  crucifix.  Neah  Bay  agency, 
located  in  the  extreme  north-west  corner  of  the  county  of  Clallam,  contained 
23,000  acres  for  the  use  of  the  Makahs,  who  numbered  between  500  and  GOO. 
The  land  was  chiefly  mountainous  and  heavily  timbered,  and  the  Indians,  who 
were  a  sea-going  tribe  and  lived  by  seal-hunting  and  otter-fishing,  had  not 
adopted  a  civilized  mode  of  living  to  any  extent.  These  Indians  had  a  methodist 
teacher.  The  Queniult  agency  comprised  the  Qucninlts,  Queets,  Hohs,  and 
Quilleliutes,  none  of  them  numerous  tribes,  and  only  the  first  two  living  upon 
the  reservation,  which  contained  224,000  acres  of  heavily  timbered  land,  in 
accessible  for  half  the  year.  Only  about  twenty  acres  were  cultivated  in 
1885,  but  these  people,  like  the  Makahs,  lived  on  the  products  of  the  ocean 
fisheries,  and  were  by  no  means  poor,  their  houses  being  comfortable  and 
themselves  well-fed.  Little  progress  was  made  in  changing  their  mode  of 
life.  The  Skokomish  agency  on  the  Skokomish  River  comprised  some 
thing  over  5.000  acres,  of  which  about  1,300  were  suitable  for  tillage  and 
pasturage,  the  remainder  being  cither  in  heavy  forest  or  valueless.  The  tribes 
located  here  were  the  Sklallams  and  Twanas,  later  making  considerable 
progress  toward  comfortable  living.  The  Twanas  resided  on  the  reservation 
and  sent  their  children  to  school,  also  clearing  and  planting,  and  cutting  saw- 
logs  for  sale  to  the  mills.  But  the  Sklallams  lived  in  a  number  of  Villages 
some  50  or  75  miles  from  the  agency,  often  near  milling  establishments.  At 
Jamestown,  the  largest  of  their  towns  and  the  residence  of  the  chief,  the  Ind 
ians  had  purchased  the  land — 200  acres — and  erected  a  school-house  and 
church.  Their  habits  were  temperate  and  industrious. 

East  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  the  Yakima  agency  extended  over  a  reserva 
tion  containing  nearly  900,000  acres,  with  a  population  of  3,000,  which  would 
give  to  every  man,  woman,  and  child  belonging  to  the  agency  some  250  acres. 
The  actual  amount  under  any  kind  of  improvement  was  about  5,000. 


INDIANS.  381 

Large  herds  of  cattle  and  horses  roamed  over  the  remainder,  all  of  which  was 
good  farming  and  grazing  land.  The  (Jolville  agency  had  nominal  control  of 
eight  different  tribes,  aggregating  over  3,000  persons,  including  the  Colville, 
Okanagan,  Spokane,  Kalispel,  Sanpoil,  Mithow,  Nespilcm,  and  Lake  Chelan, 
bands  mainly  of  non-treaty  Indians,  and  some  of  them  refusing  to  admit 
the  authority  of  the  U.  S.,  though  peaceably  disposed.  During  mining  times 
in  the  following  years  the  Yakima  war,  the  supt  made  use  of  the  officer  in 
command  asa  local  agent  to  regulate  their  intercourse  with  the  white  population 
and  preserve  the  peace.  It  was  not  until  April  9,  1872,  that  a  reservation 
was  set  apart  for  them  by  executive  order,  including  the  Colville  Valley,  and 
with  which  they  were  pleased.  Against  including  this  valley,  in  which  there 
were  about  sixty  white  settlers,  there  was  an  immediate  protest,  which  led 
the  president  to  issue  an  order  on  the  following  2d  of  July  confining  the 
reservation  to  the  country  bounded  on  the  east  and  south  by  the  Columbia, 
on  the  west  by  the  Okanagnn,  and  north  by  B.  C.  Olympia  Transcript,  July 
27,  1872;  //.  il/i.sc.  Doc.,  1873-4,  122,  43d  cong.  1st  sess.  This  caused  a 
counter-protest  from  agents  and  Indians.  The  change  was,  however,  adhered 
to,  but  the  Colville  Indians  continued  to  occupy  that  valley  in  common  with 
white  settlers,  the  Jesuits  taking  charge  of  their  spiritual  affairs,  as  they  had 
done  since  1842.  A  further  grant  was  made  on  the  west  side  of  the  Okana- 
gan  in  April  1879,  whereby  the  reservation  was  extended  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Okauagan  to  the  Cascade  Range,  making  the  reserved  land  comprise 
all  the  country  in  east  Washington  west  of  the  Columbia  and  north  of  about 
48°  30',  containing  about  4,000  square  miles,  or  between  two  and  three  million 
acres.  On  the  Gth  of  March,  1880,  a  tract  bounded  on  the  cast  by  a  line  run 
ning  south  from  where  the  last  reservation  crossed  the  Okanagan  to  the  mouth 
of  said  river,  and  thence  down  the  Columbia  to  the  junction  of  the  stream 
which  is  the  outlet  of  lake  Chelan,  following  the  meanderinga  of  that  lake 
on  the  west  shore  to  the  source  of  the  stream  which  feeds  it,  thence  west  to 
the  44th  degree  of  longitude,  and  north  to  the  southern  boundary  of  the  re 
serve  of  187!),  containing  about  000,000  acres,  was  allowed  for  a  reservation  for 
the  non-treaty  Indians  under  Chief  Moses,  who  claimed  it  by  virtue  of  services 
rendered  the  U.  S.  in  preventing  an  Indian  war.  Walla  Walla  Statesman, 
April  10,  1880;  Ind.  Aff.  Kept,  1879,  i.  80.  There  Mere  in  all  about  four 
and  a  half  million  acres  of  land  set  apart  for  the  use  of  some  14,.°>00  men, 
women,  and  children  remaining  in  1879,  giving  323  acres  to  each  individual, 
tuition  and  other  benefits  being  free.  Of  this  land  some  was  very  poor,  more 
particularly  the  Colville  reservation,  but  there  was  much  good  land. 

EXPLORATIONS,  ROADS,  AND  RAILROADS. 

Frequent  reference  has  been  made  in  the  narrative  of  Washington  history 
to  the  opening  of  roads  to  give  the  Puget  Sound  region  land  communication, 
with  other  parts  of  the  country,  and  open  a  way  for  the  mails.  In  1852  the 
only  means  of  access  from  the  Columbia  River  was  by  a  cattle-trail,  while 
immigrants  and  their  luggage  were  conveyed  in  canoes  up  the  Cowlitz  River, 
after  which  they  were  compelled  to  take  to  the  rude  trail  cut  by  the  immi 
grants  of  1845.  Warbass  &  Townsend,  storekeepers  at  Monticcllo,  adver 
tised  in  Dec.  1852  to  forward  passengers  and  freight,  saying  that  the  mail- 
boat  would  leave  for  Cowlitz  landing  every  Tuesday  morning  at  G  o'clock. 
They  had  some  '  very  large  bateaux  running  on  the  river  capable  of  accommo 
dating  8  or  10  families  and  their  plunder,  including  wagons,  yokes,  chains,' 
etc.  A  bateau  managed  by  8  or  9  expert  Indians  would  reach  Cowlitz  land 
ing  in  about  three  days,  the  distance  from  Fox's  landing,  or  Rainier,  on  the 
Columbia  being  34  miles.  Olympia  Columbian,  May  14,  1853.  Five  days  were 
oftencr  required  for  the  passage,  and  the  charges  \vere  heavy.  Subscriptions 
were  taken  in  Dec.  1852  to  raise  money  to  construct  a  wagon-way  up  the  east 
side  of  the  Cowlitz  to  connect  at  the  landing  with  this  road.  A  petition  was 
also  circulated  for  signatures  praying  the  Oregon  legislature  for  an  appropri 
ation  to  aid  the  citizens  of  northern  Oregon  in  surveying  and  completing  a 


382  EXPLORATIONS,  ROADS,  AND  RAILROADS. 

territorial  road  from  the  Columbia  to  the  head  of  Puget  Sound,  a  distance  of 
eighty  miles.  This  road  was  put  under  contract  in  1853:  A  movement  was 
at  the  same  time  set  on  foot  to  open  a  road  over  the  Cascade  Mountains  to 
ward  Walla  Walla.  In  the  summer  of  1832  R.  H.  Lansdale  explo  'ed  a  route 
up  the  Snohomish  River  via  the  Snoqualimich  fork  to  the  grea;  fal'.s,  and 
thence  eastward  to  the  base  of  the  mountains,  where  it  followed  \i}  the  south 
fork  of  the  '  Dewamps  or  Black  River '  to  the  summit  of  the  mountains.  The 
trail  then  turned  directly  toward  the  head  waters  of  the  middle  fork  of  the 
Yakima,  and  thence  down  the  mountains  towards  the  Columbia.  This  ap 
pears  to  have  been  the  first  survey  of  the  Yakima  pass  by  citizens  of  the  U. 
S.  A  portion  of  this  route  was  an  old  Indian  trail  which  could  then  have 
been  traversed  by  pack-trains  without  serious  inconvenience.  Lansdale,  who 
resided  on  Whidbey  Island,  proposed  to  begin  the  construction  of  a  road  over 
this  route  in  the  following  spring,  which  would  have  brought  the  immigration 
to  the  lower  portion  of  the  Sound.  Ebcy,  the  member  of  the  Oregon  legisla 
ture  from  that  region,  failed,  however,  to  obtain  the  approval  of  that  body  to 
establish  a  territorial  road  from  Snohomish  falls  to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  the 
assembly  preferring  to  memorialize  congress  fcr  a  military  road.  But  he  se 
cured  instead  a  road  law  for  the  counties  on  Puget  Sound,  which  partly  ac 
complished  the  object  desired.  This  law  provided  for  the  accumulation  of  a 
road  fund  out  of  a  tax  of  four  mills  on  the  dollar,  which,  with  the  assistance 
of  subscriptions  by  persons  interested,  would  be  sufficient  to  construct  a  good 
wagon-road  from  the  mouth  of  the  Cowlitz  to  Olympia,  and  of  another  across 
the  Cascade  Mountains.  Before  work  could  be  begun  in  the  spring,  news  was 
received  that  congress  had  appropriated  $20,000  for  a  military  road  from 
fort  Steilacoom  to  Fort  Walla  Walla.  Fearing  government  delay  in  furnish 
ing  the  money  for  its  construction,  and  wishing  to  have  a  road  opened  for  the 
next  immigration  to  come  direct  to  Puget  Sound,  the  people  undertook  the 
work  themselves,  and  endeavored  to  bring  the  road  to  Fort  Steilacoom,  thus 
inviting  congressional  aid,  and  securing  a  terminus  near  Olympia.  A  sur 
vey  was  therefore  made  of  the  Nachess  pass,  and  the  road  brought  clown  the 
valley  of  White  River  to  the  junction  of  Creen  River,  where  it  turned  south 
across  the  Puyallup  to  Fort  Steilacoom.  The  road  company  proceeded  to  its 
task,  about  fifty  men  enlisting  for  the  work  on  the  promise  of  some  150  sub 
scribers  to  the  fund  that  they  should  be  paid.  Before  its  completion  gov 
ernment  surveyors  were  in  the  field  under  McClellan  at  the  head  of  the  west 
ern  division  of  the  Stevens  exploring  expedition.  McClellan's  instructions 
from  the  secretary  of  war,  dated  May  9,  1853,  were  to  use  every  exertion  to 
open  a  road  over  the  Cascade  Mountains  in  time  for  the  fall  emigration;  but 
as  McClellan  did  not  arrive  at  Fort  Vancouver  until  past  the  middle  of  June, 
nor  leave  it  until  July  27th,  whence  he  proceeded  northward,  dividing  his 
party,  and  examining  both  sides  of  the  Cascade  range,  he  could  do  nothing 
more  than  guarantee  the  payment  of  §1,300  earned  by  the  men  working  on 
the  last  division  of  the  road  west  of  the  mountains,  promise  to  recommend  the 
payment  by  congress  of  §3,700  still  due  the  citizens'  company,  and  give  his 
approval  of  the  pass  selected. 

The  road  was  so  far  completed  that  a  small  immigration  passed  over  it 
with  wagons  and  cattle,  reaching  their  destination  with  less  suffering  than 
usual.  Had  it  been  more  numerous,  it  would  have  been  better  for  the  next 
immigration.  But  congress  never  reimbursed  the  road-makers.  In  the  fol 
lowing  summer  Richard  Arnold  exhausted  the  §20,000  appropriation  without 
much  improving  the  route,  making  but  a  single  change  to  avoid  the  steep  hill 
on  the  Puyallup,  where  wagons  had  to  be  let  down  with  ropes.  This,  like 
all  the  military  roads  on  the  coast,  was  a  miserable  affair,  which  soon  fell  into 
disuse,  as  the  people  were  unable  to  complete  it,  and  the  Indian  wars  soon 
practically  put  a  seal  upon  it. 

Early  in  ]  854  F.  W.  Lander  undertook  at  his  own  cost  the  survey  of  a 
railroad  route  from  Puget  Sound  by  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  to  the  vicinity 
of  the  South  pass,  or  Bridgcr's  pass,  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  with  a  view  to 
connecting  Puget  Sound  by  rail  with  a  railroad  to  California,  Lander's  idea 


SURVEYS  AND  PETITIONS.  383 

being  that  a  direct  line  to  Lake  Superior  would  be  exposed  to  severe  cold,  in 
jurious  to  the  material  and  the  service  of  the  road.  He  objected,  besides,  that, 
in  the  event  of  a  war  with  England,  it  would  be  too  near  the  frontier,  and 
also  that  a  railroad  on  a  frontier  was  not  in  a  position  to  develop  territory. 
Lander's  Hallway  to  the  Pacific,  10-14.  Lander  made  his  reconnoissance,  of 
which  I  have  given  some  account  in  my  History  of  Oregon,  the  territorial  legis 
lature  memorializing  congress  to  make  an  appropriation  compensating  him 
for  the  service.  Wash.  II.  Jour.,  1854,  167.  His  report  was  published,  and 
congress  appropriated  $5,000  to  defray  the  expense  of  the  survey.  U.  8.  Stat. 
at  Large,  1854—5,  G45;  Gov.  Stevens  without  doubt  having  influenced  both  the 
territorial  and  congressional  action.  The  legislature,  at  its  first  session,  en 
acted  laws  for  the  location  of  territorial  roads  from  Steilacoom  to  Seattle, 
from  Steilacoom  to  Vancouver,  from  Seattle  to  Bcllingham  Bay,  from  Olym- 
pia  to  Shoal  water  Bay,  from  Cathlamet  to  the  house  of  Sidney  S.  Ford  in 
Thurston  county,  from  Shoalwater  Bay  to  Gray  Harbor,  and  thence  to  inter 
sect  the  road  to  Olympia,  from  Puget  Sound  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
from  Seattle  to  intersect  the  immigrant  road,  and  from  Olympia  to  Monti- 
cello.  Wash.  Stat.,  1854,  463-70.  These  various  acts  were  intended  to  pro 
vide  a  complete  system  of  communication  between  the  settlements  as  they 
then  existed.  Others  were  added  the  following  year.  They  were  to  be 
opened  and  worked  by  the  counties  through  which  they  passed,  the  costs  to 
be  paid  out  of  the  county  treasury  in  the  manner  of  county  roads. 

George  Gibbs  and  J.  L.  Brown  undertook  to  explore  a  route  from  Shoal- 
water  Bay  to  Olympia  in  Dec.  1853,  and  had  proceeded  a  part  of  the  way,  when 
they  were  compelled  to  return  by  stress  of  weather  and  scarcity  of  provi 
sions.  The  exposure  and  hardships  of  the  expedition  resulted  in  the  death  of 
Brown.  In  the  following  July,  E.  D.  Warbass,  Michael  Schaffer,  Knight, 
and  Geisey  set  out  from  Cowlitz  landing  to  locate  a  road  to  Shoalwater  Bay, 
which  resulted  in  opening  communication  between  the  settlements  on  the 
coast,  and  points  along  the  route  inviting  settlement.  By  this  route, 
also,  Astoria,  the  distributing  point  for  the  mails,  could  be  reached.  The 
first  legislative  body  had  memorialized  congress  relative  to  establishing  a 
mail-route  between  Astoria  and  Olympia,  but  by  the  course  marked  out  for 
the  territorial  road  to  Cathlamet.  Subsequently,  in  1866,  $10,000  was  asked 
for  to  open  a  wagon-road  from  the  Columbia  at  Cathlamet  to  the  Boisfort 
prairie,  to  there  intersect  the  road  to  Olympia.  Neither  request  was 
granted,  though  the  latter  was  repeated  in  1873.  The  legislature  of  1854 
also  required  their  delegates  in  congress  to  endeavor  to  procure  an  appropria 
tion  of  §50,000,  and  a  section  of  land  in  each  township  along  the  different 
territorial  roads,  to  be  located  by  the  road  commissioners,  to  aid  in  the  con 
struction  of  these  highways  and  the  necessary  bridges.  It  asked,  moreover, 
for  §30,000  to  be  expended  in  opening  a  practicable  wagon-road  from  Van 
couver  to  Steilacoom;  for  $25,000  for  a  military  road  from  The  Dalles  to  Van 
couver;  and  for  §25,000  to  complete  the  military  road  over  the  Cascades,  and 
to  pay  the  people  the  amount  expended  by  them  in  opening  it.  Wash.  Jour. 
House,  1854,  163-6.  To  the  propositions  for  roads  connecting  the  military 
stations,  congress  lent  a  willing  ear  and  granted  the  appropriations  asked  for, 
but  gave  no  heed  to  the  appeal  to  complete  and  pay  for  the  road  to  Walla 
Walla,  for  which  the  legislature  continued  to  petition  year  after  year.  Dur 
ing  the  summer  of  1855  a  reconnoissance  was  made  of  a  line  of  road  from  The 
Dalles  to  Vancouver,  and  from  Vancouver  to  Steilacoom.  The  first  was  com 
pleted  Nov.  23,  1856,  but  in  the  following  winter  was  so  injured  by  heavy 
rains  as  to  require  ten  thousand  dollars  to  repair  it,  which  was  expended  on 
it  in  1857.  The  road  to  Steilacoom  was  begun  at  Cowlitz  landing,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river,  and  constructed  as  far  as  Steilacoom  by  Nov.  1,  1857. 

Upon  petition  from  the  legislature  of  1855-6,  §35,000  was  appropriated  for 
a  road  from  Steilacoom  to  Bellingham  Bay,  and  a  reconnoissance  was  made  the 
following  year.  In  1863  a  franchise  was  granted  to  complete  the  military 
trail  to  Whatcom,  followed  by  another  petition  in  1864  to  congress  to  continue 
the  road  to  its  northern  terminus. 


384  EXPLORATIONS,  ROADS,  AND  RAILROADS. 

In  Jan.  1858  an  appropriation  was  asked  to  construct  a  road  from  Fort 
Townsend  down  the  west  side  of  Hood  Canal  to  intersect  the  road  to  Cowlitz 
landing  and  Vancouver,  which  was  refused.  The  legislature  of  1859-00  com 
bined  two  rejected  projects  in  one,  and  asked  in  vain  for  a  military  road  from 
Baker  Bay,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  via  Shoalwater  Bay  and  Gray  Har 
bor,  to  Port  Townsend.  Again  a  military  road  was  asked  from  Port  Townsend 
to  False  Dungencss,  where  the  town  of  Cherbourg  was  located,  afterward 
called  Port  Angeles,  with  a  like  failure.  Another  memorial  in  18G6  prayed 
for  an  appropriation  for  a  military  road  from  Port  Angeles  to  Gray  Harbor, 
upon  the  ground  that  the  character  of  the  Indians  in  Clallam  co.  deterred  set 
tlement  and  improvement;  and  also  that  in  the  event  of  a  blockade  of  the 
straits  by  a  foreign  power  a  road  to  Gray  Harbor  would  be  useful  in  transport 
ing  military  stores  to  any  point  on  Puget  Sound.  But  as  no  foreign  war 
threatened,  the  other  reasons  were  found  lacking  in  cogency. 

By  act  of  congress  approved  Feb.  5,  1855,  $30,000  was  appropriated,  at 
the  recommendation  of  Stevens  and  others  connected  with  the  Northern  Pa 
cific  railroad  survey,  for  the  construction  of  a  military  road  from  the  great 
falls  of  the  Missouri  to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  a  distance  not  far  short  of  700  miles, 
John  Mullan  being  the  oilicer  assigned  to  the  survey.  See  Mullein's  Military 
Road,  in  which  he  relates  the  inception  of  this  project.  Mullan  was  a  mem 
ber  of  Stevens'  exploring  party.  His  report  contains  a  great  deal  of  informa 
tion,  and  the  topographical  map  accompanying  it,  the  work  of  T.  Kolecki,  is 
the  best  in  the  whole  scries  of  transcontinental  explorations.  This  expedition 
determined  the  existence  of  an  atmospheric  river  of  heat,  varying  in  breadth 
from  one  to  a  hundred  miles,  giving  mild  winters  in  the  lofty  regions  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  This  work  was  interrupted  by  the  Indians.  In  the  suc 
cess  of  this  road  the  people  of  Washington  saw  the  realization  of  their  dream 
of  an  immigrant  highway  from  the  east  direct  to  Pugct  Sound,  the  northern 
location  being  peculiarly  acceptable  to  them  for  the  reason  that  it  made 
necessary  the  completion  of  a  route  over  the  Cascade  Mountains. 

No  difficulty  seems  to  have  been  experienced  in  procuring  appropriations 
for  this  road,  which  was  looked  upon  as  the  forerunner  of  a  Pacific  railway, 
besides  being  useful  in  military  and  Indian  affairs.  As  to  its  use  in  peopling 
the  Puget  Sound  region,  it  had  none.  A  few  troops  and  one  small  party  of 
immigrants  entered  the  territory  by  the  Mullan  road  previous  to  the  coining 
of  the  gold-seekers,  who  quickly  peopled  two  new  territories.  Next  to  the 
original  immigrant  road,  it  has  been  a  factor  in  the  history  of  the  north-west. 
Mullan  was  assisted  in  his  surveys  by  A.  M.  Engell  and  T.  H.  Kolecki  topog 
raphers,  C.  Howard  civil  engineer,  B.  L.  Misner  astronomer,  J.  Mullan  phy 
sician  and  geologist,  Talalemand  Smith  general  aids,  andE.  Spangler  wagon- 
master.  Or.  Statesman,  May  10,  1859.  His  escort  consisted  of  100  men  of  the 
9th  infantry  under  N.  Wiekliffe.  Lewis  Taylor  was  assistant  surgeon,  George 
E.  Hale  private  secretary,  Augustus  Sohon  and  Kolecki  topographical  engi 
neers.  IJavid  Williamson  superintended  the  advance  working  party.  S.  F. 
Bulletin,  May  26,  1801.  The  cost  of  the  road  was  $230,000.  Mulian's  rept,  in 
Sen.  Doc.,  43,  37th  cong.  3d  sess.;  Bancroft's  Hand-Book,  1803,  321. 

In  Jan.  1859  the  legislature  memorialized  congress  relative  to  a  military 
road  from  Seattle  via  the  Yakima  pass  to  Fort  Colville.  The  merits  of  this 
pass  had  long  been  understood.  Its  repute  among  the  Indians  had  deter 
mined  the  location  of  Seattle.  Bell's  Settlement  of  Seattle,  MS.,  7.  McClcllan, 
iu  1853,  had  surveyed  it  and  pronounced  it  practicable  for  a  wagon-i-oad  or 
railroad.  In  the  summer  of  1859  the  citizens  of  King  co.  had  expended  about 
§1,300  in  opening  a  wagon-road  from  Snoqualimich  prairie  to  Rattlesnake 
prairie,  but  failed  to  receive  an  appropriation  for  their  work.  In  the  summer 
of  1800  some  settlers  of  the  Snohomish  Valley  explored  a-  route  through  the 
Cascade  Mountains  between  the  sources  of  the  Skihomish  River  and  the 
Wanatchce.  Snoqualimich  pass  was  explored  in  1SG2  through  the  efforts  of 
Robert  Smallman,  who  circulated  a  petition  and  obtained  the  means  to  open 
a  horse-trail  by  this  route  to  the  east  side  of  the  mountains,  an  appropriation 
of  two  townships  of  land  being  asked  for  the  following  year  to  construct  a 


THE  MOUNTAIN  PASSES.  385 

wagon-road  from  Seattle  to  Walla  Walla,  the  petitioners  averring  that  the 
Snoqualimich  pass  was  of  less  elevation  than  any  yet  discovered.  As  in  the 
other  instances,  some  work  was  done  upon  this  route  by  the  county  of  King 
and  by  the  territory,  amounting  in  1869  to  $13,000,  the  road  being  still 
'almost  impassable  by  reason  of  its  incompleteness.'  Still  other  attempts 
were  made  to  secure  roads  over  which  wagons  could  pass  between  some  point 
on  Pugct  Sound  and  the  open  country  east  of  the  mountains,  where,  with  the 
exception  of  some  grading  and  bridging,  natural  roads  existed  in  any  direc 
tion.  A  memorial  setting  forth  the  need  of  a  post-road  from  Bellingham  Bay 
to  Fort  Colville,  and  declaring  Parke  pass  of  the  Cascades  the  best  hereto 
fore  discovered,  was  addressed  to  congress  in  Jan.  1861,  with  the  usual  failure 
to  gain  the  end  desired.  In  Jan.  1862  the  Nisqually  Road  Company  was  in 
corporated  by  the  legislature,  with  the  object  of  constructing  a  wagon-road 
from  a  point  on  the  Nisqually  River  near  the  mouth  of  the  south  fork,  in  an 
easterly  direction,  to  the  junction  of  the  head  waters  of  the  Covvlitz  River, 
thence  through  the  Nisqually  pass  to  Red  Lake  Valley,  and  thence  to  inter 
sect  the  road  leading  from  Simcoe  to  the  Wcnass  River  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Nachess  River.  After  exploring  and  expending  the  means  at  their  command, 
the  company,  through  the  legislature,  asked  congressional  aid  in  January  1864, 
but  not  receiving  it,  their  work  remained  uncompleted. 

In  January  1860  a  memorial  was  passed  by  the  legislature  relative  to  es 
tablishing  a  military  road  from  Fort  Vancouver  to  Fort  Simcoe  by  a  'good  pass 
discovered  through  the  Cascade  Mountains  between  McClellan  and  the  Colum 
bia  River  passes,  of  less  elevation  than  any  yet  discovered,  except  that  of  the 
Columbia.'  This  could  only  refer  to  the  Klikitat  pass,  which  could  not  be 
said  to  have  been  'discovered'  within  the  period  of  American  occupation  of 
the  country,  though  for  all  purposes  of  a  memorial  it  sufficed  to  say  so.  Capt. 
Crane,  in  18.35,  made  a  reconnoissance  from  the  Columbia  opposite  The  Dalles 
to  the  catholic  mission  on  the  Ahtanam  River,  and  beyond  to  the  Selah 
fishery,  estimating  the  cost  of  a  military  road  to  be  $15,000.  He  also  made 
a  rconnoissance  the  same  year  from  The  Dalles  to  the  Blue  Mountains  via 
Walla  Walla,  placing  the  cost  at  $20,000,  which  showed  no  great  difficulties  to 
be  overcome,  the  distance  to  Walla  Walla  being  176  miles.  Sen.  Doc.,  26,  40, 
34th  cong.  1st  sess.  In  point  of  fact,  a  pack-trail  had  been  opened  through 
it  to  the  Yakima  country  in  1858.  Oregon  Argus,  July  31,  1858;  Portland 
Standard,  Aug.  5,  1858.  But  all  this  interest  in  and  effort  to  secure  roads, 
better  than  a  volume  of  topography,  explains  and  illustrates  the  natural  in 
accessibility  of  western  Washington  except  by  the  highway  of  the  sea  and 
the  Fuca  Strait.  There  never  had  been  an  immigrant  wagon-road  to  Puget 
Sound,  nor  had  all  the  money  apropriated  by  congress  been  sufficient  to  make 
one  good  one  from  Walla  Walla  to  Steilacoom,  whereas  it  was  squandered 
in  fruitless  trail-making  west  of  the  mountain  barrier,  which  for  so  long  kept 
all  the  world  away  from  the  shores  of  that  wonderful  mediterranean  sea 
which  bears  upon  its  placid  bosom  the  argosies  of  the  north-west. 

Naturally  there  has  been  much  rivalry'betw  een  the  towns  situated  nearest 
the  different  passes  as  to  which  should  secure  the  terminus  of  a  government 
road  or  railroad.  Taking  them  in  their  order  north  of  the  Columbia  pass, 
there  are  the  Klikitat,  the  McClellan,  the  Cowlitz  or  Nisqually,  the  Nachess, 
the  Yakima,  the  Snoqualimich,  the  Cady,  and  the  Parke  passes,  that  were 
explored.  The  first  is  a  short  pass  from  the  Columbia  River  to  the  Yakima 
Valley.  The  McClellan  pass  is  at  the  head  of  the  Cathlapootle  River,  trend 
ing  south  and  cast  around  the  spurs  of  Mount  Adams,  and  entering  the  Ya 
kima  country  by  the  most  western  fork  of  the  Klikitat  River.  Pac.  R.  R. 
Kepfs,  i.  203-4.  The  Cowlitz  pass  appears  from  the  best  descriptions  to  be 
identical  with  the  Nisqually  pass,  both  rivers  heading  at  nearly  the  same 
point  in  the  Cascade  Range,  whence  the  trail  runs  north-east  by  a  branch  of 
the  Nachess  to  the  Nachess  trail  and  river.  This  gap  was  partially  explored 
in  1858  by  William  Packwood  and  James  Longmire,  the  legislature  of  that 
winter  passing  an  act  to  locate  a  territorial  road  through  it,  and  appointing 
HIST.  WASH. — 25 


386  EXPLORATIONS,  ROADS,  AND  RAILROADS. 

the  explorers  commissioners  to  make  the  location,  in  company  with  G.  C. 
Blankenship.  A  further  survey  was  made  the  following  summer,  resulting 
in  the  incorporation  of  the  Nisqually  Road  Company,  already  mentioned,  in 
1862,  whose  road  was  never  completed.  The  height  of  the  Cowlitz  pass  is 
given  by  the  surveyors  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  whom  Packwood 
accompanied  on  their  explorations,  at  4,210  feet.  The  height  of  the  Nachess 
pass,  next  north  of  the  Cowlitz,  was  said  by  McClellan  to  be  4,890  feet. 
The  Yakima  pass,  called  by  him  interchangeably  the  Yakiina  and  Snoqnalme, 
was  measured  by  barometer  also,  and  found  to  be  3, 468  feet.  Pac.  R.  R.  Repts, 
192.  The  railroad  survey  makes  it  nearly  700  feet  higher.  McClellan  did 
not  survey  the  true  Snoqualimich  pass,  but  the  railroad  survey  makes  it 
about  330  feet  lower  than  the  Yakima  pass,  which  McClellan  pronounced 
'barely  practicable,'  while  he  gave  his  preference  to  Seattle  as  a  terminus  of 
the  Pacific  railroad.  The  elevation  of  Cady  pass  was  given  as  6,147  feet, 
and  of  Stampede  pass,  a  recent  discovery,  at  3,690  feet. 

The  difficulties  to  be  overcome  in  exploring  among  the  mountains  west  of 
the  summit  of  the  Cascade  range  might  well  deter  the  public  from  a  knowl 
edge  of  their  features  and  resources.  But  a  few  adventurous  spirits 
from  time  to  time  made  some  slight  advance  in  the  practical  study  of  Wash 
ington  topography.  Among  the  earliest  of  these  were  S.  S.  Ford,  Jr,  R. 
S.  Bailey,  and  John  Edgar,  who  subsequently  perished  in  the  Indian  war. 
In  August  1852  these  adventurers  ascended  Mount  Rainier,  or  Tacoma,  as  it 
is  now  popularly  named,  being  the  first  Americans  to  visit  this  noble  peak. 
The  route  pursued  by  them  was  by  the  Nisqually  River,  which  brought  them 
to  the  base  of  the  main  mountain,  53  miles  south-east  of  Olympia.  Other 
parties  have  ascended  this  and  other  peaks. 

James  G.  Swan  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  explorer  of  the  Quillehyute 
country;  at  what  date  is  uncertain,  but  in  1869  a  trail  was  cut  from  Pisht 
River,  emptying  into  the  Fuca  Strait  twenty  miles  west  of  Port  Angeles,  to 
the  Quillehyute  River,  by  A.  Colby,  John  Weir,  D.  F.  Brownfield,  J.  C. 
Brown,  and  W.  Smith,  who  took  claims  with  the  intention  of  remaining  on 
the  Quillehyute,  the  legislature  creating  a  county  for  their  benefit.  But  as 
their  example  was  not  followed  by  others,  they  returned  in  1871  to  the  older 
settlements,  since  which  time  a  few  families  have  gone  to  the  lower  Quille 
hyute  prairie  to  reside.  The  Wynooche  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Chehalis, 
was  never  explored  to  its  head  waters  until  June  1875,  when  a  company  was 
formed  in  Olympia  for  that  purpose.  They  found  it  a  succession  of  rapids, 
and  having  a  canon  three  miles  in  length,  with  walls  of  rock  from  200  to  300 
feet  high.  The  first  party  to  penetrate  the  Olympic  range  to  the  ocean  was 
formed  in  1878,  on  Hood  Canal. 

From  the  day  the  people  of  Washington  learned  that  congress  had  appro 
priated  money  for  a  survey  terminating  on  Puget  Sound,  their  constant  ex 
pectation  was  fixed  upon  a  transcontinental  railway.  The  territorial  charter 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  was  granted  by  the  legislature 
Jan.  28,  1857,  to  58  incorporators,  the  road  to  be  commenced  within  three 
and  completed  within  ten  years  after  the  passage  of  the  act;  the  capital  stock 
to  be  fifteen  millions  of  dollars,  which  might  be  increased  to  double  that 
amount. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  company  took  any  immediate  steps  to  raise  the 
necessary  capital.  The  legislature  of  1857-8  passed  a  joint  resolution  to  be 
forwarded  to  congress,  giving  reasons  why  the  road  should  be  built,  and  de 
claring  the  route  surveyed  by  Gov.  Stevens  to  be  the  shortest  and  cheapest. 

The  political  questions  involved  in  a  Pacific  railroad,  and  the  struggle 
with  secession,  temporarily  retarded  the  evolution  of  the  grand  project,  al 
though  in  the  end  its  construction  was  hastened  by  the  war.  I  iind  the 
Washington  legislature  of  1865-6  passing  a  resolution  of  congratulation  upon 
the  inauguration  of  the  'masterly  project, 'and  declaring  its  purpose  to  aid 
by  any  and  all  means  in  its  completion. 

The  next  legislature,  however,  gave  expression  to  its  jealous  fears  lest 


NORTHERN  PACIFIC.  387 

favoritism  should  prejudice  the  interests  of  the  territory,  congress  having 
granted  a  magnificent  subsidy  in  lands  and  money  to  the  central  and  south 
ern  roads,  without  having  done  as  much  for  the  northern  by  several  millions. 
The  memorial  represented,  first,  that  Washington  by  its  poverty  was  entitled 
to  the  bounty  of  the  government,  while  California  possessed  sufficient  private 
capital  to  construct  a  transcontinental  road  without  a  subsidy;  and,  sec 
ondly,  that  from  its  geographical  position  the  northern  road  would  build  up 
a  national  and  international  commerce  of  far  greater  extent  and  value  than 
the  central,  from  the  nature  of  the  soil  along  its  whole  extent,  which  guar 
anteed  a  rich  and  powerful  agricultural  population,  in  view  of  which  facts 
congress  was  asked  to  grant  the  same  privileges  to  the  Northern  Pacific  that 
were  granted  to  the  Union  Pacific  company.  Meanwhile  the  other  railroads 
were  rapidly  progressing,  and  the  people  of  Oregon,  who  were  alive  to  the 
benefits  of  a  terminus,  were  desirous  of  a  branch  from  the  central  road  to 
Portland.  Should  this  scheme  be  carried  out  it  would  delay,  if  not  frustrate, 
the  original  design  of  a  railroad  from  Lake  Superior  to  Puget  Sound.  Hence 
congress  was  again  memorialized  that  the  adoption  of  the  proposed  branch 
from  the  Humboldt  Valley  to  Portland  would  be  '  a  ruinous  and  calamitous 
mistake,  detrimental  alike  to  the  nation  and  its  interests  on  the  Pacific  coast.' 
Thus  we  see  with  what  anxiety  this  isolated  community  were  clinging  de 
votedly  to  the  shores  of  their  wonderful  sea,  and  how  they  regarded  the 
action  of  the  government  and  the  railroad  companies.  On  the  granting  of 
the  railroad  subsidies  in  1860,  the  Northern  Pacific  just  failed  of  being  char 
tered  by  congress,  as  it  had  been  by  the  Washington  legislature,  with  I.  I. 
Stevens  as  one  of  the  board  of  commissioners.  Before  the  friends  of  this 
route  could  again  obtain  the  favor  of  congress,  Stevens  had  died  upon  the 
battle-field.  However,  on  the  2d  of  July,  1804,  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail 
road  Company  received  its  charter,  signed  by  President  Lincoln. 

The  bill  as  passed  withdrew  the  money  subsidy  and  increased  the  land 
grant,  thus  giving  the  commissioners  much  more  to  do  to  raise  the  means  for 
the  construction  of  their  road  than  had  been  required  of  the  other  transcon 
tinental  companies.  When  the  two  years  allowed  in  the  charter  for  begin 
ning  the  road  had  expired,  no  money  had  been  found  to  commence  with,  but 
by  the  help  of  Thaddeus  Stevens  another  two  years  of  grace  was  permitted 
to  the  company,  which  were  wasted  in  an  attempt  to  secure  a  government 
loan.  Again  congress  extended  the  time  for  beginning  operations  to  1870, 
but  limited  the  time  for  completion  to  1877.  The  first  firm  step  forward  in 
financial  affairs  was  in  1869,  when  congress  authorized  the  company  to  issue 
mortgage  bonds  on  its  railroad  and  telegraph  line.  Another  important  change 
permitted  the  company  to  extend  the  Portland  branch  to  Puget  Sound  in 
place  of  the  main  line,  but  required  25  miles  of  it  to  be  built  before  July 
1871.  It  was  in  the  last  months  of  the  limit  of  grace  that  the  banking- 
house  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.  took  up  the  matter  and  furnished  the  money. 
Contracts  were  let  on  both  ends  in  1870.  The  25  miles  required  in  western 
Washington  were  completed  before  July  of  the  following  year,  extending 
northward  from  the  Columbia  via  the  Cowlitz  Valley,  and  the  work  went  on 
along  the  several  divisions  till  1873,  when  Cooke  &  Co.  failed  and  construction 
was  suspended,  after  barely  completing  the  distance  in  Washington  from 
Kalama  on  the  Columbia  to  Tacoma  on  the  Sound.  It  was  not  resumed 
until  1875,  after  the  company  had  gone  through  bankruptcy  and  been  reor 
ganized,  after  which  time  it  proceeded  with  fewer  drawbacks  to  its  comple 
tion  in  Sept.  1883,  via  the  Columbia  River  pass  and  Portland,  the  main  line 
across  the  Cascade  Mountains  remaining  unfinished  until  1887. 

A  territory  without  the  population  to  become  a  state,  and  having  such  seri 
ous  obstacles  to  overcome,  could  not  be  expected  to  own  many  miles  of  rail 
road  built  by  private  enterprise.  The  ambition  of  the  people,  however,  always 
outran  their  means.  The  first  charter  granted  by  the  legislature  to  a  local 
railroad  company  was  in  Jan.  1859,  to  the  Cascade  Railroad  Company,  con 
sisting  of  B.  B.  Bishop,  William  H.  Fauntleroy,  and  George  W.  Murray,  and 
their  associates,  to  construct  a  freight  and  passenger  railroad  from  the  lower  to 


388  EXPLORATIOXS,  ROADS,  AND  RAILROADS. 

the  upper  end  of  the  portage  at  the  cascades  of  the  Columbia.  Previous  to 
this  there  had  been  a  wooden  track  laid  down  for  the  use  of~the  military 
department. 

The  charter  required  to  be  constructed  a  wooden  railroad  within  three 
years,  and  in  five  years  an  iron  track.  This  road,  which  about  this  time 
was  a  necessity,  became  the  property  of  the  0.  S.  N.  Co.  soon  after  its  organi 
zation.  Rival  companies  incorporated  at  different  times,  but  without  cii'ect. 
In  Jan.  18G2  a,  charter  was  granted  to  the  Walla  Walla  Railroad  Co.  to  oper 
ate  a  railroad  from  Walla  Walla  to  the  Columbia  at  Wallula,  the  road  tc  be 
completed  by  Nov.  1863.  The  time  was  extended  two  years  in  18G4.  This 
company  seems  to  have  been  unable  to  accomplish  its  purposes,  for  in  1868 
articles  of  incorporation  of  the  Walla  W alia  and  Columbia  River  Railroad 
Co.  were  adopted  by  a  new  organization.  The  survey  was  made  in  the  spring 
of  1871,  and  work  commenced  in  the  following  Nov.  A  wooden  road  was 
decided  upon,  owing  to  the  cost  of  iron.  In  1872  sufficient  flat  iron  to  strap 
down  the  curves,  and  locomotives  weighing  each  seven  tons,  with  ten  flat 
cars,  were  purchased.  But  the  wooden  rails,  not  answering  expectations, 
were  discarded  in  1875  and  replaced  by  iron.  In  Oct.  the  road  was  com 
pleted,  being  a  three-feet  gauge,  costing  §10,300  per  mile,  the  entire  road 
1  laving  been  built  by  private  capital,  except  §25,000  donated  by  the  citizens 
of  the  county  of  Walla  Walla.  The  first  shipment  of  wheat  was  made  from 
Walla  Walla  to  Wallula  in  this  month.  In  1881  the  road  was  sold  to  the 
0.  R.  &  N.  Co.,  when  its  bed  was  changed  to  the  standard  gauge.  A  branch 
was  constructed  to  the  Blue  Mountains.  In  Jan.  18S2  the  Puget  Sound  and 
Gray  Harbor  Railroad  Co.  was  organized,  the  object  being  to  construct  a  line 
of  road  between  Seattle  and  Gray  Harbor,  a  distance  of  58  miles. 

An  act  was  passed  in  Jan.  1862  incorporating  the  Puget  Sound  and  Colum 
bia  River  Railroad  Co. ,  which  was  empowered  to  operate  a  road  from  Steila- 
coom  to  Vancouver  within  ten  years  from  the  date  of  their  charter,  but  which 
never  availed  itself  of  its  privileges,  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  soon  after 
promising  to  supply  the  needed  communication  with  the  Columbia.  Its 
charter  was,  however,  so  amended  in  1864  that  the  road  might  be  extended 
to  a  point  on  the  Columbia  opposite  Celilo,  and  the  legislature  of  1857-8  went 
through  the  form  of  memorializing  congress  for  aid  in  constructing  it,  though 
it  had  no  antecedent  to  justify  a  belief  that  its  prayer  would  be  granted. 

In  Jan.  1864  the  Seattle  and  Squak  Railroad  Co.  was  incorporated,  being 
authorized  to  locate,   construct,  and  mantain  a  railroad  with  one  or  more 
tracks,  commencing  at  or  near  the  south  end  of  Squak  Lake,  in  King  co.,  and 
running  thence  to  a  point  in  or  near  Seattle.     It  was  required  to  begin  work 
within  two  and  complete  the  road  within  six  years.     The  Oregon  Railway 
and  Navigation  Co.  was  incorporated  June  13,  1879.     It  was  a  consolidation 
of  the  interests  of  the  Oregon  and  Cal.  Railroad  Co.,  the  Oregon  Steamship 
Co.,  and  the  Oregon  Steam  Nav.  Co  ,  all  of  which  was  brought  about  by 
negotiations  between  Henry  Villard,  of  the  Union  Pacific,  and  J.  C.  Ains- 
worth,  president  of  the  O.  S.  N.  Co.     The  O.  R.  &  N.  Co.  built  rapidly,  and 
besides  purchasing  the  Walla  Walla  and  Columbia  river  railroad,  extended 
its  lines  south  of  the  Snake  river  from  Walla  Walla  to  Wuitsburg,  Dayton, 
Grange  City,  and  Pomeroy,  and  to  Pendletoa  in  Or. ;  and  north  of  Snake 
river  from  the  Northern  Pacific  at  Connell  to  Moscow  in  Idaho,  with  branches 
north  to  Oa'.tesdale,  in  Whitman  co.,  and  south  to  Genessee,  Idaho,  near  the 
Clearxvater  river.     The  Northern  Pacific  also  built  several  branches  in  east 
ern  Wash.,  opaning   up  the  wheat   lands   to  market,  and  constructed  the 
Puyullup  branch  in  western  Wash.     An   organization,  known  as  the   Or. 
Tran3Contiii2iiLal  R.  R.,  coii3tructed  in  1883  a  railroad  from  Stuck  river  to 
Black  river  junction,  20  miles,  which  connected  Seattle  and  Tacoma  by  rail, 
under  the  name  of  Puget  Sound  Shore  R.  R.,  which  has  recently  been  pur 
chased  by  the  N.  P.  R.  R.,  which  gives  that  company  a:i  entrance  to  Seattle. 
The  Saatcle,  Lake  Shore,  and  Eastern  railway  is  completed  from  Seattle 
around  the  head  of  lakes  Washington  and  Union,  and  aouth  along  the  east 
shore  of  Lake  Union  to  Gilman,  whence  it  will  be  extended  eastward  via 


PROJECTED   ROADS.  389 

North  Yakima  and  Spokane  Falls.  It  has  a  branch  to  Earle  and  Snohomish, 
which  is  being  pushed  north  to  a  connection  with  the  Canadian  Pacific.  Tho 
Seattle  and  Northern  railroad,  incorporated  Nov.  19,  1888,  has  for  its  object 
the  construction  of  a  road  from  Seattle  northerly  via  Whatcom  to  a  point  on 
the  northern  boundary  of  Wash.,  at  or  near  Blaine,  100  miles;  also  from 
where  it  crosses  the  Skagit  up  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sauk,  and  thence  in  an 
easterly  course  to  Spokane  Falls,  300  miles;  also  from  the  Skagit  crossing 
westerly  via  Hidalgo  island  and  Deception  pass  to  Admiralty  Head,  on 
Whidbey  island.  Elijah  Smith  is  president,  and  H.  W.  McNeil  vice-presi 
dent  of  the  company.  The  Columbia  and  Puget  Sound  railroad,  which  is 
partially  constructed,  is  intended  to  run  to  Walla  Walla  and  the  Columbia 
river.  The  Seattle  and  West  Coast  railroad  runs  only  from  Siiohomish  to 
Wooden ville  at  present.  Satsop  railroad  runs  from  Shelton  in  Mason  co.  to 
Gray's  Harbor.  The  Puget  Sound  and  Gi'ay's  Harbor  railroad  is  being  built 
from  Little  Skookum  to  Gray's  Harbor.  The  Vancouver,  Klickitat,  and 
Yakima  is  in  process  of  construction  from  Vancouver  to  North  Yakima. 
The  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory  railroad  belongs  to  what  is  known  as 
the  Hunt  system  of  roads  in  Or.  and  Wash.  It  runs  from  Wallula  Junction 
to  Walla  Walla  by  a  circuitous  route,  nearly  paralleling  Snake  river,  but 
branching  olf  at  Eureka  Junction  and  going  down  the  other  side  of  a  triangle 
to  Walla  Walla,  and  thence  to  Pendleton  and  Athens  in  Or.  In  1887  some 
business  men  of  Pendleton  organized  the  above  corporation  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  an  independent  road  from  Wallula,  with  a  branch  to  Centerville, 
now  Athens.  They  contracted  with  G.  W.  Hunt,  an  experienced  railroad 
builder,  then  residing  at  Corvallis,  Or.,  who  began  the  work.  He  discovered 
when  he  had  graded  30  miles  that  the  company  had  not  the  money  to  carry 
it  on,  and  purchased  the  concern  to  save  his  outlay.  Going  east  he  ob 
tained  the  necessary  aid  from  C.  B.  Wright  of  Philadelphia.  From  this 
time  on  he  made  and  carried  out  his  own  plans,  having  only  one  subsidy  of 
$100,003  from  Walla  Walla.  He  is  building  lines  into  all  the  rich  farming 
districts,  and  competing  successfully  with  the  O.  R.  &  N.  Hunt  was  born 
near  May  ville,  Chautauqua  co.,  N.  Y.,  May  4,  1842,  educated  at  Ellington 
academy,  went  to  Denver  in  1859,  his  first  interest  in  transportation  being 
in  the  ownership  of  wagons  and  ox-teams  which  he  earned  in  Cal.  His  first 
railroad  contract  was  on  the  Oregon  Short  line,  for  10  miles  in  Idaho;  and 
subsequently  on  the  O.  R.  &  N.'s  Blue  Mountain  line,  and  in  Wash,  from 
Farmington  to  Colfax,  and  its  Pomeroy  branch;  on  the  Oregon  Pacific,  and 
on  the  Cascade  division  of  the  N.  P.  011  both  sides  of  the  Stampede  tunnel, 
and  10  miles  of  the  Seattle,  L.  S.,  &  E.  R.  R.  In  180(5  he  married  Miss 
Leonora  Gaylord  of  Boise  City,  and  has  a  handsome  residence  in  Walla 
Walla. 

The  Fairhaven  and  Southern  railway  company,  Nelson  Bennett,  prest, 
with  a  capital  stock  of  from  one  to  six  millions,  is  making  arrangements  to 
build  from  Vancouver,  B.  C.,  to  Vancouver,  Wash.,  via  Fairhaven  and 
Tacoma.  The  Manitoba  R.  R.  is  selecting  a  route  through  Wash,  to  Puget 
Sound.  Besides  the  unverified  rumors  of  the  intentions  of  transcontinental 
roads,  there  are  in  1889  thirty-six  different  railways  in  progress  of  construc 
tion  or  about  to  be  commenced  in  Wash.  The  total  mileage  of  railroads  in 
Wash,  in  Jan.  1888  was  l,0b'0  miles,  to  which  has  been  added  about  200  miles. 
The  complaint  against  high  fares  and  freights  was  considered  by  the  legisla 
ture  of  1887-8,  and  several  bills  were  offered  to  correct  the  evil;  but  the 
boards  of  trade  of  Seattle  and  Vancouver  remonstrated,  saying  that  legisla 
tion  at  that  time  would  drive  away  capital,  and  crush  out  the  new  local 
roads  which  they  depended  upon  to  compete  with  the  great  railroads.  In 
stead  of  restrictive  acts,  the  legislature  at  their  suggestion  changed  the 
existing  railroad  assessment  law  from  a  tax  on  the  gross  receipts  to  a  tax  on 
all  railroad  property,  in  the  same  manner  as  on  that  of  individuals,  except  in 
cases  where  otherwise  provided.  The  state  constitution  lays  down  the 
same  principle,  but  gives  the  legislature  power  to  establish  'reasonable 
maximum  rates '  for  transportation  services. 


390  EXPLORATIONS,  ROADS,  AND  RAILROADS. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  rapid  development  of  Washington  in  the 
years  between  1880  and  1888.  Some  account  of  this  change  ancfohe  cause 
of  it  may  be  fairly  considered  essential  to  this  history.  It  was  necessary 
when  the  construction  of  the  N.  P.  R.  R.  was  decided  upon  to  fix  a  point 
upon  Puget  Sound  which  should  be  its  terminus,  and  where  its  freight 
might  be  transferred  to  foreign  and  coastwise  vessels.  The  agents  chosen 
by  the  company  to  make  the  selection  were  Judge  R.  D.  Rice  of  Maine, 
vice-president,  and  Capt.  J.  C.  Aiusworth  of  Portland,  Or.,  the  managing 
director  for  the  Pacific  coast,  who  reported  after  a  careful  examination  in 
favor  of  Commencement  bay  and  the  town  of  Tacoma,  meaning  the  village 
at  that  time  containing  about  200  inhabitants  employed  at  the  saw-mill. 
The  report  was  accepted,  and  the  R.  R.  co.  sold  the  3,000  acres  constituting 
the  site  of  the  present  city  to  the  Tacoma  land  company,  except  enough 
land  for  shops,  side-tracks,  depot,  and  wharves.  The  land  co.  also  pur 
chased  of  the  R.  R.  co.  13,000  acres,  being  the  odd-numbered  sections 
within  6  miles  of  the  water  front.  This  company  was  organized  under  the 
laws  of  Penn.,  and  its  corporators  were  large  preferred  stockholders  of  the 
R.  R.  co.;  its  capital  stock  was  $1,000,000,  divided  into  20,000  shares  at  §50 
per  share,  of  which  the  N.  P.  R.  R.  owned  a  majority,  and  put  brain  and 
money  into  it,  but  as  long  as  the  railroad  reached  Tacoma  only  from  the 
Columbia  the  growth  of  the  town  was  slow.  As  soon  as  the  direct  line  was 
established,  the  situation  was  changed,  and  the  event  was  duly  celebrated. 
To-day  in  place  of  the  straggling  village  of  1877,  there  is  a  beautiful  city  of 
30,000  inhabitants,  with  miles  of  streets  80  feet  wide,  and  avenues  100  feet 
wide,  many  handsome  edifices  and  residences,  the  most  inspiring  views  of 
Mount  Tacoma  and  the  Sound,  with  street  railways,  banks,  public  and  pri 
vate  schools,  and  all  the  accessories  of  modern  civilization.  The  coal-fields 
tributary  to  Tacoma  create  a  large  amount  of  business.  The  lumber-mills 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  cut  1,100,000  feet  per  day,  removing  the  timber 
from  12  square  miles  annually.  Many  manufactures  are  suggested  by  the 
wealth  of  iron,  coal,  and  timber  in  this  region,  which  it  is  yet  too  soon,  to 
expect.  According  to  the  Seattle  Journal,  the  name  Tacoma  first  appeared 
in  Theodore  Winthrop's  book  Canoe  and  Saddle,  being  applied  to  the  moun 
tain  known  to  the  English  as  Rainier. 

The  impetus  given  to  the  Sound  country  by  the  N.  P.  R.  R.  also  affected 
Seattle,  for  so  many  years  the  chief  city  of  the  Sound.  It  increased  rapidly 
in  population,  and  achieved  a  population  of  30,000,  with  real  estate  trans 
fers  of  $12,000;000  in  the  year  which  preceded  its  great  catastrophe  by  fire 
in  the  summer  of  1889,  by  which  $10,000,000  of  property  was  destroyed, 
and  thousands  of  people  rendered  temporarily  homeless.  From  this  heavy 
misfortune  will  arise  a  certain  amount  of  good,  in  an  improved  style  of  con 
struction  of  business  houses.  The  hope  is  entertained  that  the  govt  will 
establish  a  navy-yard  on  Lake  Washington,  connecting  it  by  a  canal  with 
the  Sound. 

Spokane  Falls  was  first  settled  by  L.  R.  Scranton,  J.  J.  Downing,  and 
a  Mr.  Benjamin,  in  1872,  they  erecting  a  saw-mill  in  anticipation  of  the 
advent  of  the  N.  P.  R.  R.  The  failure  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.  blighted  their 
expectations,  along  with  the  company's,  causing  them  to  sell  out  their 
squatter  rights  and  property  in  1873  to  James  W.  Glover  of  Salem,  Or.,  for 
$4,000.  Glover  formed  a  partnership  with  J.  N.  Matheny  of  Salem,  and 
Cyrus  F.  Yeaton  of  Portland,  to  carry  on  milling  and  merchandising.  The 
population  was  scattered,  the  whole  of  Stevens  co.,  which  then  embraced 
Spokane,  Lincoln,  and  Douglas,  containing  no  more  than  350  inhabitants, 
aside  from  the  garrison  at  Fort  Colville;  but  the  firm  hoped  on,  and  Yeaton 
was  appointed  post-master,  the  Lewiston  mail  passing  that  way.  In  1874 
they  were  joined  by  H.  T.  Cowley  and  a  Mr.  Poole  and  their  families. 
Cowley,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  minister,  started  an  Indian  school  and 
farm.  A  school  district,  embracing  all  that  territory  between  Colville  and 
Spangle,  and  between  Idaho  and  the  Columbia,  was  organized  into  a  school 
district  for  the  white  settlers,  and  Swift,  who  lived  near  the  Falls  and  was  a 


MATERIAL  GROWTH.  391 

lawyer  by  education,  became  clerk  of  the  district,  Yeatoii,  Poole,  and  M.  M. 
Cowley,  ftader  at  Spokane  Bridge,  directors,  while  Mrs  Swift  was  teacher. 
At  the  territorial  election  of  1874  the  polls  opened  at  Glover's  house,  and 
R.  H.  Winepy  was  elected  to  represent  Stevens  co.  in  the  legislature.  D.  F. 
Percival  of  Four  Lakes,  and  L.  W.  Myers,  were  chosen  co.  commissioners, 
and  Glover  justice  of  the  peace.  In  mid-December  Cowley  journeyed  to 
Colville,  the  co.  seat,  85  miles,  to  carry  the  election  returns,  to  secure  a 
teacher's  certificate,  and  incidentally  to  perform  the  marriage  service  for 
Captain  Evan  Miles  and  Miss  Stitzel.  There  was  little  improvement  before 
1876,  when  Frederick  Post  removed  his  mill  from  Trent  to  Spokane  Falls, 
which  had  been  laid  out  in  a  town  plat  by  Matheny,  Yeaton,  and  Giover, 
who  gave  him  water  power  and  40  acres  of  laud  to  locate  in  the  place. 
Next  came  Downer,  Evans,  and  Smith.  Evans  set  up  a  cabinet-shop. 
Downer  opened  a  farm,  and  Smith  returned  to  Spangle.  Still  the  few 
settlers  held  on  until  June  1877,  when  the  Nez  Perce  war  caused  them  the 
most  intense  anxiety  and  alarm.  Soon  after  the  war  ended  there  came 
Herbert  and  Myron  Percival,  L.  W.  Rims,  Dr  Masterton,  and  a  few  oth* 
ers;  and  in  the  spring  of  1878,  with  the  revived  hope  of  the  coming  of  the 
N.  P.  R.  R.,  came  also  the  merchant  firm  of  Cannon,  Warner,  &  Co.,  who 
purchased  an  interest  in  the  town-site,  and  gave  a  fresh  impetus  to  the  place. 
Then  came  J.  M.  Nosier,  W.  C.  Gray,  Dr  L.  P.  Waterhouse,  A.  E.  Ellis, 
and  Platt  Corbaley.  Gray  built  a  hotel,  in  which  an  entertainment  was  held 
for  the  benefit  of  a  public  school-house  being  erected  in  town.  In  1879 
there  was  a  re-survey  of  the  N.  P.  line,  and  the  Spokane  Times  was  estab 
lished  by  Hon.  Francis  S.  Cook,  member  of  the  territorial  legislature  from 
Pierce  co.  Population  began  now  to  flow  in,  and  the  following  persons  be 
gan  business  in  Spokane  Falls:  F.  R.  Moore  &  Co..  J.  F.  Graham,  Frieden- 
rich  &  Berg,  Arthur  &  Shaner,  J.  N.  Squier,  McCammon  &  Whitman, 
R.  W.  Forrest,  Louis  Zeigler,  Clark  &  Richard,  Percival  &  Corbalay,  Davis  & 
Cornelius.  A.  M.  Cannon  established  the  first  bank — bank  of  Spokane  Falls — 
churches  were  organized,  the  methodist  by  J.  H.  Leard  and  the  congrcga- 
tionalist  by  G.  H.  Atkinson.  The  legislature  that  winter  authorized  the 
organization  of  Spokane  co.,  and  removed  the  county  scat  to  Spokane  Falls. 
In  1880  the  town  of  Cheney  was  laid  out,  and  through  railroad  influence 
took  the  county  seat  away  from  the  Falls,  and  for  two  years  the  town  lan 
guished,  although  in  July  1881  the  Spokane  Chronicle  was  established  by 
C.  B.  Carlisle,  and  the  methodist  and  congregational  churches  were  erected, 
also  the  first  brick  building,  and  steps  were  taken  to  found  protestant  and 
catholic  schools — the  Spokane  and  Gonzaga  universities.  The  city  was  in 
corporated  in  1881,  R.  W.  Forrest  being  the  first  mayor,  A.  M.  Cannon, 
L.  H.  Whitehouse,  L.  W.  Rims,  F.  R.  Moore,  George  A.  Davis,  and  W.  C. 
Gray,  councilmen,  and  J.  K.  Stout,  city  attorney,  the  population  being  at 
this  time  about  1,000.  To  follow  this  history  further  would  be  to  take  up 
too  much  space.  From  1882  to  1889  the  growth  of  Spokane  Falls  was  re 
markable,  helped  on  by  the  wonderful  agricultural  resources  of  the  country, 
and  mines  of  the  CVeur  d'Alene  region,  and  in  1888  it  was  the  third  city  in 
Washington.  In  June  1889  a  great  fire  consumed  22  whole  squares  of 
buildings  in  the  business  portion  of  the  city,  at  a  loss  of  many  millions  of 
dollars,  but  it  is  rapidly  rebuilding  more  solidly  than  before.  The  situation 
of  Spokane  Falls  is  not  only  beautiful  as  to  location,  but  is  in  the  midst  of 
the  great  wheat-fields,  rivalled  in  productiveness  by  few  portions  of  the 
globe,  and  near  the  Coaur  d'Alene  mines. 

Ellensburg  is  another  thriving  town,  which  suffered  great  losses  by  fire 
in  July  1889,  but  which  is  being  rebuilt.  It  has  on  one  hand  an  agricul 
tural  country,  and  on  the  other  gold  and  silver,  coal  and  iron,  superior  grass 
lands  and  timbered  mountain-sides. 

Cle-Elum  and  Roslyn  are  two  new  towns  in  the  mineral  region  of  Klick- 
itat  co.,  situated  among  the  higher  foothills  of  the  Cascades,  oil  the  line  of 
the  N.  P.  R.  R.  Extensive  iron-works  are  located  at  Cle-Elum,  and  coal 
mines  at  Roslyu. 


392  EXPLORATIONS,  ROADS.  AND  RAILROADS. 

Mount  Vernon,  on  the  swift  and  beautiful  Skagit  river,  was  taken  up 
as  a  laud  claim  in  1871  by  Jaspar  Gates,  the  first  house  on  the  river  having 
been  erected  in  1861  by  Owin  Kincaid.  There  is  a  cranberry  marsh  here, 
owned  by  a  California  company.  From  80  acres  of  vines,  5,000  bushels  of 
cranberries  were  gathered  in  1889.  Port  Townsend,  Whatcom,  and  Sehome, 
long  apparently  lifeless,  have  blossomed  out  with  elegant  homes,  stately 
hotels,  and  banking-houses.  Fairhaven,  also  on  Bellingham  bay,  has  a 
charming  situation,  and  is  rapidly  growing. 

Centralia,  Aberdeen,  and  all  the  towns  in  the  fertile  Chehalis  valley  are 
sharing  the  results  of  agricultural  and  milling  enterprises.  The  following  is 
the  history  of  Aberdeen,  by  Samuel  Benn,  its  founder,  born  in  New  York  in 
1832,  coming  to  Cal.  in  1850;  worked  in  Tuolumne  mines  until  1859.  when  he 
came  to  Puget  Sound,  and  purchasing  a  boat  explored  Black  river,  and  took  up 
a  pre-emption  claim.  In  1868  he  removed  to  Chehalis  valley,  where  he  pur 
chased  592  acres  of  land,  raising  cattle  and  dairying  until  1884,  when  he  laid 
out  the  town  of  Aberdeen,  devoting  in  all  240  acres  to  the  town-site,  giving 
away  49  acres  in  mill-sites  to  promote  business,  and  also  donated  50  acres  to 
J.  M.  Weatherwax,  in  alternate  blocks,  for  the  same  purpose.  He  is  prin 
cipal  owner  in  the  Washingtonian  cannery;  has  been  sheriff  and  county  com 
missioner,  and  built  the  first  boat  to  run  on  the  Chehalis  river.  He  married 
Martha  A.  Redmond  in  1862,  and  has  5  daughters  and  2  sons. 

Gray's  Harbor  is  attracting  much  attention,  but  whether  some  settled  or 
some  newly  selected  site  will  be  the  port  of  the  future  is  not  yet  apparent. 

Kelso,  in  Cowlitz  valley,  6  miles  from  the  Columbia,  has  hopes  of  future 
greatness,  calling  itself  the  '  gate  of  Cowlitz, '  and  claims  superior  advantages 
and  eminent  intelligence,  either  of  which  are  no  mean  recommendations. 

The  assessed  value  of  taxable  property  in  Wash,  has  increased  from 
$18,922,922  in  1878,  to  $84,641,548  in  1888,  according  to  the  report  of  Sec 
retary  0 wings — a  gain  of  $65,718,626  in  ten  years.  The  richest  co.  is  King, 
the  second  Pierce,  the  third  Spokane,  the  fourth  Whitman,  the  fifth  Walla 
Walla,  then  Lincoln,  Clarke,  Columbia,  each  valued  at  nearly  $3,000,000, 
after  which  the  other  counties  range  from  $2,000,000  down  to  $300,000.  The 
area  of  the  state  is  69,994  sq.  miles;  area  of  tide-water  inside,  1,258  sq.  miles; 
of  shore-line  inside,  1,992  miles;  area  of  Lake  Washington,  41  sq.  miles. 
Estimated  population,  by  Owings,  432,600. 

Among  the  more  prominent  citizens  of  Spokane  Falls  are  the  following-. 

Herbert  Bolster  came  in  1885  with  an  established  reputation  as  a  lawyer 
and  real  estate  agent.  He  enjoys  the  confidence  of  the  community,  and  has 
been  intrusted  with  much  valuable  city  property,  together  with  the  laying 
out  of  numerous  additions.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Washington  Water  Power 
Co.,  the  Spokane  Cable  Ry.  Co.,  and  other  leading  corporations. 

A.  M.  Cannon,  a  native  of  Monmouth,  111.,  came  to  this  coast  in  1858, 
and  to  Spokane  Falls  in  1878,  now  ranks  among  the  millionaires  of  that  city, 
his  wealth  being  acquired  solely  by  his  own  industry  and  business  judgment. 
To  him  is  mainly  due  the  building  of  the  Spokane  and  Palouse  railroad, 
Spokane  Mill  Co. ,  the  Bank  of  Spokane  Falls,  and  other  prominent  enter 
prises.  As  mayor,  and  in  other  public  offices,  he  has  gained  the  esteem  and 
good-will  of  all  classes  of  the  people. 

In  1878  J.  J.  Browne,  a  native  of  Grenville,  0.,  settled  at  Spokane  Falls, 
soon  acquired  an  extensive  law  practice,  and  became  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
democratic  party,  his  services  as  a  school  director  being  especially  valuable. 
In  1889  he  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  constitutional  convention,  serving 
with  marked  ability.  He  has  aided  largely  in  building  up  the  city. 

W.  H.  Taylor,  a  native  of  Mich.,  has  also  contributed  largely  to  the 
development  of  his  adopted  city,  in  1887  as  mayor,  as  president  of  the 
Spokane  Nat.  Bank  and  of  the  board  of  trade,  and  in  other  positions. 

Others  worthy  of  note  are  F.  R.  Moore,  a  director  of  the  Washington 
Water  Power  Co.,  of  the  cable  line  company,  and  of  several  banks,  and 
B.  F.  Burch,  M.  D.,  one  of  the  oldest  residents  of  the  city.  Both  these  gen 
tlemen  are  among  the  wealthiest  and  most  respected  citizens  of  Spokane. 


HISTORY  OF  IDAHO. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PHYSICAL  FEATURES  AND  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

TERRITORIAL  LIMITS — THE  WORLD'S  WONDER-LAND — RIVERS,  MOUNTAINS, 
AND  VALLEYS  —  PHENOMENAL  FEATURES  —  LAVA  -  FIELDS  —  MINERAL 
SPRINGS — CLIMATE — SCORES  OF  LIMPID  LAKES — ORIGIN  OP  THE  NAME 
•IDAHO' — INDIFFERENCE  OF  EARLY  IMMIGRANTS — NATURAL  PRODUCTIONS 
— GAME  —  FOOD  SUPPLY  —  FUR-BEARING  ANIMALS  —  FIRST  MORMON 
SETTLEMENT — COUNTY  DIVISIONS  OF  IDAHO  AS  PART  OF  WASHINGTON. 

THE  territory  of  Idaho  was  set  off  by  congress 
March  3,  1863.  It  was  erected  out  of  the  eastern 
portion  of  Washington  with  portions  of  Dakotah  and 
Nebraska,  and  contained  326,373  square  miles,  lying 
between  the  104th  and  117th  meridians  of  longitude, 
and  the  42d  and  49th  parallels  of  latitude.  It  em 
braced  the  country  east  of  the  summits  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  within  fifty  miles  of  the  great  bend  of 
the  Missouri  below  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone, 
including  the  Milk  River,  White  Earth,  Big  Horn, 
Powder  River,  and  a  portion  of  the  Platte  region  on 
the  North  Fork  and  Sweetwater.  Taken  all  together, 
it  is  the  most  grand,  wonderful,  romantic,  and  mys 
terious  part  of  the  domain  enclosed  within  the  federal 
union. 

Within  its  boundaries  fell  the  Black  Hills,  Fort 
Laramie,  Long's  Peak,  the  South  Pass,  Green  River, 
Fort  Hall,  Fort  Boise,  with  all  that  wearisome  stretch 
of  road  along  Snake  River  made  by  the  annual  trains 

(393) 


394          PHYSICAL  FEATURES  AND  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

of  Pacific-bound  immigrants  since  1843,  and  earlier. 
Beyond  these  well-known  stations  and  landmarks  no 
information  had  been  furnished  to  the  public  concern 
ing  that  vast  wilderness  of  mountains  interspersed 
with  apparently  sterile  sand  deserts,  and  remarkable, 
so  far  as  understood,  only  for  the  strangeness  of  its 
rugged  scenery,  which  no  one  seemed  curious  to  ex 
plore. 

The  Snake  River,1  the  principal  feature  known  to 
travellers,  is  a  sullen  stream,  generally  impracticable, 
and  here  and  there  wild  and  swift,  navigable  only  for 
short  distances,  above  the  mouth  of  the  Clearwater, 
broken  by  rapids  and  falls,  or  coursing  dark  and  dan 
gerous  between  high  walls  of  rock.  Four  times 
between  Fort  Hall  and  the  mouth  of  the  Bruneau,  a 
distance  of  150  miles,  the  steady  flow  of  water  is 
broken  by  falls.  The  first  plunge  at  American  Falls,2 
twenty-five  miles  from  Fort  Hall,  is  over  a  preci 
pice  60  feet  or  more  in  height,  after  which  it  flows 
between  walls  of  trap-rock  for  a  distance  of  70  miles, 
when  it  enters  a  deeper  canon  several  miles  in  length 
and  from  800  to  1,000  feet  in  width,  emerging  from 
which  it  divides  and  passes  around  a  lofty  pinnacle  of 
rock  standing  in  the  bed  of  the  stream,  the  main  por 
tion  of  the  river  rushing  over  a  ledge  and  falling  180 
feet  without  a  break,  while  the  smaller  stream  de 
scends  by  successive  plunges  in  a  series  of  rapids  for 
some  distance  before  it  takes  its  final  leap  to  the  pool 
below.  These  are  called  the  Twin  Falls,  and  some 
times  the  Little  Falls  to  distinguish  them  from  the 
Great  Shoshone  Falls,  four  miles  below,  where  the 
entire  volume  of  water  plunges  down  210  feet  after  a 
preliminary  descent  of  30  feet  by  rapids.  Forty  miles. 
west,  at  the  Salmon  or  Fishing  falls,  the  river  makes 
its  last  great  downward  jump  of  forty  feet,  after  which 

1  The  name  of  this  stream  was  taken  from  the  natives  inhabiting  its  banks, 
and  has  been  variously  called  Snake,  Shoshone,  and  Les  Serpents.     Lewis 
and  Clarke  named  it  after  the  former — Lewis  River.  See  Native  Races  of  the 
Pacific  States,  and  Hint,  Northwest  Coast,  passim,  this  series. 

2  So  named  from  the  loss  of  a  party  of  Americans  who  attempted  to  navi 
gate  the  river  in  canoes.  Palmer' a  Jour.,  44. 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  IDAHO.  395 

it  flows,  with  frequent  rapids  and  canons,  onward  to 
the  Columbia,3  in  some  places  bright,  pure,  and  spar 
kling  with  imprisoned  sunshine,  in  others  noiseless, 
cold,  and  dark,  eddying  like  a  brown  serpent  among 
fringes  of  willows,  or  hiding  itself  in  shadowy  ravines 
untrodden  by  the  footsteps  of  the  all-dominating 
white  man. 

This  500  feet  of  descent  by  cataracts  is  made  on 
the  lower  levels  of  the  great  basin,  where  the  altitude 
above  the  sea  is  from  2,130  feet,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Owyhee,  to  4,240  at  the  American  Falls.  The  de 
scent  of  2,110  feet  in  a  distance  of  250  miles  is  suf 
ficient  explanation  of  the  unnavigable  character  of  the 
Serpent  River.  Other  altitudes  furnish  the  key  to  the 
characteristics  of  the  Snake  Basin.  The  eastern  gate 
way  to  this  region,  the  South  Pass,  is  nearly  7,500 
feet  high,  and  the  mountain  peaks  in  the  Rocky  range 
from  10,000  to  13,570  feet,  the  height  of  Fremont 
Peak.  The  pass  to  the  north  through  the  Blackfoot 
country  is  6,000  feet  above  the  sea,  which  is  the 
general  level  of  that  region,4  while  various  peaks  in 
the  Bitter  Root  range  rise  to  elevations  between  7,000 
and  10,000  feet.  Florence  mines,  where  the  dis 
coverers  were  rash  enough  to  winter,  has  an  altitude 
of  8,000  feet,  while  Fort  Boise  is  6,000  feet  lower, 
being  in  the  lowest  part  of  the  valley  of  Snake  River. 
Yet  within  a  day's  travel  on  horseback  are  rugged 
mountains  where  the  snow  lies  until  late  in  the  spring, 
topped  by  others  where  it  never  melts,  as  the  miners 
soon  ascertained  by  actual  experience.  The  largest 
body  of  level  land  furnished  with  grass  instead  of  ar- 
temesia  is  Big  Camas  prairie,  on  the  head  waters  of 
Malade  or  Wood  river,  containing  about  200  square 
miles,  but  at  an  altitude  of  4,700  feet,  which  seemed 
to  render  it  unfit  for  any  agricultural  purposes, 

*Riblett'8  Snake  River  Region,  MS.,  2-4;  Starr's  Idaho,  MS.,  4;  Idaho 
Scraps,  27,  35;  Boise  Statesman,  July  4,  1868;  Portland  West  Shore,  July 
1877. 

4  The  mean  altitude  of  Montana  is  given  as  3,900  feet  in  Gannett' 's  List  of 
Elevations,  101. 


398          PHYSICAL  FEATURES  AND  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

although  it  was  the  summer  paradise  of  the  United 
States  cavalry  for  a  time,  and  of  horse  and  cattle 
owners. 

There  are  valleys  on  the  Payette,  Clearwater,  lower 
Snake,  Boise,  Weiser,  Blackfoot,  Malade,  and  Bear 
rivers,  besides  several  smaller  ones.  They  range  in 
size  from  twenty  to  a  hundred  miles  in  length,  and 
from  one  to  twenty  miles  in  width,  and  with  other 
patches  of  fertile  land  aggregate  ten  millions  of  acres 
in  that  part  of  the  new  territory  whose  altered  boun 
daries  now  constitute  Idaho,  all  of  which  became 
known  to  be  well  adapted  to  farming  and  fruit-raising, 
although  few  persons  were  found  at  first  to  risk  the 
experiment  of  sowing  and  planting  in  a  country  which 
was  esteemed  as  the  peculiar  home  of  the  mineralogist 
and  miner. 

In  a  country  like  this  men  looked  for  unusual  things, 
for  strange  phenomena,  and  they  found  them.  A 
volcano  was  discovered  about  the  head  waters  of 
the  Boise,  which  on  many  occasions  sent  up  smoke  and 
columns  of  molten  lava5  in  1866,  and  in  August  1881 
another  outburst  of  lava  was  witnessed  in  the  moun 
tains  east  of  Camas  prairie,  while  at  the  same  time  an 
earthquake  shock  was  felt.  In  1864  the  Salmon  River 
suddenly  rose  and  fell  several  feet,  rising  a  second 
time  higher  than  before,  being  warm  and  muddy.6 

Notwithstanding  the  evidences  of  volcanic  eruptions, 
and  the  great  extent  of  lava  overflow  along  Snake 
River,  the  country  between  Reynolds  Creek  in  Owy- 
hee  and  Bruneau  River  was  one  vast  bed  of  organic  re 
mains,  where  the  bones  of  extinct  species  of  animals 
were  found,7  and  also  parts  of  the  human  skeleton  of 

"Buffalo  Hump,  an  isolated  butte  between  Clearwater  and  Salmon  rivers, 
is  the  mountain  here  referred  to.  The  lava  overflow  was  renewed  in  Septem 
ber,  when  'great  streams  of  lava'  were  'running  down  the  mountain,  the 
molten  substance  burning  everything  in  its  path.  The  flames  shoot  high  in 
the  air,  giving  at  a  long  distance  the  appearance  of  a  grand  conflagration.' 
A  rumbling  noise  accompanied  the  overflow.  Wood  I'ivcr  Miner,  Sept.  21, 
1881;  Idaho  World,  June  30,  18GG;  Stiver  City  Avalanche,  Jan.  29,  1881. 

6Jolm  Keenan  of  Florence  witnessed  this  event.   BoisdNetcs,  Aug.  13,  1864. 

''Early  Events,  MS.,  9.  H.  B.  Maize  found  a  tusk  9  inches  in  diameter  at 
the  base  and  6  feet  long  embedded  in  the  soil  on  .Rabbit  Creek,  10  miles  from 


STREAMS  AXD  CANONS  OF  IDAHO.  397 

a  size  which  seemed  to  point  to  a  prehistoric  race  of 
men  as  well.  This  portion  of  the  ancient  lake  bed 
seemed  to  have  received,  from  its  lower  position,  the 
richest  deposit  of  fossils,  although  they  were  found 
in  higher  localities.  All  the  streams  emptying  into 
Snake  River  at  some  distance  below  the  Shoshone 
or  Great  falls  sink  before  reaching  it,  and  flow  beneath 
the  lava,  shooting  out  of  the  sides  of  the  canon  with 
beautiful  effect,  and  forming  a  variety  of  cascades.8 
"Salmon  River,"  said  one  of  the  mining  pioneers,  "al 
most  cuts  the  earth  in  two,  the  banks  being  4,000 
feet  perpendicular  for  miles,  and  backed  by  rugged 
mountains  that  show  evidences  of  having  been  rent 
by  the  most  violent  convulsions."9  Godin10  or  Lost 
river  is  a  considerable  stream  rising  among  the  Wood 
River  Mountains  and  disappearing  near  Three  Buttes 
—hence  the  name — though  coming  to  the  surface 
afterv/ard.  Journeying  to  Fort  Hall  by  the  way  of 
Big  Camas  prairie,11  after  reaching  the  lava-field  you 
pass  along  the  base  of  mountains  whose  tops  glisten 
with  perpetual  snow.  Stretching  southward  is  a  sea 
of  cinder,  wavy,  scaly,  sometimes  cracked  and  abysmal. 
Bruneau  River  and  the  Owyhee  drain  the  southern 
and  western  side.  Curious  mineral  springs  have  been 
discovered  in  various  parts,  the  most  famous  of  which 

Snake  River,  and  a  variety  of  other  bones.  Bois6  Statesman,  Oct.  1,  1870. 
This  bed  appears  to  be  similar  to  one  which  exists  in  a  sand  deposit  in  south 
eastern  Oregon,  and  described  by  0.  C.  Applegate  in  Portland  West  Shore, 
July  1877. 

8  Riblr-tfa  Snake  River  Region,  MS.,  2-4.  In  this  descriptive  manuscript, 
by  Frank  liiblctt,  surveyor  of  Cassia  county,  some  strong  hints  are  thrown 
out.  Riblett  says:  'The  lava  presents  phenomena  like  breathing-holes,  where 
strong  currents  of  air  tind  continual  vent. .  .Chasms  going  seemingly  to 
immense  deptks;  corrals — called  devil's  corrals,  being  enclosures  of  lava 
walls — extinct  craters;  the  City  of  Rocks,  a  pile  of  basalt,  which  resembles  a 
magnificent  city  in  ruins. .  .Massacre  Gate  is  a  tremendous  basaltic  barrier 
running  from  the  bluffs  to  Snake  River,  and  cleft  only  wide  enougli  to  permit 
the  passage  of  a  wagon,  so  named  from  a  massacre  by  Indians  at  this  place; 
also  variously  styled  Gate  of  Death  and  Devil's  Gate.' 

'floftn'*  Hist.  Idado  County,  MS.,  7. 

10  Named  after  a  trapper  in  the  service  of  the  American  Fur  Company. 
Godin  is  mentioned  in  Victor's  River  of  the  West,  129-30.  He  was  killed  at 
this  stream  by  the  Blackfoot  Indians.  Townsend's  Nar.,  114. 

1 '  Called  Big  Camas  to  distinguish  it  from  the  North  Camas  prairie  situ 
ated  between  the  Clearwater  and  Salmon  rivers,  and  other  tracts  of  similar 
lands.  There  is  also  a  Little  Camas  prairie  south  of  Big  Camas  prairie. 


398          PHYSICAL  FEATURES  AND  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

are  the  soda  springs  in  the  Bear  River  region,  of  which 
thousands  have  tasted  on  their  journey  across  the 
continent.  Around  the  springs  are  circular  embank 
ments  of  pure  snow-white  soda  several  feet  in  height 
and  twenty  to  thirty  feet  in  diameter.  You  may  count 
fifty  mineral  springs  within  a  square  mile  in  Bear 
River  Valley,  some  of  pure  soda,  some  mingled  with 
sulphur,  and  others  impregnated  with  iron;  some  warm, 
some  cold,  some  placid,  others  bubbling  and  noisy  as 
steam,  the  waters  of  which  could  be  analyzed,  but 
could  not  be  reproduced.12 

It  was  the  common  judgment  of  the  first  explorers 
that  there  was  more  of  strange  and  awful  in  the  scen 
ery  and  topography  of  Idaho  than  of  the  pleasing  and 
attractive.  A  more  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
less  conspicuous  features  of  the  country  revealed  many 
beauties.  The  climate  of  the  valleys  was  found  to  be 
far  milder  than  from  their  elevation  could  have  been 
expected.  Picturesque  lakes  were  discovered  nestled 
among  the  mountains,  or  furnishing  in  some  instances 
navigable  waters.13  Fish  and  game  abounded.  Fine 
forests  of  pine  and  fir  covered  the  mountain  slopes 
except  in  the  lava  region;  and  nature,  even  in  this 
phenomenal  part  of  her  domain,  had  not  forgotten  to 
prepare  the  earth  for  the  occupation  of  man,  nor  neg 
lected  to  give  him  a  wondrously  warm  and  fertile  soil 

12  Idaho  Scraps,  60-1;  Salt  Lake  Tribune,  Jan.  1,  1878;  Codmarfs  Round 
Trip,  254-9;  Strahorn's  To  the  Rockies,  126.     At  some  springs  4  miles  from 
Millersburg  a  bathing-house  has  been  built.  Hofen's  Hist.  Idaho  Co. ,  MS.,  6.  In 
1865-6  James  H.  Hutton  erected  baths  at  the  warm  springs  near  Warren. 
Statement  by  Edwin  Farnham,  in  Schultze's  Early  Anecdotes,  MS.,  6;   Owy- 
hee  Avalanche,  April  17,  1876.     On  Bruneau  River,  at  the  Robeson  farm, 
are  several  hot  springs,  and  one  of  cold  sulphur  water.     Near  Atlanta,  on  the 
middle  fork  of  Bois6,  were  discovered  warm  springs  fitted  up  for  bathing  by 
F.  P.  Carothers  in  1877.  Silver  City  Avalanche,  May  5,  1877.     Near  Bonanza, 
on  Yankee  Fork  of  Salmon  River,  were  found  sulphur  springs  of  peculiar 
qualities.  Bonanza  City  Yankee  Fork  Herald,  March  20,  1880.     In  short,  the 
whole  basin  between  Salmon  River  and  Salt  Lake  was  found  to  be  dotted 
with  springs  of  high  temperature  and  curative  medicinal  qualities. 

13  Lakes  Cceur  d'Alene  and  Pend  d'Oreille  are  of  the  navigable  class,  the 
former  35  miles  long,  the  latter  30  miles.     Steamers  ply  on  the  Cceur  d'Alene. 
Cocolala  is  a  small  lake.    Kaniskee  is  a  limpid  body  of  water  20  miles  long  by 
10  wide.    Hindoo  lakes  are  a  group  of  small  bodies  of  alkaline  water  of  medici 
nal  qualities.     And  there  are  a  score  or  two  more  well  worthy  of  mention. 


IDAHO,  GEM  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS.  399 

to  compensate  for  the  labor  of  subduing  the  savagery 
of  her  apparently  waste  places.14 

What  has  been  said  of  the  Snake  Basin  and  Salmon 
and  Clearwater  regions  leaves  untouched  the  wonder 
land  lying  at  the  eastern  base  of  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Yellowstone  River, 
and  all  the  imposing  scenery  of  the  upper  Missouri 
and  the  Clarke  branch  of  the  Columbia — the  magnifi 
cent  mountains,  and  grand  forests,  the  rich  if  elevated 
valleys,  and  the  romantic  solitudes  of  that  more  north 
ern  division  of  Idaho  as  "first  organized  under  a  tem 
porary  government,  which  was  soon  after  cut  off  and 
erected  into  a  separate  territory.  Once  it  had  all 
been  Oregon  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains;  then  it 
was  all  Washington  north  and  east  of  Snake  River; 
now  all  east  of  that  stream  bore  another  name,  a  Sho- 
shone  word,  signifying  "gem  of  the  mountains,"  or 
more  strictly,  "diadem  of  the  mountains,"  referring  to 
the  lustrous  rim  shown  by  the  snowy  peaks  as  the 
sun  rises  behind  and  over  them.15 

14  For  general  description  of  Idaho,  see  //.  Ex.  Doc.,  i.  pt  4,  133-8,  41st 
*ung.  3d  sess. ;  Rusling's  Across  the  Continent,  206-50;  Edmonds,  in  Portland 
Oregonian,  April  19,  1864;  Meagher,  in  Harper's  Mac/.,  xxxv.  568-84;  Mc- 
Cabe's  Our  Country,  1092;  Browne's  Resources,  512-16;  Ebcy's  Journal,  MS., 
i.  253;  Campbell's  Western  Guide,  60-4;  Hayden's  Geological  Kept,  in  II.  Ex. 
Doc.,  326,  xv.,  42d  cong.  2d  sess.;  Idaho  Scraps,  27,  235;  Lewiston  Siijnal, 
Aug.  23,   1873;  Elliott's  Hint.  Idaho,  86-108;   Strahorn's  Idaho,  7-84;  Stra 
horn's  Illustrated  New  West;  and  many  more  miscellaneous  sketches  of  trav 
ellers  and  military  men,  as  well  as  surveyors  of  railroad  routes  and  land  com 
missioners.     While  a  volume  of  description  might  be  written,  I  have  sought 
only  by  touches  here  and  there  to  outline  the  general  characteristics  of  the 
country. 

15  Pac.  Monthly,  xi.,  June  1864,  675.     There  seems  to  be  no  question  of  the 
meaning  of  the  word,  which  is  vouched  for  by  numerous  authorities.     C.  H. 
Miller,  in  Elliott's  Hist.  Idaho,  80,  affects  to  give  the  distinction  of  naming 
Idaho  to  William  Craig.     I  do  not  see,  however,  that  Craig  had  anything  to 
do  with  it,  even  though  he  had  mentioned  to  others,  as  he  did  to  Miller,  the 
signification  of  the  word.     It  had  been  in  use  as  the  name  of  a  steamboat  on 
the  Columbia  above  The  Dalles  since  the  spring  of  1860,  but  Miller  says  he 
never  heard  the  word  until  the  spring  of  1861,  when  travelling  to  Oro  Fino 
with  Craig.     He  also  says  that  the  Indian  word  was  E-dah'-hoe,  and  that  he 
gave  it  to  the  world  in  its  present  orthography  in  a  newspaper  article  in  the 
autumn  of  1861.     It  had  been  painted 'Idaho 'on  the  0.  S.  N.  steamer  for  18 
months,  where  it  was  visible  to  thousands  travelling  up  the  Columbia.     The 
inference  which  Miller  would  establish  is  that  he,  with  Craig's  assistance, 
suggested  the  name  of  the  territory  of  Idaho.    See  Idaho  Avalanche,  in  Wnlla 
Walla  Statesman,  Dec.  11,  1880.     Another  even  more  imaginative  writer  is 
William  0.  Stoddard,  in  an  article  in  the  N.  Y.  Tribune,  who  states  that  the 


400         PHYSICAL  FEATURES  AND  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

The  natural  food  resources  of  Idaho  were  not  those 
of  a  desert  country.  Sturgeon  of  immense  size  were 
found  in  the  Snake  River  as  high  up  as  Old's  ferry. 
Salmon  crowded  that  stream  and  its  tributaries  at  cer 
tain  seasons.  The  small  rivers  abounded  in  salmon- 
trout.  The  lakes  were  filled  with  fish  of  a  delightful 
flavor.  One  species,  for  which  no  name  has  yet  been 
found,  belonged  especially  to  the  Payette  lakes,  of  a 
bright  vermilion  color,  except  the  fins,  which  are  dark 
green.  They  probably  belonged  to  the  salmon  fam 
ily,  as  their  habit  in  respect  of  ascending  to  the  head 
waters  of  the  river  to  spawn  and  die  are  the  same  as 
the  Columbia  salmon.16 

The  mountains,  plains,  and  valleys  abounded  with 
deer,  bear,  antelope,  elk,  and  mountain  sheep.17  The 
buffalo  which  once  grazed  on  the  Snake  River  plains 
had  long  been  driven  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Partridge,  quail,  grouse,  swan,  and  wild  duck  were 
plentiful  on  the  plains  and  about  the  lakes.  Fur- 
word  'Idaho'  was  coined  by  an  eccentric  friend  of  his,  George  M.  Willing, 
'  first  delegate  to  congress. '  As  no  such  man  was  ever  a  delegate,  and  as  the 
territory  must  have  been  created  and  named  before  it  could  have  a  delegate, 
this  fiction  ceases  to  be  interesting.  See  Boise  Statesman,  Jan.  8,  1870;  Idaho 
World,  in  Hid.;  S.  F.  Chronicle,  May  1,  1876.  There  is  a  pretty  legend  con 
nected  with  the  word  'Idaho.'  It  is  to  the  effect  that  E.  D.  Pierce  met  with 
an  Indian  woman  of  the  northern  Shoshones  who  told  him  of  a  bright  object 
which  fell  from  the  skies  and  lodged  in  the  side  of  a  mountain,  but  which, 
although  its  light  could  be  seen,  could  never  be  found.  Pierce,  it  is  said, 
undertook  to  find  this  Koohinoor,  and  while  looking  for  it  discovered  the  Nez 
Pcrcd  mines.  Oivyhee  Avalanche,  March  10,  1876.  Another  reasonable  story 
is  that  when  W.  H.  Wallace  was  canvassing  for  his  election  as  delegate  from 
Washington  in  1861  with  Lander  and  Garfielde,  it  was  agreed  at  Oro  Fino 
that  whichever  of  the  candidates  should  be  elected,  should  favor  a  division  of 
the  territory.  The  question  of  a  name  coming  up,  George  B.  Walker  sug 
gested  Idaho,  which  suggestion  was  approved  by  the  caucus.  From  the  fact 
that  the  lirst  bill  presented  called  the  proposed  new  territory  Idaho,  it  is 
probable  that  the  petitioners  adhered  to  the  agreement.  There  appears  to 
have  been  three  names  before  the  committees,  Shoshone,  Montana,  and 
Idaho.  See  Cong.  Globe,  1862-3,  pt  i.,  p.  166;  and  that  Senator  Wilson  of 
Massachusetts,  when  the  bill  creating  the  territory  of  '  Montana '  was  about 
to  pass,  insisted  on  a  change  of  name  to  Idaho,  on  the  ground  that  Montana 
was  no  name  at  all,  while  Idaho  had  a  meaning.  In  this  amendment  he  was 
supported  by  Harding  of  Oregon.  Wilson's  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

KStrahorn's  To  the  Hockies,  124;  Olympia  Wash.  Democrat,  Dec.  10,  1864; 
Idaho  World,  Aug.  15,  1874;  Salt  Lake  Tribune,  Jan.  1,  1878. 

17  A  new  species  of  carnivorous  animal,  called  the  '  man-eater,'  was  killed 
near  Silver  City  in  1870.  Its  weight  was  about  100  Ibs,  legs  short,  tail  bushy 
and  10  inches  long,  ears  short,  and  feet  large — a  nondescript.  Silver  City 
Idaho  Avalanche,  March  12,  1870. 


ANIMALS,  FRUITS,  AND  PLANTS.  401 

bearing  animals,  once  hunted  out  of  the  mountains 
and  streams  by  the  fur  companies,  had  again  become 
numerous.  The  industrious  beaver  cut  down  the 
young  cottonwood  trees  as  fast  as  they  grew  in  the 
Bruneau  Valley,  depriving  future  settlers  of  timber, 
but  preserving  for  them  the  richest  soil.  The  wolf, 
red  and  silver-gray  fox,  marten,  and  muskrat  inhabited 
the  mountains  and  streams. 

Grapes,  cherries,  blackberries,  gooseberries,  whor 
tleberries,  strawberries,  and  salmon-berries,  of  the 
wild  varieties,  had  their  special  localities.  Black 
berries  and  grapes  were  abundant,  but,  owing  to  the 
dry  climate,  not  of  the  size  of  these  wild  fruits  in  the 
middle  states.  Camas  root,  in  the  commissary  de 
partment  of  the  natives,  occupied  a  place  similar  to 
bread,  or  between  wheat  and  potatoes,  in  the  diet  of 
agricultural  nations.  It  resembled  an  onion,  being 
bulbous,  while  in  taste  it  was  a  little  like  a  yam. 
The  qullah,  another  root,  smaller  and  of  a  disagree 
able  flavor,  was  eaten  by  the  Indians  when  cooked. 
In  taste  it  resembled  tobacco,  and  was  poisonous 
eaten  raw.  The  botany  of  the  country  did  not  differ 
greatly  from  some  parts  of  Oregon,  either  in  the  floral 
or  the  arboreous  productions.  The  most  useful  kinds 
of  trees  were  the  yellow  pine,  sugar  pine,  silver  pine, 
white  fir,  yellow  fir,  red  fir,  white  cedar,  hemlock, 
yew,  white  oak,  live-oak,  cottonwood,  poplar,  moun 
tain  mahogany,  and  madrono.  The  great  variety  of 
shrubby  growths  are  about  the  same  as  in  south 
western  Oregon. 

o 

Two  years  previous  to  the  passage  of  the  organic 
act  of  Idaho  there  had  been  but  two  or  three  settle 
ments  made  within  its  limits,  if  the  missions  of  the 
Jesuits  are  excepted.  It  was  not  regarded  with  favor 
by  any  class  of  men,  not  even  the  most  earth-hungry. 
Over  its  arid  plains  and  among  its  fantastic  upheavals 
of  volcanic  rocks  roamed  savage  tribes.  Of  the  climate 
little  was  known,  and  that  little  was  unfavorable,  from 
the  circumstance  that  the  fur  companies,  who  spent 

HIST.  WASH.— 26 


402         PHYSICAL  FEATURES  AND  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

the  winters  in  certain  localities  in  the  mountains,  re 
garded  all  others  as  inhospitable,  and  the  immigrants 
judged  of  it  by  the  heat  and  drought  of  midsummer. 


IDAHO  IN  1863. 


But  early  in  1854  a  small  colony  of  Mormon  men 
was  sent  to  found  a  settlement  on  Salmon  River 
among  the  buffalo-hunting  Nez  Perces,  who  erected 
a  fort,  which  they  named  Lemhi.  In  the  following 
year  they  were  reenforced  by  others,  with  their  fam 
ilies,  horses,  cattle,  seeds,  and  farming  implements; 
and  in  1857  Brigham  Young  visited  this  colony,  at 
tended  by  a  numerous  retinue.  He  found  the  people 
prosperous,  their  crops  abundant,  the  river  abounding 


MORMON  SETTLEMENT. 


403 


in  fish,  and  the  evidences  present  of  mineral  wealth. 
When  he  returned  to  Salt  Lake  the  pioneers  returned 
with  him  to  fetch  their  wives  and  children.  The  N"ez 
Perces,  however,  became  jealous  of  these  settlers, 
knowing  that  the  government  was  opposed  to  the 
Mormon  occupation  of  Utah,  and  fearing  lest  they 
should  be  driven  out  to  overrun  the  Flathead  country 
if  they  were  permitted  to  retain  a  footing  there.18 
The  colony  finally  returned  to  Salt  Lake,  driven  out, 
it  was  said,  by  the  Indians,  with  a  loss  of  three  men 


COUNTIES  FORMERLY  IN  WASHINGTON. 

killed,  and  all  their  crops  destroyed.19  The  other  set 
tlements  were  a  few  farms  of  French  Canadians  in  the 
Cceur  d'Alene  country,  the  Jesuit  missions,  and  Fort 

18  Stevens'  Nar.,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rcpt,  xii.  252;  letter  of  R.  H.  Lansdale,  in 
Ind.  Aff.  Kept,  1857,  380;  Ross  Browne,  in  //.  Ex.  Doc.,  39,  p.  30,  35th 
cong.  1st  sess. ;  Olymnia  Pioneer  and  Dem.,  Aug.  8,  185G;  Or.  Statesman, 
Sept.  15,  1857;  Rept  Com.  Ind.  Aff.,  1857,  324-80. 

1BThia  was  in  1858,  if  I  understand  Owen's  account,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Rept, 
1S59,  424.  Shoup,  in  Idaho  'l\r.,  MS.,  5,  refers  to  this  settlement.  The 
Mormons  erected  their  houses  inside  of  a  palisade,  and  could  have  been  ree'n- 
forced  from  Salt  Lake.  It  is  probable  that  Brighatn  called  them  in  to 
Strengthen  his  hands  against  the  government. 


404          PHYSICAL  FEATURES  AND  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

Owen,  the  latter  east  of  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains, 
in  the  valley  of  the  St  Mary  branch  of  Bitter  Root 
River. 

The  county  of  Shoshone  was  set  off  from  Walla 
Walla  county  by  the  legislature  of  Washington  as 
early  as  January  29,  1858,  comprising  all  the  country 
north  of  Snake  River  lying  east  of  the  Columbia  and 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  with  the  county  seat 
"on  the  land  claim  of  Angus  McDonald."20  This  was 

20  McDonald  was  the  H.  B.  Co.'s  agent  at  Colville.  The  county  commis 
sioners,  excepting  John  Owen,  who  was  U.  S.  Indian  agent,  were  of  foreign 
birth;  namely,  Robert  Douglas  and  William  McCreany.  Patrick  McKinzie 
was  appointed  sheriff,  and  Lafayette  Alexander  county  auditor.  Wash  Laws, 
1858,  51.  Another  act,  repealing  this,  and  without  altering  the  boundaries, 

fiving  it  the  name  of  Spokane,  and  making  new  appointments,  was  passed 
an.  17,  18GO.  In  this  act  James  Hayes,  Jacques  Dumas,  and  Leaman  were 
made  commissioners,  John  Winn  sheriff,  R.  K.  Rogers  treasurer,  Robert 
Douglas  auditor,  J.  R.  Bates  justice  of  the  peace,  and  F.  Wolf  coroner.  The 
county  seat  was  removed  to  the  land  claim  of  Bates.  The  following  year  all 
that  part  of  Spokane  county  lying  east  of  the  115th  line  of  longitude,  and 
west  of  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  was  stricken  off  and  became 
Missoula  county,  with  the  county  scat  '  at  or  near  the  trading  post  of  Worden 
&  Co.,  Hellgate  Rond.'  The  commissioners  of  the  new  county  were  C.  P. 
Higgins,  Thomas  Harris,  and  F.  L.  Worden;  justice  of  the  peace,  Henri  M. 
Chase;  sheriff,  Tipton.  A  new  county  of  Shoshone  was  created  of  the  terri 
tory  lying  south  of  a  line  drawn  east  from  the  mouth  of  the  Clearwater  to  the 
115th  meridian,  thence  south  to  the  4Gth  parallel,  and  east  again  to  the  Rocky 
Mts,  pursuing  their  summits  to  the  42d  parallel,  whence  it  turned  west  to 
the  boundary  line  of  Oregon,  following  that  and  Snake  River  to  the  place  of 
beginning.  No  officers  were  appointed  for  Shoshone  co.,  but  it  was  attached 
to  Walla  Walla  county  for  judicial  purposes  until  organized  by  the  election 
.  of  proper  county  officers.  The  legislature  of  1SG1-2  abridged  the  boundaries 
of  Shoshone  co.,  by  making  it  begin  at  the  mouth  of  the  south  branch  of  the 
Clearwater,  following  the  line  of  the  river  south  to  the  Lolo  fork  of  the 
same,  then  east  with  the  Lolo  fork  to  the  summit  of  the  Bitter  Root  Moun 
tains,  thence  north  to  the  main  divide  between  the  north  branch  of  the  Clear- 
water  and  the  Palouse  River,  thence  in  a  westerly  direction  with  the  divide 
to  a  point  from  which,  running  due  south,  it  would  strike  the  mouth  of  south 
fork.  This  change  made  Shoshone  co.  as  small  as  it  was  before  great,  and 
gave  room  for  organizing  two  other  counties:  first,  Nez  Perec,  comprising  the 
territory  embraced  within  the  following  limits:  beginning  at  the  mouth  of 
the  main  Clearwater,  following  it  to  the  south  fork,  and  along  Lolo  fork  to 
the  top  of  the  Bitter  Root  range,  thence  south  to  the  main  divide  between 
south  fork  and  Salmon  River,  following  it  westerly  to  Snake  River,  and 
thence  down  Snake  River  to  the  place  of  commencement.  The  second  divis 
ion  included  all  that  was  left  of  Shoshone  south  of  Nez  Perce,  and  was  named 
Idaho  county,  the  name  afterward  chosen  for  the  territory  in  which  it  was 
embraced.  The  officers  appointed  for  Idaho  co.  were  Robert  Gray,  Robert 
Burns,  and  Sanbourn  commissioners,  Jefferson  Standifer  sheriff,  and  Parker 
justice  of  the  peace.  For  Nez  Perc6  co.  A.  Creaey  and  Whitfield  Kirtley 
were  made  commissioners,  J.  M.  Van  Valsah  auditor,  and  Sandford  Owens 
sheriff,  until  the  next  general  election.  At  the  session  of  1862-3  the  county 
of  Boise"  was  organized,  embracing  that  portion  of  Idaho  co.  bounded  north 
by  a  line  commencing  at  the  mouth  of  the  Payette  River,  and  extending  up 


THE  MINES.  405 

subdivided  by  legislative  acts  in  1860-1  and  1861-2, 
as  the  requirements  of  the  shifting  mining  population, 
of  which  I  have  given  some  account  in  the  History  of 
Washington,  demanded. 

This  mining  population,  as  I  have  there  stated,  first 
overran  the  Clearwater  region,  discovering  and  open 
ing  between  the  autumn  of  1860  and  the  spring  of 
1863  the  placers  of  Oro  Fino  Creek,  North  Fork 
and  South  Fork  of  the  Clearwater,  Salmon  River  and 
its  tributaries,  and  finally  the  Boise  basin;  at  which 
point,  being  nearly  coincident  with  the  date  of  the 
territorial  act,  I  will  take  up  the  separate  history  of 
Idaho.21 

that  stream  to  the  middle  branch,  and  up  it  to  its  source,  thence  east  to  the 
summit  of  the  Bitter  Root  range,  which  it  followed  to  the  Rocky  Mts.  All 
that  lay  south  of  that  cast  and  west  lino  was  Boise  co.  as  it  existed  when  the 
territory  was  organized.  The  county  seat  was  located  at  the  mouth  of  Elk 
Creek  on  Aloore  Creek.  The  commissioners  were  John  C.  Smith,  Frank 
Moore,  W.  B.  Noble;  D.  Gilbert  probate  judge,  David  Mulford  sheriff,  David 
Alderson  treasurer,  A.  D.  Saunders  auditor,  J.  M.  Murphy,  Swan,  and  Baird 
justices  of  the  peace,  James  Warren  coroner.  Waxh,  Laws,  1802-3,  3-4. 

21  There  are  few  publications  concerning  Idaho,  which  has  not  yet  become, 
as  it  some  time  will,  a  prominent  lield  for  tourists  and  writers.  Among  those 
who  have  written  with  a  view  to  making  known  the  geography,  topography, 
and  resources  of  the  country.  Robert  E.  Strahorn  holds  the  principal  place, 
his  To  the  Rockies,  Idaho,  the  Gem  of  the  Mountains,  and  miscellaneous  writ 
ings,  furnishing  the  source  from  which  other  writers  draw  their  facts  without 
the  trouble  of  personal  observation.  Elliott's  History  of  Idaho  is  a  compila 
tion  of  articles  on  the  early  discoveries,  political  events,  growth  of  towns, 
scenery,  resources,  and  biography  of  pioneers.  It  is  useful  as  a  source  from 
which  to  draw  information  on  individual  topics,  but  has  110  consecutive  his 
torical  narrative.  Idaho;  A  Descriptive  Tour  and  Review  of  Its  Resources,  by 
C.  Aubrey  Angelo,  published  in  1805  at  San  Francisco,  is  a  fair  report  in  50 
pages  upon  the  scenery  along  the  road  from  Portland,  and  description  of  min 
ing  camps.  Mullan'x  Military  Road  Report  contains  a  history  of  the  expedi 
tion,  its  itinerary,  description  of  passes,  and  reports  of  engineers  and  explor 
ers.  A  Thousand  Miles  through  the  Rocky  Mountains,  by  A.  K.  McClure, 
Phila,  1859,  is  a  republication  of  letters  to  the  .A7".  Y.  Tribune  and  Franklin 
Rrpository  during  a  9  months'  tour  in  1867,  containing  observations  on  the 
country,  and  the  advantages  of  the  Northern  over  the  Central  Pacific  railroad. 
Idaho,  a  pamphlet  by  James  L.  Onderdonk,  controller,  published  in  1855,  con 
tains  a  sketch  of  early  Idaho  history,  and  descriptions  of  the  resources  of  the 
country,-  not  differing  essentially  from  what  has  been  given  by  others.  It  is 
intended  to  stimulate  immigration.  Idaho  and  Montana,  by  J.  L.  Campbell, 
Chicago,  1865,  is  a  guide-book  describing  routes,  with  some  descriptive  and 
narrative  matter,  in  pamphlet  form. 


CHAPTER  II. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 
1862-1866. 

MINERAL  DISCOVERIES — COUNTIES  AND  TOWNS — IMMIGRATION— ROUTES  TO 
THE  MINES — INDIAN  WARS — FORTS — QUARTZ-MINING — COMPANIES  AND 
CLAIMS  —  MORE  TOWN  -  BUILDING — STAGE-ROADS — SLIDING  CLUBS  — 
TRAFFIC  AND  TRAVEL — OREGON  VERSUS  CALIFORNIA — MAIL  CONTRACTS 
— PROSPECTING  AND  MINING — NEW  DISTRICTS — OUTPUT  OF  PRECIOUS 
METALS. 

THE  early  history  of  Idaho  has  already  been  given 
in  the  former  volumes  of  this  series ;  the  modern  his 
tory  of  Idaho  properly  begins  with  the  discovery  of 
the  Boise  mines,  in  August  1862,1  previous  to  which 
the  movement  for  a  new  territory  met  with  little 
favor.  In  the  spring  of  1863  there  were  four  county 
organizations  and  ten  mining  towns,  containing,  with 
some  outside  population,  about  20,000  inhabitants,  all 
of  whom,  except  a  handful,  had  come  from  various 
parts  of  the  Pacific  coast  and  the  western  states 
within  the  two  years  following  Pierce's  discovery  of 
the  Clearwater  mines.2 

'The  names  of  the  discoverers  were  George  Grimes  of  Oregon  City,  John 
Reynolds,  Joseph  Branstetter,  D.  H.  Fogus,  Jacob  Westenfeltcn,  Moses 
Splane,  Wilson,  Miller,  two  Portuguese  called  Antoine  and  Phillipi,  and  one 
unknown.  Elliott's  Hist.  Idaho,  70. 

2  There  was  large  immigration  in  1862,  owing  to  the  civil  war  and  to  the 
fame  of  the  Salmon  River  mines.  Some  stopped  on  the  eastern  flank  of  the 
Rocky  range  in  what  is  now  Montana,  and  others  went  to  eastern  Oregon, 
but  none  succeeded  in  reaching  Salmon  River  that  year  except  those  who 
took  the  Missouri  River  route.  Four  steamers  from  St  Louis  ascended  to 
Fort  Benton,  whence  350  immigrants  travelled  by  the  Mullan  road  to  the 
mines  on  Salmon  River.  Portland  Orcrjonian,  Aug.  28  and  29,  1862.  Those 
who  attempted  to  get  through  the  mountains  between  Fort  Hall  and  Salmon 
River  failed,  often  disastrously.  E bey's  Journal,  MS.,  viii.  198.  These  turned 
back  and  went  to  Powder  River.  Win  Purvine,  in  Or.  Statesman,  Nov.  3,  1862. 

(400) 


MINING  TOWNS.  407 

The  leader  of  the  Boise  expedition  having  been 
killed  by  Indians  while  prospecting  farther  on  the 
stream  where  gold  was  found,  it  received  the  name 
of  Grimes  Creek  in  commemoration.  The  party  re 
treated  to  Walla  Walla,  where  a  company  was  raised, 
fifty-four  strong,  to  return  and  hold  the  mining 
ground.3  They  arrived  at  Grimes  Creek  October  7th, 
and  founded  Pioneer  City.  Others  quickly  followed, 
and  in  November  Centreville  was  founded,  a  few 
miles  south  on  the  same  stream.4  Placer  ville,  on  the 
head  of  Granite  Creek,  contained  300  houses.  Buena 
Vista  on  Elk  Creek  and  Bannack  City5  on  Moore 
Creek  also  sprang  up  in  December,  and  before  the 
first  of  January  between  2,000  and  3,000  persons 
were  on  the  ground  ready  for  the  opening  of  spring. 
Up  to  that  time  the  weather  had  been  mild,  allowing 
wagons  to  cross  the  Blue  Mountains,  usually  impas 
sable  in  winter.  Companies  of  fifty  and  over,  well 
armed  to  protect  themselves  against  the  Shoshones, 
at  this  time  engaged  in  active  hostilities,  as  narrated 
in  my  History  of  Oregon,  made  the  highway  populous 
during  several  weeks.  Supplies  for  these  people 
poured  rapidly  into  the  mines.  In  the  first  ten  days 
of  November  $20,000  worth  of  goods  went  out  of 
the  little  frontier  trading  post  of  Walla  Walla  for  the 
Boise  country,  in  anticipation  of  the  customary  rush 
when  new  diggings  were  discovered.  Utah  also  con 
tributed  a  pack-train  loaded  with  provisions,  which 
the  miners  found  cheaper  than  those  from  the  Wil 
lamette  Valley,  with  the  steamboat  charges  and  the 
middlemen's  profits.6  Besides,  the  merchants  of  Lew- 
were  so  desirous  of  establishing  commerce  with 


s  Among  the  reinforcements  were  J.  M.  Moore,  John  Rogers,  John  Chris 
tie,  G.  J.  Gilbert,  James  Roach,  David  Thompson,  Green  and  Benjamin 
White,  R.  C.  Combs,  F.  Giberson,  A.  D.  Sanders,  Wm  Artz,  J.  B.  Pierce, 
and  J.  F.  Guisenberry.  Elliott's  Hist.  Idaho,  71;  Idaho  World,  Oct.  31,  1864. 

*  Among  this  party  were  Jefferson  Standifcr,  Harvey  Morgan,  Wm  A. 
Daly,  Wm  Tichenor,  J.  B.  Reynolds,  and  Daniel  Moffat,  who  had  been 
sheriff  of  Calaveras  co.,  Cal. 

6  This  place  had  its  name  changed  to  Idaho  City  on  the  discovery  that  the 
miners  on  the  east  side  of  the  Rocky  Mts  had  named  a  town  Bannack. 

*Ebey'$  Journal,  MS.,  viii.  127,  134;  Or.  Statesman,  Dec.  22,  1862. 


408 


EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 


Salt  Lake  that  a  party  was  despatched  to  old  Fort 
Boise,  September  20th,  to  ascertain  if  it  were  practica 
ble  to  navigate  Snake  River  from  Lewiston  to  that 
point  or  beyond.  This  party,  after  waiting  until  the 


BOISE  BASIN. 

river  was  near  its  lowest  stage,  descended  from  Fort 
Boise  to  Lewiston  on  a  raft,  which  was  constructed 
by  them  for  the  purpose.7  It  was  soon  made  apparent, 

'These  adventurers  were  Charles  Clifford,  Washington  Murray,  and  Joseph 
Denver.  A.  P.  Ankeny,  formerly  of  Portland,  originated  the  expedition. 
Those  who  performed  it  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  the  river  could  be  nav 
igated  by  steamboats.  That  same  autumn  the  Spray,  a  small  steamer  built 
by  A.  P.  Ankeny,  H.  W.  Corbett,  and  D.  S.  Baker,  in  opposition  to  the  O. 
S.  N.  Co.,  ascended  the  river  15  miles  above  Lewiston,  but  could  get  no 
farther.  The  Tenino  also  made  the  attempt,  going  ten  miles  and  finding  no 
obstacles  to  navigation  in  that  distance.  Lewiston,  which  as  long  as  the 
miners  were  on  the  Clearwater  and  Salmon  rivers  had  enjoyed  a  profitable 
trade,  drawing  its  goods  from  Portland  by  the  same  steamers  which  brought 
the  miners  thus  far  on  their  journey,  and  retailing  them  immediately  at  a  large 
profit,  now  saw  itself  in  danger  of  being  eclipsed  by  Walla  Walla,  which  was 
the  source  of  supply  for  the  Bois6  basin.  Its  business  men  contemplated 
placing  a  line  of  boats  on  Snake  lliver  to  be  run  as  far  as  navigable.  The 


BOISE  BASIN.  409 

however,  that  Lewiston  was  hopelessly  cut  off  from 
Salt  Lake,  and  even  from  the  Boise  basin,  by  those 
formidable  barriers  alluded  to  in  the  previous  chapter, 
of  craggy  mountains  and  impassable  river  canons  and 
falls.  The  population  of  Boise  was  equally  interested 
in  means  of  travel  and  transportation,  and  had  even 
greater  cause  for  disappointment  when  they  found 
that  wagons  and  pack-trains  only  could  be  relied  upon 
to  convey  the  commodities  in  request  in  every  com 
munity  300  miles  from  Umatilla  landing8  on  the 
Columbia  to  their  midst,  Umatilla,  and  not  Walla 
Walla,  having  become  the  debouching  point  for  sup 
plies. 

Meantime  the  miners  busied  themselves  making 
preparations  for  the  opening  of  spring  by  locating 
claims  and  improving  them  as  far  as  possible,9  doing  a 

first  important  landing  was  to  be  at  the  mouth  of  Salmon  River,  forty  miles 
above  Lewiston.  The  design  was  then  to  make  a  road  direct  to  the  mines, 
whereas  the  travel  had  hitherto  been  by  the  trails  through  the  Nez  Perc3 
country.  The  distance  from  the  mouth  of  Salmon  River  by  water  to  Fort 
BoisiJ  was  95  miles,  from  there  to  the  Fishing  Falls  of  Snake  River  90  miles, 
and  from  these  falls  to  Salt  Lake  City  250  miles,  making  a  total  distance 
from  Lewiston  of  475  miles,  nearly  half  of  which  it  was  hoped  could  be 
travelled  in  boats.  Such  a  line  would  have  been  of  great  service  to  the  mili 
tary  department,  about  to  establish  a  post  on  the  Bois6  River,  and  to  the  im 
migration,  saving  a  long  stretch  of  rough  road.  But  the  Salmon  River 
Mountains  proved  impassable,  and  the  Snake  River  unnavigable,  although  in 
the  autumn  of  1863  a  second  party  of  five  men,  with  Molthrop  at  their  head, 
descended  that  stream  in  a  boat  built  at  Buena  Vista  bar,  and  a  company  was 
formed  in  Portland  with  the  design  of  constructing  a  portage  through  a  canon 
of  the  river  which  was  thought  impracticable  for  steamers. 

8  Ward  well  and  Lurchin  erected  a  wharf  at  Umatilla,  30  miles  below  Wal- 
lula,  the  landing  for  Walla  Walla,  and  by  opening  a  new  route  to  the  Grand 
Rond  across  the  Umatilla  Indian  reservation,  diverted  travel  in  this  direction. 

9 Sherlock  Bristol,  who  went  to  Boise  in  Dec.,  says:  'I  prospected  the 
country,  and  finally  settled  down  for  the  balance  of  the  winter  and  spring  on 
Moore  Creek.  There  we  built  twenty  log  houses — mine,  Wni  Richie's,  and 
I.  Kent's  being  among  the  twenty.  We  made  snow-shoes  and  traversed  the 
valleys  and  gulches  prospecting.  As  the  snow  was  deep  and  it  was  some  dis 
tance  to  the  creek,  some  one  proposed  we  should  dig  a  well,  centrally  located, 
to  accommodate  all  our  settlement.  One  day  when  I  was  absent  prospecting 
the  well-digger  struck  bed-rock  down  about  18  feet,  but  found  no  water; 
but  in  the  dirt  he  detected  particles  of  gold.  A  bucketful  panned  out  §2.75. 
When  I  returned  at  night  I  could  not  have  bought  the  claim  on  which  my 
house  was  built  for  $10,000.  It  proved  to  be  worth  $300,000.  The  whole 
bench  was  rich  in  like  manner.  My  next-door  neighbors — the  three  White 
brothers — for  nearly  a  year  cleaned  up  §1,500  daily,  their  expenses  not  ex 
ceeding  $300.  Bushels  of  gold  were  taken  out  from  the  gravel  beds  where 
Idaho  City  now  stands.'  I  have  taken  this  account  from  a  manuscript  on 


410  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

little  digging  at  the  same  time,  enough  to  learn  that 
the  Boise  basin  was  an  extraordinary  gold-field  as  far 
as  it  went.  Eighteen  dollars  a  day  was  ordinary 
wages.  Eighty  dollars  to  the  pan  were  taken  out  on 
Grimes  Creek.  Water  and  timber  were  also  abun 
dant10  on  the  stream,  which  was  twelve  miles  long. 
On  Granite  Creek,  the  head  waters  of  Placer  and 
Grimes  creeks,  from  $10  to  $50,  and  often  $200  and 
$300,  a  day  were  panned  out.  In  the  dry  gulches 
$10  to  $50  were  obtained  to  the  man.  Ditches  to 
bring  water  to  them  were  quickly  constructed.  The 
first  need  being  lumber,  a  saw-mill  was  erected  on 
Grimes  Creek  during  the  winter  by  B.  L.  Warriner, 
which  was  ready  to  run  as  soon  a.s  the  melting  snows 
of  spring  should  furnish  the  water-power.  Early  in 
the  spring  the  second  mill  was  erected  near  Centre- 
ville  by  Daily  and  Bobbins,  the  third  begun  at  Idaho 
City  in  May  by  James  I.  Carrico,  who  sold  it  before  com 
pletion  to  E.  J.  Butler,  who  moved  it  to  the  opposite 
side  of  Moore  Creek,  and  had  it  in  successful  opera 
tion  in  June.  The  first  steam  saw-mill  was  running 
in  July,  being  built  in  Idaho  City  by  two  men,  each 
known  as  Major  Taylor.  It  cut  from  10,000  to  15,- 
000  feet  in  ten  hours.11  Thus  rapidly  did  an  energetic 
and  isolated  community  become  organized. 

The  killing  of  Grimes  and  other  Indian  depreda 
tions12  led  to  the  organization  of  a  volunteer  company 

Idaho  Nomenclature  by  Sherlock  Bristol,  who  says  that  Idaho  City  first  went 
by  the  name  of  Moore  Creek,  after  J.  Marion  Moore,  who  in  18G8  was  shot 
and  killed  in  a  dispute  about  a  mine  near  the  South  pass.  Owyhee  Avalanche, 
in  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  April  18,  18G8. 

10  William  Purvine,  in  Portland  Oregonian,  Nov.  13,  1802;  Lewiston  Golden 
Age,  Nov.  G  and  13,  18G2. 

11  Elliott's  Hist.  Idaho,  202-3. 

12  Several  prospecting  parties  had  been  attacked  and  a  number  of  men 
killed  by  the  Shoshones.     The  Adams  immigrant  train  in  18G2  lost  8  persons 
killed  and  10  wounded,  besides  $20,000  in  money,  and  all  their  cattle  and 
property.     The  attack  was  made  below  Salmon  falls.  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Sept.  27, 
18G2;  Silver  Age,  Sept.  24,  1862.    On  the  road  to  Salmon  River  from  Fort  Hall 
the  same  autumn,  William  A.  Smith,  from  Independence,  111.,  Bennett,  and 
an  unknown  man,  woman,  and  child,  were  slain.     In  March  1SG2  Isaac  Men- 
dell  and  Jones  Brayton,  prospectors,  were  killed  near  Olds'  ferry,  on  Snake 
River,  below  Fort  Boise",  and  others  attacked  on  the  Malheur,  where  a  tribe 
of  the  Shoshone  nation  had  its  headquarters. 


INDIAN  TROUBLES.  411 

of  the  Placerville  miners  in  March  1863,  whose  cap 
tain  was  Jefferson  Standifer,  a  man  prominent  among 
adventurers  for  his  energy  and  daring.13  They  pur 
sued  the  Indians  to  Salmon  Falls,  where  they  had 
fortifications,  killing  fifteen  and  wounding  as  many 
more.  Returning  from  this  expedition  about  the  last 
of  the  month,  Standifer  raised  another  company  of 
200,  which  made  a  reconnoissance  over  the  mountains 
to  the  Payette,  and  across  the  Snake  River,  up  the 
Malheur,  where  they  came  upon  Indians,  whose  depre 
dations  were  the  most  serious  obstacle  to  the  pros 
perity  of  the  Boise  basin.  Fortifications  had  been 
erected  by  them  on  an  elevated  position,  which  was 
also  defended  by  rifle-pits.  Laying  siege  to  the  place, 
the  company  spent  a  day  in  trying  to  get  near  enough 
to  make  their  rifles  effective,  but  without  success  until 
the  second  day,  when  by  artifice  the  Indians  were 
induced  to  surrender,  and  were  thereupon  nearly  all 
killed  in  revenge  for  their  murdered  comrades  by  the 
ruthless  white  man.14 

To  punish  the  hostile  Indians  in  Idaho,  Fort  Boise 
was  established  July  1,  1863,  by  P.  Lugenbeel,  with 
two  companies  of  Washington  infantry  in  the  regular 
service.  It  was  situated  on  the  Boise  River  about 
forty  miles  above  the  old  fort  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  near  the  site  of  the  modern  Boise  City. 

13  Six  feet  in  height,  with  broad  square  shoulders,  fine  features,  black  hair, 
eyes,  and  moustache,  and  brave  as  a  lion,  is  the  description  of  Standifer  in 
McConnell's  Inferno,  MS.,  ii.  2.     Standifer  was  well  known  in  Montana  and 
Wyoming.     He  died  at  Fort  Steele  Sept.  30,  1874.  Helena  Independent,  Nov. 
20,  1874. 

14  Movable  defences  were  carried  in  front  of  the  assaulting  party,  made  by 
setting  up  poles  and  weaving  in  willow  rods,  filling  the  interstices  with  grass 
and  mud.     This  device  proved  not  to  be  bullet-proof;  and  bundles  of  willow- 
sticks  which  could  be  rolled  in  front  of  the  men  were  next  used  and  served 
very  well.     When  the  Indians  saw  the  white  foe  steadily  advancing,  they 
sent  a  woman  of  their  camp  to  treat,  and  Standifer  was  permitted  to  enter 
the  fort,  the  Indians  agreeing  to  surrender  the  property  in  their  possession 
stolen  from  miners  and  others.     But  upon  gaining  access,  the  white  men  shot 
down  men,  women,  and  children,  only  three  boys  escaping.     One  child  of  4 
years  was  adopted  by  John  Kelly,  a  violinist  of  Idaho  City,  who  taught  him 
to  play  the  violin,  and  to  perform  feats  of  tumbling.     He  was  taken  to  Lon 
don,  where  he  drew  great  houses,  and  afterward  to  Australia.  McConnelVs  In* 
ferno,  MS.,  ii.  2-4.    See  also  MarysviUe  Appeal,  April  11,  18G3. 


412  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

Lugenbeel  Vas  relieved  later  in  the  season   by  Ri- 
nearson  of  the  1st  Oregon  cavalry.15 

The  summer  of  1863  was  one  of  great  activity. 
Early  in  the  season  came  flattering  news  of  the  Beaver- 
head  country  lying  on  the  head  waters  of  Jefferson 
fork  of  the  Missouri  River,  where  claims  were  held 
as  high  as  $10,000  and  $15,000.  On  Stinking  Water 
Creek,  fifteen  miles  in  length,  the  diggings  were  re 
ported  to  be  marvellously  rich.  Good  reports  came 
also  from  all  that  region  lying  between  the  Rocky 
and  Bitter  Root  ranges,  and  the  camps  on  the  Mis 
souri  to  the  east  of  it.  About  1,000  miners  had 
wintered  in  these  diggings  and  two  towns,  Bannack 
•City  on  the  Beaverhead  and  Virginia  City  on 
another  affluent  of  Jefferson  fork,  had  sprung  into 
existence  contemporaneously  with  the  towns  in  the 
Boise  basin.  In  the  spring  of  1863  a  bateau  load  of 
miners  from  the  upper  Missouri  left  Fort  Benton  for 
their  homes,  taking  with  them  150  pounds  of  gold- 
dust. 

The  principal  drawback  on  the  Missouri  was  the 
hostility  of  the  Blackfoot  Indians,  who,  notwithstand 
ing  their  treaty,  robbed  and  murdered  wherever  they 
could  find  white  men.  Whole  parties  were  killed,  and 
whole  pack-trains  seized. 

The  immigration  of  1863  was  not  so  large  as  that 
of  the  preceding  year,  and  was  divided  into  three 
columns,  one  of  which  was  destined  for  southern 
Idaho  and  the  mining  region  of  eastern  Oregon; 
another  was  bound  for  California;  and  the  third,  fur 
nished  by  the  government  with  a  separate  escort 
under  Fisk,  consisting  of  twenty-three  wagons  and 
fifty-two  men,  turned  off  at  Fort  Hall  for  the  Salmon 
River  country,  failing  to  reach  which  they  tarried  in 
the  Beaverhead  mines.  Four  steamers  left  St  Louis 

15  Fort  Boise"  was  built  of  brown  sandstone,  and  was  a  fine  post.  The 
reservation  was  one  mile  wide  and  two  miles  long.  11.  Ex.  Doc.,  20,  11,  39th 
cong.  2d  sess.;  Surgeon-Gen' I  Circular,  8,  4,37-GO;  Bristol's  Idaho  Nomencla 
ture,  MS.,  4. 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  IMMIGRATION.  413 

in  the  spring  for  the  upper  Missouri,  the  Shreveport 
and  Robert  Campbell  belonging  to  La  Barge  &  Co., 
and  the  Rogers  and  Alone,  owned  by  P.  Choteau  &  Co. 
They  left  St  Louis  May  9th,  and  the  river  being  low, 
were  too  late  to  reach  Fort  Benton.  The  Shreveport 
landed  her  passengers  and  freight  below  the  mouth  of 
Judith  River,  200  miles  from  that  post;  the  Rogers 
reached  Milk  River,  500  miles  below  the  fort;  the 
Alone  could  not  get  beyond  an  old  fort  of  the  Ameri 
can  Fur  Company,  twenty-five  miles  down  stream; 
and  the  Campbell,  drawing  only  three  feet  of  water, 
was  stopped  at  Fort  Union,  800  miles  from  her  desti 
nation,  where  her  passengers  and  freight  were  landed, 
the  latter  being  stored  in  the  fort. 

This  state  of  affairs  involved  much  loss  and  suffer 
ing,  which  was  prefaced  by  the  bad  conduct  of  the 
Sioux,  who  on  one  occasion  attacked  a  party  of  five 
men  whom  they  invited  ashore,  killing  three  and  mor 
tally  wounding  a  fourth.  The  travellers,  left  at  the 
mercy  of  the  wilderness  and  the  Indians,  made  their 
way  as  best  they  could  to  their  destinations,  some  on 
horse  and  some  afoot.  Many  miners,  expecting  to 
return  to  their  eastern  homes  by  the  boats,  had  gone 
to  Fort  Benton  from  different  parts  of  the  country  to 
await  their  arrival,  who  now  had  to  turn  back  to  Salt 
Lake  and  take  passage  on  stages.  To  Fort  Benton 
in  July  had  gone  150  wagons  to  meet  the  expected 
boats  and  convey  the  freight  to  the  various  distrib 
uting  points.  Thirty  cents  a  pound  was  the  lowest 
rate  from  Milk  River. 

Notwithstanding  the  falling-off  in  immigration  from 
the  east  in  1863,  the  Boise  mines  drew  between  25,- 
000  and  30,000  to  southern  Idaho.16  Improvements 
were  rapid  and  prices  high.  To  supply  the  population 

16  Portland  Orer/onian,  July  23  and  Aug.  G,  1803;  Sutler's  Life  and  Times, 
MS.,  2-3.  The  official  census  in  August  was  32,342,  of  whom  1,783  were 
women  and  children.  'I  sold  shovels  at  $12  apiece  as  fast  as  I  could  count 
them  out.'  A  wagon-load  of  cats  and  chickens  arrived  in  August,  which  sold 
readily,  at  $10  a  piece  for  the  cats  and  $3  for  the  chickens.  But  the  market 
was  so  overstocked  with  woollen  socks  in  the  winter  of  1863-4  that  they  were 
used  to  clean  guns,  or  left  to  rot  in  the  cellars  of  the  merchants. 


414  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

in  the  Boise  basin  required  great  activity,  and  to  pro 
vide  for  the  coming  winter  exhausted  the  resources  of 
freighters.  Ten  or  more  pack-trains  arrived  daily  in 
July  and  August,  with  half  that  number  of  wagons,17 
laden  with  merchandise.  No  other  means  of  passen 
ger-travel  than  by  horses  was  obtained  this  season, 
but  the  brains  were  at  work  which  brought  about  a 
different  state  of  affairs  in  the  following  spring,  al 
though  the  danger  from  Indians  and  banditti  greatly 
discouraged  stage-owners  and  expressmen.  The  Ind 
ians  stole  the  horses  of  the  stage  companies,  and  high 
waymen,  both  white  and  red,  robbed  the  express 
messengers.18 

From  the  abundance  of  quartz  in  southern  Idaho, 
and  occasional  fragments  found  containing  free  gold, 
it  was  early  anticipated  that  the  real  future  wealth  of 
the  territory  would  depend  upon  quartz-mining,  and 
miners  were  constantly  engaged  in  exploring  for  gold- 
bearing  lodes  while  they  worked  the  bars  and  banks 
of  the  streams.  Their  search  was  rewarded  by  find 
ing  promising  ledges  on  Granite  Creek,  near  the  first 
discovery  of  placer  mines,  and  on  Bear  Creek,  one  of 
the  head  waters  of  the  south  Boise,  where  placer 
claims  were  also  found  yielding  from  $16  to  $60  a  day 
to  the  man.  -There  was  a  frenzy  of  excitement  fol 
lowing  the  finding  of  these  quartz  lodes,  which  set 
men  to  running  everywhere  in  search  of  others.  In 
September  no  less  than  thirty-three  claims  of  gold 

17  A  train  might  be  15  or  50  or  100  animals,  carrying  from  250  to  400  Ibs  each. 
A  wagon-load  was  2,500  or  5,000  pounds.     It  took  13  days  to  go  from  Utna- 
tilla  to  Bois6.     Therefore,  13  times  ten  trains  and  13  times  5  wagons  were 
continually  upon  the  road,  with  an  average  freight  of  584,675  pounds  arriv 
ing  every  13  days.     Ox-teams  were  taken  off  the  road  as  the  summer  ad 
vanced,  on  account  of  the  dust,  which,  being  deep  and  strongly  alkaline,  was 
supposed  to   have  occasioned  the  loss   of  many  work-cattle.     Horses   and 
mules,  whose  noses  were  higher  from  the  ground,  were  less  affected. 

18  J.  M.  Sheppard,  since  connected  with  the  Bedrock  Democrat  of  Baker 
City,  Or.,  carried  the  first  express  to  Boise"  for  Tracey  &  Co.  of  Portland. 
Rockfellow  &  Co.   established  the  next  express,   between  Boise1  and  Walla 
Walla.     After  Rockfellow  discovered  his  famous  mine  on  Powder  River  he 
sold  out  to  Wells,  Fargo,  &  Co.,  who  had  suspended  their  lines  to  Idaho  the 
previous  year  on  account  of  robberies  and  losses,  but  who  resumed  in  October, 
and  ran  a  til-monthly  line  to  Boise'. 


QUARTZ-MINING.  415 

and  silver  quartz  mines  had  been  made  on  the  south 
Boise,  all  of  which  promised  well.19  A  company  was 
formed  to  work  the  Ida  Elmore,  and  a  town  called 
Fredericksburg  was  laid  out  at  this  ledge.  Other 
towns,  real  and  imaginary,  arose  arid  soon  passed  out 
of  existence;  but  Rocky  Bar  has  survived  all  changes, 
and  Boisd  City,  founded  at  the  junction  of  Moore 
Creek  with  Boise  River,  was  destined  to  become  the 
capital  of  the  territory. 

The  quartz  discoveries  on  Granite  Creek  rivalled 
those  in  the  south  Boise  district.  The  first  discov 
ery,  the  Pioneer,  had  its  name  changed  to  Gold  Hill 
after  consolidation  with  the  Landon.  It  was  finally 
owned  by  an  association  called  the  Great  Consolidated 
Boise  River  Gold  and  Silver  Mining  Company,  which 
controlled  other  mines  as  well.  The  poorest  rock  in 
the  Pioneer  assayed  over  $62  to  the  ton,  and  the  bet 
ter  classes  of  rock  from  $6,000  to  $20,000.  These 
assays  caused  the  organization  in  San  Francisco  of 
the  Boise  River  Mining  and  Exploring  Company, 
which  contracted  for  a  ten-stamp  mill,  to  be  sent  to 
Boise  as  soon  as  completed.20 

19  The  Ida  Elmore,  near  the  head  of  Bear  Creek,  the  first  and  most  famous 
of  the  south  Bois<3  quartz  mines  in  1863,  \vas  discovered  in  June.  It  yielded 
in  an  arastra  $270  in  gold  to  the  ton  of  rock,  but  ultimately  fell  into  the 
hands  of  speculators.  The  Barker  and  East  Barker  followed  in  point  of 
time,  ten  miles  below  on  the  creek.  Then  followed  the  Ophir,  Idaho,  Inde 
pendence,  Southern  Confederacy,  Esmeralda,  General  Lane,  Western  Star, 
Golden  Star,  Mendocino,  Abe  Lincoln,  Emmett,  and  Hibernia.  The  Idaho 
assayed,  thirty  feet  below  the  surface,  $1,744  in  gold,  and  §94.86  in  silver. 
Ophir,  §1,844  gold  and  834.72  silver.  Golden  Eagle,  §2,240  gold,  §27  silver, 
from  the  croppings.  Boise  News,  Oct.  6,  1863.  Rocky  Bar  was  discovered  in 
1863,  but  not  laid  out  as  a  town  until  April  1864.  The  pioneers  were  J.  C. 
Derrick,  John  Green,  F.  Settle,  Charles  W.  Walker,  M.  Graham,  W.  W. 
Habersham,  H.  Comstock  (of  the  Comstock  lode,  Nov.),  A.  Perigo,  H.  0. 
Rogers,  George  Ebel,  Joseph  Caldwell,  M.  A.  Hatcher,  L.  Hartwig,  W.  W. 
Piper,  Charles  Rogers,  S.  B.  Dilley,  D.  Fields,  Bennett,  Foster,  Dover,  Bar 
ney,  and  Goodrich.  Boisi  Capital  Chronicle,  Aug.  4,  1869;  Boise  News,  Oct. 
20  ,1863. 

*°  California  Express,  Nov.  7,  1863;  Boi*4  News,  Oct.  27,  1863.  The  men 
who  located  the  Pioneer  mine  were  Mincar  and  Lynch,  according  to  the 
Statement,  MS.,  of  Henry  H.  Knapp,  who  went  to  Idaho  City  in  the  summer 
of  1863,  and  who  has  furnished  me  a  sketch  of  all  the  first  mining  localities, 
and  the  early  history  of  the  territory.  He  was  one  of  the  publishers  of  the 
first  paper  in  the  Bois6  basin,  the  Bois6  News,  first  issued  in  September 
1863.  The  Portland  Oregonian  of  Sept.  11,  1863,  gives  the  names  of  the 
first  prospectors  of  quartz  in  this  region  as  Hart  &  Co.,  Moore  &  Co., 
and  G.  C.  Robbins. 


416  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

Among  the  richest  of  the  lodes  discovered  in  18G3 
was  the  Gambrinus,  which  was  incorporated  by  a 
Portland  company.  This  mine,  like  others  prospect 
ing  enormously  high,  lasted  but  a  short  time.  It  was 
so  rich  that  pieces  of  the  rock  which  had  rolled  down 
into  the  creek  and  become  water  worn  could  be  seen 
to  glisten  with  gold  fifty  feet  distant.21  A  town  called 
Quartzburg  sprung  up  on  Granite  Creek,  two  miles 
west  of  Placerville,  as  soon  as  mills  were  brought  into 
the  district,  and  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Payette, 
Lake  City,  soon  extinct  and  forgotten. 

But  the  greatest  discovery  of  the  season  came  from 
a  search  for  the  famous  '  lost  diggings '  of  the  immi 
gration  of  1845.  In  the  spring  of  18G3  a  party  of 
twenty-nine  set  out  from  Placerville  on  an  expedition 
to  find  these  much-talked-of  never-located  mines.'22 

21 A  company  was  organized  to  work  the  Gambrinus,  and  a  mill  placed  on 
it  in  the  fall  of  1864  by  R.  C.  Coombs  &  Co.  After  a  year  the  unprincipled 
managers  engaged  in  some  very  expensive  and  unnecessary  labors  with  a  view 
to  freezing  out  the  small  owners,  and  were  themselves  righteously  ruined  in 
consequence.  Butler's  Life  and  Times,  MS.,  8-10.  The  Pioneer  or  Gold 
Hill  ledgo  proved  permanent.  A  mill  was  put  up  on  it  by  J.  H.  Clawson  in 
1S64,  and  made  good  returns.  After  changing  hands  several  times,  and  pay 
ing  all  who  ever  owned  it,  the  mine  was  sold  in  1SG7  to  David  Coghanour  and 
Thos  Mootry  for  §15,000.  Coyhanour's  Boise  Basin,  MS.,  1-3.  This  manu 
script  has  been  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  early  history  of  Idaho,  being 
clear  and  particular  in  its  statements,  and  intelligent  in  its  conclusions. 
David  Coghanour  was  a  native  of  Pa.  He  went  to  the  Nez  Perc6  mines  in 
.the  spring  of  1SG2,  then  to  Auburn,  Or.,  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year. 
When  the  Boise1  excitement  was  at  its  height  he  went  to  Boise1,  and  earned 
money  making  lumber  with  a  whip-saw  at  25c  per  foot.  He  then  purchased 
some  good  mining  ground  on  Bummer  Hill,  above  Centreville,  from  which  he 
took  out  a  large  amount. 

22  Their  names  were  Michael  Jordan,  A.  J.  Miner,  G.  W.  Chadwick,  Cyrus 
Iba,  William  Phipps,  Joseph  Dorsey,  Jerome  Francisco,  John  Moore,  J.  R. 
Cain,  W.  Churchill,  H.  R.  Wade,  A.  J.  Reynolds,  James  Carroll,  William 
Duncan,  Dr  A.  F.  Rudd,  F.  Height,  W.  L.  Wade,  John  Cannon,  M.  Conner, 
C.  Ward,  R.  W.  Prindall,  D.  P.  Barnes,  0.  H.  Purdy,  J.  C.  Boone,  W.  T. 
Carson,  P.  H.  Gordon,  L.  C.  Gehr,  and  3  others.  In  the  Silver  City  Owyhee 
Avalanche  of  Jan.  8,  1876,  is  a  notice  of  the  death  of  Alexander  Etldington, 
an  Englishman  aged  60,  a  'pioneer  of  Owyhee,'  who  may  have  been  of  this 
party.  In  BalloiCs  Adventures,  MS.,  Jordan's  name  is  given  as  J.  P.  Jordan. 
H.  li.  Wade,  who  was  the  first  treasurer-elect  of  Owyhee  co.,  died  in 
1865.  William  Duncan  died  in  1873  or  1874  in  Nevada.  J.  R.  Cain  set 
tled  in  Bois6  Valley.  F.  Height  and  C.  Iba  settled  in  Utah.  O.  H.  Purdy 
remained  in  Owyhee  co.,  and  wrote  an  account  of  these  matters  on  the  twelfth 
anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  the  Owyhee  mines,  in  Owijhee  Silver  City  Av 
alanche,  May  22,  1875.  Peter  McQueen,  '  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  Owyhee 
mines,'  was  killed  Jan.  26,  1864,  by  the  caving  in  of  a  tunnel  on  which  he  waa 
working  near  Bannack  City.  '  McQueen  was  formerly  from  Wellsville,  Ohio, 
in  Columbiaua  county,  and  was  36  years  of  age.'  He  had  returned  from  Owy- 


SEARCH  FOR  LOST  MINES. 


417 


Crossing  Snake  River  near  the  mouth  of  the  Boise, 
they  proceeded,  not  in  the  direction  supposed  to  have 
been  travelled  by  the  immigration  of  1845,  but  fol 
lowed  along  the  south  side  of  Snake  River  to  a  con 
siderable  stream,  which  they  named  Reynolds  Creek, 
after  one  of  their  number,  where  they  encamped.  Two 
of  the  company,  Wade  and  Miner,  here  ascended  a 
divide  on  the  west,  and  observed  that  the  formation 


JORDAN  CREEK. 

of  the  country  indicated  a  large  river  in  that  direction. 
Up  to  this  time  nothing  was  known  of  the  course  of 
the  Owyhee  River,  which  was  supposed  to  head  in  Or- 
It  was  not  certain,  therefore,  what  stream  this 
On  the  following  day  their  explorations  lay  in 
the  direction  of  the  unknown  watercourse.  Keeping 
up  the  creek,  and  crossing  some  very  rough  moun- 

hee  to  spend  the  winter  at  Bois6  working  a  claim  he  held  at  the  mouth  of 
Pearce  Gulch.  Bois6  News,  Jan.  30,  1864.    Michael  Jordan  and  James  Carroll 
were  killed  by  Indians. 
HUT.  WASH. — 27 


egon. 
was. 


418  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

tains,  they  fell  upon  the  head  waters  of  another  creek 
flowing  toward  the  unknown  river,  where  they  com 
menced  prospecting  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  18th 
of  May,  and  found  a  hundred  'colors'  to  the  pan. 
This  place,  called  Discovery  Bar,  was  six  miles  below 
the  site  of  Boonville  on  Jordan  Creek,  named  after 
Michael  Jordan. 

After  prospecting  ten  days  longer,  locating  as  much 
mining  ground  as  they  could  hold,  and  naming  the 
district  Carson,  two  other  streams,  Bowlder  and 
Sinker  creeks,  were  prospected  without  any  further 
discoveries  being  made,  when  the  company  returned 
to  Placerville. 

The  story  of  the  Owyhee  placers  caused,  as  some 
said,  a  kind  of  special  insanity,  lasting  for  two  days, 
during  which  2,500  men  forsook  Boise  for  the  new 

O  ' 

diggings.  Many  were  sadly  disappointed.  The  dis 
covered  ground  was  already  occupied,  and  other  good 
diggings  were  difficult  to  find.23  The  distance  from 
Placerville  was  120  miles;  the  mines  were  far  up  in 
the  mountains;  the  road  rough,  and  the  country 
poorly  timbered  with  fir.  Nothing  like  the  beautiful 
and  fertile  Boise  Valley  was  to  be  found  on  the  lava- 
skirted  Owyhee.  Those  who  remained  at  the  new 
diggings  were  about  one  in  ten  of  those  who  so  madly 
rushed  thither  on  the  report  of  the  discovery.  The 
rest  scattered  in  all  directions,  after  the  manner  of 
gold-hunters;  some  to  return  to  Boise,  and  others  to 
continue  their  wanderings  among  the  mountains.  In 
the  course  of  the  summer  fresh  diggings  were  found 
in  the  ravines  away  from  Jordan  Creek ;  but  the  great 

23Hcnry  B.  Maize  came  to  Cal.  in  1850,  returning  to  Ohio  in  1853,  and  went 
to  the  Salmon  River  mines  in  1862,  where  he  wintered.  In  the  spring  he  went 
to  Boise",  and  joined  some  prospectors  to  the  Deadwood  country.  While  there 
he  heard  of  the  Owyhee  discovery,  and  was  among  the  first  to  follow  the  return 
of  the  discoverers.  His  account  is  that  the  original  twenty-nine  had  taken  up 
all  the  available  ground,  and  made  mining  laws  that  gave  them  a  right  to  hold 
three  claims  each,  one  for  discovery,  one  personal,  and  one  fora  friend;  and 
that  in  fact  they  had  'hogged '  everything.  He  prospected  for  a  time  without 
success,  and  finally  went  to  the  Malheur  River;  but  hearing  of  the  discovery 
of  silver  leads,  returned  to  Jordan  Creek  and  wintered  there.  Maize  is  the 
author  of  Early  Events  in  Idaho,  MS.,  from  which  I  have  drawn  many  facta 
and  conclusions  of  value  in  shaping  this  history  of  Idaho. 


OWYHEE  AND  JORDAN  CREEK.  419 

event  of  the  season  was  the  discovery  of  silver-bearing 
ledges  of  wonderful  richness  on  the  lateral  streams 
flowing  into  Jordan  Creek.  This  created  a  second 
rush  of  prospectors  to  Owyhee,  late  in  the  autumn  of 
1863.24 

Great  interest  was  taken  in  the  Owyhee  silver 
mines,  claimed  to  be  the  second  silver  deposit  of  im 
portance  found  within  United  States  territory;  and 
much  disappointment  was  felt  by  Oregonians  that  this 
district  was  included  within  the  limits  of  the  newly 
organized  territory  of  Idaho,  as  upon  exploration  of 
the  course  of  the  Owyhee  River,  ordered  by  Gover 
nor  Gibbs,  it  was  found  to  be. 

The  first  town  laid  out  on  Jordan  Creek  was  Boon- 
ville.  It  was  situated  at  the  mouth  of  a  canon,  be 
tween  high  and  rugged  hills,  its  streets  being  narrow 
and  crooked.  In  a  short  time  another  town,  called 
Ruby  City,  was  founded  in  a  better  location  as  to 
space,  and  with  good  water,  but  subject  to  high  winds. 
Each  contained  during  the  winter  of  1863-4  about 
250  men,  while  another  500  were  scattered  over  Car 
son  district.  In  the  first  six  months  the  little  timber 
on  the  barren  hills  was  consumed  in  building  and 
fuel.  Lumber  cut  out  with  a  whip-saw  brought  forty 
dollars  a  hundred  feet,  and  shakes  six  dollars  a  hun 
dred.  In  December  a  third  town  was  laid  off  a  mile 
above  Ruby,  called  Silver  City. 

21  Maize,  in  his  Early  Events,  MS.,  says  that  the  Morning  Star  was  the 
first  ledge  discovered,  and  that  it  was  located  by  Peter  Gimple,  S.  Ncilson, 
Jack  Sammis,  and  others,  and  that  Oro  Fiuo  was  next.  In  this  he  differs 
from  Purdy,  who  places  the  Oro  Fino  before  the  Morning  Star  in  point  of 
time;  and  from  Gilbert  Butler,  who  says  that  in  Whiskey  Gulch,  discovered 
by  Pi.  H.  Wade  in  July,  was  the  first  quartz  vein  found.  Silver  City  Idaho 
Avalanche,  May  28,  1881.  A.  J.  Sands  and  Svade  Neilson  discovered  Oro 
Fino.  Purdy  also  says  that  the  first  quartz-ledge  was  discovered  in  July,  and 
located  by  R.  H.  Wade,  and  the  second,  the  Oro  Fino,  in  August,  A.  J.  Sands 
being  one  of  the  locators,  as  he  and  Neilson  were  of  the  Morning  Star.  Silver 
City  Owyhee  Avalanche,  May  22,  1875.  As  often  happens,  the  first  discov 
eries  were  the  richest  ever  found.  Men  made  $50  a  day  pounding  up  the 
Oro  Fino  rock  in  common  hand-mortars.  It  assayed  $7,000  in  silver  and 
$800  in  gold  to  the  ton.  A  year  afterward,  when  a  larger  quantity  of  ore  had 
been  tested  by  actual  working,  10  tons  of  rock  were  found  to  yield  one  ton  of 
amalgam.  Walla  Walla  Statesmen,  Nov.  18,  1864.  Same  of  it  was  marvel 
lously  rich — as  when  1 J  pounds  of  rock  yielded  9  ounces  of  silver  and  gold; 
and  1  pound  yielded  §13.50,  half  in  silver  and  half  in  gold. 


420  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

The  general  condition  of  the  miners  in  the  autumn 
was  prosperous.  Idaho  City,  called  Bannack  until 
the  spring  of  1864,  had  6,000  inhabitants.  Main  and 
Wall  streets  were  compactly  built  for  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  crossed  by  but  one  avenue  of  any  importance. 
Main  street  extended  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  farther. 
Running  parallel  with  Elk  Creek  were  two  streets — • 
Marion  and  Montgomery — half  a  mile  in  length.  The 
remainder  of  the  town  was  scattered  over  the  rising 
ground  back  from  Elk  and  Moore  creeks.  There  were 
250  places  of  business,  well-filled  stores,  highly  deco 
rated  and  resplendent  gambling-saloons,  a  hospital  for 
sick  and  indigent  miners,  protestant  and  catholic 
churches,  a  theatre,  to  which  were  added  three  others 
during  the  winter,25  three  newspapers,26  and  a  fire 

25  In  point  of  time  they  ranked,  Idaho  theatre  1st,  J.  L.  Allison  manager; 
Forrest  2d,  opened  Feb.  1864;  Jenny  Lind  3d,  opened  in  April ;  Temple  4th. 
The  Forrest  was  managed  bys^ohn  S.  Potter. 

26  The  first  newspaper  estaWisftettTn  the  Boise"  basin  was  the  Boise  News, 
a  small  sheet  owned  and  edited  by  T.  J.  &  J.  S.  Butler,  formerly  of  Red 
Bluff,  Cal.,  where  they  published  the  Red  Bluff  Beacon.     Henry  H.  Knapp 
accompanied  T.  J..  Butler,  bringing  a  printing-press,  the  first  in  this  part  of 
Idaho,  and  later  in  use  in  the  office  of  the  Idaho  World.  Knapp's  Statement, 
MS.,  2.     J.  S.  Butler  was  born  in  1829.     He  came  from  Bedford,  Ind.,  to 
Cal.  in  1852,  mined  for  3  years,  and  in  1835  started  the  first  newspaper  in 
Tehama  co.,  and  which,  after  7  years,  was  sold  to  Charles  Fisher,  connected 
with  the  Sac.  Union,  who  was  killed  at  Sacramento  in  1863  or  1864.     Butler 
married  a  daughter  of  Job  F.  Dye  of  Antelope  rancho,  a  pioneer  of  Cal., 
and  went  to  farming  in  the  Sacramento  Valley.     His  father-in-law  took  a 
herd  of  beef-cattle  to  the  eastern  Oregon  mines  in  1802,  and  sent  for  him  to 
come  up  and  help  him  dispose  of  them.     Butler  then  started  a  packing  busi 
ness,  running  a  train  from  Walla  Walla  to  Boise,  and  recognizing  that,  with  a 
public  of  30,000  or  more,  there  was  a  field  for  a  newspaper,  took  steps  to 
start  one,  by  purchasing,  with  the  assistance  of  Knapp  of  the  Statesman  office 
iu  Walla  Walla,  the  old  press  on  which  the  Oregonian  was  first  printed,  and 
which  was  taken  to  Walla  Walla  in  1861.     Some  other  material  was  obtained 
at  Portland,  and  the  first  number  of  the  Boise  New*  was  issued  Sept.  29, 
1863,  printing-paper  costing  enormously,  and  a  pine  log  covered  with  zinc 
being  used  as  an  imposing-stone,  with  other  inventions  to  supply  lacking  ma 
terial.     But  men  willingly  paid  §2.50  for  one  number  of  a  newspaper.     The 
News  was  independent  in  politics  through  a  most  exciting  campaign.     Two 
other  journals  were  issued  from  its  office,  representing  the  two  parties  in  the 
field — union  and  democratic — the  democrats  being  greatly  in  the  majority, 
according  to  Butler. 

The  Idaho  Democrat  was  edited  by  J.  T.  Allison,  and  published  by  D.  C. 
Ireland,  an  immigrant  of  1863  from  Minnesota,  who,  when  the  campaign 
was  over,  went  to  the  Willamette  Valley.  Ireland  was  one  of  the  party  of 
1863  which  descended  Snake  River  to  Lewiston  in  a  small  boat.  He  has  been 
a  newspaper  man  ever  since  settling  in  Oregon,  publishing  the  Oregon  City 
Enterprise,  and  the  Astorian,  which  lie  started,  besides  being  connected  at  va 
rious  times  with  Portland  journals.  The  Idaho  Union  was  published  by  Bruce 


CENTREVILLE  AND  IDAHO  CITY.  42] 

department.  Considering  the  distance  of  Boise  from 
any  great  source  of  supplies  or  navigable  waters,  this 
growth  was  a  marvellous  one  for  eleven  months. 

Centreville  also  grew,  and  was  called  the  prettiest 
town  in  the  Boise  basin.  It  contained,  with  its  sub 
urbs,  3,000  people.27  A  stage-road  was  being  built 
from  Centreville  each  way  to  Placerville  and  Idaho 
City  by  Henry  Greathouse,  the  pioneer  of  staging 
in  southern  Idaho.  Placerville  had  a  population  of 
5,000.  It  was  built  like  a  Spanish  town,  with  the 
business  houses  around  a  plaza  in  the  centre.  The 
population  of  Pioneer  City  was  2,000,  chiefly  Irish, 
from  which  it  was  sometimes  called  New  Dublin. 
These  were  the  principal  towns. 

On  the  7th  of  October  a  festival  was  given  in  Idaho 
City,  called  Moore's  ball,  to  celebrate  the  founding  of 
a  new  mining  state,  at  which  the  pioneers  present 
acted  as  hosts  to  a  large  number  of  guests,  who  were 
lavishly  entertained.23  Society  in  Boise  was  chaotic, 
and  had  in  it  a  liberal  mixture  of  the  infernal.  The 
union-threatening  democracy  of  the  south-western 
states  was  in  the  majority.  Gamblers  abounded. 
Prostitutes  threw  other  women  into  the  shade.  For 
tunately  this  condition  of  things  did  not  last  long. 

Smith  and  Joseph  Wasson,  and  edited  by  John  Charlton.  The  two  cam 
paign  papers  started  early  in  October,  and  suspended  when  the  election  was 
over.  The  News  office  employed  two  sets  of  men  day  and  night  to  issue  these 
three  sheets  weekly,  and  do  all  the  printing  of  the  country.  In  October  1864 
the  Butlers  sold  their  establishment,  to  avoid  the  excitement  of  a  political 
crisis,  to  H.  C.  Street,  J.  H.  Bowman,  and  John  Pierce,  Street  editor,  who 
changed  the  name  to  that  of  Idaho  World.  Its  business  was  worth  §20,000 
a  year,  and  the  new  firm  soon  cleared  $50,000,  Bowman  having  gained  the 
control.  It  became  a  semi-weekly  in  May  1867.  It  changed  editors  several 
times,  being  democratic,  having  in  1866  that  itinerant  disunionist  James 
O'Mcara  at  its  head.  In  1873  it  became  again  independent.  It  was  sold  in 
1874  to  the  Idaho  Publishing  Company. 

Butler's  Life  and  Times,  MS.,  from  which  these  facts  are  drawn,  is  a  con 
cise  account  of  the  principal  events  in  the  early  history  of  Idaho,  of  great 
interest  and  value.  It  treats  of  journalism,  politics,  crime,  business,  and 
Indian  affairs,  with  evident  sincerity  and  good  judgment. 

27  Knapp's  Statement,  MS.,  7.     This  authority  describes  all  the  early  min 
ing  towns,  the  bread  riot,  express  carrying,  and  other  pioneer  matters,  in  a 
lucid  manner.     Knapp  came  from  Red  BlutF,  and  long  remained  a  resident  of 
Idaho. 

28  This  anniversary  ball  seems  to  have  been  repeated  in  October  1S64. 
Idaho  World,  in  Portland  Oregonian,  Oct.  31,  1864. 


422  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

Sickness  attacked  many  a  sturdy  miner,  laying  him  in 
his  grave  away  from  all  his  kindred,  who  never  knew 
where  were  his  bones.  Yet  not  unkindly  these  un 
fortunate  ones  were  cared  for  by  their  comrades,  and 
the  hospital  was  open  to  them,  with  the  attendance 
of  a  physician  and  money  for  their  necessities.  The 
Bois6  News  called  upon  all  persons  to  send  in  notices 
of  deaths  occurring  under  their  observation,  and 
offered  free  publication,  that  the  friends  of  the  de 
ceased  miner  might  have  a  chance  of  learning  that 
his  career  was  ended  in  the  strife  for  a  fortune.29  To 
avoid  the  winter  many  went  east,  and  into  Colorado, 
Utah,  and  Oregon,  and  others  would  have  gone  but 
for  the  mining  law  of  the  district,  which  required  the 
holders  of  claims  to  work  them  at  least  one  day  in 
seven.30 

Californians  were  numerous  in  southern  Idaho.31 
Many  had  been  in  the  Oregon  and  the  Clearwater 
mines,  when  the  Boise  discovery  drew  them  to  these 
diggings.  They  were  enterprising  men,  and  patron 
ized  charities  and  pleasures  liberally,  many  of  them 
being  old  miners  and  having  no  puritan  prejudices  to 
overcome.  The  sport  which  offered  the  most  novel 
attractions,  while  it  was  unobjectionable  from  a  moral 
standpoint,  was  that  furnished  by  the  'sliding'  clubs 
of  which  there  were  several  in  the  different  towns. 
The  stakes  for  a  grand  race,  according  to  the  rules  of 
the  clubs,  should  not  be  less  than  $100  nor  more  than 
$2,500,  for  which  they  ran  their  cutters  down  certain 
hills  covered  with  snow,  and  made  smooth  for  the 
purpose.32  A  circulating  library  and  a  literary  club 

29  From  Nov.  1864  to  Nov.  1865,  125  men  were  received  at  the  hospital, 
who  had  been  injured  by  the  caving  of  banks,  and  other  accidents  incident 
to  mining. 

30  According  to  the  laws  of  the  district,  'any  citizen  may  hold  1  creek 
claim,  1  gulch,  1  hill,  and  1  bar  claim,  by  location.'  BoistNewa,  Oct.  13,  1SG3. 

31  The  Boise  News  of  Nov.  21st  gives  the  names  of  230  Californians,  from 
Siskiyou  county  alone,  then  in  the  Bois<5  basin. 

32  A  challenge  being  offered  by  the  Placerville  Champion  Sliding  Club  of 
Bois6  basin  to  the  Sliding  Club  of  Bannack,  the  former  offering  to  run  their 
cutter  Flying  Cloud,  carrying  4  persons,  from  the  top  of  Granite  street  to  Wolf 
Creek,  or  any  distance  not  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  was  accepted,  when 
in  February  the  Wide  West  of  Bannack  ran  against  the  Flying  Cloud  for  the 


WINTER  IN  THE  MINES.  423 

also  alleviated  the  irksomeness  of  enforced  idleness  in 
their  mountain-environed  cities. 

The  winter  was  mild  in  the  Boise  basin  until  past 
the  middle  of  January,  when  the  mercury  fell  to  25° 
below  zero  at  Placerville.  So  little  snow  had  fallen 
in  the  Blue  Mountains  that  pack-trains  and  wagons 
were  able  to  travel  between  Walla  Walla  and  the 
mines  until  February.  These  flattering  appearances 
induced  the  stage  companies  to  make  preparations 
for  starting  their  coaches  by  the  20th  of  this  month; 
but  about  this  time  came  the  heaviest  snow,  fol 
lowed  by  the  coldest  weather,  of  the  season,  which 
deferred  the  proposed  opening  of  stage  traffic  to  the 
1st  of  March.33  The  first  attempt  was  a  failure, 
the  snow  being  so  deep  on  the  mountains  that  six 
horses  could  not  pull  through  an  empty  sleigh.34 

best  2  in  3.  The  Wide  West  won  the  race.  Other  lesser  stakes  were  lost  and 
won,  and  the  occasion  was  a  notable  one,  being  signalized  by  unusual  festiv 
ities,  dinners,  dancing-parties,  etc.  One  sled  on  the  track,  called  the  French 
Fr'tjate,  carried  20  persons,  and  was  the  fastest  in  the  basin.  Each  cutter 
had  its  pilot,  which  was  a  responsible  position.  Frequent  severe  injuries 
were  received  in  this  exciting  but  dangerous  sport.  See  Boise  News,  Jan.  30 
and  Feb.  0,  1804. 

33  The  Hue  from  Walla  Walla  to  Bois<§  was  owned  by  George  F.  Thomas 
and  J.  S.  Ruckle.     (There  was  a  line  also  to  Lewiston,  started  in  the  spring 
of  18G4,  owned  in  Lewiston.)     It  was  advertised  that  they  would  be  drawn 
by  the  best  horses  out  of  a  band  of  150,  and  driven  by  a  famous  coachman 
named  Ward,  formerly  of  California,  where  fine  driving  had  become  an  art. 
Geo.  F.  Thomas  of  Walla  Walla  was  a  stage-driver  in  Georgia.     Going  to 
Cal.  in  the  early  times  of  gold-mining  in  that  state,  he  engaged  in  business, 
which  proved  lucrative,  and  became  a  large  stockholder  in  the  Cal.  Stage 
Co.,  which  at  one  time  had  coaches  on  1,400  miles  of  road.     As  vice-president 
of  the  co.  he  established  a  line  from  Sacramento  to  Portland,  where  he  went 
to  reside.     On  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the  Nez  Perce'  country,  he  went  to 
Walla  Walla,  and  ran  stages  as  the  ever-changing  stream  of  travel  demanded. 
With  J.  S.  Ruckle  he  constructed  a  stage-road  over  the  Blue  Mountains  at  a 
great  expense,  which  was  opened  in  April  1865,  and  also  contributed  to  the 
different  short  lines  in  Idaho.  Idaho  City  World,  April  15,  1865.     Henry 
Greathouse,  another  stage  proprietor  on  the  route  from  the  Columbia  to  Boise", 
was  an  enterprising  pioneer  who  identified  himself  with  the  interests  of  this 
new  region.     He  was,  like  Thomas,  a  southern  man.     With  unusual  prudence 
he  refrained  from  expressing  his  sympathy  with  the  rebellious  states,  though 
his  brother,  Ridgeley  Greathouse,  was  discovered  in  S.  F.  attempting  to  fit 
out  a  privateer,  and  confined  in  Fort  Lafayette,  whence  he  escaped  to  Europe. 

34  In  northern  Idaho  the  snow  and  cold  were  excessive.    Daniel  McKinney, 
P.  K.  Young,  M.  Adams,  John  Murphy,  and  M.  Sol.  Keyes,  who  left  Elk 
City  Oct.  6th  with  a  small  pack-train  for  the  Stinking  Water  mines  on  Jeffer 
son  fork  of  the  Missouri,  were  caught  in  a  snow-storm,  and  wandered  about 
in  the  mountains  until  the  1st  of  Dec.,  when  they  were  discovered  and  re 
lieved.    Walla  Walla  Statesman,  Feb.  13, 1864.     Several  similar  incidents  oc 
curred  in  different  parts  of  the  territory. 


424  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

For  the  same  reason,  the  express  from  Salt  Lake, 
which  was  due  early  in  February,  did  not  arrive  until 
in  March. 

On  the  16th  of  March  the  first  saddle-train  for  a 
month  arrived  at  Placerville,  bringing  a  party  of 
twelve,  one  of  whom  was  a  woman.  They  were 
eleven  days  on  the  road.35  On  the  1st  of  April  the 
pioneer  coach,  belonging  to  the  Oregon  and  Idaho 
Stage  Company,  which  was  to  run  its  stages  from 
Umatilla  landing  to  Boise,  arrived  at  Placerville  with 
a  full  load  of  passengers  at  $100  each.  But  this 
coach  had  come  from  Shasta,  California,  and  had 
taken  the  California  and  Oregon  stage-road  to  Port 
land,  going  thence  to  The  Dalles  by  steamer,  and 
there  taking  the  road  again.  It  had  been  fifty-nine 
days  on  the  trip.  Four  other  coaches  of  this  line, 
starting  from  Shasta  March  2d,  accomplished  the 
journey  in  twenty-three  days.  Ish  and  Hailey  of 
Oregon  owned  this  line. 

On  the  1st  of  May  coaches  began  to  run  from 
Idaho  City  and  Placerville  to  Boise  City  and  Owy- 
hee.36  Road  and  ferry  franchises  were  much  sought 
after.  A  new  road  up  the  John  Day  River  and 
through  Canon  City  to  Boise  was  opened  the  20th 
of  June.  A.  B.  Meacham,  of  Modoc-\var  fame,  and 
his  brother  Harvey,  settled  at  Lee's  Encampment, 
on  the  Blue  Mountains,  so  named  from  Jason  Lee 
having  parted  from  his  friends  at  this  place  on  his 
journey  east  in  1838,  and  erected  what  was  known  as 
the  Mountain  House,  doing  much  to  open  roads  and 
facilitate  trade.  A  franchise  was  granted  to  a  com 
pany  to  build  a  road  from  the  head  of  Camas  prairie37 
to  Boise,  but  it  was  found  impracticable  to  build  it  as 
projected,  and  it  was  abandoned.  The  Owyhee  Ferry 

Sa  This  saddle-train  was  owned  by  Greathouse,  who  was  making  arrange 
ments  to  put  on  a  line  of  stages  to  connect  with  the  0.  S.  N.  Co.  's  boats  at 
Wallula. 

30  Ward,  the  driver  before  mentioned,  and  John  J.  McCommons  owned 
this  line  at  first,  but  the  latter  retired. 

37  Reference  is  here  made  to  Camas  prairie  north  of  Salmon  River. 


MINING  IMMIGRATION  FROM  CALIFORNIA.  425 

Company  also  obtained  a  franchise  at  the  first  session 
of  the  Idaho  legislature.38 

The  question  of  cheap  freights  was  much  dis 
cussed.  The  large  number  of  men  from  northern 
California  who  were  interested  in  Boise  held  that  a 
road  could  be  made  from  the  Boise  basin  to  the  Sac 
ramento  River,  by  which  freights  could  be  brought 
more  cheaply  in  wagons  alone  than  by  the  O.  S.  N. 
Co.'s  boats,  and  wagons  from  their  landings.  A  com 
pany  was  incorporated,  called  the  Idaho  and  Califor 
nia  Wagon-Road  Company,  February  6, 1864,  to  build 
a  wagon-road  from  Snake  River  Ferry,  near  old  Fort 
Boise,  to  Red  Bluff,  California,  via  Ruby  City.39 

On  the  19th  of  April  there  arrived  from  Healds- 
burg,  California,  a  party  of  six  men  with  pack-ani 
mals,  who  came  by  the  way  of  the  Washoe  and  Hum- 
bold  t  mines  and  Owyhee.  They  reported  the  road 
lined  with  people  on  their  way  to  Idaho,  and  that 
wagons  had  already  arrived  within  fifteen  miles  of 
Jordan  Creek,  where  the  hills  became  too  rough  for 
them  to  proceed  farther.  On  the  1st  of  May  a  train 
of  eighteen  wagons  left  Scott  Valley  and  Yreka  for 
Boise,  and  on  the  llth  of  June  six  others  belonging 
to  William  Davidson,  taking  the  Yreka  and  Klamath 
Lake  route.  These  two  routes  continued  to  be 
travelled  during  the  period  of  the  California  emi 
gration  to  Idaho,  and  but  for  the  hostility  of  the 
Indians,  were  good  roads  needing  little  improvement. 
One  party  of  twenty-three,  that  left  Red  Bluff  April 
24th,  took  the  route  first  contemplated  by  the  pro 
jectors  of  the  Idaho  and  California  Road  Company 

88  Maize  says  that  Michael  Jordan,  Silas  Skinuer,  and  W.  H.  Dewey  built 
a  toll-road  from  Owyhee  to  Boise"  in  the  summer  of  1864.  Early  Events,  MS., 
3.  Bristol  established  a  ferry  across  BoiscS  River  at  Bois<5  City,  and  another 
across  Snake  River  on  Jordan's  road  to  Owyhee.  Bristol's  Idaho,  MS.,  12. 

39  Portland  Oregontan,  Nov.  4,  1863;  Boi^4  News,  Feb.  13,  27,  and  March 
5,  1864.  The  incorporators  were  Thos  J.  Butler,  J.  S.  Butler,  John  Charl- 
ton,  Isaac  D.  Huntoon,  Harry  Norton,  George  Woodman,  G.  A.  B.  Berry, 
John  Gray,  J.  B.  Francis,  W.  R.  Underwood,  J.  W.  Keenan,  J.  W.  Brown, 
and  A.  G.  Turner.  Capital  stock,  $50,000.  The  Idaho  and  California  Tele- 
graph  Company  was  incorporated  at  the  same  time  by  some  of  the  same  per 
sons.  The  route  indicated  by  the  wagon-road  company  was  via  Pitt  River, 
Goose  Lake,  and  the  Malheur  River. 


428  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

down  the  Malheur  to  the  mouth  of  the  Boise,  and  be 
came  lost  between  the  Warner  Lakes  and  the  head 
waters  of  the  Malheur.  They  wandered  about  for 
three  weeks,  but  finally  reached  their  destination 
about  the  20th  of  June. 

Not  only  was  there  a  large  immigration  both  over 
land  and  by  sea,  via  Portland,  but  the  freight  offer 
ings  by  steamer  to  the  latter  place  were  more  than 
could  be  carried,  and  a  number  of  sailing  vessels  were 
employed.  This  freight  consisted  of  dry  goods,  hard 
ware,  and  groceries.  Provisions  were  furnished  by 
Oregon  and  Utah.40 

About  the  1st  of  May  two  express  lines  were  estab 
lished  between  Boonyille  and  Sacramento.  They 
left  Boonville  on  the  2d  and  4th  respectively,  and  re 
turned,  the  first  on  trie  22d,  bringing  the  Sacramento 
Union  of  the  16th,  TxTthe  delight  of  Californians. 
They  continued  to  make  successful  trips  until  inter 
rupted  by  Indian  hostilities.41 

In  the  spring  of  18G4  a  contract  to  carry  the  tri 
weekly  mail  from  Salt  Lake  to  Walla  Walla,  via  Fort 
Hall  and  Boise  City,  was  awarded  to  Ben  Holladay 
&  Co.,  carriers  of  the  California  mail,  the  service  to 

40  A  train  of  20  wagons,  each  drawn  by  from  8  to  12  mules,  left  Los  Angeles, 
"Cal.,  on  the  1st  of  March,  1SG4,  for  the  mines  on  Jefferson  fork  of  the  ilis- 
souri,  accompanied  by  an  escort  driving  500  head  of  cattle.     The  whole  dis 
tance  of  1, 100  miles  was  expected  to  be  made  in  50  days.     The  cargo  consisted 
of  dry  goods,  groceries,  and  liquors.     The  cost  per  pound  for  carrying  was  90 
cents.     It  was  thought  this  route  (an  old  wagon-road  to  Salt  Lake)  could 
compete  successfully  with  the  steamer  line  on  the  Missouri,  which  so  often 
failed  to  reach  Fort  Benton.     The  steamer  charges,  with  30  or  40  cents  a 
pound  added  when  they  landed,  several  hundred  miles  below  the  fort,  was 
thought  to  be  quite  as  expensive  as  wagoning  from  Los  Angeles.  Portland 
Oregonian,  March  9,  1864.     The  first  attempt  to  navigate  the  Yellowstone 
was  made  in  the  autumn  of  1864  by  2  small  steamers,  which  ascended  for 
some  distance  above  its  mouth.    Walla  Walla  Statesman,  Feb.  17,  18G5.  See 

list.  Montana,  this  vol. 

41  Westerfield  and  Cutter  ran  an  express  from  Star  City,  Humboldt  Valley, 
to  Jordan  Creek,  furnishing  news  only_2_days  old.     In  June  John  J.  Mc- 
Commons  and  C.  T.  Blake  bought  out  Hillhouse  &  Co.,  who  owned  the  ex 
press  line  between  Idaho  City  and  the  Owyhee  mines,  which  they  operated 
until  the  death  of  McCommonsby  the  hands  of  Malheur  Snakes,  in  Feb.  1865. 
Going  out  to  look  for  some  of  the  horses  belonging  to  the  company,  and  not 
returning,  his  trail  was  followed  25  miles  to  the  Owyhee  River,  where  indica 
tions  of  a  struggle  with  a  numerous  party  of  Indians  was  apparent.     Nothing 
further  of  his  fate  could  ever  be  discovered.    Walla  Walla  Statesman,  March 
3,  1884. 


VARIATIONS  OF  PROSPERITY.  427 

begin  July  1st,  and  an  agent  was  sent  over  the  route 
with  men,  teams,  hay-cutting  machines,  and  other 
means  and  appliances.  He  arrived  in  Boisd  in  June. 
The  main  line  from  that  place  passed  directly  to 
Payetteville,  a  station  on  the  north  side  of  the  Payette 
River,  crossing  the  Snake  River  a  short  distance  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Payette,  and  running  through 
Burnt,  Powder,  and  Grand  Rond  valleys  to  Walla 
Walla.  The  first  overland  mail  reached  Boise  on  the 
1st  of  August.  The  immigration  of  this  year  was 
large,  and  the  future  of  the  territory  looked  promising. 

The  miners  of  Idaho  were  like  quicksilver.  A  mass 
of  them  dropped  in  any  locality,  broke  up  into  individ 
ual  globules,  and  ran  off  after  any  atom  of  gold  in 
their  vicinity.  They  stayed  nowhere  longer  than  the 
gold  attracted  them.  Notwithstanding  their  early 
regulations  against  Chinamen  working  in  the  mines, 
when  the  Nez  Perce  gold-fields  had  yielded  up  their 
richest  deposits,  these  more  patient  toilers  were  per 
mitted  to  take  what  remained  by  paying  six  dollars  a 
month  tax,  one  half  to  go  to  the  territory,  and  the 
remainder  to  the  county  in  which  they  resided,  the 
sheriff  being  empowered  to  pursue  into  another  coun 
try  any  one  attempting  to  evade  the  act. 

In  June  there  were  not  enough  white  men  in  the 
Oro  Fino  district  to  work  the  claims  well  supplied 
with  water  and  wood,  which  was  another  motive  for 
the  admission  of  Chinese.  At  Elk  City,  on  the  north 
branch  of  the  Clearwater,  miners  were  taking  out  in 
credible  amounts  daily;  still  they  were  not  crowded. 
At  Warren's  600  men  were  doing  well,  and  continued 
to  do  well  for  years.  But  Florence,  for  a  few  months 
the  central  attraction  of  the  country,  was  almost  de 
populated  in  the  winter  of  1863,  without  recovering 
its  population  at  any  subsequent  period.  Its  history 
was  as  short  as  it  was  brilliant.  No  mining  camp 
with  placers  of  such  richness  ever  was  so  soon  ex 
hausted  and  deserted.  In  1864  this  district,  too,  was 


428  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

pretty  well  abandoned  by  white  miners,  and  the 
Chinese  were  allowed  to  come  in.  The  Florence  gold 
was  also  of  less  value  than  that  of  other  districts. 

The  discovery  of  silver  ledges  in  the  Kootenai 
region  was  made  as  early  as  1859,  but  nothing  was 
done  to  explore  the  country,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  mines  lay  north  of  49°  in  British  territory,  where 
mining  regulations  were  somewhat  arbitrary.  Gold 
was  discovered  in  the  Pend  d'Oreille  and  Coeur  d'Alene 
country  by  Donelson,  of  Stevens'  expedition,  in  1853, 
and  still  earlier  by  Owens;  but  the  hostility  of  the 
Indians  and  the  finding  of  gold  elsewhere  diverted 
attention  until  the  autumn  of  1863,  when  good  pros 
pects  were  found  on  the  Kootenai  River.  In  May 
1864,  despite  the  deep  snows  of  that  region,  a  con 
siderable  portion  of  the  mining  population  of  east 
ern  Oregon  and  northern  Idaho  had  located  claims 
and  built  up  a  town  called  Fisherville,  fifty  miles 
north  of  the  United  States  boundary  line.42  But 
the  favorite  country  for  prospectors  was  still  south 
ern  Idaho  and  the  newly  created  territory  of  Mon 
tana,  which  for  a  year  constituted  a  part  of  the  former 
territory.  Discoveries  were  made  early  in  1864 
on  the  north  Boise,  where  the  mining  towns  of 
Beaver  City  and  Summit  City  came  into  existence 
about  the  1st  of  February.43  A  more  important  dis 
covery  was  made  on  the  Malade  River  in  Volcano 
district,  forty  miles  south  of  Little  Camas  prairie.44 
The  distinguishing  feature  of  Volcano  district  was  the 
width  of  the  ledges  found  there,  which  were  in  some 

"Knapp's  Statement,  MS.,  15;  Portland  Oregoman,  Nov.  24,  1863;  Or. 
Statesman,  Nov.  3,  1863;  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  June  3,  1864.  A  fleet  of 
thirty  bateaux  were  built  at  Colville  in  the  winter  of  1864;  while  a  steamer 
to  run  on  the  Columbia  above  Colville,  as  far  as  the  river  should  prove  navi 
gable,  was  also  projected,  and  carried  out  in  1865-6,  by  the  0.  S.  N.  Co., 
who  built  the  Forty-nine,  commanded  by  Captain  Leonard  White,  celebrated 
in  the  history  of  early  steamboating  in  Oregon.  Sje  L3ightou's  Life,  at  Pur/et 
Sound,  MS.,  63-9.  Leonard  White  was  an  immigrant  of  1843.  He  died  at 
Portland  April  10,  1870.  He  is  said  to  have  run  the  first  steamboat  on  the 
Sacramento  River.  A  camel  was  used  for  transportation  purposes  by  William 
Henry  in  1864. 

"Boixe  News,  March  12  and  19,  1864. 

led  the  company  which  made  this  discovery. 


SILVER  HILL  AND  QUARTZ-MINING.  429 

cases  forty  feet  thick.  Silver  Hill  district  was  dis 
covered  July  3d  by  a  road  party  surveying  for  a  route 
from  Placerville  to  South  Boise  along  the  base  of  the 
Payette  range.45  In  August  two  towns,  Banner  and 
Eureka,  with  a  hundred  miners  in  each,  were  es 
tablished,  and  twenty  or  more  gold  and  silver  quartz 
mines  located.  The  Banner  ledge,  first  and  richest, 
gave  character  to  the  district.  Wagon-roads  were 
laid  out  to  Silver  Hill.  A  shaft  was  sunk  thirty  feet, 
and  a  tunnel  run  300  feet,  across  several  other  ledges, 
but  this  activity  failed  to  foreshadow  a  great  and  sud 
den  prosperity  for  this  district. 

Quartz-mining,  unlike  placer-mining,  was  retarded 
by  the  distance  from  any  point  where  mills  for  crush 
ing  ores  could  be  obtained,  and  by  the  outlay  required. 
The  first  quartz-mill  erected  in  the  Boise  basin  was 
put  up  by  W.  W.  Raymond  on  Granite  Creek,  about 
two  miles  from  Placerville.  It  arrived  in  July,  and 
was  ready  to  go  into  operation  in  September.  It 
was  furnished  with  ten  stamps,  each  weighing  nearly 
600  pounds,  and  crushing  one  and  a  half  tons  daily, 
with  a  reserved  power  amounting  to  half  a  ton  more 
each.  This  mill  was  employed  on  the  Pioneer,  Law 
yer,  and  Golden  Gate  ledges.  It  cleaned  up  from  its 
first  week's  run  fifty  pounds  of  amalgam.46 

The  Landon  lode,  three  miles  north-east  of  Idaho 
City,  on  the  divide  between  Moore  and  Elk  creeks, 
named  after  its  owner,  was  prospected  by  rigging 
ordinary  sledge-hammers  on  spring-poles.  In  this 
manner  1,200  pounds  were  crushed,  and  a  yield  ob 
tained  of  over  $23  to  100  pounds;  200  pounds  being 
pulverized  in  three  days  with  the  labor  of  one  man. 
A  mill  was  placed  upon  it  by  the  Great  Consolidated 

45  The  party  was  led  by  James  Carr  and  Jesse  Bradford  of  Placerville. 
Owen's  Directory,  18G5,  57.  This  work,  issued  in  the  spring  of  1SG5,  con 
tains  a  map  of  Boise"  and  Owyhee,  and  engravings  representing  Idaho  City 
and  its  suburb,  Buena  Vista  Bar,  besides  brief  historical  sketches  of  the  min 
ing  towns  of  Oregon  and  Idaho,  and  a  list  of  names,  which,  owing  to  the 
shifting  character  of  the  population,  is  very  imperfect. 

"Boise  Neius,  Sept.  24  and  Oct.  1,  1SG4;  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  Nov. 
4,  1SC4;  Portland  Ortgonian,  Dec.  28,  1SG4. 


430  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

Boise  River  Gold  and  Silver  Mining  Company,  hav 
ing  five  stamps,  which  was  ready  for  crushing  rock  in 
December.  Other  mills  were  erected  during  the 

-w—  ^ 

year  in  the  Boise  basin.47 

At  South  Boise  between  forty  and  fifty  arastras 
were  run  by  water-power,  making  flattering  returns, 
and  the  number  was  soon  increased  to  eighty-four, 
crushing  about  a  ton  a  day.  The  Ophir  yielded  in 
the  arastra  $100  to  the  ton. 

Several  mining  companies  shipped  from  1,000  to 
10,000  tons  of  ore  to  San  Francisco  and  New  York 
in  order  to  attract  the  attention  of  capitalists,  secure 
investments,  and  obtain  mining  machinery.  The  first 
mill  in  South  Boise,  however,  was  one  with  five  stamps, 
owned  by  Cartee,  Gates,  &  Company,  which  was 
packed  in,  and  put  in  operation  before  a  wagon-road 
was  opened  over  the  mountains.  The  Ada  Elmore 
rock  crushed  in  this  mill  yielded  an  average  of  $100 
per  ton;48  the  Confederate  Star  $150  per  ton. 

An  eight-stamp  mill  was  built  in  Portland  for 
South  Boise,  intended  for  the  Idaho  lode;  but  in  the 
mean  time  Andrews  and  Tudor,  who  left  South  Boise 
for  the  east  in  November  1863,  purchased  a  twelve- 
.  stamp  mill  in  Chicago,  for  the  Idaho,  which  was 
hauled  by  ox-teams  from  the  Missouri  River  in  Ne 
braska  at  a  cost  of  thirty  cents  a  pound.  It  reached 
its  destination  in  October  and  was  ready  for  work  in 
December.  A  five-stamp  mill  built  at  Portland  was 
placed  on  the  Comstock  ledge  in  the  autumn.  R.  B. 

<T  A  10-stamp  mill  was  set  running  in  Dec.  on  the  Garrison  Gambrinus, 
whose  history  has  been  sketched.  Two  others,  one  on  Summit  Flat,  owned 
by  Bibb  &  Jackson;  another  a  mile  from  Idaho  City,  owned  by  F.  Britten 
&  Co.  A  quartz-mill  was  erected  on  Bear  Run,  Idaho  City,  attached  to  the 
steam-power  of  Robie  &  Bush's  saw-mill,  to  do  custom-work.  This  saw 
mill  was  first  erected  at  Lewiston;  removed  to  Boise1  in  July;  burned  in 
Sept. ;  rebuilt  with  the  quartz-mill  attached  in  Oct. ;  and  removed  to  Bois6 
in  the  spring  of  1865.  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  July  1,  1804;  Bois6  Neivs, 
Oct.  8  and  22,  1864;  Boist  City  Statesman,  April  29,  1865. 

48 The  Ada  Elmore  was  managed  by  speculators,  who  retarded  the  com 
pany,  and  the  whole  country.  The  trustees  ran  a  tunnel  in  the  ledge  at  an 
enormous  cost  expressly  to  let  it  fall  in,  as  it  did,  in  order  to  put  the  share 
holders  to  expense  and  perpetual  taxation  to  '  freeze  them  out. '  Boise  News, 
Sept.  24,  18G4. 


SOUTH  BOISE  AND  WAR  EAGLE.  431 

Farnham,  who  took  a  ton  of  rock  to  New  York  and 
on  its  merits  succeeded  in  forming  a  company  called 
the  New  York  and  Idaho  Gold  and  Silver  Mining 
Company,  purchased  and  shipped  to  South  Boise  a 
thirty-stamp  mill,  which  arrived  too  late  to  be  put 
into  operation  that  year. 

A  new  district  was  discovered  on  the  head  waters 
of  the  middle  Boise  River  which  was  named  Yuba. 
The  ledges  found  on  the  south  and  middle  Boise  were 
solid  quartz,  larger  but  not  so  rich  as  those  of  Owyhee. 
The  rock  in  which  they  were  found  was  granite. 
South  Boise  had  at  this  time  four  towns,  Esmeralda, 
Clifden,  Rocky  Bar,  and  Happy  Camp,  and  about 
2,000  persons  were  scattered  over  the  district.  A 
good  wagon-road  was  completed  to  Boise  City  in 
August,  built  by  Julius  Newberg  &  Co.  Of  the 
large  immigration  of  1864,  many  settled  in  South 
Boise. 

In  May  1864  the  Oro  Fino  Gold  and  Silver  Tun 
nel  Company  was  incorporated  in  Carson  district, 
Owyhee,  for  the  purpose  of  running  a  tunnel  through 
Oro  Fino  mountain  and  developing  the  wealth  therein, 
thirty  locations  having  already  been  made  on  it,  one 
of  which,  the  War  Eagle,  subsequently  gave  its  name 
to  the  mountain.  This  wonderful  mass  of  mineral 
constituted  the  dividing  ridge  between  Jordan  and 
Sinker  creeks;  and  it  was  on  the  ledges  belonging  to 
the  north-eastern  side  of  the  ridge  that  the  first  quartz- 
mill  of  the  Owyhee  region  was  placed.  I  might  men 
tion  a  number  of  other  companies  which  flourished 
during  this  year,  but  do  not  deem  it  necessary.  The 
great  discovery  of  1865  was  the  Poorman  mine,  on 
War  Eagle  mountain.49  It  was  so  named  because  its 

49  The  Poorman  was  first  called  the  Hays  and  Ray.  According  to  Gilbert 
Butler,  it  was  discovered  by  O'Brien,  Holt,  Zerr,  Ebner,  Stevens,  and  Ray, 
in  Oct.  1865.  Some  say  the  discoverer  was  D.  C.  O'Byrnc,  and  others  Charles 
S.  Peck.  The  history  of  the  mine  seems  to  have  been  this:  it  was  first 
discovered  at  a  point  about  1,000  feet  from  what  is  now  called  the  dis 
covery  shaft,  the  ore  being  good  but  not  rich,  and  the  vein  small.  Before 
much  development  was  made,  C.  S.  Peck  found  the  rich  chimney,  or  so- 
called  discovery  shaft,  concealing  his  good  fortune  and  covering  up  the  vein, 


432  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

discoverers  were  without  capital  to  work  it.  The  ore 
was  the  richest  known,  and  so  easily  worked  that  it 
could  be  cut  out  like  lead,  which  it  resembled,  but 
with  a  tint  of  red  in  it,  which  gave  it  the  name  of 
ruby  silver.  It  was  a  chloride  of  silver  richly  impreg 
nated  with  gold,  and  brought  four  dollars  an  ounce  as 
it  came,  from  the  mine.  A  twenty-stamp  mill  was 
placed  upon  it,  which,  with  another  mill,  worked  the 
product  of  this  mine. 

The  Mammoth  district,  containing  veins  of  enor 
mous  size,  was  discovered  in  the  spring  of  1864  south 
of  Carson  district.  It  took  its  name  from  the  dis 
covery  lode.  Flint  district,  only  separated  from  Mam 
moth  by  the  extension  of  War  Eagle  mountain  south 
ward,  was  also  prospected  with  good  results.  The 
Rising  Star  ledge  was  the  principal  mine. 

Indian  depredations  continuing,  the  people  of  Idaho 
petitioned  to  have  General  Conner  sent  to  them  from 
Utah.50  Most  of  the  fighting  was  done  on  Oregon 
soil,  by  the  1st  Oregon  cavalry,  as  will  be  seen  by  a 
reference  to  my  History  of  Oregon,  although  it  was 
for  the  protection  of  Idaho  as  well,  the  cavalry  ex- 

until  he  learned  from  Hays  and  Ray  the  boundaries  of  their  claim,  and  that 
it  included  his  discovery.  Peck  then  cautiously  endeavored  to  buy  the  mine, 
but  finding  it  was  held  too  high,  absented  himself  in  the  hope  that  the  owners 
would  come  down.  In  the  mean  time  another  company  of  prospectors  came 
upon  the  rich  chimney  and  located  it,  calling  it  the  Poorman.  A  contest  now 
arose  for  possession  of  the  mine,  the  Hays  and  Ray  owners  taking  Peck  into 
their  company  for  finding  and  tracing  the  vein  from  their  opening  into  the 
Poorman.  The  Poorman  company  erected  a  fort  at  the  mouth  of  their  mine, 
which  they  called  Fort  Baker,  and  mounted  some  ordnance.  They  took  out 
some  of  the  richest  of  the  ore  and  sent  it  to  Portland,  where  it  made  a  great 
sensation.  The  prospect  of  endless  litigation  over  the  prize  induced  both 
companies  to  sell,  one  to  Put  Bradford  and  the  other  to  G.  C.  Robbins,  both 
of  Portland,  who  worked  the  mine  jointly,  taking  out  nearly  $2,000,000,  after 
which  they  sold  to  a  New  York  company.  Maize's  Early  Events,  MS.,  6-7; 
fiichardxon's  Ueijond  the  Missis.;  Silver  City  Idaho  Avalanche,  May  28,  1881. 
50  A  party  was  attacked  the  3d  of  May,  some  GO  miles  from  Paradise  Val 
ley,  and  J.  W.  Dodge,  J.  W.  Burton,  and  others  killed.  Between  Warner 
and  Harney  lakes,  Porter  Langdon  and  Thomas  Renny  were  killed,  and  the 
rancho  of  Michael  Jordan  attacked  in  July,  Jordan  soon  afterward  losing  his 
life.  A  force  of  134  men  was  raised,  which  overtook  the  Indians  in  a  forti 
fied  canon,  and  killed  30,  two  white  men  being  killed  and  two  wounded. 
Colonel  Maury  then  took  the  field  with  100  men  and  four  howitzers,  and 
forming  an  encampment  on  Jordan  Creek,  occupied  his  troops  in  scouting  dur 
ing  the  remainder  of  the  summer. 


INDIAN  HOSTILITIES.  433 

tending  their  operations  to  Alvord  Valley,  and  thence 
into  Nevada  as  far  as  Mud  Lake. 

The  spring  of  1865  opened  with  renewed  hostili 
ties.  A  detachment  of  Washington  infantry,  under 
Sergeant  Storm,  and  a  small  company,  came  upon 
Indians  on  Catherine  Creek,  killing  eight.  Never 
had  the  Shoshones,  now  a  powerful  foe  through  their 
possession  of  an  abundance  of  horses,  arms,  and  am 
munition,  given  so  much  trouble.  Petitions  were 
made  to  the  government  by  Oregon,  Idaho,  and 
northern  California,  for  better  defensive  measures. 
A  new  military  sub-district,  embracing  Nevada,  and 
including  Owen's  River  Valley  in  California,  was  es 
tablished,  under  the  command  of  Charles  McDer- 
initt  of  the  2d  California  volunteer  cavalry,  who 
established  Camp  Bidwell,  near  Goose  Lake,51  on  the 
California  road,  which  had  been  closed  by  hostili 
ties.62  By  the  mustering-out  of  the  Oregon  and 
Washington  troops  in  1865-6  the  territory  was  left 
with  even  less  protection  than  formerly,  while  the 
Indians  were  more  troublesome  than  ever.  But  in  the 
spring  of  1866,  the  civil  war  having  been  brought  to 
a  close,  the  army  was  distributed  on  the  western  fron 
tier,  and  after  a  few  years  more  of  wars  and  treaty- 
making,  peace  was  restored  with  the  Snakes  and 
related  tribes. 

Unlike  the  previous  two  winters,  that  of  1864-5 
set  in  in  November  by  a  violent  snow  and  wind  storm, 
which  inflicted  heavy  damages  by  destroying  miles  of 

51  McDermitt  was  the  same  who,  in  1852,  headed  a  co.  of  volunteers  from 
Yreka,  who  with  Beu  Wright  went  to  the  relief  of  the  immigrants  in  the 
Modoc  country  in  1852.  He  was  killed  on  the  llth  of  Aug.,  at  Queen 
River,  by  Indians  in  ambush,  as  he  was  returning  from  a  scouting  expedition 
to  clear  the  road  to  Cal.  from  Owyhee.  Idaho  World,  Aug.  19,  1865. 

*2A  few  of  the  operations  of  the  Shoshones  this  year  were  as  follows: 
Hill  Beechy  had  60  horses  stolen;  100  other  horses,  and  150  cattle,  were 
stolen  from  Owyhee.  The  miners  were  driven  out  of  Pueblo  Valley.  Para 
dise  Valley  was  depopulated.  They  attacked  a  saddle-train  on  Jordan  Creek 
in  April,  capturing  part  of  the  animals.  The  miners  armed  and  drove  them 
out  of  the  neighborhood.  They  attacked  a  company  of  wagoners,  4  miles 
south  of  Farewell  Bend,  on  Snake  River,  capturing  12  mules.  Many  other 
like  cases  might  be  mentioned. 
HIST.  WASH.— 28 


434  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

flumes  in  eastern  Oregon,  letting  the  water  into  the 
ditches,  and  sweeping  earth  into  claims,  completely 
covering  up  many,  filling  up  cuts  and  drains,  burying 
miners'  tools,  and  levelling  to  the  ground  the  fences 
of  the  newly  improved  farms  over  a  large  extent  of 
country.  Heavy  rains  followed  the  cold  weather, 
making  the  season  one  of  unusual  severity;  but  the 
spring  opened  early  with  a  heavy  immigration,  which 
struggled  in  before  freight  trains  could  get  through 
the  mountains  with  supplies,  and  the  new-comers, 
many  of  whom  were  f<from  the  left  wing  of  Price's 
army,"  created  first  a  bread  famine,  and  then  a  riot. 
Not  that  they  were  actually  starving,  for  there  was 
food  for  all,  but  flour  was  a  dollar  a  pound,  and  bread 
an  *  extra'  dish  at  the  eating-houses. 

Street  meetings  began  to  be  held  by  the  idle  con 
sumers  to  compel  the  merchants  who  had  a  little  flour 
left  to  reduce  the  price.  A  mob  of  sixty  men  marched 
to  the  store  of  Crafts  &  Vantine  in  Idaho  City,  where 
they  found  about  200  pounds,  which  they  seized. 
Proceeding  to  the  store  of  Heffron  &  Pitts,  the  com 
mand  was  given  by  their  leader  to  seize  whatever 
flour  they  found.  At  this  crisis  Jack  Gorman,  deputy 
sheriff,  with  great  courage  arrested  and  disarmed  the 
leader,  a  burly  six-foot  Missourian,  placing  him  in 
irons,  amidst  cries  of  "Shoot  him,  shoot  himl"  from 
the  rioters.  This  action  damped  their  spirits,  and 
order  was  restored.  The  merchants  reduced  the  price 
of  flour  to  fifty  cents  a  pound,  and  soon  after  it  be 
came  plenty  at  six  cents.53 

Checked  for  the  time  by  the  prompt  action  of  Gor 
man,  the  mob  element  found  an  opportunity  to  retali 
ate  by  setting  fire  to  the  city,  which  on  the  18th  of 
of  May  was  burned  in  the  most  valuable  and  business 
portion,  only  three  public  buildings  being  left  standing 
— the  catholic  church,  the  Jenny  Lind  theatre,  and 
the  office  of  the  Idaho  World,  the  newspaper  which 
had  succeeded  the  Boise  News  at  Idaho  City.  Besides 

43  Knapp's  Statement,  MS.,  3-5. 


BURNING  OF  IDAHO  CITY.  435 

these,  nothing  remained  but  the  scattered  houses  on 
the  hillside,  and  Buena  Vista  Bar,  a  suburb  of  the 
city,  separated  from  it  by  a  flat.  Into  these  the  home 
less  population  was  gathered,  while  the  catholic  church 
was  converted  into  a  hospital  to  receive  the  dislodged 
inmates  of  the  county  hospital,  which  was  consumed. 
Taking  advantage  of  the  confusion  and  alarm  cre 
ated  by  the  devouring  element,  men  seized  and  carried 
off  the  provisions  and  other  goods  saved  from  burn 
ing  buildings,  taking  them  to  hiding-places  in  the 
mountains.  The  merchants  fortunately  had  a  large 
portion  of  their  stocks  stored  in  underground  recep 
tacles,  built  after  the  manner  of  root-houses,  which 
fashion  prevailed  first  on  account  of  the  lack  of  ware 
houses,  and  afterward  as  a  defence  against  fire.  Their 
losses,  however,  aggregated  $900,000.  The  town  was 
immediately  rebuilt  with  many  improvements.  By  the 
middle  of  June  it  had  almost  its  former  proportions, 
and  more  than  its  former  dignity  of  appearance.54  In 
July  an  indictment  for  arson  was  found  against  one 
Thomas  Wilson,  who  never  was  punished,  owing  to 
the  condition  of  the  territorial  government  at  this 
time,  the  defects  of  which  and  their  causes  will  be 
treated  in  another  place. 

The  immigration  from  California  and  Nevada  in 
1865  was  in  such  numbers  as  to  make  necessary  in 
creased  means  of  travel  and  transportation.  Hill 
Beachy,  an  enterprising  citizen  of  the  Boise  basin, 
formerly  of  Lewiston,  established  direct  overland 
communication  with  Star  City,  Nevada,  and  with 
California,  stocking  the  road  a  distance  of  260  miles, 

. 

and  in  April  passed  over  the  route  with  five  coaches 

64  Idaho  City  was  burned  once  more,  May  17,  1867,  just  2  years  after  the 
first  fire,  when  §1,000,000  worth  of  property  was  destroyed.  Every  build 
ing  on  both  sides  of  Main  street  from  the  Jenny  Lincl  theatre  to  Moore  Creek 
•was  destroyed,  and  between  Main  and  Montgomery  and  on  the  east  side  of 
Montgomery  street,  with  most  of  those  on  the  hill  and  High  street.  Not  a 
a  hotel  was  left  standing.  The  Jenny  Lind  theatre  and  masonic  hall  were 
tho  only  important  buildings  remaining,  and  in  the  latter  was  the  office 
of  the  Idaho  World.  The  post-office  and  express  office  were  destroyed.  A 
3d  great  lire  occurred  in  1808. 


436  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

filled  with  passengers.  Owing  to  Indian  troubles, 
however,  after  a  few  trips  the  route  was  abandoned, 
the  stages  and  stock  were  withdrawn,  and  also  the 
stock  of  the  Humboldt  express,  the  Indians  having 
burned  one  of  the  company's  stations,  within  forty 
miles  of  Owyhee,  and  killed  the  keeper. 

John  Mullan,55  engineer  of  the  military  road  from 
Walla  Walla  to  Fort  Benton  on  the  Missouri,  from 
which  so  much  was  expected  in  the  way  of  immigra 
tion  and  so  little  realized  in  any  way,  undertook  to 
establish  a  stage  line  from  Umatilla  to  Boise  City, 
and  another  from  Boise  City  to  Chico,  California,  but 
was  finally  prevented  by  the  Indians.  His  company 
was  called  the  Idaho  and  California  Stage  Company. 
Early  in  September  they  advertised  to  sell  tickets 
from  Boise  City  to  San  Francisco,  Virginia  City, 
Nevada,  and  all  other  points,  promising  through  con 
nections  and  rapid  transit;  the  time  consumed  between 
Ruby  City  and  Chico  to  be  six  days  for  the  opening 
trip,  and  four  when  arrangements  were  perfected. 
Ten  companies  of  soldiers  were  distributed  between 
Chico  and  Owyhee.  But  in  October  nearly  every 
horse  belonging  to  the  company  was  stolen,  and  the 
stages  had  stopped  running. 

In  this  struggle — a  truly  valiant  one — to  master 
the  obstacles  to  communication  with  the  outer  world 
and  lessen  the  expense  of  living,  distance,  cold,  snow, 
and  hostile  Indians  were  not  the  only  obstacles  the 
mining  territory  had  to  contend  against.  A  lively 
warfare  was  carried  on  by  the  Oregon  newspapers 
against  the  efforts  of  the  Idaho  merchants  and  oth 
ers  to  bring  about  a  direct  trade  with  California. 
So  long  as  their  operations  were  controlled  by  the 
steamship  line  between  San  Francisco  and  Portland, 
or  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company  on  the 
Columbia  River,  it  could  hardly  be  expected  that 
the  expenses  of  transportation  or  travel  would  be 

55  Mullan  published  a  Miners''  and  Travellers'  Guide,  describing  the  routes 
to  Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho,  Montana,  Wyoming,  and  Colorado,  in  the 
spring  of  1865.  It  contains  much  valuable  topographical  matter. 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  TRAVEL.  437 

much  reduced.  On  the  other  hand,  a  road,  over 
which  teams  could  be  driven  with  ordinary  speed  and 
safety,  always  allowed  a  possible  escape  from  exor 
bitant  charges.  In  cases  where  time  was  money,  also, 
they  hoped  to  gain  by  a  direct  route.56  But  the  Port 
land  papers  cast  ridicule  upon  these  schemes  for  avoid 
ing  paying  tribute  to  Portland  and  the  O.  S.  N.  Co.  ;57 
and  every  exultant  paragraph  of  an  Idaho  paper  on 
the  arrival  of  trains  direct  from  California  was  caught 
up  and  invidiously  commented  upon.  The  Oregonians 
also  seized  upon  all  the  mountain  passes  and  river 
crossings  with  their  toll-roads  and  ferries,  wringing 
tribute  from  the  residents  of  as  well  as  the  travellers 
to  the  mining  districts  outside  the  boundaries  of  the 
state.58  At  least  so  said  the  Idahoans. 

I  have  mentioned  that  several  private  surveys  of 
Snake  River  had  been  made  with  a  view  to  naviga 
tion  between  Lewiston  and  Salmon  Falls,  or  even 
Lewiston  and  Olds  ferry  or  Farewell  Bend.  These 
surveys  were  not  sufficiently  encouraging  to  induce 
outlay.  The  attempt  to  navigate  Snake  River  above 
Lewiston  having  failed,  the  O.  S.  N.  Co.  built  a  boat 
called  the  Shoshone,  above  the  crossing  of  Snake 
River,  at  great  cost,  to  test  its  navigability.  She 
made  her  trial  trip  May  16,  1866.  It  was  ex- 

56  The  travelling  time  from  S.   F.   by  the  steamer  route  was  9   days — 
from  the  interior  of  Cal.  as  much  longer  as  it  took  to  reach  S.  F.     The  fare, 
with  meals,  was  about  $142.     The  Idaho  Stage  Co.  offered  tickets  to  S.  F.  for 
$90,  and  promised  to  take  passengers  to  Sacramento  in  6  days.     Freight  from 
S.  F.  by  steamer  cost  from  22  to  29  cents  a  pound;  overland,  about  12  cents. 

57  A  Guide  to  Idaho  was  issued  for  gratuitous  distribution,  edited  by  J. 
and  T.  Magee,  professing  to  contain,  as  it  did,  much  useful  information  about 
the  country,  but  representing  the  different  routes  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
frighten  people  from  travelling  or  freighting  over  any  other  than  the  Portland 
route.  Bois&  City  Statesman,  Sept.  5,  1865;  Dalles  Mountaineer,  June  30  and 
Aug.  13,  1865. 

58  The  Oregon  Road,  Bridge,  and   Ferry  Company  was  incorporated  in 
April  1865,  the  object  of  which  was  to  connect  all  the  stage  roads  from  Uma- 
tilla  and  Walla  Walla  at  one  point,  Express  Rancho,  and  thence  down  Burnt 
River  to  Farewell  Bend,  or  Olds  ferry,  to  continue  down  Snake  River  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Owyhee,  with  the  control  of  all  the  ferries  between  these  two 
points.     Capital  stock,  $300,000.     Directors:  R.  P.  Olds,  John  Partin,  W. 
H.  Packwood.     Property  owned  by  them:  Plount  &  Kenian's  toll-road  down 
Burnt  River;  Parton  &  Co.'s  road;  the  Central  ferry;  Washoe   ferry,  with 
the  new  trail  to  the  latter.     A  "town  called  Josephine  City  was  laid  off  at 
Washoe  ferry  by  Byrne. 


438  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

pected  she  would  carry  a  great  deal  of  freight  from 
Olds  ferry  to  the  crossing  of  the  Boise  City  and 
Ovvyhee  road,  and  also  government  freight  to"  Fort 
Boise;  and  that  in  case  she  could  run  up  to  Salmon 
Falls  a  road  would  be  opened  to  South  Boise,  and 
another  to  the  mines  of  Volcano  district.  But  this 
experiment  also  failed.  There  was  no  wood  along  the 
banks  for  steaming  purposes.  The  boat  could  not  pass 
the  mouth  of  the  Bruneau  River,  little  more  than 
half-way  between  the  Boise  landing  and  Salmon  Falls; 
and  the  Owyliee  Avalanche,  published  at  Ruby  City, 
being  in  favor  of  the  California  overland  routes  in 
preference  to  all  others,  never  ceased  to  disparage  the 
attempt  which  the  Idaho  City  World  and  Boise  City 
Statesman  commended.59 

The  overland  immigration  from  the  east  in  1865 
was  also  large,  1,840  wagons  passing  Fort  Kearny  in 
May;  and  though  the  comers  distributed  themselves 
over  the  whole  coast,  Idaho  and  Montana  retained  the 
greater  portion  of  them.60  Besides  the  regular  irumi- 

59  The  Idaho  Statesman  was  established  at  Bois6  City  July  26,  1864,  and 
published  tri-weekly  at  $1  a  week  or  $20  per  year.  It  was  owned  and  man 
aged  by  J.  S.,  R.  W.,  and  T.  B.  Reynolds,  who  purchased  the  materials  of 
the  Dalles  Journal.  See  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  June  17  and  Aug.  5,  1864; 
Bois4  Statesman,  _Feb.  2,  1870.  The  Statesman  was  a  republican  journal  until 
Jan.  1869,  when  it  was  sold  to  H.  C.  Street,  C.  L.  Goodrich,  and  A.  J.  Boy- 
akin,  democrats.  Its  name  appears  also  to  have  been  changed  to  Boise  States 
man.  James  S.  Reynolds,  at  the  end  of  a  month,  purchased  the  paper  back 
again,  but  sold  it  in  1872  to  Milton  Kelly. 

The  Owyhce  Avalanche  was  established  at  Silver  City  in  Aug.  1865,  by 
Joseph  Wasson  and  brother,  and  J.  L.  Hardin.  Wasson  had  been  a  printer 
on  the  Idaho  World,  and  was  a  writer  of  considerable  ability.  Hardin  with 
drew  at  the  end  of  a  year,  and  the  Wassons  continued  the  publication  until 
Aug.  17,  1867,  when  they  sold  to  W.  J.  Hill  and  H.  W.  Millard.  On  Nov. 
7,  1868,  the  paper  was  again  sold  to  John  McGonigle,  who  managed  it  till 
Feb.  19,  1870,  when  he  sold  back  to  Hill  and  Millard.  Another  journal,  the 
Tidal  Wave,  started  in  1868,  and  owned  by  the  Butler  brothers,  founders  of 
the  Boise  News,  was  incorporated  with  the  Avalanche.  Soon  afterward  Hill 
became  sole  owner.  In  Oct.  1874  a  daily  was  established  which  lived  fora 
year  and  a  half,  w-hen  it  was  discontinued.  In  April  1876  Hill  sold  the  Ava 
lanche  to  J.  S.  Hay,  who  conducted  it  as  a  weekly  in  the  interest  of  mining 
and  the  country  generally.  It  was  subsequently  published  by  Guy  New- 
comb  and  Charles  M.  Hays. 

c°The  Boise  News  speaks  of  the  immigration  as  'generally  possessed  of 
sufficient  means  and  comfortable  outfits.'  'Nine  tenths  of  these,' said  the 
Idaho  Statesman,  'bring  capital  and  means  to  settle  in  this  country.'  Hotels 
at  Boise  crowded.  The  noise  of  hammer  and  saw  'interrupted  conversation;' 
10,000  wagons  on  the  road  in  July.  Portland  Oregonian,  July  27,  1864. 


IMMIGRATION  OF  1866.  439 

gration,  the  stages  also  brought  full  loads  of  passen 
gers.  And  while  the  stage-line  suffered  severely  by 
the  depredations  of  the  Indians  on  the  plains,  the  im 
migration  experienced  little  trouble,  owing  to  its  ex 
tent  and  the  thoroughness  of  its  organization.  The 
pioneers  of  Idaho  and  Montana  were  saved  the  worst 
half  of  the  journey  across  the  continent,  which  form 
erly  exhausted  the  energies  and  means  of  the  Oregon 
and  Washington  emigrants.  They  arrived  early,  and 
their  stock  was  usually  in  good  condition.  Every 
arrival  from  the  east  was  hailed  with  a  cordial  wel 
come,  for  it  was  evidence  that  the  mines  could  be 
easily  reached  from  the  great  outside  world,  which 
conveyed  a  feeling  of  satisfaction  to  the  hearts  of  the 
self-exiled  miners.  If  the  emigrants  brought  stocks 
of  goods  with  them,  so  much  the  better.  They  often 
sold  them  cheaper  than  they  could  be  obtained  from 
any  other  direction,  and  there  was  no  jealousy  of  com 
petition. 

In  the  spring  of  1866,  in  spite  of  Indians  and  other 
obstacles,  the  Humboldt  and  Chico  routes  were  again 
opened;  Owyhee  and  Boise  City  raising  men,  money, 
and  horses  to  fight  the  former,  and  Mullan  raising 
money,  coaches,  and  horses,  in  New  York  and  Cali 
fornia,  to  stock  the  latter.  Thirty  wagons  were  ad 
vertised  to  start  from  Chico,  with  a  number  of  the 
stage  company's  coaches,  early  in  April;  and  in  fact, 
trains  did  arrive  over  the  Chico  route  by  the  middle 
of  the  month,  on  account  of  which  the  Idaho  press 
was  jubilant,  and  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Com 
pany  offered  to  reduce  their  freight  charges.  On  the 
other  hand,  to  insure  the  successful  competition  of  the 
California  roads  with  the  O.  S.  N.  Co.,  the  Central 
Pacific  Railroad  and  California  Navigation  companies 
offered  to  carry  freight  free  to  Chico  landing. 

Freight  was  carried  by  wagon  to  Ruby  City  and 
Bois£  for  eleven  and  twelve  cents  a  pound.  Ox-teams 
came  through  in  one  month.  Mullan's  Stage  Com 
pany  put  men  and  teams  upon  the  road  to  improve  it, 


440  EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 

build  stations,  and  cut  hay.  Finally,  in  August  the 
coaches  began  running,  the  time  from  Chico  to  Silver 
City  being  four  days.  Treasure  and  government 
freight  were  also  carried  over  that  route. 

But  there  was  a  rival  route  which  had  a.  friend  at 
court.  Conness  of  California  introduced  a  bill  in  the 
senate  to  provide  for  the  construction  of  a  wagon- 
road  from  Boise  City  to  Susanville,  in  California, 
with  a  branch  from  Surprise  Valley  to  Puebla,  with 
an  appropriation  of  $10,000  for  surveys.  This  was 
called  the  Red  Bluff  route,  favored  by  the  Northern 
Teamsters'  Association,  which  advertised  to  take 
freight  for  from  eleven  to  thirteen  cents,  and  secured  a 
great  deal.  Again,  the  Sacramento  merchants  sub 
scribed  $5,000  to  be  given  as  a  bonus  to  the  first 
train  which  should  carry  100  tons  of  merchandise 
through  to  Owyhee  by  the  Truckee  pass,  to  be  ap 
plied  to  the  extra  expenses  of  the  trip.61  Jesse  I). 
Carr  secured  the  contract  for  carrying  a  daily  mail 
between  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  arid  Boise  City, 
Idaho,  via  this  route,  which  lay  to  the  east  of  the 
Humboldt  Mountains,  and  was  the  same,  in  part,  over 
which  Hill  Beachy  carried  the  mail  for  several  months 
the  previous  year.  The  amount  of  money  expended 
in  these  several  enterprises  was  large,  and  the  com 
petition  resulted  in  furnishing  such  accommodations 
for  travel  as  were  rarely  enjoyed  in  new  countries. 

I  have  given  considerable  space  to  the  subject  of 
roads,  as  to  me  it  appears  of  the  highest  importance. 
The  inaccessibility  of  Idaho  tended  to  retard  develop 
ment,  but  every  obstacle  was  finally  overcome.62 

61  Dalles  Mountaineer,  April  4,  1866;  Sacramento  Union,  March  31,  1866. 
Ewing  and  party  drove  the  same  team  and  buggy  from  Shingle  Springs,  Cal 
ifornia,  to  Silver  City,  Idaho,  including  stoppages,  in  eleven  days,  via  Union- 
ville,  Dun  Glen,  and  Queen  River,  finding  it  a  good  road.  Ruby  City  Ava 
lanche,  May  12,  1866. 

62  Something  should  be  said  of  the  precious  metals,  whose  existence  in 
Idaho  caused  its  settlement.     The  standard  of  gold  bars  being  1,000,  anything 
below  half  of  that  was  denominated  silver.     A  bar  495  fine  was  500  fine  of 
silver,  worth  $10.23^  per  ounce;  a  bar  950  fine  was  45  fine  of  silver,  and  was 
stamped  $19.63  per  ounce,  as  in  the  case  of  Kootenai  gold.     Santiam  gold 
(Oregon)  was  679  fine;  Oro  Fino  gold-dust  assayed  $16  to  the  ounce;  Elk  City 
from  $15.75  to  $16.45;    Warren's  Diggings  $10.08  to  $14.54;  Florence  from 


BULLION  PRODUCT.  441 

$11.80  to  $13.75;  Big  Hole  (Montana)  $17.30;  Beaver  Head  $18.37  to  $18.50; 
Bois6  §14.28  to  $17.40,  little  of  it  assaying  less  than  $15,  at  which  price  the 
merchants  of  Idaho  City  pledged  themselves  to  take  it,  while  paying  only 
$10  for  Owyhee  and  $12  for  Florence.  Boist  News,  Nov.  3,  1863,  and  Jan.  23, 
1864.  The  actual  amount  of  gold  produced  in  any  particular  district  of  either 
of  the  territories  for  a  given  time  would  be  difficult  of  computation,  and  only 
approximate  estimates  can  be  made  of  the  amounts  carried  out  of  the  country 
by  individuals  or  used  as  a  circulating  medium  in  trade,  and  gradually 
finding  its  way  to  the  mints  of  Philadelphia  or  San  Francisco.  Without 
vouching  for  the  correctness  of  the  estimates,  I  shall  quote  some  from  the  dis 
covery  of  the  Clearwater  mines  for  several  years  thereafter.  The  Portland 
Oregonian  of  Jan.  18,  1862,  gives  the  amount  brought  to  that  city  during  the 
previous  summer  and  autumn  as  $3,000,000,  but  this  was  not  all  Idaho  gold, 
some  being  from  Oregon  mines.  G.  Hays,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Report  for  Oct.  1862, 
says,  'I  should  think  between  $7,000,000  and  $10,000,000  a  fair  estimate'  for 
the  gold  taken  from  the  Nez  Perce"  mines  in  two  years.  In  six  months,  from 
June  to  November  1863,  the  express  company  shipped  $2,095,000,  which  was 
certainly  not  more  than  a  third  of  the  product  of  the  Idaho  mines  alone.  The 
Idaho  World  of  June  30,  1866,  placed  the  product  of  Idaho  and  Montana  for 
1865  and  1866  at  $1,500,000  monthly.  See  also  U.  S.  Land  Off.  Rept,  1865, 
15,  corroborating  it.  J.  Ross  Browne,  in  his  Mineral  Resources,  gives  the 
following  figures  for  1866:  Montana  $12,000,000,  Idaho  $6,000,000,  Oregon 
$2,000,000,  and  Washington  $1,000,000;  but  the  S.  F.  Chronicle  makes  the 
product  of  Idaho  for  1866  $8, 000, 000,  for  1867  $6,500,000,  for  1868  $7,000,000, 
for  1869  $7,000,000,  for  1870  $6,000,000,  for  1871,  $5,000,000,  suddenly 
dropping  in  1872  to  $2,514,090.  None  of  these  figures  can  be  depended  upon, 
the  government  reports  least  of  all;  but  they  enable  us  to  make  sure  that 
Idaho  and  the  twin  territory  of  Montana  had  furnished  the  world  a  large 
amount  of  bullion  without  yet  having  begun  in  earnest  to  develop  their 
mineral  riches. 

In  1864  an  attempt  was  made  to  obtain  a  mint  for  the  Boise"  basin,  and  two 
years  later  it  was  proposed  to  bring  the  North  Carolina  mint  to  Boise,  neither 
of  which  movsmeiKs  obtained  success.  In  the  first  year  congress  appropri 
ated  $100,000  for  a  branch  mint  at  The  Dalles,  a  measure  which  Portland 
strongly  discountenanced,  wishing  to  have  it  for  itself.  Before  the  mint  was 
completed  at  The  Dalles  it  became  apparent  that  on  the  construction  of  the 
Union  Pacific  railroad  bullion  could  be  shipped  to  Philadelphia  as  easily  as  to 
The  Dalles,  and  the  act  was  revoked,  which  was  a  definite  defeat  of  any  pro 
ject  for  a  mint  in  Oregon  or  Idaho.  An  assay  office  was,  however,  erected  by 
the  U.  S.  government  in  1870,  at  a  cost  of  $81,000.  It  was  of  sandstone,  60 
feet  square,  two  stories  high  above  the  basement,  and  well  finished.  It  was 
built  by  J.  R.  McBride,  once  U.  S.  district  judge  of  Idaho. 


CHAPTER  III. 

POLITICAL    AFFAIRS. 
1863-1885. 

GOVERNOR  WALLACE — TERRITORIAL  ORGANIZATION — JUDICIAL  AND  LEGIS 
LATIVE  MATTERS  —  ACTING  GOVERNOR  DANIELS  —  GOVERNOR  LYON — 
SECESSION  SENTIMENTS — CRIMES  AND  PUNISHMENTS — THE  MAGRUDER 
MASSACRE — VIGILANCE  COMMITTEES — POLITICAL  AND  HIGHWAY  ROB 
BERIES — ACTING  GOVERNOR  SMITH — THE  CAPITAL  QUESTION — LEGISLA 
TURES — CHARACTER  or  LYON — ACTING  GOVERNOR  HOWLETT — GOVERNOR 
BALLARD — GIBBS  —  MARSTON — CURTIS — BOWEN — BENNET — JUDGES  — 
GOVERNOR  THOMPSON  —  BRAYMAN — NEIL — BUNN — POLITICS — TERRI 
TORIAL  LIMITS — FEDERAL  AND  TERRITORIAL  OFFICERS. 

ON  the  22d  of  September,  1863,  more  than  four 
months  after  the  passage  of  the  organic  act  of  the 
territory,  William  H.  Wallace,  late  delegate  to  congress 
from  Washington,  appointed  governor  of  Idaho  by 
President  Lincoln  July  10th,  issued  his  proclamation 
organizing  the  Territory  of  Idaho,  with  the  capital  at 
Lewiston.  Owing  to  the  shifting  nature  of  the  popu 
lation  and  the  absence  of  mail  facilities,  the  fact  of 
this  organization  was  not  known  in  the  mines  till  late 
in  the  spring.  Meanwhile  the  laws  of  Washington 
were  held  to  be  in  force.1 

Much  irregularity  had  prevailed  in  municipal  affairs 
since  the  settlement  of  the  region  east  of  the  Walla 
Walla  Valley  had  begun.  Missoula  county  was  not 
represented  in  the  Washington  legislature  in  1862-3, 
the  member  elect,  L.  L.  Blake,  wintering  in  Boise" 
to  look  after  his  mining  interests.  Nez  Perce" 

1  'On  the  7th  of  August,  1863,'  says  the  Boist  News  of  Nov.  10,  1863,  'we 
have  the  first  mention  of  Idaho  Territory  on  the  county  records.'  James 
Judge  was  on  that  day  made  assessor. 

(442) 


ELECTION  OF  A  DELEGATE.  443 

and  Idaho  counties  sent  Ralph  Bledsoe  to  the  legis 
lature  that  session,  the  latter  having  been  organized 
by  a  meeting  of  the  commissioners  in  May  1862. 
An  election  for  representative  was  held,  T.  M.  Reed 
being  chosen  to  a  seat  in  the  assembly  at  Olympia. 
Boise  county  was  also  organized  under  the  laws  of 
Washington,  two  of  the  commissioners  —  John  C. 
Smith  and  W.  B.  Noble — having  met  for  that  pur 
pose  at  Bannack  (Idaho)  City  March  17th. 

When  it  became  known  that  the  territory  of  Idaho 
had  been  established,  much  impatience  was  felt  to 
have  the  government  organized,  and  a  representative 
elected  to  congress;  but  the  organization  being  de 
layed,  an  election  for  delegate  was  held  July  13th  in 
the  Boise  basin,  which  contained  the  majority  of  the 
population  at  this  time.2  The  proclamation  of  Gov 
ernor  Wallace  being  made  three  days  before  the  elec 
tion  took  place,  the  votes  for  delegate  went  for  noth 
ing.  Not  until  September  22d  did  Wallace  utter  his 
proclamation  ordering  an  election  for  delegate  and 
members  of  the  legislature,  to  be  held  on  the  31st  of 
October,  the  legislature  elect  to  meet  at  Lewisto» 
December  10th. 

Political  conventions3  had  been  previously  called, 
and,  as  I  have  before  mentioned,  two  campaign  papers 
were  published  during  the  canvass  for  delegate.  J. 
M.  Cannady  was  nominated  by  the  democrats  and 
W.  H.  Wallace  by  the  administration  party.  There 
was  a  short  and  warm  canvass,  followed  by  a  noisy 
but  bloodless  contest  on  election  day,  which  resulted 
in  a  majority  for  Wallace  of  about  500  votes.  This 
result  deprived  the  territory  of  its  governor,  and  made 
the  secretary,  W.  B.  Daniels,  of  Yamhill  county, 
Oregon,  acting  governor.  Daniels  had  but  one  com 
mendable  quality — the  complexion  of  his  politics. 

1  Robert  Newell,  union  democrat,  and  John  Owen,  disunion  democrat,  were 
candidates.  Portland  Oregonian,  July  16  and  31,  1863. 

8  Judge  Bently  was  president  and  W.  A.  Dally  secretary  of  the  democratic 
convention.  Lloyd  Magruder  of  Lewiston  was  talked  of  for  delegate  by  the 
democratic  party;  and  Gilmore  Hays,  formerly  of  Olympia,  of  the  republican 
party;  but  both  withdrew  on  the  wishes  of  the  conventions  being  made  knowm. 


444  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

Previous  to  his  election  as  delegate,  Wallace  had 
districted  the  territory,  the  counties  of  Idaho,  Nez 
Perce,  and  Shoshone  constituting  the  1st  district,  A. 
C.  Smith,  judge;  Boise  county  2d  district,  Samuel 
C.  Parks,  judge;  Missoula  county  and  the  country 
east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  3d  district,  Sidney 
Edgerton,  judge.4  Florence,  Bannack  City,  and  Hell- 
gate  were  appointed  for  the  holding  of  the  first  ses 
sions  of  the  United  States  courts. 

The  organic  act  fixed  the  number  of  representatives 
at  the  first  session  of  the  legislature  at  twenty,  thir 
teen  in  the  lower  and  seven  in  the  upper  house.5 

The  general  laws  passed  at  the  first  session  of  the 
Idaho  legislature  were  nowise  remarkable.  Among 
the  special  laws  I  find  that  Owyhee  county6  was 
organized  December  31st  out  of  the  territory  lying 
south  of  Snake  River  and  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains;  and  that  on  the  22d  of  January  the  county  of 
Oneida  was  cut  off  from  its  eastern  end,  with  the 
county  seat  at  Soda  Springs.  Alturas  county  was 
defined  as  bounded  by  Snake  River  on  the  south, 
Idaho  county  on  the  north,  Boise  county  on  the  west, 

4 Edgerton  was  chief  justice,  and  should  have  been  entitled  to  the  more 
populous  region  of  the  Boise"  basin,  but  Wallace  was  influenced  by  the  preju- 
'dice  against  imported  judges.  Alex.  C.  Smith  was  from  Olympia,  and  was 
given  the  district  containing  the  capital.  Parks  on  assuming  his  duties  iu 
the  2d  district  declared  his  hesitation  in  taking  the  place  due  to  Edgerton. 

5By  the  appointment  of  Gov.  Wallace,  the  seven  counciimen  to  be  elected 
were:  from  Boise"  co.  two,  from  Idaho  and  Nez  Perce"  one  each,  from  Missoula 
and  Shoshone  one  jointly,  from  Bannack  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains  one, 
and  from  all  the  remainder  of  the  country  east  of  the  mountains  one.  The 
election  resulted  in  the  choice  of  E.  B.  Waterbury,  Stanford  Capps,  and 
Lyman  Stanford  of  the  counties  of  the  1st  district;  Joseph  Miller  and  Ephraim 
Smith  of  the  2d  district;  and  William  C.  Rheem  of  the  3d  district.  Miller 
was  elected  president  of  the  council,  and  J.  McLaughlin  secretary.  Idaho 
Council  Jour.,  1863-4,  4,  16.  The  assemblymen  were:  L.  Bacon,  Nez  Perce" 
co. ;  C.  B.  Bodfish,  M.  C.  Brown,  R.  B.  Campbell,  W.  R.  Keithly,  and  Milton 
Kelly,  Boise"  co. ;  Alonzo  Leland  and  John  Wood  of  Idaho  co. ;  L.  C.  Miller 
of  east  Bannack;  J.  A.  Orr  of  Shoshone  co. ;  and  James  Tufts  of  Fort  Ben  ton 
district.  Tttfts  was  chosen  speaker,  S.  S.  Slater  chief  clerk,  Benj.  Need  asst 
clerk,  A.  Mann  enrolling  clerk,  P.  H.  Lynch  sergt-at-arms,  W.  H.  Rich 
ardson,  door-keeper.  Idaho  Scraps,  178;  Boise  News,  Jan.  2,  1864.  Judge 
Parks  administered  the  oath  to  the  members.  Rheem,  from  the  council,  and 
Parks,  with  a  member  of  the  assembly,  were  appointed  to  prepare  a  code. 

6  The  name  '  Owyhee'  is  borrowed  from  the  Hawaiian  language,  and  applied 
to  the  river  of  that  name  by  two  islanders  in  the  service  of  the  H.  B.  Co., 
while  trading  with  the  Shoshones.  Owyhee  Avalanche,  Dec.  1865. 


COUNTIES  AND  LEGISLATURE. 

and  the  meridian  of  112°  on  the  east,  with  the  ceunty 
seat  at  Esmeralda. 

Previously,  on  the  16th  of  the  same  month,  that 
portion  of  the  territory  lying  east  of  the  Bitter  Root 
Mountains  was  divided  into  the  several  counties  of 
Missoula,  Deer  Lodge,  Beaver  Head,  Madison,  Jef 
ferson,  Choteau,  Dawson,  Big  Horn,  Ogalala,  and 
Yellowstone,  with  their  county  seats  located  respect 
ively  at  Wordensville,  Deer  Lodge,  Bannack,  Vir 
ginia  City,  Gallatin,  Fort  Benton — Big  Horn  was 
left  to  the  county  commissioners — and  Fort  Laramic 
—Yellowstone  being  also  left  to  the  county  commis 
sioners,  who  should  name  a  county  seat.  The  fact 
that  eight  counties  in  that  portion  of  Idaho  bounded 
west  by  the  Rocky  and  Bitter  Root  ranges  should 
have  had  at  this  period  towns  which  might  be  named 
in  the  legislature  is  significant  of  the  rapid  growth  of 
population. 

The  legislature  proceeded  in  February  to  define  the 
boundaries  of  counties  already  organized  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  It  incorporated  Idaho  City 7  after 
changing  its  name  from  Bannack.  It  also  incorpo 
rated  Bannack  City  on  'Grasshopper  Creek'  in  Bea 
ver  Head  county;  and  Placerville  in  Boise  county. 
Among  the  laws  intended  for  the  moral  improvement 
of  society  was  one  "for  the  better  observance  of  the 
Lord's  day,"  which  prohibited  theatrical  representa 
tions,  horse-raising,  gambling,  cock-fighting,  or  any 
noisy  amusements  on  Sunday.  Another  act  prohib 
ited  the  sale  of  ardent  spirits,  fire-arms,  or  ammunition 
to  the  Indians.  This  law  allowed  Indian  evidence  to 
be  taken  in  cases  of  its  alleged  infraction.  A  law 
exempting  homesteads  from  forced  sales  looked  to  the 
permanent  settlement  of  the  territory.  Congress  was 
memorialized  to  appropriate  $50,000  for  the  construc 
tion  of  a  military  wagon-road  to  connect  the  naviga- 

7  The  charter  was  rejected  at  the  election  for  city  officers  by  a  vote  of  1,564 
to  1,376.  At  the  same  time  a  mayor  and  other  officers  were  elected.  The 
situation  partook  of  the  usual  absurdities  of  hasty  legislation. 


446 


POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 


ble  waters  of  the  Columbia  with  the  navigable  waters 
of  the  Missouri,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  forks  of  the 
Missouri  on  the  east  to  the  junction  of  the  Snake  and 
Clearwater  rivers  on  the  west;  also  to  establish  a 
mail  route  from  Salt  Lake  City  to  Lewiston;8  and  to 
treat  with  the  hostile  Indians  of  the  Yellowstone 
country.  The  pay  of  governor  and  legislators  provided 
in  the  organic  act  being  out  of  proportion  to  the 
expense  of  living  in  Idaho,  they  voted  themselves 
enough  additional  to  amount  to  ten  dollars  per  diem,9 
which  increase  was  to  be  paid  by  the  territory.  Then 
they  adjourned.  It  might  be  said  that  Idaho  was 


SEAL. 

now  fairly  launched  upon  its  territorial  career,  with 
the  promise  of  another  governor  in  the  person  of 
Caleb  Lyon  of  New  York.10 

8  Granted,  as  in  previous  chapter.  See  Idaho  Laws,  passim. 

9  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  Feb.  13,  1864.     This  action  was  recommended 
by  Acting  Gov.  Daniels  in  his  message.  Idaho  Scraps,  180-3. 

111  The  persons  in  territorial  offices  in  the  spring  of  18G4  were  W.  H. 
Wallace,  governor;  W.  B.  Daniels,  acting-governor  and  secretary;  B.  F. 
Lambkin,  auditor;  D.  S.  Payne,  marshal;  D.  S.  Kcnyon,  treasurer;  and  the 
U.  S.  dist.  judges  before  named.  The  seal  of  the  territory  adopted  had  the 
following  design:  an  eagle  with  outspread  wings  holding  the  point  of  a  shield 
in  its  beak;  a  rising  sun  in  the  centre  point  beneath  the  eagle  and  over  a 
chain  of  mountains.  Men  were  mining  ia  the  ravines;  through  the  fields  b»- 


CAPITAL  AND  GOVERNOR.  447 

But  the  career  of  the  young  commonwealth  was 
not  altogether  a  smooth  one.  There  was  a  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  men  of  Boise*  and  Owyhee  counties  to 
have  the  capital  removed  from  Lewiston  to  some  point 
more  central  to  the  population  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  there  being  already  a  scheme  on  foot  to 
erect  another  territory  out  of  the  eastern  counties. 
A  delegation  from  Boise*  visited  the  legislature  while 
in  session,  to  endeavor  to  effect  the  passage  of  an  act 
fixing  the  capital  at  some  point  in  that  county.  But 
there  was  sufficient  influence  in  other  parts  of  the 
territory  to  prevent  it.  And  here  began  the  same 
contest  over  the  matter  of  location  of  the  seat  of  gov 
ernment  which  had  been  witnessed  in  Oregon  and 
Washington  when  it  became  a  party  question. 

The  acting  governor  becoming  unpopular  through 
his  opposition  to  the  legislature  which  had  appointed 
Frank  Kenyon  public  printer11  —  Daniels  having 
threatened  to  give  the  printing  to  a  San  Francisco 
firm — and  other  injudicious  measures,  resigned  his  of 
fice  in  May,  leaving  the  secretaryship  in  the  hands  of 
Silas  Cochrane  until  another  appointment  should  be 

low  ran  a  stream,  over  which  an  immigrant  train  was  passing.  Stars  of  a 
number  equal  to  the  number  of  states  were  placed  around  the  rim.  At  the 
bottom  of  the  shield  were  the  words,  'The  Union;'  around  the  border,  'Seal 
of  the  Territory  of  Idaho;'  and  at  the  bottom  the  date,  18G3.  The  seal  and 
motto  were  changed  about  1869,  but  a  resolution  of  the  house  in  I860  had 
authorized  a  new  seal,  '  for  the  one  now  in  use  is  a  very  imperfect  imitation  of 
the  Oregon  seal.'  Idaho  Laws,  1865-G,  299. 

11  Keiiyon  was  publishing  the  Golden  Age,  started  by  A.  S.  Gould  Aug.  2, 
1862.  Gould,  a  republican,  had  hot  times  with  the  secession  element  which 
crowded  into  Idaho  from  1862  to  1865.  On  raising  the  U.  S.  flag  over  his 
office — the  first  ever  floated  in  Lewiston — 21  shots  were  fired  into  it  by  dis 
union  democrats.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Oct.  24, 1862.  John  H.  Scranton  succeeded 
Gould  for  a  short  time,  but  in  Aug.  1863  Kenyon  took  charge  of  the  Golden 
Age,  and  was  made  territorial  printer.  With  the  decline  of  Lewiston  and 
the  close  of  the  2d  volume,  Kenyon  started  with  his  paper  for  Boise"  City,  but 
was  turned  back  by  the  influences  brought  to  bear  upon  him.  It  was  sus 
pended,  however,  in  Jan.  1865,  and  was  ultimately  removed  to  Boise".  Walla 
Walla  Statesman,  July  29,  Aug.  12,  1864,  Jan.  13,  1865.  Kenyon  started 
tho  Mining  News  at  Leesburg  in  1867,  which  continued  8  months,  and  ex 
pired  for  want  of  support.  The  pi-ess  was  again  removed  to  Montana,  and 
Kenyon  afterward  went  to  Utah,  and  finally  drifted  to  South  America,  where 
he  died.  The  North  Idaho  Radiator,  published  by  Alonzo  Leland  in  the  in 
terest  of  a  division  of  the  northern  counties  from  south  Idaho,  with  Lewiston 
as  the  capital,  was  issued  first  in  Feb.  1865,  and  continued  until  Sept.,  when 
its  services  were  no  longer  required.  Leland  later  resided  at  Lewiston,  where 
tie  generally  conducted  a  newspaper. 


448  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

made.12  Lyon  arrived  at  Lewiston  in  August,  and 
assumed  office,  which  was  that  of  Indian  superin 
tendent  as  well  as  governor.13  He  visited  Boise  in 
October  upon  business  connected  with  the  superin- 
tendency,  and  was  well  received. 

Meantime  a  large  immigration  from  the  states  in 
rebellion  had  changed  the  complexion  of  politics  in 
the  territory.  Boise  county,  which  in  1863  gave  a 
majority  of  400  or  500  for  republican  candidates,  gave 
in  1864  between  900  and  1,000  majority  for  demo 
cratic  candidates.  As  there  were  many  in  Idaho  who 
were  disloyal,  nearly  every  criminal  in  the  country 
being  so,  and  as  nothing  in  a  man's  moral  character 
could  prevent  his  voting,  it  was  not  to  be  expected 
that  good  government  could  long  prevail. 

The  number  of  murders  in  Boise  county  alone  in 
1864  was  more  than  twenty,  with  assaults  and  rob 
beries  a  long  list.  The  county  had  for  sheriff,  previous 
to  the  election  in  October,14  Sumner  Pinkham,  born 
in  Maine,  a  faithful  and  fearless  officer,  although  a 

*  /  o 

man  of  dissipated  habits.  At  the  first  term  of  the 
district  court  held  in  the  2d  district  in  February, 
twenty-one  lawyers  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  pre 
scribed  by  the  legislature,  drawn  up  by  some  person 
or  persons  aware  of  the  coining  condition  of  society,15 

12  C.  De  Witt  Smith  was  the  second  appointment  for  secretary. 

13  Caleb  Lyon  of  Lyonsdale,  as  he  wrote  himself,  had  been  in  Cal.  in  1848, 
was  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  that  state,  and 
claimed  to  have  designed  the  seal  of  the  commonwealth.     He  was  first  consul 
to  China  under  the  Cushing  treaty,  had  served  in  both  branches  of  the  N.  Y. 
legislature,  and  also  one  term  in  congress.     He  assisted  in  settling  the  diffi 
culties  between  the  American  missionary,  King,  and  the  government  of  Greece. 
He  was  with  Scott  in  Mexico,  with  McDowell  at  Bull  Run,  and  with  Kearny 
in  McClellan's  peninsular  campaign,  having  fought  in   18  battles,  and  had 
come  at  last  to  be  governor  of  Idaho  and  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs. 
Portland  Oregonian,  Aug.  2,  1864;  Bois6  New*,  Aug.  13,  1864. 

"An  amendment  was  made  to  the  organic  act  in  1864,  providing  for  a  re- 
apportionment  of  the  territory  according  to  population,  based  on  a  census  to 
be  taken  under  direction  of  the  governor.  In  order  to  give  time  for  the  tak 
ing  of  the  census  and  reapportionment,  the  election,  which  by  law  fell  on  the 
1st  Monday  in  Sept.,  was  delayed  to  the  2d  Monday  of  Oct. 

15  'I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  support  and  defend  the  con 
stitution  and  government  of  the  United  States  against  all  enemies,  whether 
domestic  or  foreign;  and  that  I  will  bear  true  faith,  allegiance,  and  loyalty  to 


CRIMINAL  RECORD.  449 

and  seventeen  jurymen,  all  regarded  as  reliable  men. 
Nine  indictments  were  found  for  murder  in  the  first 
degree;  three  for  murder  in  the  second  degree;  one 
for  manslaughter;  for  assault  with  intent  to  murder, 
sixteen;  for  robbery,  two;  for  assault  with  intent  to 
rob,  one;  for  grand  larceny,  two;  for  perjury,  one; 
for  minor  assaults,  six;  and  for  obtaining  money  under 
false  pretences,  three;  making  a  total  of  forty-seven 
criminal  cases.  Add  to  these  an  equal  number  of  crimes 
committed  between  February  and  the  October  elec 
tion,  and  the  crowded  condition  of  the  county  jail, 
notwithstanding  an  extra  term  of  court  in  June  and 
a  regular  term  in  the  first  week  of  October,  may  be 
readily  conjectured.  The  cost  to  Boise  county  of  its 
criminal  business  down  to  this  date  was  over  $31,000, 
besides  the  expenses  of  the  courts,  coroner's  inquests, 
post-mortem  examinations,  and  the  erection  of  a  jail 
at  Idaho  City,10  which  amounted  to  $28,594  more; 
and  worse  was  to  come. 

An  examination  of  the  platforms  of  the  two  politi 
cal  parties  in  Idaho  on  the  eve  of  the  presidential 
election  of  1864  reveals  this  difference:  the  adminis 
tration  party  declared  it  to  be  their  highest  duty  to 
aid  the  government  in  quelling,  by  force  of  arms,  the 
existing  rebellion;  while  the  opposition  party  advo 
cated  putting  an  end  to  the  conflict  by  "peaceable 
means,"  or  a  "convention  of  the  states."  At  the  same 

the  same,  any  ordinance,  resolution,  or  law  of  any  state  or  convention  or 
legislature  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding;  and  further,  that  I  do  this  with 
a  full  determination,  pledge,  and  purpose,  without  any  mental  reservation  or 
evasion  whatever;  and  further,  that  I  will  well  and  truly  perform  all  duties 
which  may  be  required  of  me  by  law:  so  help  me  God.'  Those  who  chose  to 
affirm,  says  the  J3ois6  News,  Feb.  27,  18G4,  left  out  the  words  'swear' and 
'so  help  me  God,'  and  substituted  'this  I  do  under  the  pains  and  penalties 
of  perjury.' 

10  The  county  prisoners  had  been  kept  in  confinement  in  Placerville,  until 
in  May  1SG4  a  jail  costing  $13,000  was  erected  at  Idaho  City.  This  prison 
was  22^-  by  50  feet,  built  of  pine  logs  12  inches  thick,  squared  and  jointed 
down  flat,  and  lined  with  lumber  1-^  inches  thick.  It  contained  14  cells 
partitioned  with  4-inch  lumber,  on  each  side  of  which  was  spiked  an  inch 
board,  making  the  partition  wall  G  inches  thick.  The  ceiling  was  10  and  the 
floor  ISA  inches  thick.  The  jailer's  residence  in  front  was  an  ordinary  frame 
building  20  by  22  feet.  Such  was  the  historic  prison  of  early  Boisu  criminals. 
Hoist  News,  May  21,  18G4. 
HIST.  WASH.— 29 


450  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

time  it  declared  that  the  " interference  of  military 
authority"  with  the  elections  of  the  states  of  Ken 
tucky,  Maryland,  Missouri,  and  Delaware  was  a 
"shameful  violation  of  the  constitution;  and  repetition 
of  such  acts  in  the  approaching  election  will  be  held 
as  revolutionary,  and  resisted  with  all  the  power  and 
means  under  our  control."  In  one  breath  it  asserted 
its  aim  to  preserve  the  union,  and  in  the  next  that 
the  states  not  in  insurrection  had  no  right  to  use  the 
military  power  to  make  arrests,  deny  freedom  of 
speech,  the  right  of  asylum,  to  exact  "unusual  test 
oaths,"  or  to  deny  the  right  of  the  people  to  bear 
arms  in  their  defence;  all  this  being  alined  at  the  mil 
itary  orders  of  Colonel  Wright,  of  which  I  have  spoken 
in  my  History  of  Oregon,  and  the  oath  of  allegiance 
quoted  in  a  previous  note.  The  administration  was 
declared  to  be  shamefully  disregardful  of  its  duty 
toward  prisoners  of  war,  and  deserved  the  severest 
reprobation.  In  short,  the  platform  called  democratic 
was  nothing  more  than  a  menace  to  union  men,  and 
an  expression  of  hatred  toward  the  general  govern 
ment  which  could  not  be  misunderstood.  Bat  one 
union  man  was  elected  to  the  legislature,  and  the  only 
union  officers  in  the  territory  were  those  appointed  by 
the  president. 

The  result  of  the  election  was  to  awe  administration 
men,  although  they  preserved  a  regular  organization, 
and  were  ready  to  defend  themselves  and  their  prin 
ciples  if  attacked.17  But  while  some  might  seem  to 

17  It  is  evident  from  the  course  of  the  Boise  News  how  much  union  men, 
like  the  proprietors  of  that  paper,  were  alarmed  at  the  situation.  The  News 
called  itself  an  independent  paper,  because  it  dared  not  risk  being  an  out-and- 
out  administration  organ.  It  made  excuses  for  the  democratic  majority  of 
18G4,  by  saying  that  the  miners  were  driven  to  desert  the  administration  by 
the  policy  of  the  government  in  proposing  to  tax  the  mines.  The  very  next 
issue  announced  that  the  press  was  sold  to  the  democrats.  J.  S.  Butler,  in 
his  Life  and  Times,  MS.,  6,  acknowledges  that  he  'sold  the  best  newspaper 
field  in  the  world'  rather  than  encounter  the  opposition  of  the  disunionists. 
'It  was  all  a  union  man's  life  was  worth,  almost,  to  be  seen  showing  his  head 
in  early  days  in  Idaho.'  Knapp  and  McConnell  give  the  same  account.  H. 
C.  Street,  who  edited  the  Democrat  in  the  autumn  of  1863,  during  the  election 
campaign,  issued  a  semi-weekly  newspaper  called  The  Crisis  during  the  cam 
paign  of  1864.  Street  had  formerly  conducted  the  Shasta  Herald  and  Colinsd 
Sun,  and  was  of  the  James  O'AIeara  type  of  itinerant  secessionist. 


POPULAR  TRIBUNALS.  451 

surrender  their  principles  through  a  dread  of  conflict, 
few  were  willing  to  surrender  their  property,  to  pro 
tect  which  from  the  organized  and  unorganized  bands 
of  robbers  who  belonged  to  the  democratic  party,  the 
republicans  were  forced  to  adopt  the  methods  of  secret 
police  known  as  the  vigilant  system.  Not,  by  any 
means,  that  -every  democrat  was  a  robber,  or  even  dis 
loyal;  but  every  robber  and  secessionist  called  himself 
a  democrat,  and  the  party  did  not  deny  or  denounce 
him. 

I  have  treated  of  vigilance  committees  in  a  separate 
work,  and  give  here  only  some  examples  of  the  crimes 
which  led  to  the  adoption  of  irregular  and  illegal 
measures  for  their  suppression. 

The  rapid  spread  of  population  over  mining  territory 
outstripped  the  cumbersome  machinery  of  legislation 
and  the  administration  of  law.  Rogues  and  villains 
from  the  neighboring  states,  and  from  the  states  east 
of  the  Missouri  River,  flocked  to  a  country  where 
there  was  much  gold  and  property,  and  no  courts.18 
The  insecurity  of  life  and  property  in  transitu  upon 
the  highways  leading  to  and  from  the  mines,  and  the 
reckless  disregard  of  the  former  in  the  mining  towns, 
led  the  miners  of  Salmon  River,  as  early  as  in  the 
autumn  of  1862,  to  organize  a  vigilance  committee  at 
Florence,  which  action  served  only  to  drive  the  des 
peradoes  from  that  locality  to  some  other.19 

18  One  of  the  circuit  judges  of  Oregon,  who  visited  the  Salmon  River  mines, 
said  that  on  the  first  day  he  spent  at  Florence  he  met  there  three  men  who 
had  been  sentenced  by  him  to  the  penitentiary.  Or.  Statesman,  Sept.  8,  1802. 
As  late  as  18(56  Elijah  Wiley,  who  had  killed  Sutton  at  Centrevillo  in  18G3, 
and  been  sentenced  to  10  years  imprisonment,  was  released  upon  the  decision 
of  judges  McBride  and  Cummings,  that  in  the  interim  between  the  passage 
of  the  organic  act  separating  the  territory  from  Washington,  and  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  government  by  the  proclamation  of  the  governor  and  the  enact 
ment  of  laws,  there  existed  no  law  to  be  broken  or  to  punish  crime.  John 
Williams,  convicted  of  highway  robbery,  and  George  Owens,  sentenced  to  20 
years  for  killing  Jacob  D.  Williams,  chief  of  police  of  Idaho  City,  for  warning 
a  disturber  of  the  peace  to  desist,  were  released  on  the  same  decision.  Idaho 
World,  Aug.  16, 1865.  William  Kirby,  murderer,  was  discharged  on  the  same 
ground,  because  lie  killed  his  man  in  1862  when  Idaho  was  Washington. 

19 The  following  list,  taken  from  the  journals  of  the  times,  will  give  some 
idea  of  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Idaho  and  on  the  road.  Robert  Upcreek, 
shot  at  Oro  Fino  by  a  Frenchman  in  Sept.  1861.  Hypolite,  owner  of  a  large 
pack-train  and  §5,000  in  gold,  murdered  on  the  road  in  Oct.  1861.  Ned  Meany, 


452  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

Lewiston  was  the  second  community  to  organize 
for  self-defence,  and  the  occasion  was  one  of  the  most 
atrocious  crimes  on  record,  the  murder  of  Lloyd  Ma- 
gruder,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Lewiston,  two  men  named 
Charles  Allen  and  William  Phillips  from  the  Willamette, 
and  two  young  men  from  Missouri,  whose  names  have 
never  transpired.  Magruder  had  taken  a  lot  of  goods 
and  a  band  of  mules  to  the  Beaver  Head  mines,  realiz 
ing  about  $30,000,  with  which  he  started  to  return  in 
October.  Needing  assistance  with  his  pack-animals, 
and  desiring  company  by  the  way,  he  engaged  four 
men,  James  Romaine,  Christopher  Lowery,  Daniel 
Howard,  and  William  Page,  all  of  whom  he  had  seen 

killed  in  a  quarrel  at  Jackson's  ferry,  near  Lewiston,  Nov.  1881.  Two 
masked  men  entered  a  house  in  Lewiston,  and  in  spite  of  resistance  carried 
off  §500,  shooting  fatally  one  of  the  inmates,  in  Dec.  Matt.  Bledsoe  killed 
James  S.  Harman  at  Slate  Creek,  Salmon  River,  in  a  quarrel  over  cards,  Dec. 
1861.  Four  murders  were  committed  in  2  weeks  at  Lewiston  in  Aug.  and 
Sept.  18GO.  Three  murders  in  March  18G2  at  Florence.  William  Kirby 
killed  John  Maples  at  Lewiston  in  July  1863.  \Ym  H.  Tower,  while 
threatening  others,  was  shot  and  killed  at  Florence,  Feb.  23,  1863.  Neselrode 
was  accidentally  shot  at  the  same  time.  Morrissy,  a  desperado,  was  killed 
at  Elk  City  about  the  same  time.  Geo.  Reed  was  shot  by  Isaac  Warwick  in 
a  quarrel  about  a  claim,  April  1863.  Frank  Gallagher  was  murdered  by  one 
Berry  man,  with  whom  he  was  travelling.  At  a  ball  at  Florence  on  Xuw- 
Y ear's  eve  a  cyprian  was  ejected  from  the  dancing-room  by  0.  Rohbins  and 
Jacob  D.  Williams,  whereupon  Henry  J.  Talbotte  and  Win  Willoby  armed 
themselves  and  lay  in  wait,  firing  at  Williams  the  next  evening.  A  crowd 
of  men  who  witnessed  it  immediately  shot  both  Willoby  and  his  partner. 
Talbotte  was  known  among  horse-thieves  and  highwaymen  as  Cherokee  Bob, 
and  'a  chief.'  These  chiefs  boldly  and  facetiously  proclaimed  themselves 
'knights  of  the  road' and  'road-agents.'  With  painted  faces  they  stopped 
well-known  packers  and  merchants,  who,  if  they  had  not  much  money,  were 
threatened  with  death  the  next  time  they  travelled  without  plenty  of  gold. 
William  Peoples,  Nelson  Scott,  and  David  English,  a  notorious  trio,  robiied  a 
packer  of  100  ounces  of  gold-dust  between  Lewiston  and  Florence.  They 
were  arrested  at  Walla  Walla,  but  taken  from  the  sheriff  and  hanged  by  a 
company  of  expressmen  and  others.  One  Bull,  living  near  Elk  City,  kindly 
entertained  over  night  2  men  who  asked  for  shelter.  In  the  morning  the  men 
and  5  horses  were  missing.  Bull  followed  them  for  20  days,  coming  up  with 
them  at  a  camp  on  Gold  Creek,  265  miles  from  home.  On  seeing  him,  onu  of 
the  men  sprang  on  a  horse  and  fled;  the  other,  Wm  Arnett,  was  shot.  A 
party  pursuing  the  fleeing  robber  brought  him  back  and  hanged  him.  Enoch 
Fruit  was  a  chief  of  road-agents;  James  Robinson,  a  mere  boy,  was  one  of  his 
associates.  In  the  autumn  of  1862  they  were  prominent  among  the  knights 
of  the  road  between  Florence  and  Lewiston.  Both  met  violent  deaths. 
James  Crow,  Michael  Mulkee,  and  Jack  McCoy  robbed  three  travellers 
between  Oro  Fino  and  Lewiston.  William  Rowland  and  George  Law  were  a 
couple  of  horse-thieves  operating  on  Camas  prairie  near  Lewiston.  George 
A.  Noble,  of  Oregon  City,  was  robbed  of  100  pounds  of  gold-dust  between 
Florence  and  Oro  Fino  in  Dec.  1862.  Two  horse-thieves,  for  stealing  from  a 
government  train,  were  shot  dead.  Other  localities  suffered  in  the  same  way. 
See  Popular  Tribunals,  passim,  this  series. 


MURDER  OF  MAGRUDER.  453 

in  Lewiston,  and  who  were  well-appearing,  to  return 
with  him  to  that  place.  It  was  a  fatal  engagement. 
The  three  first  mentioned  had  gone  to  Beaver  Head 
with  no  other  purpose  than  to  rob  and  murder  Ma- 
gruder  on  his  way  home.  Howard  was  a  good-look 
ing,  bravo  young  man,  of  a  kindly  temper,  but  reck 
less  in  morals.  From  his  accomplishments,  including 
a  knowledge  of  medicine,  he  was  called  Doctor  or 
Doc.  Romaine  was  a  gambler,  not  known  to  have 
committed  any  crimes.  Both  of  these  men  had 
resided  at  The  Dalles.  Lowery  was  a  blacksmith  who 
had  been  with  Mullan  in  his  wagon-road  expedition, 
of  a  thriftless  but  not  criminal  reputation.  Page  wras 
a  trapper,  some  said  a  horse-thief,  who  had  lived  in 
the  Klikitat  country  opposite  The  Dalles.  He  was 
an  older  man  than  either  of  his  associates,  and  of  a 
weak  and  yielding  character,  but  not  vicious.20 

When  Magruder  was  about  to  start  he  was  joined 
by  the  other  persons  named,  Allen  and  Phillips, 
having  about  $20,000  in  gold-dust,  and  the  unknown 
men  with  some  money.  They  travelled  without  acci 
dent  to  a  camp  six  miles  from  the  crossing  of  the  Clear- 
water,  where  a  guard  was  stationed  as  usual,  Magru 
der  and  Lowery  being  on  the  first  watch,  and  the 
snow  falling  fast.  When  the  travellers  were  asleep, 
the  mules  becoming  restless,  both  guards  started  out 
to  examine  into  the  cause  of  their  uneasiness,  Lowery 
taking  along  an  axe,  as  he  said,  to  make  a  fence  to 
prevent  the  animals  wandering  in  a  certain  direction. 
Magruder  was  killed  with  this  axe  in  Lowery's  hands. 
Howard  and  Romaine  murdered  the  two  brothers 
about  midnight  in  the  same  manner,  and  soon  after 
killed  Allen  and  Phillips,  Allen  being  shot.  So  well 
executed  was  the  awful  plot  that  only  Phillips  cried 
out,  when  a  second  blow  silenced  him.  Page  appears 
to  have  been  frightened,  and  to  have  taken  no  part  in 
the  killing.  The  bodies  were  wrapped  up  in  a  tent 
cloth  and  rolled  over  a  precipice;  all  the  animals  ex- 

20  Dalles  Mountaineer;  Portland  Oregonian,  Nov.  G,  1SG3. 


454  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

cepfc  eight  horses  were  taken  into  a  canon  off  the  trail 
and  shot;  the  camp  equipage  was  burned,  and  the 
scraps  of  iron  left  unburned  were  gathered  up,  placed 
in  a  sack,  and  thrown  after  the  bodies  down  the 
mountain.  All  this  time  the  murderers  wore  mocca- 
sons,  that  the  damning  deed,  if  discovered,  might  be 
imputed  to  Indians. 

The  guilty  men  now  agreed  to  go  to  Puget  Sound, 
and  attempted  to  cross  the  Clearwater  forty  miles 
above  Lewiston;  but  the  weather  prevented  them, 
and  they  kept  on  to  Lewiston,  where,  partially  dis 
guised,  they  took  tickets  by  stage  to  Walla  Walla, 
and  thence  to  Portland  and  San  Francisco.  Some 
thing  in  the  manner  of  the  men,  the  mark  of  Cain 
which  seldom  fails  to  be  visible,  aroused  the  suspicion 
of  Hill  Beachy,  owner  of  the  stage  line,  who,  on  ex 
amining  the  horses  and  saddles  left  in  Lewiston,  be 
came  convinced  of  the  robbery  and  death  of  Magruder, 
whose  personal  friend  he  was,  and  whose  return  was 
looked  for  with  anxiety,  owing  to  the  prevalence  of 
crime  upon  all  the  mining  trails.  With  A.  P.  Ankeny 
and  others  he  started  in  pursuit,  but  before  they 
reached  Portland  the  murderers  had  taken  steamer 
for  San  Francisco,  where  they  were  arrested  on  a  tel 
egraphic  requisition,  and  after  some  delay  brought 
back  to  Lewiston  December  7th  to  be  tried.  The 
only  witness  was  Page,  who  had  turned  state's  evi 
dence,  revealed  minutely  all  the  circumstances  of  the 
crime,  and  guided  Magruder's  friends  to  the  spot 
where  it  was  committed,  and  where  the  truth  of  his 
statement  was  verified. 

Meanwhile  a  vigilance  committee  had  been  formed 
at  Lewiston,  which  met  the  prisoners  and  their  guard 
on  their  arrival,  and  demanded  the  surrender  of  the 
murderers;  but  Beechy,  who  had  promised  them  an 
impartial  trial,  succeeded  in  persuading  the  people  to 
await  the  action  of  the  law.  On  hearing  the  evidence, 
the  jury,  without  leaving  their  seats,  rendered  a  verdict 
of  guilty,  January  26, 1864,  and  Judge  Parks  sentenced 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEES.  455 

Howard,  Romaine,  and  Lowery  to  be  hanged  on  the 
4th  of  March,  which  sentence  was  carried  into  effect, 
the  gallows  being  surrounded  by  a  detachment  of  the 
4th  United  States  infantry  from  Fort  Lapwai.21  Page 
was  himself  murdered  by  Albert  Igo  in  the  summer 
of  1867. 

The  Magruder  massacre  alarmed  the  whole  coun 
try,  and  gave  a  stronger  motive  for  the  formation  of 
vigilance  committees  than  anything  that  had  occurred 
up  to  that  time  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Nev 
ertheless,  the  Lewiston  committee,  seeing  that  the 
courts  were  disposed  to  administer  justice,  disbanded 
about  the  middle  of  April,  having  hanged  three  mur 
derers  and  thieves,  and  exiled  200  gamblers  and  high 
waymen,  whose  absence  left  the  place  as  quiet  and 
orderly  as  a  New  England  village. 

But  these  outlaws  were  still  in  the  territory  or  on 
its  borders.  Owyhee,  while  having  its  mining  quar 
rels  and  occasional  crimes,  was  not  infested  with  crimi 
nals  to  the  extent  of  needing  a  vigilance  committee.22 
South  Boise  and  the  Lemhi  mines  were  cursed  with 
the  presence  of  desperadoes  overflowing  from  Mon 
tana,  where  a  very  active  committee  of  safety  was  in 
operation;  while  on  the  other  hand  Warren  had 
never  been  a  resort  of  villanous  characters — why,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  say,  since  they  followed  up  the 
trails  to  the  paying  diggings  in  every  other  instance.23 

21  This  was  the  first  case  in  the  courts  of  Idaho,  and  was  tried  at  a  special 
term,  the  term  of  court  at  Idaho  City  being  postponed  on  account  of  it.  The 
legislature  of  Idaho  authorized  the  payment  of  Beechy's  expenses,  amounting 
to  $6,244.  Suit  was  brought  against  D.  B.  Cheeseman,  superintendent  of  the 
branch  mint  at  San  Francisco,  to  recover  a  large  amount  of  gold-dust  depos 
ited  there  by  the  murderers.  Portland  Oreyonian,  Jan.  16,  1864.  Beechy 
died  in  S.  F.  May  24,  187-5. 

22 Maize  says:  'Society  was  exemplary,  except  some  high  gambling.  If  a 
man  was  caught  doing  anything  wrong,  we  just  killed  him,  that's  all.'  Early 
Events,  MS.,  7. 

23  'Nobody  thought  of  stealing  anything  in  those  days, 'says  Mrs  Sclmltz, 
who  kept  a  boarding-house  at  Warren  in  1862-4;  'and  it  is  well  they  didn't. 
There  was  only  one  shooting  scrape  in  Warren,  and  it  was  the  most  exem 
plary  town  in  Idaho.'  Early  Anecdotes,  MS.,  3-4.  James  H.  Hutton,  in  his 
Early  Event*,  MS.,  5,  in  which  is  given  the  history  of  Nez  PerciS  and  Idaho 
counties,  says  that  Warren,  in  the  spring  of  1863,  contained  6  stores  and  30 
residences,  the  miners  living  in  cabins  on  their  claims.  It  became  the  county 
seat  of  Idaho  co.  in  186'J.  John  Ramey  was  lirst  sheriff.  Huttoii  and 


456  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

The  Boise  basin  was  distinguished  above  every 
other  part  of  Idaho  as  "  the  seat  of  war,"  from  the 
frequency  with  which  blood  was  spilled  upon  its  soil. 
As  the  state  of  society  had  not  improved  with  the 
introduction  of  courts  of  justice,  and  as  politics  en 
tered  into  the  division  of  the  community  into  classes, 
the  union  men  of  Idaho  City  organized  themselves  to 
meet  the  coming  crisis,  precipitated  by  the  demo 
cratic  victory  in  1864. 

As  I  have  before  said,  robberies  and  horse-stealing 
were  carried  on  by  organized  bands,  who  had  little 
difficulty  in  clearing  the  'horse  ranchos'  where  the 
miners  left  their  animals  to  be  cared  for;  and  none  the 
less  that  the  keepers  of  these  ranchos  were  often  in 
league  with  the  thieves.  Settlers  and  farmers  in  the 
Boise  and  Payette  valleys  suffered  equally  with  the 
miners,  the  Indian  and  the  white  robbers  leaving  them 
often  without  a  horse  to  draw  a  plough  or  carry  their 
products  to  market.  This  was  the  plight  in  which 
W.  J.  McConnell,  a  gardener  on  the  Payette,  found 
himself  in  October  1864;  and  out  of  this  condition 
grew  the  first  vigilance  committee  in  the  Boise  basin. 

Having  discovered  one  of  his  horses  in  a  stable  in 
Boise  City,  in  recovering  it  by  process  of  law,  he 
found  the  costs  in  a  justice's  court  to  exceed  the  value 
of  the  animal.  This  he  paid  amid  the  jeers  of  a 
crowd  composed  of  idlers  and  disreputable  characters, 
who  rejoiced  in  the  discomfiture  of  'the  vegetable 
man.'  Thereupon  he  addressed  them  in  a  short 
speech,  which  contained  the  following  pertinent 
words:  "I  can  catch  any  damned  thief  who  ever 

Cocaim  built  the  first  quartz-mill  in  1868,  on  the  Rescue  mine.  Leo  Hofen, 
later  of  S.  F.,  in  a  History  of  Idaho  County,  MS.,  with  an  account  of  the  rise 
and  fall  of  placer-mining,  says  of  Warren :  '  One  thing  was  peculiar,  that  it 
was  free  from  the  hordes  of  moneyless,  lazy  ad  venturers  that  followed  Florence 
and  other  strikes.  The  population  was  made  up  of  old  steady  California  miners; 
and  for  the  10  years  I  lived  there,  there  was  no  murder  or  robbery  committed.' 
'Politically,'  says  Hutton,  'Idaho  county  was  as  200  to  30  in  favor  of  the 
democratic  party,  but  the  republicans  often  elected  their  men,  owing  to  the 
loss  of  returns  at  crossing  of  Salmon  Hiver. '  '  Fort  Lemhi  and  vicinity  con 
tained  a  hard  set  of  men,  much  unlike  those  of  Warren.'  Early  Events,  MS., 
6.  See  also  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  Aug.  1,  1863. 


PAYETTE  COMMITTEE  OF  SAFETY.  457 

stalked  these  prairies,  and  the  next  one  who  steals  a 
horse  from  me  is  my  Injun;  there  will  be  no  lawsuit 
about  it." 

A  few  days  later  $2,000  worth  of  horses  and  mules 
were  taken  from  his  rancho  and  those  adjoining. 
McConnell  and  two  others  immediately  pursued,  over 
taking  the  robbers  near  La  Grande,  killing  three  and 

O  '  O 

mortally  wounding  a  fourth,  in  a  short  and  sharp  con 
flict.  Finding  the  leader  of  the  gang  had  gone  to 
La  Grande  for  supplies,  McConnell  followed.  By  a 
series  of  well-devised  manoeuvres,  the  man  was  cap 
tured  and  taken  to  camp.  A  confession  was  exacted 
of  all  the  names  of  the  organizations  of  thieves  with 
which  these  men  were  connected,  and  the  prisoner 
was  shot. 

The  knowledge  thus  gained  by  McConnell  induced 
him  to  offer  his  services  to  recover  any  stolen  prop 
erty,  on  which  proclamation  most  of  the  farmers 
throughout  that  part  of  Idaho  joined  with  him  in  a 
compact  to  allow  no  future  depredations  to  go  unpun 
ished.  This  association  was  called  the  Payette  Vigi 
lance  Committee,  or  Committee  of  Safety,  whose 
history  is  full  of  strange  and  exciting  adventure. 

During  the  winter  of  1864-5  an  effort  was  made  to 
put  down  the  Payette  Vigilance  Committee,  by  ar 
resting  between  thirty  and  forty  of  the  members  as 
violators  of  law.  They  were  taken  to  Boise  City, 
where  the  business  men  engaged  counsel,  held  meet 
ings,  and  accomplished  their  release.  The  organiza 
tion  continued  to  exist,  and  the  farmers  had  no  further 
trouble  with  horse-thieves,  although  travellers  still 
continued  to  be  despoiled  at  a  distance.2* 

Among  the  many  crimes  committed  in  Boise  county 
in  1864  were  two  that  created  unusual  feeling  in  the 
breasts  of  its  solid  citizens;  namely,  the  unprovoked 

24  McConnelVs  Idaho  Inferno,  MS.,  1-53.  The  organization  was  never  dis 
banded,  says  McConnell  in  his  narrative,  but  exists  to-day.  This  manuscript 
is  a  vivid  picture  of  a  condition  of  society  which  can  exist  only  for  a  limited 
time  and  under  peculiar  conditions. 


458  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

shooting  of  J.  R.  Seeley,  an  inoffensive  and  respect 
able  resident  of  Idaho  City,  at  a  public  ball,  by  John 
Holbrook;  and  the  equally  unprovoked  shooting  of 
John  Coray  by  Fitz-Gibbons.  Holbrook  was  ar 
rested,  and  on  the  impanelling  of  the  first  grand  jury 
in  the  county  was  charged  with  murder  in  the  first 
degree,  but  on  trial  the  jury  failed  to  agree,  and  it 
was  found  impossible  in  his  case,  as  in  that  of  all 
the  others,  to  convict  him  of  murder  in  the  first 
degree.25 

CWay  was  arrested  and  confined  in  the  county 
prison,  while  elaborate  funeral  ceremonies  reminded 
the  community  hourly  of  its  bereavement.  Murmurs 
of  mob  violence  gathered  strength,  which  prompted 
the  stationing  in  the  jail-yard  by  the  authorities  of  a 
large  posse  armed  to  protect  the  prisoner.  On  return 
ing  from  the  burial  of  Coray  about  100  men  halted 
on  the  brow  of  the  hill  above  the  jail  and  prepared  to 
make  a  descent.  Judge  Parks,  who  was  present,  in 
duced  them  to  desist.  Nevertheless,  Fitz-Gibbons 
was  not  convicted  of  murder  in  the  first  degree  when 
his  trial  came. 

The  election  of  October,  by  putting  A.  O.  Bowen,26 
a  tool  of  bad  characters,  in  the  office  of  sheriff,  in  place 
of  Suinner  Pinkham,  a  good  and  brave  man,  did  not 
mend  matters.  In  December  Ada  county  was  set  off 
from  Boise  by  the  legislature,  with  Boise  City  as  the 
county  seat.  JD.  C.  Updyke,  a  rogue,  being  chosen 
sheriff.  Thus  the  Boise  basin  was  at  the  mercy  of 
desperadoes  in  office  and  out  of  it.  About  this  time, 
flour  and  bread  becoming  scarce,  the  idlers  and  des 
peradoes  attempted  to  help  themselves,  and  a  riot 
ensued.  This  was  followed  by  the  destruction  of 
Idaho  City  by  fire. 

In  July  18G5  the  crisis  came  in  Boise  county,  when 
Ferdinand  J.  Patterson,  a  gambler  and  disreputable 

'•"The  attorney  of  Boise'  district  stated,  in  1865,  that  about  60  deaths  by 
violence  had  occurred  iii  the  county  since  its  organization,  without  one  con 
viction  for  murder.  Boise  City  Statesman,  Sept.  3,  1865. 

26  'A  vascillating  wretch,'  Butler  calls  him.  Lij'e  and  Times,  MS.,  5, 


MURDER  OF  PIXKHAM.  459 

person,27  shot  and  killed  Pinkham,  the  murder  being 
well-known  to  be  a  political  one.  The  affair  happened 
at  the  warm  springs,  near  Idaho  City,  on  the  23d  of 
July.  Patterson  coming  suddenly  upon  his  victim 
with  a  threatening  expression,  Pinkham  attempted 
to  draw,  when  he  was  instantly  despatched.  Patter 
son  was  arrested  as  he  was  escaping,  and  examined 
before  Milton  Kelly  of  the  3d  judicial  district,  who 
had  him  committed  for  murder;  but  his  case  being 
presented  to  the  grand  jury,  the  indictment  was 
ignored  by  four  of  the  jurors,  eleven  being  for  indict 
ment.  A  preliminary  examination  before  Chief  Jus 
tice  McBride,  successor  of  Edsrerton  and  Silas 

'  O 

Woodson,  resulted  in  his  commitment  to  await  the 
action  of  the  next  grand  jury. 

Previous  to  the  killing  of  Pinkham,  who  was  re 
garded  as  the  leader  of  the  loyal  element  of  Boise* 
society,  no  vigilance  committee  had  existence  within 
the  precincts  of  the  mining  district  proper,  but  the 
action  of  the  grand  jury  in  ignoring  this  crime,  and 
threats  made  by  desperate  characters  to  burn  the 
town  a  second  time,  brought  about  an  organization. 
A  meeting  was  called  by  C.  S.  Kingley,  methodist 
preacher,  and  the  business  men  of  the  city  were  invited 
to  participate,  an  organization  being  formed  similar  to 
that  of  the  Payette  committee  of  safety,  Orlando  Rob- 
bins23  being  sent  to  confer  with  McConnell,  the  president 
of  that  organization,  and  to  solicit  his  aid.  The  meet 
ings  were  held  in  one  of  the  underground  warehouses  of 
which  I  have  spoken,  where,  between  rows  of  boxes 
and  barrels,  their  anxious  faces  dimly  revealed  by 
flickering  lanterns,  half  a  hundred  earnest  men  re- 

27  Staples  of  Portland  was  killed  by  Patterson,  who  was  acquitted  when  it 
was  shown  that  there  was  a  quarrel.  Patterson  was  educated  in  Texas,  where 
his  father  was  a  man  of  good  social  position.  He  came  to  Cal.  in  1850,  and 
fell  into  evil  ways,  but  not  for  some  years  did  he  engage  in  those  street  rights 
which  gave  him  the  reputation  of  being  a  dangerous  character.  He  was  shot 
in  ISoti  at  Yreka,  was  again  wounded  at  Sailor  Diggings,  Or.,  in  1859,  and 
engaged  in  several  other  shooting  affairs  before  killing  Staples  at  Portland 
in  1801.  According  to  McConnell,  he  scalped  his  mistress,  unintentionally 
however,  while  threatening  to  cut  off  her  hair  for  some  offence.  He  had 
been  but  a  short  time  in  Boise'  when  he  killed  Pinkham. 

28Robbins  was  in  1878  U.  S.  marshal  of  the  3d  district. 


4G9  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

solved  to  adopt  measures  for  the  better  protection  of 
life  and  property.  The  hanging  of  Patterson  was  de 
termined  upon,  but  the  purpose  of  the  committee  be 
coming  publicly  known,  the  sheriff,  James  T.  Crutcher, 
rallied  the  rough  element,  and  to  avoid  a  general  con 
flict,  the  case  was  allowed  to  go  to  trial.  Patterson 
was  acquitted,  and  realizing  that  his  life  was  in  peril 
among  the  friends  of  Pinkham  in  Idaho,  he  lost  no 
time  in  leaving  the  country.  But  the  avenger  was 
upon  his  track,  and  he  was  shot  down  at  Walla  Walla, 
in  the  spring  of  18GG,  by  order  of  the  committee.29 
Patterson  was  followed  to  the  grave  by  a  large  con 
course  of  persons  of  his  class,  of  whom  there  were 
many  in  Walla  Walla  at  that  time.33  His  death 
seemed  to  serve  as  a  warning,  and  there  was  a  per 
ceptible  lessening  of  the  crime  of  murder  in  the  Boise 
basin  thereafter. 

But  the  struggle  with  desperadoes  was  not  ended, 
when  Idaho  City  and  vicinity  experienced  some  relief. 
All  along  the  stage  route  from  Boise  City  to  Salt 
Lake  robberies  were  frequent  and  murders  not  rare. 
As  in  other  places,  resort  was  had  to  committees  of 
safety.  In  April  1866  John  C.  Clark,  a  gambler,  shot 
and  killed  Reuben  Raymond  in  a  quarrel  over  some 
accounts.  He  was  placed  in  the  guard-house  at  Fort 
Boise,  but  was  taken  out  in  the  night  by  vigilants 
and  hanged.31  A  few  days  afterward  David  C.  Up- 

29  See  Popular  Tribunals,  passim,  this  series.  Patterson  was  killed  by 
Thomas  Donovan,  who  was  a  night-watchman  in  a  hotel  at  Walla  Walla. 
McCormell  says  about  the  case:  'Arrangements  were  made  to  have  him  killed 
in  Walla  Walla.  He  was  killed  in  a  cowardly,  cold-blooded  way,  as  he  had 
killed  Pinkham.  The  man  who  killed  him  was  afraid  of  him,  he  having 
threatened  the  man's  life.'  Idaho  Inferno,  MS.,  71.  Donovan  was  tried,  the 
jury  disagreeing,  7  being  for  acquittal.  He  was  rearrested  in  S.  F.,  broiight 
back  to  Walla  Walla,  and  finally  released. 

30McConnell  states  in  his  Inferno  that  he  left  Idaho  in  the  autumn  of  1SG6, 
because  there  was  'a  hand  lurking  in  every  haunt  to  deprive  him  of  life,'  for 
the  part  he  had  taken  in  endeavoring  to  suppress  outlawry.  Idaho  hiferno, 
MS.,  88-9. 

31  Sec  Dalles  Mountaineer,  Apr.  4,  1863.  On  one  of  the  posts  of  the  gal 
lows  was  pinned  this  notice:  'Justice  has  now  commenced  her  righteous 
work.  This  suffering  community,  which  has  already  lain  too  long  under  the 
ban  of  ruffianism,  shall  now  be  renovated  of  its  thieves  and  assassins. .  .This 
fatal  example  has  no  terror  for  the  innocent,  but  let  the  guilty  beware  and 
not  delay  too  long,  and  take  warning."  Boise  City  Statesman,  April  10,  1806. 


HANGING  OF  UPDYKE  AND  DIXON.  4G1 

dyke,  ex-sheriff  of  Ada  county,  and  Jacob  Dixon, 
formerly  of  Shasta  county,  California,  were  hanged  on 
a  tree  on  the  road  to  South  Boise.  Updyke  had  re 
signed  his  office  of  sheriff  on  being  detected  in  trading 
in  count}7  warrants  and  failing  to  pay  over  to  the 
county  the  tax  money  collected.  A  grand  jury  was 
called,  which  preferred  two  indictments,  and  some 
papers  issued  preparatory  to  his  impeachment,  when 
suddenly  a  nolle  prosequi  was  entered,  and  the  whole 
matter  dismissed.  Such  was  the  power  of  his  friends 
who  had  elected  him.  The  attention  of  an  organiza 
tion  of  vigilants  extending  from  Boise  to  Salt  Lake 
City,  of  men  in  the  service  of  the  stage  company,32 
was  called  to  the  movements  of  Updyke,  who  was 
finally  proved  to  belong  to  a  band  of  highwaymen 
guilt}'  of  various  crimes,  among  which  were  some  ag 
gravated  cases  of  stage-robbery,  one  within  six  miles 
of  Boise  City  and  another  in  Port  Neuf  Canon,  near 
Fort  Hall,33  in  the  first  of  which  a  passenger  was 
wounded,  and  in  the  second  the  driver  killed.  For 
these  and  other  crimes  Updyke  was  hanged  with  one 
of  his  accomplices,34  the  others  escaping  through  the 
courtesy  of  the  law.  The  act  which  led  to  the  ex- 
sheriffs  takinof-off  was  the  malicious  burninsr  of  a 

~ 

quantity  of  hay  belonging  to  the  stage  company. 
The  perpetrators  were  traced  to  their  rendezvous  and 
captured,  when  Updyke  made  a  general  confession, 
which  revealed  the  names  of  the  gang  that  for  two 

**  'Ben  Holladay,'  says  McConncll,  'was  a  splendid  organizer.  He  had  a 
lot  of  men  around  him  \vho  were,  as  we  term  them,  thoroughbreds.  Every 
one  was  a,  fighting  man.'  Idaho  Inferr.o,  MS.,  53. 

a:i  The  governor  of  Idaho  issued  a  requisition  for  three  suspicious  characters 
detaincil  by  the  governor  of  B.  C.,  viz.,  George  Smith,  Lawrence  Duliigan 
alias  Brocky  Jack,  and  one  Murphy.  They  were  taken,  but  owing  to  a  delay 
about  the  papers  were  released,  and  escaped  in  a  boat.  The  Idaho  ollicers  who 
were  in  pursuit  chartered  a  schooner,  which  they  armed  with  2  swivel-guns, 
traced  them  to  and  captured  them  at  Orcas  Island  in  the  Fuca  Sea,  where 
was  a  large  amount  of  property  concealed,  with  boats  in  which  the  robbers 
miule  their  plundering  expeditions. 

310n  the  body  of  Updyke  was  fastened  a  card  reading:  'David  Updyke, 
the  aider  of  murderers  and  horse-thieves.'  On  Dixon's  body  was  this:  'Jake 
Dixon,  counterfeiter,  horse-thief,  and  road-agent  generally.  A  dupe  and  tool 
of  Dave  Updyke.'  Both  cards  were  signed  XXX.  Boise  City  Statesman, 
April  17,  1800;  Owyhee  Avalanche,  April  '21,  18G(i. 


4G2  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

years  had  infested  the  road.  This,  with  the  ex 
termination  of  Patterson,  cleansed  somewhat  public 
morals.  Whether  or  not  the  same  end  could  have 
been  attained  in  any  other  way  under  the  peculiar  con 
dition  of  the  territory,  overrun  with  the  concrete  ruf 
fianism  which  for  fifteen  years  had  been  gathering  on 
the  Pacific  coast,  to  which  protection  was  extended 
by  a  political  party,  will  never  be  known.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  in  Idaho,  and  in  Montana  which  was 
even  more  tormented,35  no  less  than  200  outlaws  wrere 
executed  by  committees  between  18G1  and  18GG.  Such 
a  carnival  of  sin  and  violence  could  never  be  repeated. 
Had  crime  been  confined  to  professional  criminals, 
vigilance  committees  might  have  crushed  it.  But  such 
were  the  temptations  to  dishonesty,  that  few  of  those 
who  had  the  handling  of  public  money  came  out  of  office 
with  clean  hands.  The  first  United  States  marshal, 
D.  S.  Payne,  was  removed  for  corruption  in  office. 
Alfred  Slocum,  treasurer  of  Boise  county,  was  ar 
rested  in  November  1865  for  defalcation  in  the  amount 
of  $13,000.  Charles  D.  Vajen,  treasurer  of  Boise 

35 The  vigilance  committee  in  Montana — then  eastern  Idaho — in  1SG3-4 
hanged  many.  The  desperadoes  had  become  so  bold  that  if  a  man  ventured 
alone  any  distance  from  his  house  he  was  attacked,  robbed,  and  often  mur 
dered.  Charles  Allen  was  set  upon  200  yards  from  his  own  door,  robbed  of  a 
little  money,  and  beaten  about  the  head  with  a  revolver  until  he  was  thought 
to  be  dead,  though  he  recovered.  After  many  such  outrages  the  work  of  retri 
bution  began.  In  Dec.  and  Jan.  1SG3-4  the  vigilants  of  Virginia  City  hanged 
21  professional  rogues.  Their  organization  numbered  1 ,000,  with  detectives  in 
every  mining  camp,  and  they  acted  with  the  utmost  secrecy  and  celerity, 
swooping  down  upon  a  brace  or  a  double  brace  of  the  men  they  had  marked 
at  the  most  unexpected  times  and  places.  In  13  minutes  they  hanged  them 
up  and  went  their  way.  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  April  15,  1804;  Boise  News, 
April  23,  18G4.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sheriff  of  Virginia  City,  Henry 
Plummcr,  was  himself  the  leader  of  a  band  of  outlaws  scarcely  less  well 
organized,  and  was  able  for  some  time  to  thwart  the  ends  of  justice.  But  he 
did  not  long  escape.  He  was  hanged  early  in  1SG4  at  Bannack,  being  one  of 
the  21.  On  his  person  were  found  the  names  of  85  of  his  clan,  with  records  of 
their  proceedings.  When  he  was  taken  he  wept  and  begged  for  mercy.  Salt 
Lake  VidMc,  Feb.  5,  18G4.  Boone  Helm,  long  a  terror  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
was  hanged  at  the  same  time,  '  hilarously  hurrahing  for  Jeff  Davis. '  Helm 
had  a  fearful  reputation.  He  attempted,  in  1858,  to  make  the  trip  from  The 
Dalles  to  Salt  Lake  with  several  others,  all  of  whom  perished,  Helm  being 
suspected  of  murdering  them,  as  they  had  considerable  money,  and  he  was  dis 
tinctly  accused  of  living  on  their  flesh,  and  of  boasting  of  it.  He  killed  sev- 
ei-al  men  in  the  mines.  Portland  Orsgonian,  Jan.  23,  18G3.  Of  this  class  of 
men,  a  correspondent  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  News  of  May  1SG4  says  the 
vigilants  had  hanged  27  before  the  middle  of  March. 


OFFICIAL  DEFALCATIONS.  463 

county  in  1863-4,  was  found  to  have  been  a  defaulter 
to  the  amount  of  between  $6,000  and  $7,000.  It  was 
notorious  that  many  officers  failed  to  render  any  ac 
count  of  their  trusts  in  Idaho  for  the  first  few  years, 
during  the  reign  of  mining  excitements  and  mob  law, 
and  it  was  little  that  the  territorial  judges  could  do 
to  bring  about  a  better  condition  of  society,  juries, 
grand  and  petit,  being  tampered  with,  and  witnesses 
as  well.  The  chief  justice,  McBride,  maintained  a 
character  for  integrity  and  industry  during  the  three 
years  of  his  judgeship;  but  it  is  still  a  conspicuous 
fact  in  the  history  of  the  territory  that,  notwithstand 
ing  the  great  number  of  capital  crimes  committed  in 
the  first  two  years  after  the  organization  of  the  terri 
tory,  the  murderers  of  Magruder  were  the  only  ones 
hanged  by  the  legally  constituted  authorities,  and  that 
robbery  in  office  as  well  as  highway  robbery  found  its 
defenders  in  society. 

Governor  Lyon  left  affairs  in  the  hands  of  the  sec 
retary,  C.  De  Witt  Smith,  a  native  of  New  York,  a 
young  man  of  promise,  educated  for  the  bar,  and  for 
some  time  employed  in  one  of  the  departments  at 
Washington,  but  who  could  not  withstand  the  temp 
tations  with  which  he  found  himself  surrounded  in 
Idaho.  His  honor  was  tainted  with  suspicion  of 
peculation,  arid  he  died  from  the  effects  of  dissipation, 
at  Rocky  Bar,  on  the  19th  of  August,  1865,  six 
months  after  his  arrival.36 

The  territory  was  thus  left  without  either  governor 
or  secretary.  Horace  C.  Gilson  of  Ohio,  who  had  been 
serving  as  acting  secretary  under  Smith,  was  commis 
sioned  secretary  in  September,  and  became  acting 
governor.  In  the  following  summer  he  too  became  a 
defaulter  in  the  sum  of  $30,000,  and  absconded  to 
China;  and  Governor  Lyon  made  such  unwise  use  of 
the  public  funds  as  to  amount  in  effect  to  robbin^  the 

•  O 

territory.37 

S6  Portland  Oregonian,  Aug.  25,  1865;  Boist  Statesman,  Aug.  27,  1865; 
Idaho  World,  Aug.  26,  1865. 

87  Sac.  Union,  April  4,  1867;  Idaho  Scraps,  194. 


4G4  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

Thus  while  the  county  officers  sequestered  the 
county  funds,  the  territorial  officers  either  stole  or 
squandered  the  money  appropriated  by  congress. 
One  of  the  channels  through  which  the  public  funds 
were  embezzled  was  the  territorial  prison.  An 
act  of  the  legislature  of  18G4-5  made  the  territorial 
treasurer  ex-offi'cio  prison  commissioner,  with  a  gen 
eral  supervision  of  the  territorial  prisoners,  the  county 
jails  of  Nez  Perce  and  Boise  being  designated  as  ter 
ritorial  prisons,  and  their  respective  sheriffs  keepers. 
The  next  legislature  made  the  Boise  county  jail  alone 
the  territorial  prison.  Thirty  per  cent  of  the  whole 
revenue  of  the  territory  was  set  apart  for  the  ex 
penses  of  this  prison,  besides  which  it  had  at  the  end 
of  two  years  brought  the  territory  $22,000  in  debt.38 

The  first  legislative  assembly  left  the  capital  at 
Lewiston  as  appointed  by  the  governor;  but  the  legis 
lature  of  18G4  passed  an  act  removing  it  to  Boise 
City,  and  appointing  Caleb  Lyon,  C.  B.  Waite,  and 
J.  M.  Cannady  commissioners  to  receive  a  deed  of  a 
plat  of  ground  in  that  town,  known  on  the  map  as 
Capitol  Square,  and  the  secretary  was  authorized  to 
draw  upon  the  territorial  treasury  for  the  money  to 
pay  the  expense  of  removing  the  archives  and  other 
property  of  the  territory,  the  law  to  take  effect  after 
the  24th  of  December,  18G4.  Such  was  the  reluc 
tance  of  the  people  of  Lewiston  to  having  the  capital 
removed,  that  the  majority  of  the  county  commission 
ers  refused  to  acknowledge  the  legality  of  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  assembly,  on  the  ground  that  the 
members  had  never  taken  the  oath  required,  but  had 
met  at  a  time  not  authorized  by  the  law,  with  other 
quibbles.  Meetings  were  held,  and  the  execution  of 
the  act  removing  the  capital  was  enjoined,  bringing 
the  case  into  the  courts.33  Associate  Justice  A.  C. 
Smith  decided  in  favor  of  the  Lewiston  party,  against 

88  Idaho  Laws,  18G4-5;  message  of  Governor  Ballartl,  in  Idaho  Scraps,  208. 

39  Idaho  Laws,  1804,  427;  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  Dec.  30,  1804;  Portland 
Orcgonian,  Jan.  12,  1805;  Richardson's  Missis.,  500;  Bristol's  Idaho,  MS.,  3; 
Boise  Statesman,  March  25  and  May  20,  18G5. 


CAPITAL  AND  NEW  COUNTIES.  465 

the  law-and-ordor  party;  though  if  the  truth  were 
told,  neither  cared  much  for  order  or  law,  but 
only  to  carry  out  their  schemes  of  ambition  or  theft. 
Governor  Lyon  had  escaped  all  responsibility  by 
leaving  the  territory,  and  the  new  secretary  sided 
with  the  legislature  and  Boise  party. 

There  seemed  to  be  no  way  out  of  the  controversy 
except  to  appeal  to  the  supreme  court,  which  the  law 
said  should  be  held  "  at  the  capital "  in  August  of 
each  year.  But  the  judges  did  not  hold  a  court  in 
either  of  the  two  places  claiming  to  be  the  capital, 
and  for  ten  months  there  was  anarchy.  Secretary 
Smith  died  in  the  midst  of  the  quarrel,  and  for  a  while 
there  was  neither  capital  nor  governor,  nor  even  sec 
retary,  as  I  have  said.  Finally  United  States  Mar 
shal  Alvord  received  orders  from  Washington  to 
take  the  archives  and  convey  them  to  Boise  City, 
the  capital  of  Idaho.  The  men  of  Lewiston  dared 
not  resist  the  authority  of  the  general  government, 
and  the  change  was  effected  in  the  latter  part  of  Oc 
tober. 

The  county  of  Ada  was  created  out  of  the  south 
western  part  of  Boise  county,  at  the  legislative  session 
of  1864,  with  the  county  seat  at  Boise  City.  Lahtoh 
county  was  created  out  of  the  territory  lying  north 
of  the  Clearwater  and  west  of  Shoshone  county,  with 
the  county  seat  at  Cceur  d'Alene.  The  remainder  of 
the  narrow  strip  of  territory  reaching  up  to  British 
Columbia  was  organized  into  the  county  of  Kootenai, 
with  the  county  seat  at  Sinnaacquateen.40 

The  legislature  of  1864  does  not  seem  to  have  made 
any  requests  of  congress,41  nor  was  there  anything 

40  The  county  boundaries  of  Idaho  gave  much  trouble  on  account  of  the 
mountainous  nature  of  the  territory,  and  the  lines  of  most  of  them  were 
several  times  altered.     Five  new  ones  were  organized  after  1865:  Lemhi  in 
1869,  with  the  county  seat  at  Salmon  City;  Cassia  in  1879,  county  seat  at 
Albion;  Washington  in  1879;  Custer  in  1881;  and  Bear  Lake  in  Jan.  1875, 
with  Paris  for  the  county  seat. 

41  The  following  were  members  of  the  council  of  1864:  J.  Midler  and  E. 
Smith,  Boise"  county;  E.  B.  Waterbury,  Nez  Perce;  S.  Capps,  Shoshone;  S.  S. 
Fenn,  Idaho;  S.  B.  Dilly,  Alturas;  J.  Cummins,  Owyhee,  president.     Mem 
bers  of  the  house:  H.  C.  Riggs,  W.  H.  Parkinson.  J.  B.  Pierce,  and  J.  Mcln- 

HIST.  WASH.    30 


466  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

more  remarkable  in  its  legislation  than  the  number  of 
bills  passed  granting  charters  showing  the  improve 
ments  in  roads,  ferries,  and  bridges.  The  legislature 

'  '  O  O 

of  18G5-642  passed  a  large  number  of  memorials  ask 
ing  for  appropriations  for  public  buildings,  and  other 
matters,  and  for  some  changes  in  the  organic  act,  so 
that  the  territorial  auditor,  treasurer,  and  superin 
tendent  of  public  instruction  might  be  elected  by  the 
people,  besides  praying  that  the  probate  courts  might 
have  jurisdiction  in  all  civil  cases  where  the  sum  in 
dispute  did  not  exceed  $1,000,  and  also  that  the  jus 
tice's  courts  might  receive  authority  from  the  legisla 
ture  to  settle  cases  where  no  more  than  $250  was 
involved. 

The  act  passed  by  the  first  legislature  providing  for 
the  increased  compensation  of  the  officers  of  the  ter 
ritory  was  amended  so  as  to  exclude  the  governor 
from  the  benefit  of  the  act,  and  to  increase  the  bene 
fits  accruing  to  the  attaches  of  the  legislature. 

Late  in  the  autumn  of  1865  Lyon43  returned  to 

tosh,  Bois<5  county;  E.  C.  Latta  and  Alexander  Blakely,  Idaho;  George  Zeigle 
and  T.  M.  Reed,  NezPerc6;  E.  C.  Sterling  and  Solomon  Hasbrouck,  Owyhee; 
W.  A.  Goulder,  Shoshone;  W.  H.  Howard,  Alturas  and  Oneida.  Blakely, 
speaker. 

12  Members  of  the  council  of  1865-6  were  S.  P.  Scaniker,  H.  C.  Street, 

A.  E.  Callaway,  and  George  Ainslie  of  Boise"  county;  H.  C.  Riggs  of  Ada; 
S.  S.  Fenn  of   Idaho;  E.  Bohannon  of  Owyhee;  and  S.  B.  Dilly  of  Alturas 
and  Oneida.     Bohannan,  president.     Members  of  the  house:  H.  Allen,   F. 
Campbell,  M.  G.  Looney,  I.  L.  Tincr,  J.  Carr,  J.  B.  Pierce,  C.  D.  Sayrs,  of 
Bois6  county;  J.  D.  Agnew,  M.  Smythe,  M.  R.  Jenkins,  of  Ada;  E.  T.  Beatty, 

B.  Crosson,  of  Alturas;  J.  W.  Carter,  D.  P.  Barnes,  E.  J.  Worley,  of  Owyhee; 
Alex.  Blakely,  J.  A.  liipson,  of  Idaho.     Blakely  speaker.  Idaho  Jour.  Coun 
cil,  1865-G,  4-9;  Idaho  Jour.  House,  1865-6,  4-5. 

43 Butler  says  of  him:  'He  was  a  conceited,  peculiar  man,  and  made 
many  enemies,  and  misappropriated  much  public  funds.'  Life  and  Times, 
MS.,  8.  Lyon  accepted  his  rcappointment  in  the  hope  of  gain.  While  in  New 
York,  pending  his  confirmation,  he  was  approached  by  one  Davis,  who  had 
in  his  possession  a  number  of  small  stones  which  he  declared  to  be  Idaho 
diamonds,  found  in  Owyhee  county.  One  of  them  sold  for  $1,000,  and  others 
for  less.  The  secret  was  to  be  kept  until  they  met  in  Idaho,  but  Lyon  arriv 
ing  first,  and  after  waiting  for  some  time,  having  become  convinced  that 
Davis  was  drowned  on  the" Brother  Jonathan,  went  to  Owyhee  and  imparted 
his  secret  to  D.  H.  Fogus,  to  whom  he  presented  one  of  his  diamonds,  receiv 
ing  in  return  a  silver  bar  M'orth  $500.  One  evening  the  governor  and  the 
miner  stole  away  over  the  hills  toward  the  diamond-fields,  as  described  by 
Davis,  under  cover  of  night,  to  make  a  prospect.  But  the  sharp  eyes  of  other 
miners  detected  the  movement,  and  they  were  followed  by  a  small  army  of 
treasure-seekers  who  aided  in  the  search.  'The  result,'  says  Maize,  'of  two 
days'  hunting  was  several  barrels  full  of  bright  quartz  and  shiny  pebbles. 


GOVERNORS.  467 

Idaho,  having  been  reappointed  governor,  and  inter 
ested  himself  in  creating  a  diamond  insanity  which 
ruined  many  a  better  man,  while  he  lent  his  signature 
to  any  and  every  bill  of  the  most  disloyal  and  vulgar- 
minded  legislature  that  ever  disgraced  the  legislative 
office,  except  the  one  that  followed  it,  the  single  act 
which  he  dared  not  sign  being  one  to  nullify  the  test 
oath.  His  appointments  were  equally  without  re 
gard  to  the  welfare  of  society  and  the  territory;  and 
after  six  months  of  such  an  administration,  he  once 
more  abandoned  his  post,  suddenly  and  finally.  The 
territorial  secretary,  Gilson,  was  succeeded  by  Lyon's 
private  secretary,  S.  R.  Howlett,  who  filled  the  ex 
ecutive  office  until  June  1866,  when  David  W.  Ballard 
of  Yamhill  county,  Oregon,  was  appointed,  and  arrived 
in  the  territory  to  inaugurate  a  different  condition 
of  gubernatorial  affairs,  Howlett  being  appointed  to 
fill  the  secretary's  office. 

The  organic  law  gave  members  of  the  legislature  four 
dollars  per  diem,  and  four  dollars  for  every  twenty 
miles  of  travel  to  reach  the  capital.  The  territorial 
law  gave  legislators  six  dollars  per  diem  additional, 
which  sum  of  ten  dollars  a  day  was  not  too  great  dur 
ing  the  first  year  or  two  of  territorial  existence,  when 
the  necessaries  of  life  cost  high.  But  this  was  now 
uncalled  for.  The  same  act  which  raised  the  per  diem 
of  the  legislators  doubled  the  salary  of  the  governor, 
making  it  $5,000  per  annum,  and  also  doubled  that  of 
the  secretary,  making  it  $3,000,  while  the  pav  of 
clerks  and  other  officers  was  proportionately  increased, 
the  whole  territorial  tax  to  support  this  extra  pay 
amounting  to  $16,000  yearly.  The  legislature  of  1865 
had  passed  an  act  abolishing  the  extra  pay  of  the  gov 
ernor  and  secretary,  but  retaining,  and  even  increasing, 

Lyon  was  greatly  disappointed,  and  showed  us  the  specimens,  which  I  saw, 
and  on  one  of  which  the  carbon  was  not  completely  crystallized.'  Early  Events, 
MS.,  9.  Maize  says  that  ho  has  found  stones  described  in  mineralogical 
works  as  allied  to  the  diamond,  a  number  of  times,  along  the  beach  line  of 
the  ancient  sea  which  once  filled  the  Snake  River  basin.  A  newspaper  cor 
respondent  calls  Lyon  'a  revolving  lighten  the  coast  of  scampdom.'  Idaho 
Scraps,  194. 


463  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

their  own  or  that  of  their  clerks.  Becoming  ashamed 
of  this  arbitrary  exercise  of  power,  they  restored  it  a 
few  clays  afterward  by  another  act. 

Ballard,  learning  that  the  present  legislature  was 
about  to  deprive  him  of  his  extra  pay,  and  that  of 
the  secretary,  sent  in  a  special  message,  very  artfully 
worded,  approving  of  the  measure,  and  suggesting 
that  the  territory  might  be  saved  the  whole  of 
the  $16,000,  and  congress  relied  upon  to  furnish  the 
funds  necessary  to  support  the  federal  branch  of  the 
government,  as  in  other  territories.  Upon  this  provo 
cation  there  began  and  continued  throughout  the  ses 
sion  a  series  of  insults  to  the  executive,  requiring 
extraordinary  nerve  to  meet  with  self-possession.44 

A  quarrel  was  also  sought  with  the  secretary,  who 
was  treated  with  scorn,  as  successor  to  the  scandals 
of  his  office.  With  a  virtuous  air,  the  legislature  de 
manded  information  concerning  the  amount  of  federal 
appropriations,  the  money  received,  and  the  corre 
spondence  with  the  treasury  department.  Howlett 
replied  that  the  statement  given  in  the  governor's 
annual  message  was  correct;  that  he  found  Secretary 
Smith  to  have  expended  $9,938  for  the  territory,  but 
that  he  had  no  knowledge  of  any  other  money  having 
been  received  by  previous  secretaries,  nor  had  he  re 
ceived  any,  although  he  had  applied  for  $27,000  on 
the  approval  of  his  bond  for  $50,000.45 

The  legislature  chose  to  ignore  Hewlett's  answer, 
and  telegraphed  to  McCulloch,  secretary  of  the 
United  States  treasury,  alleging  that  Howlett  had 
refused  to  give  the  information  sought.  This  brought 
the  statement  from  the  department  that  $53,000  had 
been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  former  secretaries,  and 

"Said  S.  P.  Scaniker:  'Does  he  suppose  we  shall  consent  to  it?  By  the 
eternal  God,  I  will  never  consent  to  it,  and  I  do  not  believe  the  house  will 
submit  to  it,  for  the  governor  to  say  we  shall  act  thus  and  so.  When  wo 
want  any  recommendations  of  that  sort  we  will  let  him  know.  We  didn't 
appoint  liiin  governor.  We  didn't  elect  him  governor.  He  is  no  part  or 
parcel  with  us.'  This  language  was  tame  in  comparison  with  some  of  the 
blasphemous  abuse  heaped  upon  the  '  imported  governor  from  Yamhill  county, 
Oregon.'  Idaho  Scraps,  193. 

^ Idaho  Jour.  Council,  1S6G-7,  02;  Idaho  Scraps,  193. 


A  LAWLESS  LEGISLATURE.  439 

that  $20,000  had  that  clay  been  placed  to  Hewlett's 
credit.  This  was  the  knowledge  that  they  had  been 
thirsting  for,  as  it  was  a  promise  of  the  speedy  pay 
ment  of  their  per  diern. 

Meantime  the  governor  was  resolutely  vetoing 
such  bills  as  conflicted  with  the  organic  act,  and  other 
congressional  acts  or  established  and  beneficent  laws 
of  the  territory.  Few  of  the  members  had  taken  the 
prescribed  oath  of  office,  but  had  devised  an  oath 
wliich  evaded  the  main  point  in  all  official  oaths, 
allegiance  to  the  government,  which  Avas  passed  over 
the  governor's  veto.  In  this  manner  was  passed  the 
act  abolishing  the  extra  pay  of  the  governor  and 
secretary;  an  act  taking  from  the  executive  the  appoint 
ing  power,  regardless  of  the  organic  act,  and  lodging 
it  with  themselves,  or  the  county  commissioners;  and 
a  bill  appropriating  $30,000  for  sectarian  schools. 
This  bill,  a  substitute  for  an  act  passed  at  the 
previous  session  to  establish  a  common-school  system, 
provided  for  the  issue  of  territorial  bonds  to  the 
amount  of  $30,000,  drawn  in  favor  of  F.  N.  Blanchet, 
archbishop  of  Oregon,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of 
ten  per  cent  per  annum,  and  redeemable  by  funds 
arising  from  the  sale  of  the  3Gth  section  of  school 
lands.40  And  so  with  every  bill  vetoed  by  the  gov 
ernor,  they  passed  it  over  his  head  by  acclamation. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  harmless  acts,  all  were 
made  with  a  motive  to  defy  the  administration,  and 
grasp  the  money  and  the  power  derived  from  it  and 
from  the  territorial  officers.  Howlett,  during  these 
proceedings,  had  been  in  correspondence  with  the 
treasury  department,  and  had  given  information  con 
cerning  the  refusal  of  the  majority  of  the  members  to 
take  the  oath  of  office,  on  which  instructions  had  been 
issued  to  him  to  withhold  their  pay.  This  order 
raised  a  tempest.  Resolutions  were  passed  charging 
the  secretary  with  everything  vile,  and  demanding 

46  Idaho  Times,  in  Owyliee  Avalanche,  Jan.  19,  18G7.  Congress  had  the 
power  to  disapprove,  and  did  disapprove,  of  these  laws. 


470  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

his  removal  from  office.  This  was  followed  by  threats 
of  personal  violence.  The  secretary  then  called  on 
the  United  States  marshal  for  protection,  who  in  turn 
called  upon  the  military  at  Fort  Boise,  and  a  squad 
of  infantry  was  stationed  in  front  of  the  legislative 
hall,  which  only  increased  the  violence  of  the  disloyal 
members.  To  avert  a  collision,  judges  McBride  and 
Cummings  recommended  Hewlett  to  pay  all  such  as 
would  then  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  which,  on  the 
following  day,  the  majority  consented  to  do,  and  the 
threatened  emeute  was  prevented.47  This  law-making 
body,  elected  by  rebellion  sympathizers,  has  been 
styled  the  'guerrilla  legislature.'  "The  third  session," 
writes  one,  "was  by  all  good  men,  irrespective  of 
party,  pronounced  infamous,  but  this  one  is  Satanic."48 
Ballard's  policy  as  governor  was  such  that  his  polit 
ical  opponents  very  much  desired  to  get  him  out  of 
office.49  Holbrook  had  been  reflected50  delegate  in 
1866,  and  was  in  Washington  for  the  furtherance  of 
any  schemes  concocted  by  his  constituents,  the  prin 
cipal  one  being  a  plan  by  which  Ballard  could  be  un 
seated  and  a  man  put  in  his  place  who  could  be  used 

47  Idaho  Jour.  House,  1866-7,  412;  Owyhee  Avalanche,  Jan.  19,  1867;  Boisi 
Statesman,  Jan.  15,  1867. 

'  48iS'ac.  Union,  Jan.  25,  1867.  The  members  of  the  council  in  1S66-7  were 
S.  P.  Scaniker,  H.  C.  Street,  George  Ainslie,  E.  A.  Stevenson,  of  BoistS 
county;  H.  C.  Biggs  of  Ada;  A.  M.  Quivey  of  Alttiras;  L.  P.  Brown  of 
Nez  Perce;  S.  S.  Fenn  of  Idaho;  M.  A.  Carter  of  Oneida;  R.  T.  Miller^of 
Owyhee;  W.  H.  Hudson  of  Shoshone.  Ainslie,  president.  Members  of  the 
house:  F.  W.  Bell,  George  Stafford,  W.  L.  Law,  W.  H.  Parkinson,  of  Bois6 
county;  G.  W.  Paul,  John  Cozad,  A.  W.  Flournoy,  Ada;  B.  J.  Nordyke, 
Nelson  Davis,  Alturas;  D.  G.  Monroe,  A.  Englis,  Owyhee;  A.  McDonald,  J. 
C.  Harris,  Idaho;  W.  F.  McMillen,  Shoshone;  Henry  Ohle,  Oneida;  J.  S. 
Taylor,  Nez  Perc6.  Flournoy  speaker.  Idaho  Jour.  Legist.  Assembly,  1-7, 
221-3. 

49  David  W.  Ballard  was  a  native  of  Indiana,  and  an  immigrant  to  Oregon 
in  1852.     He  was  a  physician  by  profession,  but  had  served  in  the  Oregon 
legislature  from  Linn  "countv.     A  mild-mannered  man,  but  fearless.  £o-is6 
Statesman,  April  4,  1868;  Idaho  Scraps,  194. 

50  Holbrook  is  said  to  have  studied  at  Oberlin  college,  Ohio.     He  came  to 
the  Pacific  coast  in  1859,  and  practised  law  for  a  short  time  at  "\Veaverville, 
Cal.     He  followed  the  rush  to  the  Nez  Perc6  mines,  and  thence  to  Bois<5. 
He    drank   whiskey  freely,    and    had   pluck   and   assurance,  although   his 
attainments  were  mediocre.     His  age,  when  elected  in  1864,  was  under  30 
years.     His  services  to  the  territory  were  the  securing  of  the  penitentiary  ap 
propriation  and  U.  S.  assay  office.     He  was  shot  and  killed  by  Charles  Doug 
lass  while  sitting  in  front  of  his  law  office  in  June  1870.  Boise  Statesman, 
June  25,  1870. 


GOVERNOR  BALLARD.  471 

for  gain;  and  in  this  they  were  so  nearly  successful 
that  in  the  summer  of  1867  President  Johnson  was 
induced  to  suspend  Governor  Ballard  and  nominate 
Isaac  L.  Gibbs.  But  before  the  commission  was  made 
out  Johnson  had  changed  his  mind.  A  letter  con 
taining  a  notice  of  suspension  had,  however,  been  sent 
to  Ballard,  which,  being  forgotten,  was  not  revoked 
until  November,  when  he  was  restored  to  office.51 

Idaho  continued  to  be  democratic,  but  gradually 
the  more  objectionable  representatives  of  the  party 
\vere  discountenanced  and  dropped  out  of  sight.  In 
18G8  J.  K.  Shafer52  was  elected  delegate  over  T.  J. 
Butler,  founder  of  the  Boise  News,  the  pioneer  news 
paper  of  southern  Idaho.53  The  last  two  years  of 

51  John  M.  Murphy  of  Idaho  was  first  nominated.     The  trickery  by  which 
the  suspension  of  Ballard  was  effected  has  been  explained  thus:  In  March 
1807  congress  appropriated  several  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  be  expended 
by  the  Indian  department  in  Idaho,  and  this  money  it  was  desirable  to  have 
disbursed  by  democratic  officers.     To  this  end  the  department  was  brought 
to  declare  that  it  did  not  recognize  Ballard  as  superintendent,  although  by 
the  organic  law  of  the  territory  that  was  his  office.     Fraudulent  charges  and 
false  certificates  were  used,  and  influences  brought  to  bear  amounting  to  the 
repudiation  of  Ballard  as  governor  by  the  territory;  consequently  the  money, 
which  must  be  disbursed  to  put  an  end  to  Indian  wars,  could  not  be  paid  out 
until  another  appointment  was  made.     Gibbs'  name  being  sent  in,  and  the 
senate  about  to  adjourn,  the  nomination  was  confirmed.     But  some  facts 
coming  to  light,  the  senate  withdrew  its  confirmation  by  reconsidering  the 
matter,  and  finally  laying  it  on  the  table  ten  minutes  before  adjournment. 
Boise  Statesman,  Sept.  14,  1867.     President  Johnson  then  reappointed.  under 
the  provisions  of  the  tenure-of-office  law  permitting  him,  during  a  recess  of 
congress,  to  suspend  on  satisfactory  evidence  of  crime,  misconduct  in  office, 
or  disability.     Within  20  days  after  the  reassembling  of  the  senate  the  pro 
test  of  the  loyal  people  of  Idaho  was  laid  before  it,  and  Ballard  was  reinstated, 
Attorney-general  Stanberry  holding  that  his  removal  during  recess  was  not 
legal.  Owyhce  Avalanche,  Sept.  21,  1807. 

52  Shafer  was  a  lawyer  of  ability;  immigrated  to  Cal.  in  1849;  was  a  native 
of  Lexington,  Va,  and  graduate  of  the  college  at  that  place;   'was  first  dist 
atty  of  San  Joacpiin  co. ,  and  for  10  years  judge  of  the  dist  court  of  said  county;' 
went  to  Idaho  as  a  pioneer;   possessed  fine  literary  attainments  and  irre 
proachable  character.     Died  at  Eureka,  Nev.,  Nov.  22,  1876.  Owyhee  Ava 
lanche,  Dec.  2,  1876. 

5:5  There  were  a  few  newspapers  started  for  political  effect  about  this  time. 
The  Times  of  Idaho  City  was  independent.  The  Idaho  Index,  published  at 
Silver  City,  Owyhee,  by  W.  G.  T'Vault,  about  June  1,  1866,  was  democratic. 
The  Territorial  Enterprise  was  started  in  1S66;  the  Salmon  City  Alining  News 
in  1807  by  Frank  Kenyon,  afterward  removed  to  Montana;  the  Baix6  Demo 
crat,  first  issued  Nov.  29,  1867,  at  Boise"  City,  by  Buchanan  &  Carleton, 
former  proprietors  of  the  Bulletin  of  Silver  City;  in  Feb.  1868  the  Democrat 
was  sold  to  Bail  &  Carleton,  and  in  June  1868  it  was  discontinued.  The 
Lewiston  Journal  was  issued  Jan.  17,  1807,  by  A.  Leland  &  Son;  a  non-par- 


472  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

Ballard's  administration  was  peaceful  as  it  was  wise 
and  energetic.  On  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office 
two  thirds  of  the  citizens  of  Idaho  territory  volun 
tarily  petitioned  for  his  reappointment,54  but  another 
appointment  had  been  made,55  that  of  Gilman  Marston 
of  New  Hampshire.  Secretary  Hewlett  was  also  dis 
placed  by  the  appointment  of  E.  J.  Curtis,  who — 
Governor  Marston  not  yet  having  arrived — delivered 
the  annual  message  to  the  legislature  of  1870,  and 
remained  acting  governor56  for  a  year  and  a  half, 
during  which  time  Marston  resigned  and  Thomas  A. 
Bowen  was  appointed  governor,57  who  also  resigned, 
when  Thomas  W.  Bennett58  was  appointed,  and  ac 
cepted.  Idaho  did  not  appear  to  men  at  a  distance 
to  be  much  of  a  paradise,  politically  or  otherwise. 
The  republicans  again  put  forward,  in  1870,  T.  J. 
Butler  as  a  candidate  for  the  delegateship,  but  he  was 
again  defeated  by  the  democratic  candidate,  S.  A. 

tisan  journal.  It  suspended  in  Feb.  1872.  The  newspapers  which  succeeded 
the  Journal  at  Lewiston  were  the  Signal,  begun  immediately  after  the  sus 
pension  of  the  Journal,  which  lived  about  two  years,  to  be  succeeded  by  the 
Northerner  for  two  years  more,  and  again  by  the  Teller,  A.  Leland  editor  and 
proprietor,  in  1876.  The  Idaho  Herald  was  started  at  Bois6  City  in  October 
1871,  surviving  only  until  April  1872.  The  Bois6  Republican,  established  at 
Bois<5  City  March  1,  1879,  was  at  that  date  the  largest  journal  published  in 
Idaho,  and  by  its  prosperity  illustrated  the  change  in  political  sentiment. 
Published  by  Daniel  Bacon.  The  Yankee  Fork  Herald  was  established  at 
Bonanza  City  July  24,  1879,  by  Mark  W.  Musgrove,  who  also  started  the 
Altut as  Miner  in  1880.  See  Shoup's  Idaho  Tcr.,  MS.,  9;  Yankee  Fork  Her 
ald,  April  3,  1880;  S.  F.  Alfa,  Oct.  G,  1867;  U.  S.  9th  Census,  Pop.,  482-93. 

51  See  farewell  letter,  in  Boiso  Statesman,  July  23,  1870. 

55  Samuel  Bard  was  first  appointed  to  succeed  Ballard.  He  was  from  New 
York,  but  in  1866  was  editing  the  Atlanta  New  Era,  and  declined.  A.  H. 
Conner  was  also  spoken  of  as  governor.  He  was  of  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

BfiThe  Boise  Statesman  of  Feb.  5,  1870,  says:  'He  has  brought  order  out 
of  confusion  in  the  books  and  papers  of  the  ofiice,  and  has  labored  hard  and 
successfully  at  the  formation  of  a  working  state  library.'  Curtis  was  a  native 
of  Massachusetts,  and  a  lawyer.  He  came  to  Cal.  in  1849;  resided  in  Siski- 
you  co.,  which  twice  elected  him  to  the  legislature;  was  judge  of  the  court 
of  sessions  in  Trinity  co.  for  two  years;  came  to  Owyhee  in  1865,  and  settled 
finally  in  Bois6  City  in  the  practice  of  the  law.  Owyhee  Avalanche,  Nov.  13, 
1875. 

57  Bowen  was  a  southern  republican;  had  been  district  judge  of  Arkansas. 

58  Bennett  was  born  in  Ind.  Feb.  16,  1831,  graduated  at  Asbury  university 
in  1S54,  and  studied  law.     On  the  breaking-out  of  the  civil  war  he  enlisted 
as  a  private,  but  was  chosen  captain  of  a  company  in  the  15th  Indiana  vols. 
He  was  commissioned  major  of  the  36th  Ind.,  and  afterward  col  of  the  67th; 
brevetted  brig. -gen.  March  5,   1865;  visited  Europe  in  1867;   was  elected 
mayor  of  Richmond,  Ind.,  in  1869.  Richmond  Herald,  iu  Owyhee  Avalanche, 
Dec.  9,  1871. 


DISTRICT  JUDGES.  473 

Merritt.  In  1872  the  republican  candidate,  J.  "W. 
Huston,  was  overwhelmingly  defeated  by  John  Hailey, 
democrat.59 

The  chief  justiceship  was  left  vacant  by  the  resig 
nation  of  McBride,  until  the  appointment  of  David 
Noggle  in  18G9,  a  man  whose  brain  was  affected,  and 
who  allowed  himself  to  be  made  the  instrument  by 

•  v 

which  thieving  politicians  carried  their  points.60  The 
associates  of  Noggle  were  William  C.  Whitson  in  the 
1st  and  J.  R.  Lewis  in  the  3d  districts.01  Lewis 
was  an  upright,  able  judge,  and  became  immediately 
obnoxious  to  the  dominant  political  ring,  which,  to 
get  him  out  of  office,  resorted  to  the  device  of  send 
ing  a  forged  resignation  to  Washington.62  Before  the 
trick  was  discovered,  M.  E.  Hollister63  had  been  ap 
pointed  in  his  place.61  Hollister  succeeded  Noggle 
as  chief  justice  in  1875,  and  John  Clark  succeeded 
Hollister  in  the  third  district.  Whitson  died  in  De 
cember  1875,  when  Henry  E.  Prickett  was  appointed 
judge  of  the  first  district,65  which  position  he  held 

59  Hailey  was  a  business  man,  and  employed  a  large  number  of  persons, 
who  worked  for  his  election,  while  Huston's  friends  were  not  thoroughly  or 
ganized.  Huston  was  a  good  public  speaker,  and  had  been  district  attorney, 
itoi-se  Statesman,  Nov.  1G,  1872. 

ca  David  Noggle  was  from  Monroe,  Wis.,  where  he  was  a  leading  lawyer 
and  campaign  speaker.  For  9  years  he  served  as  a  circuit  judge  in  that  state. 
He  held  the  office  of  chief  justice  of  Idaho  for  G  years.  Soon  after  his  re 
moval  his  disease,  softening  of  the  brain,  developed  fully,  and  his  errors  in 
office  were  imputed  to  it.  He  died  July  18,  1878,  at  his  home  in  Wisconsin. 
M.  Kelly,  in  Bois6  Statesman,  July  27,  1878. 

01  Thomas  J.  Bowers  of  Cal.  was  appointed  chief  justice  in  the  latter  part 
of  1868,  but  did  not  serve.  R.  T.  Miller  was  also  appointed  judge  of  the  3d 
district  before  Whitson,  but  did  not  accept.  Idaho  Laws,  18G8-9,  149; 
Camp's  Y<ar-Book,  18G9,  493. 

«2Boi*6  Statesman,  April  15  and  May  13,  1871;  S.  F.  Chronicle,  May  7, 
1877.  The  same  means  was  used  to  get  rid  of  Lewis  in  Washington,  by  the 
whiskey-sellers  of  Seattle. 

03 Hollister  was  from  Ottawa,  111.,  and  a  pioneer  of  that  state.  Bols6 
Statesman,  May  13,  1871. 

64  Whitson  was  from  Oregon.     He  had  been  chosen  county  clerk  of  Polk 
when  21  years  of  age,  and  elected  co.  judge  at  28  years.     He  was  a  man  of 
liberal  education,  and  a  successful  law  practitioner. 

65  Alanson  Smith  of  Boisd  City  was  the  people's  choice  for  judge — a  choice 
expressed  by  petition;  but  trickery  again  prevailed,  and  Prickett  was  made 
associate  justice.     His  antecedents  were  anything  but  creditable,  as  he  had 
been  confidential  clerk  to  J.  C.  Geer,  collector  of  internal  revenue,  who  de 
faulted  to  the  amount  of  §21,000.     He  had  been  a  member  of  the  legislative 
council  in  1874-5. 


474  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

down  to  1884,  from  which  it  would  appear  that  he 
administered  the  laws  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  the 
majority  in  his  district. 

Governor  Bennett  was  succeeded  by  D.  P.  Thomp 
son  of  Oregon,  a  rising  man  in  his  state.66  Bennett, 
while  still  in  office,  ran  on  the  republican  ticket  for 
delegate  to  congress,  against  S.  S.  Fenn,  democrat. 
There  were  some  irregularities  in  the  election  returns, 
and  the  election  was  contested.  Coming  before  con 
gress,  Fenn  was  declared  elected,  and  in  1877  was 
returned  to  the  same  office  for  another  term.67 
Thompson  did  not  long  retain  the  gubernatorial  office, 
his  private  affairs  requiring  his  presence  in  Oregon. 
He  was  succeeded  in  1876  by  M.  Brayman,  Curtis 
continuing  in  the  secretary's  office  until  1878,  when 

66  Thompson  was  born  in  Harrison  co.,  Ohio,  in  1834,  where  he  resided 
until  he  migrated  to  Oregon,  overland,  in  1853.  The  following  spring  he  en 
gaged  in  the  public  surveys  under  Surveyor-general  Gardiner,  and  continued 
in  the  service  until  1872.  During  this  period  he  ran  the  base  line  of  Oregon 
across  the  Cascade  Mountains  to  the  Blue  Mountains,  and  the  Columbia 
Guide  Meridian  north  to  the  Big  Bend  of  the  Columbia,  and  south  to  Cali 
fornia.  He  was  state  senator  from  18GS  to  1872,  fromClaokamasco.  In  1872 
he  was  appointed  commissioner  to  allot  lands  to  the  Indians  of  Grand  Rond 
Indian  agency.  He  was  one  of  the  presidents  and  business  manager  of  the 
Oregon  City  Woollen  Mill,  in  which  he  was  joint  owner  with  Jacobs  Bros 
and  L.  White  &  Bro.  From  1872  to  1878  he  was  extensively  interested  in 
mail  contracts,  having  at  one  time  over  a  hundred  contracts  in  the  states  and 
territories.  He  was  appointed  by  President  Grant  governor  of  Idaho  in 
1875,  but  resigned  in  1876  for  business  reasons,  returning  to  Oregon.  In  1878 
he  was  elected  a  representative  from  Multnomah  co.  to  the  lower  house  of 
the  Or.  legislature,  and  the  year  following  was  chosen  mayor  of  Portland,  re 
signing  in  1882.  The  Portland  Savings  Bank,  of  which  he  was  president, 
was  organized  by  him  in  1880;  and  he  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  First 
National  Banks  of  Walla  Walla,  of  Baker  City,  of  Union,  and  president  of 
the  Bank  of  McMinnville.  He  built  and  equipped  the  railroad  around  the 
Falls  of  the  Willamette,  between  Oregon  City  and  Canemah.  It  was  a  horse- 
railroad,  cost  823,000,  and  in  one  year  paid  dividends  amounting  to  §48,000. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Willamette  Falls  and  Lock  Company,  which  con 
structed  a  substantial  canal,  with  locks  about  the  falls.  In  1 880  he  was  one 
of  the  organizers  of  the  Oregon  Construction  Company,  which  opened  up  a 
large  portion  of  eastern  Oregon  and  Washington  by  means  of  railroads, 
building  the  Umatilla  and  Baker  City  Railroad,  Or.,  and  the  Columbia  and 
Palouse  Railroad,  Wash.  In  1882  the  board  of  trade  of  Portland  sent  him 
as  a  special  commissioner  to  Washington  city  to  obtain  from  congress  an  ap 
propriation  for  the  improvement  of  the  Columbia  River  bar,  in  which  he  met 
with  his  customary  success.  Enterprising,  energetic,  and  far-seeing,  he  pre 
sented  a  standing  example  of  what  these  qualities  may  be  made  to  achieve 
for  society  and  one's  self. 

67//.  Misc.  Doc.,  82,  44th  cong.  1st  sess.  Fenn  was  not  the  popular 
candidate  of  his  party  in  1874,  but  was  taken  as  a  compromise  between  En 
sign  and  Foote.  Helena  Independent,  Dec.  20,  1874. 


CHANGES  DESIRED.  475 

R.  A.  Sidcbothain  was  appointed.  At  the  expiration 
of  Brayman's  term,  J.  B.  Neil  became  governor,  and 
Theodore  F.  Singiser  secretary.  In  1878  George 
Ainslie  was  elected  to  succeed  Fenn  as  delegate  to 
congress.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term  he  was  again 
returned  to  this  place. 

A  matter  which  greatly  troubled  the  people  of  the 
Idaho  panhandle  was  their  isolation  and  want  of  a 
community  of  interest  with  the  southern  counties. 
On  the  removal  of  the  capital  in  18G4-5,  they  desired 
the  reannexation  of  this  portion  of  the  territory  to 
Washington.  For  the  purpose  of  advocating  this 
measure,  the  Radiator  newspaper  was  established  at 
Lewiston,  and  the  subject  was  not  soon  suffered  to 
drop,  either  by  the  people  of  northern  Idaho  or  by 
those  of  Washington,  who,  as  I  have  before  shown, 
were  equally  desirous  of  recovering  this  lost  territory. 

The  Idaho  legislature  of  1865-6  passed  a  memorial 
to  congress  praying  that  the  portion  of  the  territory 
lyino-  south  of  the  Salmon  River  Mountains  mi«lit 

*/         o  o 

dissolve  connection  with  the  panhandle,  and  receive 
instead  as  much  of  Utah  as  lay  north  of  41°  30'; 
while  that  portion  of  Montana  lying  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  the  northern  part  of  Idaho, 
and  the  eastern  part  of  Washington,  should  constitute 
a  separate  commonwealth,  to  be  called  the  territory 
of  Columbia.  The  people  of  the  Walla  Walla  Valley, 
being  strongly  in  favor  of  a  readjustment  of  boun 
daries,  aided  the  agitation,  which  in  1867  was  at  its 
height,  meetings  being  held  and  memorials  adopted  in 
Lewiston  and  Walla  Walla.68  But  neither  Montana 
nor  southern  Idaho,  on  reflection,  would  consent  to 
the  division.  Montana  wished  to  retain  the  Bitter 
Root  Valley,  and  southern  Idaho  feared  to  have  its 
burden  of  taxation  increased  by  parting  with  any  of  its 
population,  already  diminishing  with  the  exhaustion 

68  Idaho  LawK,  18G5-6,  293;  Lewiston  Journal,  Oct.  3,  1807;  Walla  Walla, 
Statcsihan,  Oct.  4  and  Nov.  1,  1807. 


476  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

of  its  placer  mines.69  Still  another  proposition  was 
made  in  18G9  by  the  legislature  of  Nevada,  to  re 
adjust  the  boundary  of  Idaho,  by  annexing  to  that 
commonwealth  the  rich  mineral  territory  lying  south 
of  Snake  River  between  the  eastern  boundary  of 
Oregon  and  the  eastern  limit  of  Nevada,  or,  in  direct 
terms,  the  Owyhee  country.  This  project  was  also 
strongly  protested  against  by  Idaho,  and  was  rejected 
by  congress.70 

But  much  dissatisfaction  still  existed  concerning 
the  manner  in  which  the  extensive  district  lying 
between  the. Cascade  and  Rocky  mountains  had  been 
partitioned  off  in  the  hurry  of  forming  new  territories. 
It  had  always  been  held  by  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  Oregon  people  that  the  natural  boundary  of  their 
state  on  the  east  was  the  Cascade  range;  but  if  they 
were  to  retain  the  country  east  of  the  mountains,  they 
desired  to  have  the  Snake  River  for  their  boundary 
on  the  north  as  well  as  the  east,  giving  them  the 
Walla  Walla  Valley.  Washington,  while  less  willing 
to  part  witli  its  eastern  division,  was  positive  about 
never  yielding  the  Walla  Walla  Valley  to  Oregon,  and 
so  the  two  communities  could  never  agree  to  the  same 
scheme  of  redivision.  The  Idaho  legislature  of  1870 
again  memorialized  congress  for  a  change,  but  none 
that  would  leave  the  territory  less  able  to  maintain 
the  burden  of  government,  interfere  with  the  con 
gressional  ratio  of  representation,  or  decrease  the  pros 
pect  of  arriving  at  the  dignity  of  statehood.  A  plan 
was  then  discussed  by  journalists  of  making  a  state 
out  of  eastern  Oregon,  Washington,  and  Idaho. 

About  the  same  time  the  citizens  of  the  town  of 
Corrinne  in  Utah  petitioned,  but  in  vain,  to  have  that 
portion  of  Utah  north  of  the  north  line  of  Colorado 
annexed  to  Idaho,  not  being  in  sympathy  with  the 
government  of  the  Mormon  church.  The  boundary 

69 Boise  Statesman,  Sept.  21,  1867;  ff.  Misc.  Doc.,  100,  39th  cong.  1st  sess. 

i°Ncv.  Jour.  Sen.,  1809,  23;  Id.,  1871,  175;  Misc.  Doc.,  32,  42<1  cong.  1st 
Bess.;  Cong.  Globe,  1870-1,  9GG;  JJoise  Statesman,  June  23, 18G9;  Id.,  Jan.  29, 
1870. 


TERRITORIAL  EXTENT.  477 

line  between  Utah  and  Idaho  was  not  then  established, 
but  was  surveyed  in  1871,  when  it  was  found  that 
several  large  settlements  which  had  previously  paid 
taxes  and  tithings  in  Utah  were  over  the  line  in 
Idaho.  Defining  this  boundary  gave  Idaho  about 
2,500  inhabitants  more  than  previously  claimed,  and 
a  considerable  addition  to  its  wealth,  as  nine  tenths  of 
the  population  thus  acquired  belonged  to  a  class  of 
large  farmers  and  cattle-raisers.'1  The  proposition  to 
reunite  northern  Idaho  to  Washington  was  revived  in 
1873,  with  the  unification  of  the  great  Columbia  basin 
under  the  designation  of  Columbia,72  a  plan  dear  to 
the  hearts  of  the  people  east  of  the  northern  branch 
of  the  Columbia. 

The  surface  of  Idaho,  after  taking  all  the  territory 
east  of  the  Rocky  and  Bitter  Root  mountains  to 
create  Montana  in  18G4,  to  enlarge  Dakotah,  and  to 
organize  Wyoming  in  18G8,  was  over  8G,000  square 
miles,  or  nearly  as  large  as  New  York  and  Pennsyl 
vania  together.  Its  northern  boundary  was  latitude 
49°,  and  its  southern  42°.  At  its  greatest  width  it 
was  seven  decrees  of  longitude,  also,  in  extent.  There 

O  O  '  ' 

was  grand  and  wonderful  scenery,  great  mineral  and 
manufacturing  resources,  and,  what  was  not  known  at 
the  time  of  its  settlement,  good  agricultural  lands  in 
all  its  sunny  vales.  Most  of  the  disorders  which  at 
tended  its  infancy  as  a  territory  soon  disappeared. 
Hidden  in  a  great  mass  of  sin  and  folly  were  the  ele 
ments  of  social  excellence,  which,  with  an  opportunity 
to  germinate,  spread  their  goodly  branches  through 
out  the  land.73 

71  The  addition  thus  made  consisted  of  the  settlements  of  Franklin,  Weston, 
Maladc,  Fish  Haven,  Ovid,  Bloomihgton,  Paris,  and  St  Charles.  The  larger 
portion  of  Dear  Lake  was  also  found  to  be  north  of  the  line.  Rept  Sec.  Int.,  i. 
159,  42d  cong.  3d  sess;  Cong.  Globe,  1870-1,  app.  3G2,  3GG;  Zabrisklt's  Land 
Laws,  1118. 

T-Lemston  Signal,  Xov.  1  and  Dec.  13,  1S~3,  and  March  28,  1874. 

73  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  federal  and  territorial  officers,  and  members 
of  the  legislature  from  the  organisation  of  the  territory  of  Idaho  to  1884. 
The  lists  of  legislators  down  to  18G!5  have  been  given.  18G4:  governor,  W. 
II.  Wallace,  resigned  to  become  delegate;  secretary,  W.  B.  Daniels;  auditor, 
li.  F.  Lambkin;  treasurer,  D.  S.  Kenyon;  marshal,  D.  S.  Payne;  chief  justice, 
Sidney  Edgerton;  associate  justices,  Samuel  C.  Parks  and  Alex.  <J.  Smith; 


478  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

attorney  of  1st  district,  Thomas  M.  Pomeroy;  2d  district,  George  C.  Hough; 
3d,  vacant;  clerk  of  court,  J.  C.  Henly. 

1863:  governor,  Caleb  Lyon  of  N.  Y. ;  secretary,  C.  Do  Witt  Smith;  dele 
gate,  E.  D.  Holbrook;  judiciary  same  as  in  1804;  clerk  of  court,  E.  C.  May- 
hew. 

1866:  governor  and  supt  of  Ind.  affairs,  Caleb  Lyon;  secretary,  H.  C.  Gil- 
son  of  Ohio;  chief  justice,  John  R.  McBride  of  Or.;  associate  justices,  Milton 
Kelly  of  Wis.  and  A.  C.  Smith  of  Or. ;  U.  S.  marshal,  J.  H.  Alvord  of  N. 
Y.;  U.  S.  revenue  assessor,  M.  C.  Brown  of  Me;  U.  S.  collector,  John  Cum 
mins  of  Or. ;  territorial  treasurer  and  ex-oiiicio  prison  commissioner,  E.  C.  Ster 
ling;  comptroller  and  ex-officio  librarian,  II.  B.  Lane;  supt  of  public  instruc 
tion,  J.  A.  Chittenden;  attorney  of  2d  district  (McBride's),  C.  B.  Waite; 
clerk,  W.  B.  Smith. 

1367:  governor,  David  Ballard  of  Or.;  secretary,  S.  R.  Hewlett  of  Idaho; 
judiciary,  McBride,  Kelly,  and  John  Cummins;  marshal,  Alvord;  U.  S.  rev 
enue  assessor,  Austin  Savage  of  Idaho,  vice  George  Woodman;  U.  S.  col 
lector,  J.  C.  Geer  of  Idaho  (formerly  of  Or.);  surveyor-general,  L.  F.  Carter 
of  Idaho;  attorney  1st  dist,  Frank  Dalton;  clerk,  Warren  A.  Belcher;  atty 
2d  dist,  J.  J.  May;  clerk,  W.  B.  Smith;  3d  dist  atty,  E.  J.  Curtis;  clerk,  R. 
E.  Halleck. 

1868:  governor,  David  Ballard;  secretary,  S.  R.  Howlett;  judiciary  same 
as  ifbove;  CJ.  S.  attorney,  Henry  E.  Prickett,  vice  Hough;  Hough  made  Ind 
ian  agent;  registrar  U.  S.  land-office,  R.  H.  Brown;  receiver,  J.  C.  Carroll; 
comptroller,  R.  W.  Bishop;  attorney  of  1st  district,  W.  W.  Thayer;  of  3d 
district,  L.  P.  Higbee;  other  officers  same  as  in  preceding  year. 

The  members  of  the  5th  legislature,  1868-9,  were — councilmen:  G.  W.  Paul 
of  Ada  county;  V.  S.  Anderson  of  Alturas;  W.  M.  Vance,  R.  G.  Allen,  A.  J. 
Bonner,  and  C.  C.  Dudley  of  Bois6;  S.  P.  C.  Howard  of  Idaho;  J.  S.  Taylor  of 
Nez  Perec";  F.  E.  Ensign  of  Owyhee;  J.  M.  Taylor  of  Oneida;  B.  F.  Yantisof 
Shoshone;  Taylor  president.  Members  of  the  lower  house:  Thomas  H.  Cal^ 
loway,  S.  B.  Wright,  Thomas  B.  Hart  of  Ada  county;  Meredith  Kelly,  Lewis 
Linbeck,  of  Alturas;  W.  S.  Harley,  S.  T.  Hussman,  D.  McGrew,  D.  B.  Moody, 
S.  Goodenough,  Bailey  Hayden,  V.  Marx,  Thomas  Foy,  of  Boise;  E.  T.  Beatty, 

E.  Mulkey,  of  Idaho;  G.  W.  Bell,  V.  S.  Zeigle,  of  Ncz  Perec";  Patrick  Camp 
bell,  Seth  Catliu,  P.  S.  Quinn,  of  Owyhee;  F.  M.  Shoemaker  of  Oneida;  W. 
A.  Gouldcr  of  Shoshone;  Beatty  speaker.     The  attache's  of  the  council  were: 
Ge.orge  Ainslie  secretary;  A.  H.  Purdy  asst-sec. ;  Thomas  Sweeney  enrolling 
clerk;  W.  W.  Habusham  engrossing  clerk;  S.  B.  Dilley  sergt-at-arms;  Lewis 

F.  Alpey  doorkeeper;  Robert  Gillespie  page.     Attaches  of  the  lower  house: 
H.  F.  Sayrs  chief  clerk;  E.  Raynor  asst-clerk;  George  Ish  engrossing  cl^rk; 
J.  H.  Slater  enrolling  clerk;  John  Donovan,  sergt-at-arms;  J.  Wells  door 
keeper;  George  W.  Butterficld  page. 

1869:  governor,  David  Ballard;  secretary,  S.  R.  Howlett;  chief  justice, 
David  Noggle  of  Wis. ;  associates,  William  C.  Whitson,  and  M.  E.  Hollister, 
vice  J.  R.  Lewis,  resigned;  U.  S.  marshal,  H.  W.  Moulton;  surveyor-general, 
Edward  Rugger;  receiver,  James  Hunt. 

1870:  governor,  Thomas  W.  Bennett  of  Ind.,  vice  Oilman  Marston  and 
Thomas  A.  Bowen,  resigned  without  acting;  secretary,  E.  J.  Curtis  of  Idaho; 
delegate  to  congress,  S.  A.  Merritt;  judiciary  as  above;  U.  S.  dist  attorney, 
J.  W.  Huston;  U.  S.  marshal,  Joseph  Pinkham;  surveyor-general,  L.  F. 
Cartee;  registrar  Bois6  land  district,  T.  Donaldson;  receiver,  James  Stout; 
assessor  U.  S.  revenue,  A.  Savage;  collector,  J.  C.  Geer;  territorial  treasurer, 
John  S.  Gray;  comptroller,  D.  Crane;  clerk  supreme  court,  Thomas  Donaldson; 
register  in  Bois6  City,  H.  W.  0.  Margary. 

Members  of  the  6th  legislative  assembly,  1870-1 — councilmen:  I.  N.  Coston 
of  Ada  county;  John  McNally  of  Alturas;  R.  G.  Allen,  W.  Lynch,  N.  M. 
Vance,  and  H.  A.  Mattox  of  Boise";  S.  P.  C.  Howard  of  Idaho;  B.  J.  Nor- 
dyke  of  Lemhi;  C.  C.  Call  of  Nez  Perec";  J.  H.  Stump  of  Oneida;  D.  G. 
Monroe  and  Gilmore  Hays  of  Owyhee;  B.  F.  Yantis  of  Shoshone;  D.  G. 
Monroe  president.  Members  of  the  lower-house:  W.  A.  Yates,  W.  T.  Por- 


IDAHO  OFFICIALS  AND  LEGISLATORS.  479 

ter,  T.  D.  Calahan,  and  P.  Everett  of  Ada  county;  R.  W.  Marshall  and  E. 
B.  Hall  of  Alturas;  J.  H.  Wickersham,  D.  B.  Moouey,  J.  J.  Tompkins,  A. 
E.  Galloway,  John  West,  J.  H.  Hawley,  Julian  Smith,  and  J.  G.  Hughes  of 
Boise;  Perry  Clark  and  P.  Cleary  of  Idaho;  Jefferson  Williams  of  Lemhi; 
J.  P.  Silverwood  and  H.  H.  Wheeler  of  Nez  Perce";  J.  \V.  Morgan  of 
Oncida;  J.  B.  Pierce,  W.  P.  Upsher,  P.  Campbell,  J.  R.  Crawford,  and  W. 
H.  Van  Slyke  of  Owyhee;  W.  B.  Yantisof  Shoshone.  W.  A.  Yates  speaker. 

Members  of  the  7th  legislative  assembly,  1872-3 — councilmen:  I.  N.  Coston 
and  J.  B.  \Vright  of  Ada;  John  McNally  of  Alturas;  Benjamin  Willson,  J. 
V.  R.  Witt,  and  H.  A.  Mattox,  Boise;  S.  P.  C.  Howard,  Idaho;  B.  J.  Nor- 
dyke,  Lemhi;  Gilmore  Hays  and  L.  P.  Higbee,  Owyhee;  J.  H.  Sturnp, 
Oncida;  Stanford  Capps,  Shoshone;  I.  N.  Coston  president.  Members  of 
the  lower  house  (their  counties  are  not  given  in  the  journal):  Harvey  Hall, 
N.  B.  Willey,  J.  W.  Garrett,  Charles  Himrod,  Peter  Adams,  A.  Dean,  John 
B.  Sissins,  M.  J.  Biddy,  G.  W.  Tomer,  J.  J.  Apperson,  G.  M.  Parsons,  A.  B. 
Anderson,  J.  H.  Tranger,  A.  E.  Galloway,  F.  Campbell,  S.  S.  Fenn,  James  H. 
Bennett,  L.  H.  Hatch,  A.  T.  Huffaker,  Thomas  Elder,  Matt.  Davis,  J.  M. 
Short,  S.  M.  Jeffries,  P.  McMahon,  and  A.  L.  Simondi.  S.  S.  Fenn  speaker. 

Members  of  the  8th  legislative  assembly,  1874-5 — councilmen:  A.  H.  Robie 
and  H.  E.  Prickettof  Ada  county;  John  NcNally  of  Alturas;  J.  M.  Cannady, 
J.  H.  Hawley,  and  R.  E.  Foote  of  Boise";  S.  P/C.  Howard  of  Idaho;  E.  T. 
Beatty  of  Lemhi;  L.  P.  Brown  of  Nez  Perce";  Angell  and  H.  Martin  of 
Owyhee;  A.  Stalker,  Oneida;  W.  A.  Goulder,  Shoshone.  Members  of  the 
lower  house:  J.  II.  Paddock,  Orlando  Robbins,  J.  H.  McCarty,  and  J.  B. 
Pierce  of  Ada  county;  R.  A.  Sidebotham  and  V.  S.  Anderson  of  Alturas; 
E.  A.  Stevenson,  Charles  W.  Stewart,  Frederick  Campbell,  G.  B.  Baldwin, 
Calvin  R.  White,  James  W.  White,  Matthew  G.  Luney,  and  Joseph  Cave, 
Boise";  George  Shearer  and  Philip  Cleaiy,  Idaho;  George  L.  Shoup  and  T.  C. 
Tuthill,  Lemhi;  J.  C.  Waldrip  and  William  Groat,  Ncz  Perc6;  Hunt,  Gulp, 
Pool,  and  Moore  of  Owyhee;  Clemens  of  Oneida;  C.  T.  Nelson  of  Shoshone. 

1876:  governor,  D.  P.  Thompson;  secretary,  E.  J.  Curtis;  delegate  to 
congress,  S.  S.  Fenn;  chief  justice,  M.  E.  Hollister;  associates,  W.  C.  Whitson 
and  John  Clark;  district  attorney,  J.  W.  Huston;  U.  S.  marshal,  Joseph  Pink- 
ham;  surveyor-general,  L.  F.  Cartee;  register  of  Lewistou  land-office,  Seth  S. 
Slater;  receiver,  E.  J.  Monroe;  register  of  Boisd  land-office,  W.  P.  Thompson; 
receiver,  James  Stout;  agent  Nez  Perce"  Indians,  J.  B.  Monteith;  internal 
revenue  collector,  Austin  Savage;  territorial  treasurer,  John  Huntoon;  terri 
torial  comptroller,  Joseph  Perrault. 

1877:  governor,  M.  Brayman;  secretary,  E.  J.  Curtis;  delegate  to  congress, 
S.  S.  Fenn.  Members  of  the  9th  legislative  assembly,  187G-7 — councilmcu:  W. 
T.  Baker  and  I.  N.  Coston  of  Ada  county;  R.  A.  Sidebotham  of  Alturas;  E.  A. 
Stevenson  and  J.  V.  R.  Witt  of  Boise;  E.  T.  Beatty  of  Lemhi;  L.  P.  Hig 
bee  of  Oneida;  R.  Trcgraskis  and  F.  C.  Porter  of  Owyhee;  S.  P.  C.  How- 
ward  of  Idaho;  William  Budge  of  Bear  Lake;  W.  G.  Langford  of  Nez  Pored; 
D.  W.  C.  Dunwell  of  Shoshone.  E.  T.  Beatty  president.  Members  of  the 
lower  house:  F.  K.  Froman,  Thomas  Gray,  H.  K.  Hartley,  J.  F.  Griffin,  and 
B.  L.  Warriner  of  Ada  county;  T.  J.  Curtis  and  C.  K.  Davis  of  Alturas; 
James  II.  Hart  of  Bear  Lake;  Stephen  Dempsey,  M.  G.  Luney,  John  H.  Myer, 
George  W.  Richards,  and  I.  S.  Wieler  of  Boise;  Philip  Cleary  of  Idaho;  Jesse 
McCaleb  and  Leonard  G.  Morse  of  Lemhi;  S.  P.  Edwards  and  F.  Points  of 
Nez  Perce;  P.  A.  Tutt,  R.  L.  Wood,  E.  H.  Moore,  G.  W.  Gilmore,  and  John 
Ward  of  Owyhee;  J.  N.  High  and  W.  T.  Norcross  of  Oneida;  E.  Hammond 
of  Shoshone.  T.  J.  Curtis  speaker. 

18SJ:  governor,  J.  B.  Neil;  secretary  T.  F.  Singiser;  delegate  to  congress, 
George  Ainslie.  Members  of  the  10th  legislative  assembly,  held  in  Jan.  and 
Feb.  1879,  according  to  an  act  passed  at  the  previous  session  changing  the 
time  of  beginning  from  Dec.  to  Jan — councilmen:  J.  B.  Pierce  and  M.  It.  Jen 
kins  of  Ada  county;  George  M.  Parsons  of  Alturas;  Joseph  Travis  and  George 
Pettengill  of  Boise;  J.  W.  Hart,  Bear  Lake;  N.  B.  Willey,  Idaho;  George  L. 
Shoup,  Lemhi;  William  Clemeud,  Oueida;  B.  J.  Nordykeand  Philip  A.  Regan, 


480  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS. 

Owyhee;  George  A.  Manning,  Ncz  Force";  W.  B.  Yantis,  Shoshone.  N.  B.  Wil- 
Icy  president.  Members  of  the  lower  house:  William  Allison,  T.  Gray,  A.  E. 
Galloway,  C.  B.  Humphrey,  and  II.  J.  G.  Max  on  of  Ada  county;  W.  II.  Butler 
and  A.  Leonard  Myer  of  Alturas;  Joseph  C.  Rich  of  Bear  Lake;  J.  W.  White, 
Robert  Spenser,  M.  G.  Hardin,  G.  B.  Baldwin,  and  R.  H.  Robb  of  Boise; 
William  C.  Pearson  of  Idaho;  D.  B.  Varney  and  W.  Birdseye  of  Lernhi; 
William  King  and  J.  J.  Bonner  of  Nez  Perec;  Alex.  Stalker  and  D.  R.  Jones 
of  Oncida;  G.  W.  Newsom,  P.  Weatherman,  William  Cooper,  George  Chapin, 
and  William  Nichols  of  Owyhee;  Robert  T.  Yantis  of  Shoshone.  W.  Birds- 
eye  was  elected  speaker  on  the  102d  ballot. 

Under  the  reapportionmcnt  act  of  June  3,  1880,  there  were  elected  the 
following  members  of  the  llth  legislative  assembly,  1880-1 — cotmcilmen:  R. 
Z.  Johnson  of  Ada  county;  John  S.  Hailey  of  Ada  and  Washington;  James 
Murray  of  Boise;  S.  B.  Dilley  of  Boise"  and  Alturas;  J.  W.  Poe  of  Nez  Perce"; 
I.  B.  Cowen  of  Nez  Perce,  Shoshone,  and  Lahtoh;  L.  P.  Wilmot  of  Idaho; 
H.  Peck  and  L.  C.  Morrison  of  Oncida;  Charles  Cobb  of  Cassia  and  Owyhee; 
William  Budge  of  Bear  Lake;  W.  F.  Anderson  of  Lemhi.  John  Hailey  presi 
dent.  Members  of  the  lower  house:  A.  E.  Galloway,  A.  S.  Gray,  P.  J.  Pcfly, 
and  J.  Brumback  of  Ada  county;  Stephen  Dempscy  and  Frederick  Campbell 
of  Bois6;  I.  W.  Garrett  of  Alturas;  James  Hart  and  J.  C.  Rich  of  Bear  Lake; 
R.  L.  Wood  of  Cassia;  E.  B.  True  and  T.  W.  Girton  of  Idaho;  James  L. 
Onderdonk  and  J.  J.  Gilson  of  Lemhi;  I.  M.  Hibbs,  S.  J.  Langdon,  and  J. 
M.  Hedrick  of  Nez  Perce;  J.  W.  Cummings  of  Owyhee;  W.  L.  Webster, 
Joseph  Dudley,  Alex.  Stalker,  and  David  R.  Jones  of  Oneida;  William 
Nichols  of  Shoshone;  Thomas  M.  Jeffrey  of  Washington.  E.  B.  True  speaker. 
The  official  register  of  1881  contains  the  names  of  George  Ainslie  congres 
sional  delegate;  John  T.  Morgan  chief  justice;  Norman  Buck  and  Henry  E. 
Prickett  associate  justices;  Wallace  R,  White  U.  S.  district  attorney;  E.  S. 
Chase  U.  S.  marshal;  A.  L.  Richardson  clerk  of  supreme  court;  E.  A.  Stone 
agent  at  Lemhi  Indian  reservation;  C.  D.  Warner  agent  at  Nez  Perce"  reser 
vation;  R.  W.  Berry  collector  of  internal  revenue;  D.  P.  B.  Pride,  C.  P. 
Coburn,  and  George  W.  Richards  deputies;  William  P.  Chandler  U.  S. 
surveyor-general;  T.  W.  Randall  chief  clerk;  John  B.  Miller,  Jonathan  M. 
Howe,  and  August  Duddanhausen  registers;  J.  Stout,  R.  J.  Monroe,  and  A. 
W.  Eaton  receivers  of  public  money 

1883:  governor,  John  N.  Irwin. 

.Members  of  the  12th  legislative  assembly,  1882-3 — councilmen:  J.  V.  R. 
Witt  of  Ada  county;  Thomas  C.  Galloway  of  Ada  and  Washington;  Joseph 
Travis  of  Bois6;  E.  A.  Wall  of  Boise"  and  Alturas;  C.  E.  Robinson  of  Bear 
Lake;  E.  P.  Johnson,  Custer  and  Lemhi;  P.  A.  Regan,  Cassia  and  Owyhee; 
James  Odlc,  Idaho;  W.  L.  Webster  and  Henry  Peck,  Oueida;  William  S. 
Taylor,  Nez  Perec;  J.  B.  Cowen,  Nez  Perce,  Shoshone,  and  Kootenai.  E.  A. 
Wall  president.  Members  of  the  lower  house:  D.  W.  Fouch,  J.  P.  Wilson, 
I.  N.  Coston,  and  H.  K.  Hartley  of  Ada;  E.  M.  Wilson  of  Alturas;  R.  H. 
Robb  and  F.  Campbell  of  Boise";  Amos  R.  Wright  and  II.  S.  Woolley  of 
Bear  Lake;  J.  C.  Shoup  of  Custer;  W.  C.  Martindalo  of  Cassia;  W.  G.  Pear 
son  and  Robert  Larimer  of  Idaho;  0.  A.  Dodge  of  Kootenai  and  Shoshone; 
James  A.  Ilaywood  of  Lemhi;  A.  Buchanan,  K.  Larson,  and  G.  W.  Toner  of 
Nez  Perce";  J.  M.  Harbour  of  Owyhee;  C.  J.  Bassctt,  D.  L.  Evans,  M.  L. 
Gruwcll,  and  J.  B.  Thatcher  of  Oneida;  F.  M.  Mickey  of  Washington.  D. 
W.  Fouch,  speaker.  Hollister  was  succeeded  as  chief  justice,  Jan.  13,  1879, 
by  William  G.  Thompson;  and  Thompson,  June  10,  187'J,  by  John  T.  Mor 
gan,  who  held  till  1885.  Norman  Buck  succeeded  Clark  as  associate  justice 
in  the  1st  district.  Case  Brodcrick  was  appointed  to  the  '2d  dist  in  May,  1884. 
The  chief  justice  took  the  3d  dist  in  187D. 

ISSt,  federal  officers:  governor,  William  M.  Bunn;  secretary,  D.  P.  B. 
Pride;  delegate,  T.  F.  Siiigiser;  surveyor-gen.,  Win  F.  Chandler;  chief  justice, 
John  T.  Morgan;  ass.  justice,  1st  dist,  Norman  Buck;  '2d  (list,  Case  Broder- 
ick;  clerk.  A.  L.  Richardson;  asst  U.  S.  dist  atty,  W.  R.  White;  asst  U.  S. 
dist  atty,  Alanson  Smith;  marshal,  F.  T.  Dubois;  reg.  laud-office,  E.  L.  Cur 
tis;  receiver,  M.  Krebs. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THREATENING  ASPECT  OF  AFFAIRS. 
1861-1874. 

TRIBAL  AND  TERRITORIAL  DIVISIONS  OF  THE  ABORIGINES — ATTITUDE  OF  THB 
NEZ  PERCE  NATION — GOLD  DISCOVERY  ON  THE  NEZ  PERCE  RESERVATION 
— COUNCIL  AT  LAPWAI — TERMS  OF  TREATY  DISREGARDED  BY  THE  WHITE 
MEN — ABORIGINAL  DIPLOMACY — BIG  THUNDER  AND  THE  MISSIONARIES 
— TERMS  OF  THE  NEW  TREATY— CLAIM  OF  EAGLE-FROM-THE-LIGHT — 
SPEECH  OF  LAWYER — CONFERENCE  WITH  JOSEPH. 

THE  native  races  of  Idaho  were  divided  by  the 
Salmon  River  range  of  mountains,  the  Nez  Perces 
being  the  representative  nation  of  the  northern  divis 
ion,  and  the  Shoshones  of  the  southern.  The  con 
dition  and  character  of  the  former  were  relatively 
higher  than  those  of  the  latter.1 

During  the  five  years'  war  from  1863  to  1868,  the 
history  of  which  I  have  given,  the  Nez  Perces  re 
mained  quiescent,  taking  no  part  in  the  hostilities, 
although  they  were  not  without  their  grievances,  which 
might  have  tempted  other  savages  to  revolt.  The 
troubles  to  which  I  here  refer  began  in  1855,  with 
the  treaties  made  with  them  and  the  other  tribes 
of  eastern  Oregon  and  Washington  by  Palmer  and 
Stevens,  superintendents  respectively  of  the  Indians 
of  those  territories.  At  this  council  there  were  two 
parties  among  the  Nez  Perces,  one  for  and  one  against 
a  treaty — a  peace  and  a  war  party — but  in  the  end  all 
signed  the  treaty,  and  observed  it,  notwithstanding  the 
strong  influences  brought  to  bear  upon  them  by  the 

1  See  Native  Races,  passim;  Hist.  Or.,  passim,  this  series. 
HIST.  WASH. — 31 


482  THREATENING  ASPECT  OF  AFFAIRS. 

surrounding  tribes,  who  went  to  war  after  agreeing 
to  its  terms.  They  were  conquered,  and  the  country 
opened  for  settlement. 

It  was  at  this  period,  when  the  discovery  of  gold 
on  the  reservation  of  the  Nez  Perces  caused  white 
men  to  overrun  it  without  regard  to  the  rights  of  the 
Indians,  that  their  loyalty  was  most  severely  tried, 
and  that  a  division  occurred  in  the  nation.  A  war 
at  this  time  was  narrowly  averted  by  the  combined 
efforts  of  Superintendent  Hale  of  Washington,  and 
Lawyer,  the  head  chief  of  the  Nez  Perces,  together 
with  the  establishment  of  a  military  post  at  Lap- 
wai.2 

At  a  council  held  in  August  1861,  at  Lapwai, 
Eagle-from-the-light  gave  his  voice  for  war,  and  for 
a  coalition  with  the  Shoshones.  Looking-glass,  the 
former  war  chief,  was  now  too  old  to  lead  in  battle, 
but  Eagle-from-the-light  was  eager  to  succeed  to  his 
honors.  A  number  of  sub-chiefs  were  ready  to  sup 
port  this  measure;  but  on  the  other  hand,  the  power 
ful  interest  represented  by  Lawyer  was  against  it, 
and  a  company  of  dragoons  under  Captain  Smith, 
stationed  at  Lapwai  ostensibly  to  protect  the  Indians 
from  the  impositions  of  the  miners,  was  a  standing 
menace  to  the  Nez  Perces,  should  they  break  the 
peace.  The  council  finally  adjourned  without  agree 
ing  upon  anything  in  particular.3 

This  condition  of  the  Indian  mind  was  strongly 
represented  in  congress,  to  procure  an  appropriation 
of  $50,000  for  the  purpose  of  holding  a  treaty  with 
the  Nez  Perec's  for  the  purchase  of  an  important 

2 1  am  aware  it  has  been  said  that  before  the  war  of  1877  the  Nez  Percys 

never  shed  white  blood;  but  this  is  an  error,  as  in  1862  they  did  commit  sev- 

j  eral  murders,  which  is  not   surprising  under  the  circumstances.  Ind.  Aff. 

*  Rept,  1S62,  396.     A  white  man  was  also  killed  by  them  near  Lapwai  in  1865. 

3  Nathan  Olney,  who  is  good  authority  in  Indian  matters,  writing  to  The 
Dalles  Mountaineer  in  1861,  said  that  all  the  tribes  except  a  part  of  the 
Teninos  Wascoes  and  Des  Chutes  were  only  waiting  for  the  consent  of  the  Nez 
Percys  to  join  with  the  Shoshones  in  a  general  war  against  the  white  popula 
tion.  Portland  Oregonian,  July  1,  1861.  The  conduct  of  the  Cayuses  called 
on  Steinberger's  command  at  Walla  Walla  to  punish  them,  which  he  was 
forced  to  do.  Olympia  Wash.  Standard,  Nov.  1, 1862. 


INDIAN  AFFAIRS.  483 

part  of  their  reservation,  $40,000  of  which  was  appro 
priated,  and  expected  to  be  in  the  hands  of  the  agents 
by  November  1862.  Meanwhile  the  reservation  was 
freely  occupied  by  white  men,  who  dug  gold,  built 
towns,  laid  out  roads,  and  sold  whiskey  upon  it,  con 
trary  to  law.  Even  the  military  guard  was  withdrawn, 
because  the  commander  of  the  military  district  dared 
not  subject  a  company  to  temptation  by  placing  it  on 
the  border  of  a  rich  mining  region,  lest  it  should 
desert.  The  irritability  of  the  Indians  becoming 
more  manifest,  General  Alvord  determined  upon  the 
establishment  of  a  permanent  post  at  Lapwai,  on  the 
return  of  Maury's  command  from  an  expedition  to 
Fort  Hall,  in  the  autumn  of  1862.4 

November  came,  and  the  Indians  were  gathering 
to  the  promised  council  when  the  commissioners  ap 
pointed  were  forced  to  announce  that  no  funds  had 
come  to  hand,  and  to  defer  the  conference  until  the 
following  May.  Even  the  well-disposed  Nez  Perces 
found  the  unaccountable  delay  anything  but  reassur 
ing,  and  were  only  kept  on  friendly  terms  by  the 
efforts  of  William  Craig  and  Robert  Newell,  in  whose 
probity  they  had  the  greatest  confidence.  At  length 
the  15th  of  May,  1863,  was  fixed  upon  for  the  council. 
As  a  means  to  the  peaceable  ending  of  the  conference, 
four  companies  of  the  1st  Oregon  cavalry  were  sta 
tioned  at  Lapwai,  and  much  display  was  made  of  the 
power  and  material  of  the  military  branch  of  the  gov 
ernment,  as  well  as  its  munificence  in  entertaining  the 
whole  Nez  Perec1  nation,  for  which  a  village  of  tents 
with  regularly  laid  out  streets  was  spread  upon  a 
beautiful  plat  of  ground  about  a  mile  from  the  fort. 

Looking-glass  had  died  in  January,  but  Eagle-from- 
the-light,  Big  Thunder,  and  Joseph,  all  chiefs  opposed 
to  another  treaty,  were  present  with  their  1,200  fol 
lowers,  and  Lawyer  and  his  sub-chiefs  with  his  people, 

4  Fort  Lapwai  was  built  under  the  superintendence  of  D.  W.  Porter  of 
the  1st  Oregon  cavalry.  It  was  situated  upon  the  right  bank  of  Lapwai  Creek, 
3  miles  from  its  confluence  with  the  Clearwater.  The  reservation  was  one 
mile  square. 


484  THREATENING  ASPECT  OP  AFFAIRS. 

numbering  about  2,000.  On  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  there  were  Superintendent  Hale,  agents 
Hutchins  and  Howe,  and  Robert  Newell.  When  all 
else  was  ready,  a  delay  of  two  weeks  occurred,  because 
the  Indians  would  have  no  interpreter  but  Perrin  B. 
Whitman,  who  was  in  the  Willamette  Valley  and 
had  to  be  sent  for.  So  much  time  thus  allowed 
for  discussion  gave  opportunity  for  recalling  all  the 
grievances  of  the  past,  and  prognosticating  for  the 
future.  The  Palouses,  taking  advantage  of  this  period 
of  idleness,  invaded  the  Nez  Perce  camp,  bent  upon 
mischief,  one  of  them  going  so  far  as  to  strike  Com 
missioner  Howe  with  a  riding-whip,  when  they  were 
ordered  off  the  reservation  by  Colonel  Steinberger, 
and  Drake's  company  of  cavalry  assigned  to  the  duty 
of  keeping  them  away.5 

About  the  last  of  the  month  the  council  was  allowed 
to  begin.  The  lands  to  be  treated  for  embraced  an 
area  of  10,000  square  miles,  containing,  besides  the 
mines,  much  good  agricultural  land.  It  was  at  this 
conference  that  the  disaffected  chiefs  put  in  their 
claims  to  certain  parts  of  the  former  reservation  as 
their  peculiar  domain.  That  spot  where  the  agency 
was  located,  and  which  was  claimed  also  in  part  by 
the  representatives  of  the  American  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,6  was  alleged  by  Big  Thunder  to  belong  to 
him.  Eagle-from-the-light  laid  claim  to  the  country 
on  White  Bird  Creek,  a  small  branch  of  Salmon  River, 
and  adjacent  to  the  Florence  mines.  Joseph  declared 
his  title  to  the  valley  of  Wallowa  Creek,  a  tributary 

5 Rhinchart's  Or.  Cavalry,  MS.,  6-7. 

6  Although  a  section  of  the  organic  act  of  Oregon  gave  a  mile  square  of 
land  to  each  of  the  missions  in  actual  occupation  at  the  time  of  the  passage 
of  the  act,  Aug.  1848,  and  the  Lapwai  mission  had  been  abandoned  in  1847, 
with  no  subsequent  occupation,  an  attempt  was  made  after  the  Indian  agency 
buildings  and  mills  had  been  erected  on  the  land,  and  the  country  con 
tiguous  to  the  reservation  was  becoming  settled,  to  establish  a  title  to  tho 
Lapwai  station  under  the  organic  act.  The  first  claimants  were  Spaldiug  and 
Eells,  fov  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  and  the  second  was  W.  G.  Langford,  a  lawyer, 
who  purchased  the  pretended  rights  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  for  a  nominal  sum, 
and  attempted  to  extort  from  congress  $120,000  for  the  improvements  made 
by  appropriations  of  that  body.  Lewiston  Idaho  Siynal,  April  12,  1873.  The 
claim  was  not  allowed. 


NEGOTIATIONS  WITH  THE  NEZ  PERCES.  485 

of  the  Grand  Rond  River;  and  each  holding  for  him 
self  and  band  declined  to  sell. 

The  lands  reserved  by  the  treaty  of  1855  embraced 
all  the  country  enclosed  by  a  line  beginning  at  the 
source  of  the  south  fork  of  the  Palouse,  extending 
south-westerly  to  the  mouth  of  the  Tucannon,  up  the 
Tucannon  to  its  source  in  the  Blue  Mountains,  along 
this  range  in  a  general  southerly  direction  to  a  point 
on  Grand  Rond  River,  midway  between  the  Grand 
Rond  and  Wallowa  Creek,  along  the  divide  between 
the  Wallowa  Creek  and  Powder  River,  crossing  Snake 
River  at  the  mouth  of  Powder  River,  thence  in  an 
easterly  direction  to  Salmon  River  fifty  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Little  Salmon,  thence  north  to  the 
Bitter  Root  Mountains,  and  thence  west  to  the  place 
of  beginning,  comprising  an  area  which  later  consti 
tuted  five  counties. 

The  first  proposition  of  the  commissioners  was  that 
the  Nez  Perces  should  sell  all  their  lands  except  five 
or  six  hundred  square  miles  situated  on  the  south  side 
of  the  south  fork  of  the  Clearwater,  and  embracing 
the  Kamiah  prairie,  to  be  surveyed  into  allotments, 
with  the  understanding  that  a  patent  was  to  issue  to 
each  individual  holding  land  in  severalty,  with  pay 
ment  for  improvements  abandoned.  But  to  this  the 
nation  would  not  agree.  The  next  proposition  wras 
to  enlarge  this  boundary  so  as  to  double  the  amount 
of  land,  embracing,  as  before,  the  Kamiah  prairie,  the 
agricultural  lands  to  be  surveyed,  and  the  provisions 
of  the  treat}7"  of  1855  to  be  continued  to  them.  There 
was  to  be  expended,  besides,  $50,000  in  wagons,  farm 
stock,  and  agricultural  implements,  $10,000  in  mills, 
$10,000  in  school-houses,  $6,000  for  teachers  for  the 
first  year,  and  half  that  amount  annually  for  fourteen 
years  for  the  same  object.  Buildings  for  teaching  black- 
smithing  and  carpentering  were  to  be  furnished.  Be 
tween  $4,000  and  $5,000  was  to  be  paid  for  the  horses 
furnished  Governor  Stevens  and  the  volunteers  dur 
ing  the  war  of  1855-G.  The  Indians  might  sell  their 


486  THREATENING  ASPECT  OF  AFFAIRS. 

improvements  to  private  individuals  or  the  govern 
ment;  and  the  whole  of  the  stipulations  should  be 
carried  out  within  one  year  after  the  ratification  of 
the  treaty  by  the  senate  of  the  United  States.  This 
proposition  was  to  be  final. 

Lawyer  then  made  a  speech  containing  a  remark 
able  mixture  of  diplomacy  and  sarcasm — the  sarcasm 
being  a  part  of  the  diplomacy — giving  evidence  of 
those  peculiar  talents  which  enabled  this  chief  always 
to  outgeneral  his  rivals.  He  assured  the  commis 
sioners  that  he  and  his  chiefs  and  people-  fully  under 
stood  the  present  position  of  the  government  toward 
the  Nez  Perces,  who  were  a  law-abiding  people,  while 
the  government  itself  had  broken  its  own  law,  the 
treaty  of  1855.  He  had  understood  that  there  were 
two  opinions  in  congress  concerning  the  making  of  a 
new  treaty.  As  to  the  old  one,  he  was  willing  to  ad 
here  to  that,  as  he  had  done  heretofore,  having  always 
regarded  himself  sacredly  bound  by  it,  and  the  chiefs 
who  refused  to  be  governed  by  it  as  beyond  the  pale 
of  the  law,  and  not  acknowledged  by  him  to  be  chiefs. 
Although  satisfied  that  the  first  treaty  was  preferable, 
he  would  like  to  hear  what  the  United  States  pro 
posed  to  give  for  the  reservation  lands,  and  that  the 
government  was  disposed  to  be  just.7 

The  object  of  this  speech  was  fourfold:  to  show 
that  he  was  in  a  position  to  object  to  the  proffered 
treaty,  to  arraign  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  to  make  this  the  ground  for  securing  addi 
tional  benefits  should  he  consent  to  the  propositions 
of  the  government  agents,  and  to  proclaim  as  outlaws 
all  the  other  chiefs  who  did  not  follow  his  direction, 
by  which  proclamation  his  alliance  with  the  govern 
ment  would  be  strengthened,  this  being  the  foundation 
of  his  power  with  his  own  people.  After  this  speech 
of  Lawyer's,  the  rival  chiefs,  Big  Thunder,  Three 
Feathers,  Eagle-from-the-light,  and  Joseph,  who  had 
held  aloof  from  the  conference,  came  into  the  council, 

7  llhinthart's  Or.  Cavalry,  MS.,  G;  Or.  Argus,  June  2,  1863. 


INDIAN  DIPLOMACY.  487 

when  Lawyer  with  great  adroitness  appeared  to  side 
with  them,  and  declared  the  Nez  Perces  would  never 
sell  their  country,  though  they  might  be  brought  to 
consent  to  gold-mining  upon  it  for  a  sufficient  consid 
eration.  Some  of  the  chiefs  questioned  the  authority 
of  the  commissioners  to  make  a  treaty,  and  the  Ind- 
ians  appeared  to  be  drifting  farther  away  from  a 
friendly  feeling  as  the  negotiations  continued.  Super 
intendent  Hale,  affecting  to  resent  the  imputation 
upon  his  authority,  replied  that  the  doubt  would  ter 
minate  the  council,  and  he  had  nothing  further  to 
submit. 

The  withdrawal  of  the  commissioners  changed  the 
attitude  of  Lawyer,  who  intimated  that  in  a  few  days 
he  would  offer  a  proposition  of  his  own.  On  the  3d 
of  June  a  grand  council  was  again  called,  at  which  all 
the  chiefs  of  both  divisions  of  the  Nez  Perces  were 
present  except  Eagle-from-the-light.  The  objections 
of  Lawyer  were  answered,  the  grievances  of  the  Ind 
ians  explained  away  by  the  commissioners,  and  the 
thanks  of  the  government  tendered  for  the  loyal  ser 
vices  of  the  tribe  in  the  past.  They  were  assured 
that  the  government  desired  their  welfare,  and  be 
lieved  it  would  be  promoted  by  locating  on  a  reserva 
tion  where  they  could  be  protected,  and  their  land 
secured  to  them  forever  in  severalty  by  a  patent  from 
the  government;  but  if  they  were  unable  to  come  to 
any  conclusion,  the  council  would  be  immediately  ter 
minated. 

On  the  evening  of  that  day  Lawyer  offered  to  give 
up  the  land  on  which  Lewiston  was  situated,  with 
twelve  miles  around  it,  including  the  La.pwai  agency 
and  post,  which  was  promptly  rejected.  There  was 
now  a  lengthened  consultation  among  the  Indians; 
and  again  several  meetings  of  the  council  were  held, 
the  non-treaty  chiefs  being  present.  They  were  told 
by  Commissioner  Hutchins  that  their  sullen  and  un 
friendly  manner  was  the  occasion  of  the  disagreements 
among  the  Nez  Perces,  and  that  although  they  might 


488  THREATENING  ASPECT  OF  AFFAIRS. 

persist  in  refusing  to  accept  their  annuities,  as  they 
had  done  heretofore,  such  action  would  not  release 
them  from  the  obligations  of  the  treaty  they  had 
signed  in  1855.  To  this  they  severally  replied  with 
out  altering  their  attitude  of  passive  hostility,  and 
withdrew  from  the  council,  Eagle-from-the-light  being 
already  absent,  but  represented  by  a  deputation  of  his 
warriors. 

Affairs  now  assumed  a  threatening  aspect,  the  com 
missioners  fearing  the  defection  of  the  whole  tribe, 
and  having  apprehensions  for  their  safety.  A  message 
was  despatched  to  the  fort,  and  a  small  detachment  of 
cavalry,  under  Captain  Curry,  ordered  to  the  council- 
ground.  It  arrived  about  one  o'clock  at  night,  find 
ing  everything  quiet  except  at  one  of  the  principal 
lodges,  where  fifty-three  chiefs  and  head-men  were 
assembled  in  earnest  debate,  the  arguments  being 
continued  until  almost  daybreak,  when,  being  still 
unable  to  agree,  the  principal  chiefs  on  each  side  dis 
solved,  in  a  solemn  but  not  unfriendly  manner,  their 
confederacy,  and  having  shaken  hands,  separated,  to 
go  each  his  own  way  with  his  followers.  The  seced- 
ers  were  Eagle-from-the-light,  Big  Thunder,  Joseph, 
and  Coolcoolselina,  with  their  head-men. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  council,  Lawyer,  for 
himself  and  the  nation,  accepted  the  proposition  of 
the  commissioners,  somewhat  altered  and  amended, 
and  the  9th  of  June  was  set  for  the  signing  of  the  new 
treaty,  and  the  distribution  of  presents.  Hope  was 
entertained  that  the  disaffected  chiefs  would  finally 
yield,  but  in  this  the  commissioners  were  disap 
pointed.8  From  the  subsequent  action  of  one  of  these 
chiefs,  it  is  presumable  that  they  believed  that  by  re 
fusing  to  sign  the  treaty  made  with  the  majority  of 

8 Report  of  the  Adjutant-general  of  Oregon,  1S65-G;  Lewiston  Golden  Ar/e, 
June  17,  1863;  Or.  Arrjux,  July  G,  1863.  There  is  an  able  monograph  on  the 
subject  of  this  treaty  by  H.  Clay  Wood,  colonel  U.  S.  A.,  called  The  Status 
of  Young  Joseph  and  his  Band  of  Nez  Perc6  Indians  under  the  Treaties  be 
tween  the.  United  States  and  the  Nez  Peres  Tribe  of  Indians,  and  the  Indians' 
Title  to  Land.  Portland,  1870. 


TREATY  WITH  THE  NEZ  PERCES.  489 

the  nation,  they  would  be  able  to  hold  their  several 
favorite  haunts. 

The  terms  of  the  new  treaty  reserved  an  extent  of 
country  bounded  by  a  line  beginning  at  a  point  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Clearwater,  three  miles  below  the 
mouth  of  Lapwai  Creek,  crossing  to  the  north  bank  at 
Hatwai  Creek  and  taking  in  a  strip  of  country  seven 
miles  wide  along  the  river,  reaching  to  the  North  Fork, 
thence  in  a  general  southerly  course  to  the  46th  par 
allel,  and  thence  west  and  north  to  the  place  of  begin 
ning,  containing  1,500,000  acres,  or  about  500  acres 
to  every  individual  in  the  nation,  and  embracing 
Kamiah  prairie  and  many  small  valleys,  as  well  as 
some  mountain  land,  the  whole  being  less  than  one 
sixth  of  the  former  reservation.  By  this  division, 
Lawyer  retained  his  home  at  Kamiah,  and  Big  Thun 
der  his  location  at  Lapwai,  these  two  being  the  prin 
cipal  men  in  the  nation. 

The  consideration  agreed  to  be  paid  for  the  relin 
quished  lands,  in  addition  to  the  annuities  due  under 
the  former  treaty,  and  the  goods  and  provisions  dis 
tributed  at  the  signing  of  the  treaty,  was  $260,000, 
of  which  $150,000  was  to  be  expended  in  removing 
and  settling  on  the  reservation  such  families  as  were 
outside  the  new  limits,  and  ploughing  and  fencing 
their  lots,  which  were  also  to  be  surveyed  for  them, 
four  years  being  allowed  for  the  completion  of  this 
part  of  the  contract.  The  sums  already  mentioned 
as  offered  for  farm- wagons  and  implements,  mills, 
school-houses,  and  schools,  were  to  be  paid,  with  an 
additional  $50,000  for  boarding  and  clothing  the  chil 
dren,  and  two  years  additional  of  the  school  appro 
priation  at  $2,000  a  year.  To  build  two  churches 
within  a  year  after  the  ratification  of  the  treaty — one 
at  Lapwai  and  one  at  Kamiah — $2,500  was  provided. 
Provision  was  made  for  two  subordinate  chiefs,  with 
a  salary  of  $500  each,  and  houses  furnished.  Inas 
much  as  several  provisions  of  the  former  treaty  had 
not  been  carried  out,  $16,000  was  agreed  upon  to  sup- 


490  THREATENING  ASPECT  OF  AFFAIRS. 

ply  the  deficiency.  To  the  chief  Timothy,  who  led 
Colonel  Steptoe  into  the  midst  of  his  enemies  in  1858, 
was  allowed  $600  to  build  him  a  house.  The  Nez 
Perce  claim  for  horses  was  to  be  paid  in  gold  coin, 
and  all  the  conditions  of  the  first  treaty  not  abrogated 
or  changed  were  to  remain  in  force,  the  United  States 
reserving  the  right  to  lay  out  roads  across  the  reserva 
tion,  build  hotels  or  stage-stations,  and  establish  the 
crossings  of  streams;  but  the  profits  of  ferriage,  li 
censes,  and  rents  accruing  from  these  improvements 
were  reserved  to  the  Indians,  as  well  as  the  timber, 
springs,  and  fountains  on  the  reservation.9 

I  have  dwelt  thus  particularly  upon  the  conditions 
of  the  Nez  Perce  treaty  because  of  the  prominence 
of  this  aboriginal  nation  among  the  tribes  of  the  north 
west,  and  in  order  to  explain  what  is  to  follow.  Con 
gress  being  fully  occupied  with  the  complex  questions 
arising  during  the  civil  war,  and  in  consequence  of  it, 
gave  little  attention  to  Indian  affairs,  and  had  little 
money  to  expend  upon  treaties.  The  Nez  Perces 
meanwhile  had  much  to  complain  of.  The  treaty  of 
1855  was  not  ratified  until  1859.  No  appropriation, 
was  made  until  1861,  and  then  only  a  partial  one. 
Another  partial  payment  was  made  in  1862.  Mean 
while  evil-disposed  persons  poisoned  the  minds  of  that 
portion  of  the  tribe  which  had  always  been  disaf-; 
fected,  saying  that  the  government  was  broken  up  by 
the  rebellion  and  could  not  redeem  its  promises,  and 
that  the  Indians  were  fools  to  observe  their  part  of 
the  compact.  There  was  much  justification  for  ap 
prehension  of  fraud  or  failure  in  the  overrunning  of 
the  reservation  by  miners,  and  the  location  of  the 
capital  of  the  territory  upon  it.  It  was  to  do  away 

9  The  only  privilege  asked  other  than  here  named  was  that  of  a  grant  of 
land  at  Lewiston  to  their  friend  Iloberb  Newell,  which  was  acceded  to  in  the 
9th  article  of  the  treaty.  They  had  requested  at  the  former  treaty  that 
William  Craig  might  be  allowed  to  remain  as  a  settler  on  the  reservation, 
which  request  was  granted.  In  1873  an  Indian  agent  endeavored  to  compel 
Craig's  heirs  to  leave  this  improved  land,  but  the  government  gave  them  a 
patent  to  it.  Leu:ialon  Idaho  Signal,  Jan.  10,  1875. 


LAWYER  VISITS  WASHINGTON".  491 

with  these  fears  and  establish  the  status  of  both 
white  and  red  men  that  the  new  treaty  was  pro 
posed. 

But  here  again  the  government  was  remiss.  It 
neither  honored  the  old  treaty  nor  confirmed  the  new. 
In  1865  I  find  the  agents  writing  that  no  money  has 
been  received  since  June  1863;  that  the  white  settlers 
insisted  upon  the  terms  of  the  new  treaty  not  yet 
confirmed,  while  the  Indians  clung  to  the  old,  and 
there  was  danger  that  a  hostile  confederacy  would  be 
formed  between  the  people  of  Eagle-from-the-light 
and  the  Blackfoot  and  Crow  nations  for  the  extermi 
nation  of  the  white  settlers  of  Idaho  and  Montana.  At 
length,  upon  the  representations  of  Governor  Lyon,  a 
sum  little  short  of  $70,000  was  placed  in  his  hands 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians,  but  for  $50,000  of  which 
ho  failed  to  account.10  Thus  time  and  money  slipped 
away. 

In  1867,  the  senate  having  amended  the  treaty  of 
1863,  a  special  agent  was  appointed  in  conjunction  with 
Governor  Ballard  and  others,11  to  induce  the  ISTez 
Perces  to  accept  the  amendments;  but  this  being 
refused,  the  treaty  was  finally  ratified  in  its  first  form12 
by  six  hundred  of  the  nation,  and  in  the  following 
year  Lawyer,  Utsemilicum,  Timothy,  and  Jason, 
chiefs,  attended  by  P.  B.  Whitman,  interpreter,  and 
Robert  Newell,  made  a  journey  to  Washington  City, 
by  permission  of  the  president,  to  talk  with  him  and 
the  head  of  the  Indian  department  about  the  still 
existing  differences  of  construction  put  upon  those 
articles.  Utsemilicum  died  in  Washington  soon  after 
arriving,  but  Lawyer,  who  could  better  bear  the  strong 
rays  of  civilization's  midday  sun,  lived  to  profit  by  his 
visit,  and  returned  with  Jason  to  instruct  his  people. 

10  Kept  of  Com.  Ind.  Aff.,  in  Bois4  Statesman,  Feb.  21,  1867.     Lyon  went 
to  Washington  in  18GG  ostensibly  to  make  good  this  defalcation,  but  claimed 
that  he  was  robbed  en  route. 

11  The  commissioners  were  D.  W.  Ballard,  ex-officio  superintendent,  Judge 
Hough,  special  agent,  James  O'Xcil,  regular  agent  of  the  Nez  Perec's,  Robert 
Newell,  and  Major  Truax.  Portland  Oreyonian,  June  26,  1876. 

l*Acpt  Sec.  Int.,  1S67-S,  pt  ii.,  14-15;  Owyhee.  Avalanche,  June  13,  1867. 


492  THREATENING  ASPECT  OF  AFFAIRS. 

Some  amendments  to  the  treaty13  as  it  existed  were 
proposed  by  Lawyer,  who  complained,  among  other 
things,  that  the  reservation  was  too  small.  He  was 
afraid  of  being  crowded. 

In  1869  the  government  made  a  change  in  the  ad 
ministration  of  affairs  at  the  various  Indian  agencies, 
by  assigning  to  each  a  military  officer  as  agent,  and 
Lieutenant  J.  W.  Wham  was  appointed  to  the  Lapwai 
agency.  The  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  was 
also  a  military  officer,  whom  we  have  met  in  southern 
Oregon,  Colonel  De  L.  Floyd  Jones.  But  by  an  act 
of  congress,  passed  in  July  1870,  it  was  made  neces 
sary  to  relieve  officers  of  the  army  from  this  service, 
and  the  next  change  made  was  that  of  placing  the 
appointment  of  Indian  agents  in  the  choice  of  religious 
societies,  to  each  of  whom  certain  agencies  were  as 
signed  by  the  department.  The  Nez  Perces  were 
placed  in  charge  of  the  presbyterians,  who  nominated 
a  man  of  their  church,  J.  B.  Monteith. 

None  of  these,  however,  were  as  satisfactory  to  the 
Indians  as  their  former  agents  had  been.  D.  M.  Sells, 
who  relieved  Wham  in  February  1870,  was  much 
complained  of  for  a  'scandalous  fraud'  in  fencing  the 
Indian  farms,14  and  Monteith  was  obnoxious  on  account 
of  his  sectarianism,  a  part  of  the  Indians  being 
catholic,  and  desiring  catholic  teachers.  Then  the 
government  appointed  another  commission  to  inquire 
into  this  and  other  grievances,  which  reported  that 
catholic15  interference  would  destroy  the  effect  of  the 

13 The  amendments  agreed  upon  were,  that  in  the  event  of  the  land  within 
the  reserve  not  being  sufficient  for  the  selection  of  20-acre  lots  of  good  agri 
cultural  ground,  then  20-acre  lots  of  improved  land  might  be  made  outside  of 
the  reserve;  and  also  that  the  cutting  of  timber  on  the  reservation  should  be 
prohibited,  except  when  done  by  the  permission  of  the  head  chief  and  the 
i  U.  S.  Indian  officers.  Portland  Oregonian,  Nov.  4,  1808. 

"See  rept  of  special  com.,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Rept,  1873,  159. 

15The  commissioners  this  time  were  John  P.  Shanks,  G-ov.  Bennett,  and 
Henry  W.  Reed.  They  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  'the  strife  between  two 
religious  denominations  is  a  great  detriment  to  the  Indians,  as  they  arc  not 
well  prepared  to  see  that  there  is  no  religion  in  such  a  contest.  If  the  cath 
olics  are  allowed  to  build  a  church  on  the  reservation,  it  will  measurably 
destroy  the  schools  on  the  reservation,  or  compel  the  establishment  of  other 
schools  than  those  provided  for  by  treaty.'  Ind.  Aff.  Rc-/>t,  1873,  158.  rThe 
late  superintendent,  Jones,  had  reported  that  the  Jesuit  fathers  were  anxious 


ON  THE  RESERVATION.  493 

instruction  given  by  the  government  under  the  pres- 
byterians.  The  other  causes  of  dissatisfaction  related 
to  the  presence  of  certain  white  persons  upon  the 
reservation  whom  the  agent  wished  removed,  but 
whom  Jacob,  who  had  been  elected  head  chief,  desired 
to  remain.16 

These  were  important  issues  on  a  reservation,  and 
employed  the  politicians  of  the  Nez  Perce  nation,  who 
had  little  else  to  do,  in  a  continual  attempt  to  show 
cause  why  they  should  not  be  satisfied,  although  the 
treaty  of  18G3,  when  finally  ratified,  had  been  pretty 
faithfully  observed.  The  greatest  obstacle  in  the  way 
of  the  welfare  of  the  Indians  was  the  same  now  that 
it  had  been  when  Spalding  first  taught  amongst 
them — an  abhorrence  of  labor.  The  reservation  sys 
tem,  although  made  unavoidable  by  the  danger  to  the 
Indians  of  contact  with  white  men's  vices,  encouraged 
idleness  by  providing  for  the  wants  of  the  Indians 
until  such  time  as  the  benefits  of  their  treaties  should 
expire,  and  they  be  compelled  to  work. 

But  it  was  not  only  that  the  Nez  Percys  on  the 
reservation  required  much  soothing;  ever  since  the 
council  of  1863  there  was  a  threatening  faction  among 
the  non-treaty  Nez  Perces  who  had  never  removed  to 
the  reserve.  Eagle-from-the-light  spent  most  of  his 
time  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  among  the  war 
like  tribes  of  Montana  and  the  plains.  Several  petty 
chiefs  resided  on  tributaries  of  the  Salmon  and  Snake 
rivers  in  Idaho,  and  Joseph,  son  of  that  chief  Joseph 
who  had  been  a  member  of  Spalding's  church  at  Lap- 
wai  away  back  in  1844,  made  the  valley  of  Wallowa 
Creek  in  Oregon  his  summer  resort  for  fishing  and 

to  get  control  of  the  schools  at  Lapwai  and  Kamiah,  and  that  in  his  opinion 
it  would  be  better  they  should,  as  it  would  take  the  children  away  from  the 
influence  of  their  parents. 

1BSee  Lfwitton  8i<jn<d,  May  17,  June  21,  Aug.  23,  Nov.  29,  and  Dec.  20, 
1873;  Ind.  Aff.  Kept,  1873,  158.  These  were  keepers  of  inns  or  stage-stations, 
who  under  the  treaty  were  allowed  to  occupy  a  few  acres  for  a  food  supply 
and  grazing.  The  complaint  of  the  agent  was  that  they  cultivated  more  laud 
than  was  intended  in  the  treaty,  and  sold  the  productions.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  agent  was  accused  of  taking  the  property  of  the  Indians,  provided 
by  the  government  under  the  treaty,  for  his  own  use. 


494  THREATENING  ASPECT  OF  AFFAIRS. 

grazing  his  stock,  but  for  the  rest  of  the  time  roamed 
where  he  pleased.17 

Joseph's  people  came  in  contact  with  the  Shoshones, 
and  with  a  bad  class  of  white  men,  neither  of  which 
were  profitable  as  associates.  The  longer  he  remained 
off  the  reservation  and  under  these  influences  the 
w^orse  it  was  for  everybody — at  least,  so  thought  the 
inhabitants  of  Idaho,  who  had  an  experimental  knowl 
edge  of  Indian  disturbances,  and  who,  alarmed  by  the 
Modoc  war,  arising  from  almost  exactly  similar  cir 
cumstances,  urged  the  Indian  department  to  take 
measures  to  remove  all  the  Indians  to  their  reserva 
tions. 

Accordingly,  in  March  1873,  Superintendent 
Odeneal  of  Oregon,  and  Agent  Monteith,  under  in 
structions  from  the  secretary  of  the  interior,  held  a 
conference  with  Joseph  and  his  followers  at  Lapwai, 
to  listen  to  their  grievances  and  report  to  the  secre 
tary.  At  this  conference  Joseph  entirely  repudiated 
the  treaty  of  1863,  and  declared  his  refusal  to  go  upon 
either  the  Umatilla  or  Nez  Perce  reservations,  as 
proposed.  Upon  this  report,  the  secretary  issued  an 
order  that  Joseph's  band  should  be  permitted  to  re 
main  in  the  Wallowa  Valley  during  the  summer  and 
autumn,  promising  that  they  should  not  be  disturbed 
so  long  as  they  remained  quiet.  The  secretary  also 
directed  that  a  description  of  the  country  should  be 
sent  to  him,  that  he  might  make  an  order  setting 
apart  this  valley  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Indians, 
prohibiting  its  further  settlement  by  white  people, 
and  enabling  him  to  purchase  the  improvements  al 
ready  made.  On  the  16th  of  June  the  president  set 
apart  a  reservation  for  the  non-treaty  Nez  Perces 
under  Joseph,  including  the  Wallowa  and  Immaha 
valleys,  the  latter  being  the  usual  residence  of  this 
chief. 

This  infraction  of  the  treaty  of  1863  by  the  secre- 

17  The  Wallowa  Valley  is  a  high  region,  and  fit  only  for  grazing;  but  as  a 
stock  country  it  is  unsurpassed,  and  therefore  became  settled  by  stock-raisers, 
whose  presence  was  an  irritation  to  the  Nez  Perec's,  who  claimed  it. 


PREPARING  FOR  AN  OUTBREAK.  495 

tary  and  president  occasioned  much  disapprobation, 
and  gave  further  cause  for  alarm,  being  a  repetition 
of  the  course  pursued  toward  the  Modocs,  which  re 
sulted  so  disastrously.  The  newspapers  warned  the 
people  to  be  ready  in  case  of  an  outbreak,  with  their 
arms  in  order  and  ammunition  on  hand.  A  company 
of  volunteers  was  raised  at  Mount  Idaho,  which  being 
on  the  border  of  the  reservation  was  in  the  most  ex 
posed  situation.  The  governor  of  Idaho  made  a  requi 
sition  upon  the  ordnance  department  of  the  United 
States,  which  shipped  to  him  500  Springfield  rifled 
muskets,  and  ammunition  in  large  quantity,  which 
arms  and  ammunition  were  to  be  issued  to  organized 
military  companies,  under  certain  restrictions  and 
pledges. 

These  precautions  were  not  without  good  reason, 
there  beinsr  much  uneasiness  amonof  all  the  tribes  in 

O  O 

Idaho,  caused,  it  was  believed,  by  the  Modoc  war, 
and  frequent  instances  were  reported  of  insolent  and 
threatening  behavior,  with  occasional  thefts  and  mur 
ders,  which  were  generally  attributed  to  the  Sho- 
shones.  The  Cceur  d'Alenes  and  other  northern 
tribes  partook  of  the  excitement,  and  Odenal  and 
Monteith  were  directed  to  negotiate  with  them,  after 
which  a  council  was  held,  July  29,  1873,  between  the 
Cceur  d'Alenes  and  the  commissioners  before  men 
tioned  as  having  been  appointed  in  this  year.  These 
Indians  had  never  entered  into  treaty  relations  with 
the  United  States,  but  had  remained  friendly  after 
the  punishment  administered  in  1858  by  Colonel 
Wright.  A  reservation  had  been  assigned  to  them 
in  1867  by  order  of  the  president,  upon  which,  how 
ever,  they  had  never  been  confined,  and  which  inter 
ested  persons  had  caused  to  be  changed,  to  their 
injury.  Agents  who  had  been  appointed  to  reside 
among  them  to  protect  their  rights  had  not  done  so. 
Of  some  of  these  they  complained  that  their  practices 
and  examples  were  scandalous.  These  abuses  the 
commissioners  promised  should  be  corrected,  and  a 


496  THREATENING  ASPECT  OF  AFFAIRS. 

new  reservation  was  agreed  upon,  extending  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Okanagan  River  eastward  by  the  course 
of  the  Columbia  and 'Spokane  rivers  to  the  boundary 
line  between  Washington  and  Idaho,  and  east  of  that 
five  miles,  whence  it  ran  north  to  the  49th  parallel 
and  west  along  that  line  to  the  middle  of  the  channel 
of  the  Okanagan  River,  and  thence  to  its  mouth. 
This  large  area  was  reserved  for  the  several  tribes 
residing  upon  it,  namely,  the  Lower  Spokane,  Lake, 
San  Poel,  Colville,  Pend  d'Oreille,  Kootenai,  and 
Methom  bands,  as  well  as  the  Cceur  d' Alines.  All 
the  improvements  of  white  persons  were  to  be  pur 
chased  and  presented  to  the  Indians,  except  those  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  which  had  been  paid  for 
in  the  award  to  that  company.  To  any  head  of  a 
family  desiring  to  begin  to  farm  for  a  livelihood,  a 
certificate  was  to  be  issued  securing  the  possession  of 
160  acres,  with  assistance  in  putting  in  a  crop  and 
building  houses.  Schools  were  to  follow  in  good 
time.  Every  child  of  a  white  father  and  Indian 
mother  should  be  entitled  to  inherit  from  the  estate 
of  the  father,  and  cohabitation  should  be  considered 
to  constitute  marriage  in  a  suit  .for  the  rights  of  in 
heritance.18 

On  the  part  of  the  Indians,  they  promised  to  sur 
render  their  title  to  the  country  south  and  east  of  the 
tract  reserved,  and  asked  no  pay,  in  money  or  goods; 
but  if  the  United  States  wished,  they  would  accept 
such  help  as  above  named.  A  year  afterward  con 
gress  had  taken  no  action  in  the  matter,  and  the  Ind 
ians  were  still  roaming  and  unsettled. 

18  This  provision  was  aimed  at  the  practices  of  certain  men,  who,  the  Ind 
ians  complained,  took  their  women  and  begot  children,  which  they  left  for 
the  tribe  to  support.  Among  these  were  Park  Winans,  former  agent,  Sher 
wood,  Winan's  farmer,  Perkins,  and  Smith,  who  wanted  to  be  made  agent. 
Kept  of  special  com.,  in  //.  Ex.  Doc.,  102,  43d  cong.  1st  sess. 


CHAPTER  V. 

INDIAN  WARS. 

1874-1878. 

MARCH  OF  THE  CAVALRY — ATTITUDE  OP  JOSEPH — His  OPINION  OF  INDIAJT 
RESERVATIONS— INDIAN  OUTBREAKS — MILITARY  COMPANIES  IN  THB 
FIELD — THE  GOVERNORS  OF  WASHINGTON,  OREGON,  AND  IDAHO— BATTLH 
OF  COTTONWOOD — JEALOUSIES  BETWEEN  REGULARS  AND  VOLUNTEERS — 
BATTLK  OF  CLEARWATER — FLIGHT  OF  JOSEPH — BATTLE  OF  RUBY  CREEK — 
ON  SNAKE  CKEEK — SURRENDER  OF  JOSEPH — ANOTHER  INDIAN  TREATY — 
DISAFFECTION  OF  THE  BANNACKS — FURTHER  FIGHTING — END  OF  Hosnir 

ITIES. 

AFTER  the  close  of  the  Modoc  war,  General  Davis 
ordered  a  inarch  by  the  cavalry  of  700  miles  through 
the  country  threatened  by  dissatisfied  tribes,  in  order 
to  impress  upon  their  minds  the  military  force  of  the 
United  States.  But  the  reservation  set  apart  for 
Joseph  and  his  non-treaty  followers  remained  unoccu 
pied,  and  he  continued  to  roam  as  before.  The  set 
tlers  on  the  Wallovva  were  impatient  to  know 
whether  their  indemnity  money  was  to  be  paid,  or 
what  course  the  government  would  pursue,  and  wrote 
to  their  representative  in  congress,  who  replied  that 
the  commissioner  of  Indian  affairs  had  assured  him 
that  the  reservation  order  would  be  rescinded,  and 
the  settlers  left  undisturbed.1  With  this  understand 
ing,  not  only  the  settlers  who  were  in  the  valley  re 
mained,  but  others  joined  them,  and  when  the  Ind 
ians  overrun  their  land  claims  with  imperious  freedom, 
warned  them  off.  It  was  not  until  June  10,  1875, 
that  the  president  revoked  his  order,  thereby  formally 

llnd.  Aff.  Kept,  1S74,  57-8;  Lewiston  Signal,  June  13,  1874. 

HIST.  WASH.— 32  (  497  ) 


498  INDIAN  WARS. 

releasing  1,425  square  miles  from  any  shadow  of  Ind 
ian  title. 

Bat  Joseph  regarded  neither  president  nor  people, 
and  in  1876  another  special  commission  was  appointed 
by  the  Indian  department  at  Washington  to  proceed 
to  Idaho  and  inquire  into  the  status  of  Joseph  with 
regard  to  his  tribe  and  the  treaties.  The  commis 
sioners  were  D.  H.  Jerome,  O.  O.  Howard,  William 
Stickney,  A.  C.  Barstow,  and  H.  Clay  Wood.  They 
arrived  at  Lapwai  in  November,  where  Joseph  met 
them  after  a  week  of  the  customary  delay,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  measure  his  intellectual  strength  with  theirs. 

When  plied  with  questions,  he  had  no  grievances  to 
state,  and  haughtily  declared  that  he  had  not  come 
to  talk  about  land.  When  it  was  explained  to  him 
that  his  position  in  holding  on  to  territory  which  had 
been  ceded  by  the  majority  of  the  nation  was  not 
tenable  according  to  the  laws  of  other  great  nations; 
that  the  state  of  Oregon  had  extended  its  laws  over 
this  land;  that  the  climate  of  the  Wallowa  Valley 
rendered  it  unfit  for  a  reservation,  as  nothing  could 
be  raised  there  for  the  support  of  the  Indians,  with 
other  objections  for  setting  it  apart  for  such  a  purpose, 
and.  a  part  of  the  Nez  Perce  reservation  was  offered 
instead,  with  aid  in  making  farms,  building  houses, 
and  instruction  in  various  industries — he  steadily  re 
plied  that  the  maker  of  the  earth  had  not  partitioned 
it  off,  and  men  should  not.  The  earth  was  his  mother, 
and,  sacred  to  his  affections,  too  precious  to  be  sold. 
He  did  not  wish  to  learn  farming,  but  to  live  upon 
such  fruits  as  the  earth  produced  for  him  without 
effort.  Moreover,  and  this  I  think  was  the  real 
motive,  the  earth  carried  chieftainship  with  it,  and 
to  part  with  it  would  be  to  degrade  himself  from  his 
authority.  As  for  a  reservation,  he  did  not  wish  for 
that,  in  the  Wallowa  or  elsewhere,  because  that  would 
subject  him  to  the  will  of  another,  and  to  laws  made 
by  others.  Such  was  substantially  his  answer,  given 
in  a  serious  and  earnest  manner,  for  Joseph  was  a 


JOSEPH'S  THEORIES.  499 

believer  in  the  Smohollah  doctrine,  whose  converts 
were  called  'dreamers,'  an  order  of  white-man-hating 
prophets  which  had  arisen  among  the  Indians.2 

The  commissioners  recommended  that  the  teachers 
of  the  dreamer  religion  should  not  be  permitted  to 
visit  other  tribes,  but  should  be  confined  to  their  re 
spective  agencies,  as  their  influence  on  the  non-treaty 
Indians  was  pernicious;  secondly,  a  military  station 
should  be  established  at  once  in  the  Wallowa  Valley, 
while  the  agent  of  the  Nez  Perces  should  still  strive 
to  settle  all  that  would  listen  to  him  upon  the  reser 
vation;  thirdly,  that  unless  in  a  reasonable  time  Joseph 
consented  to  be  removed,  he  should  be  forcibly  taken 
with  his  people  and  given  lands  on  the  reservation; 
fourthly,  if  they  persisted  in  overrunning  the  lands  of 
settlers  and  disturbing  the  peace  by  threats  or  other 
wise,  sufficient  force  should  be  used  to  bring  them 
into  subjection.  And  a  similar  policy  was  recom 
mended  toward  all  the  non-treaty  and  roaming  bands. 

The  government  adopted  the  suggestions  as  offered, 
stationing  two  companies  of  cavalry  in  the  Wallowa 
Valley,  and  using  all  diligence  in  persuading  the  Ind 
ians  to  go  upon  the  reservation,  to  which  at  length,  in 
May  1877,  they  consented,  Joseph  and  White  Bird  for 
their  own  and  other  smaller  bands  agreeing  to  remove 
at  a  given  time,  and  selecting  their  lands,  not  because 
they  wished  to,  but  because  they  must,  they  under 
standing  perfectly  the  orders  issued  concerning  them. 
Thirty  days  were  allowed  for  removal.  On  the 
twenty-ninth  day  the  war-whocp  was  sounded,  and 
the  tragedy  of  Lost  River  Valley  in  Oregon  was 
reenacted  along  the  Salmon  River  in  Idaho. 

For  two  weeks  Indians  of  the  bands  of  Joseph, 
White  Bird,  and  Looking-glass  had  been  gathering 
on  Cottonwood  Creek,  at  the  north  end  of  Camas 

2  They  held  that  their  dead  would  arise  and  sweep  the  white  race  from 
the  earth.  Joseph  said  that  the  blood  of  one  of  his  people  who  had  been 
slain  in  a  feud,  by  a  white  man,  would  'call  the  dust  of  their  fathers  back  to 
life,  to  people  the  land  in  protest  of  this  great  wrong. '  See  Sec.  Int.  Kept,  008, 
45th  cong.  2  scss. 


500  INDIAN  WARS. 

prairie,  which  lay  at  the  foothills  of  the  Florence 
Mountains,  about  sixty-five  miles  from  Lewiston,  with 
the  ostensible  purpose  of  removing  to  the  reservation. 
The  white  settlements  extended  along  the  prairie  for 
considerable  distance,  the  principal  one — Mount  Idaho 
—being  central.  Other  settlements  on  Salmon  River 
were  from  fifteen  to  thirty  miles  distant  from  Mount 
Idaho,  in  a  south  and  south-west  direction. 

General  Howard  was  at  Fort  Lapwai,  and  cogni 
zant  of  the  fact  that  several  hundred  Indians,  with  a 
thousand  horses,  were  on  the  border  of  the  reserva 
tion  without  coming  upon  it.  On  the  afternoon  of 
the  last  day  of  grace  he  directed  Captain  Perry, 
whom  we  have  met  before  in  the  Modoc  country,  to 
have  ready  a  small  detachment  which  should  start 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  to  obtain  news  of 
the  actions  and  purposes  of  the  Indians.  That  same 
evening  the  general  received  a  letter  from  a  promi 
nent  citizen  of  Mount  Idaho,  giving  expression  to  his 
fears  that  the  Indians  did  not  intend  to  keep  faith 
with  him,  but  took  no  measures  to  prevent  the  exe 
cution  of  their  design  should  the  settlers'  fears  prove 
true.  In  the  morning,  at  the  time  and  in  the  man 
ner  before  indicated,  the  detachment  trotted  out 
toward  Cottonwood  Creek  to  bring  in  a  report.  It  re 
turned  at  noon,  having  met  two  reservation  Indians 
excitedly  bearing  the  news  that  four  white  men  had 
been  killed  on  John  Day  Creek,  and  that  White  Bird 
was  riding  about  declaring  that  the  non-treaty  Ind 
ians  would  not  go  on  the  reservation. 

Howard  hastened  to  the  agency  to  consult  with 
Montieth,  taking  with  him  the  Indian  witnesses,  who, 
on  being  questioned,  represented  that  the  white  men 
were  killed  in  a  private  quarrel.  This  report  neces 
sitated  sending  other  messengers  to  prove  the  truth 
of  the  Indian  statement  before  the  general  command 
ing  in  Oregon  would  feel  justified  in  displaying  any 
military  force.  Late  that  afternoon  they  returned, 
and  with  them  another  messenger  from  Mount  Idaho 


PERRY'S  DEFEAT.  501 

•with  letters  giving  a  detailed  account  of  a  general 
massacre  on  Salmon  River,3  and  the  destruction  of  all 
the  property  of  the  settlers,  including  their  stock, 
which,  if  not  driven  off,  was  killed. 

There  were  at  Fort  Lapwai  two  companies  of  cav 
alry — Captain  Perry's  troop  F,  and  Captain  Trimble's 
troop  H — numbering  together  99  men.  On  the  night 
of  Friday,  15th,  Perry  set  out  with  his  command,  and 
came  upon  the  Indians  in  White  Bird  canon  early 
Sunday  morning.  Perry  immediately  attacked,  but 
with  the  most  disastrous  results.  In  about  an  hour 
thirty-four  of  his  men  had  been  killed  and  two 
wounded,  making  a  loss  of  forty  per  cent  of  his  com 
mand.  The  volunteers,  who  were  chiefly  employed 
holding  the  horses  of  the  cavalrymen,  sustained  but 
a  slight  loss.  A  retreat  of  sixteen  miles  to  Grange- 
ville  was  effected,  the  dead  being  left  upon  the  field. 

In  the  mean  time  Howard  was  using  all  despatch 
to  concentrate  a  more  considerable  force  at  Lewiston 
and  Lapwai ;  the  governors  of  Oregon  and  Washing 
ton  were  forwarding  munitions  of  war  to  volunteer 
companies  in  their  respective  commonwealths;  and 
Governor  Brayman  of  Idaho  issued  a  proclamation  for 
the  formation  of  volunteer  companies,  to  whom,  he 
could  offer  neither  arms  nor  pay,  but  for  whom  a  tele 
graphic  order  from  Washington  soon  provided  the 
former.* 

3  So  far  as  can  be  gathered  from  the  confused  accounts,  the  first  four  men 
killed  were  on  White  Bird  Creek.     They  were  shot  June  14th  as  they  sat 
playing  cards,  the  Indians  being  about  20  in  number  who  did  the  shooting. 
That  same  morning  they  shot  Samuel  Benedict  through  the  legs  while  about 
his  farm-work.     In  the  evening  they  went  to  his  house  and  murdered  him, 
together  with  a  German  named  August,  Mrs  Benedict  and  two  children  es 
caping  by  the  aid  of  an  Indian. 

4  The  first  company  of  volunteers  was  organized  at  Mount  Idaho,  where  a 
fortification  had  been  erected.     A  part  of  these,  under  A.  Chapman,  were 
with  Perry  on  the  17th.     Another  company,  organized  for  defence  merely,  was 
at  Slate  Creek.     The  governor  of  Idaho  ordered  to  the  hostile  region,  June 
20th,  a  company  under  Orlando  llobbins  of  Idaho  City.     A  company  was 
organized  at  riacervillc,  under  J.  V.  R.  Witt.     Capt.  Hunter  of  Columbia 
county,  Washington,  with  50  volunteers,  reported  to  Howard  on  the  22d; 
also  Capt.  Elliott  from  the  same  county  with  23;  Page  of  Walla  Walla  with 
20  men,  and  Williams  with  10;  and  about  the  same  time  Capt.  MeG'ohville  of 
Lewiston  with  20  volunteers— making  altogether  a  force,  in  addition  to  the 
regulars,  of  about  150  men. 


502  INDIAN  WARS. 

Not  until  the  22d  were  there  troops  enough  brought 
together,  from  Wallowa,  Walla  Walla,  and  other  points, 
to  enable  Howard  to  take  the  field.  At  that  date  225 
men,  cavalry,  infantry,  and  artillery,  were  ready  to 
march.5  Such  defensive  measures  as  were  possible 
were  taken  to  secure  the  settlements,  and  the  little 
army  commenced  a  pursuit  which  lasted  from  the  23d 
of  June  to  the  4th  of  October,  with  enough  of  inter 
esting  incidents  to  fill  a  volume.6  The  first  skirmish 
took  place  on  the  28th,  when  Howard,  who  had  two 
days  before  arrived  at  White  Bird  canon  to  collect  and 
bury  Perry's  dead,  and  been  reenforced  with  about 
175  infantry  and  artillerymen,7  discovered  the  Indians 
in  force  on  the  west  side  of  Salmon  River  not  far  from 
opposite  the  mouth  of  White  Bird  Creek.  They 
flaunted  their  blankets  in  defiance  at  the  soldiers, 
dashed  down  the  bare  hillside  to  the  river  bank,  dis 
charged  their  rifles,  arid  retreated  toward  Snake  River, 
uninjured  by  the  fire  of  the  troops.  Crossing  the 
turbulent  Salmon  with  no  other  aid  than  two  small 
row-boats,  the  army  took  up  the  stern  chase  on  the 
2d  of  July.  Before  starting  upon  it,  Whipple  was 
sent  on  a  march  of  forty  miles  toward  Kamiah  to 
cheek  the  reported  preparations  for  war  of  the  band  of 
young  Looking-glass,  son  of  the  old  chief  of  that 
name;  but  having  to  rest  his  horses  at  Mount  Idaho, 

5  Companies  L,  Capt.  Whipple,  and  E,  Capt.  Winters,  cavalry;  companies 
D,  Capt.  Pollock,  I,  Capt.  Eltonhead,  E,  Capt.  Miles,  B,  Capt.  Jocelyn,  H, 
Capt.  Haughey,  21st  infantry;  and  E,  Capt.  Miller,  4th  artillery.  Howard's 
rept,   in  Sec.    War  7?e^^JL8IZ=.8j_120;     Capt.   Bendire  from  Camp  Harney 
and  Maj.  Green  from  Fort  Bois<5  were  ordered  to  the  valley  of  the  VVeiser  to 
prevent  Joseph's  retreat  to  Wallowa,  and  to  cut  off  communication  between 
him  and  the  Malheur  Shoshoncs,  or  Winnemucca's  Piutes. 

6  A  very  good  narrative  of  the  campaign  is  contained  in  a  pamphlet  of  47 
pages  by  Thomas  A.  Sutherland,  a  newspaper  writer  who  accompanied  How 
ard  as  a  volunteer  aide-de-camp,  entitled  Howard's  Campaign  against  the  Nez 
Perct  Indians,  1877.  Portland,  1878.     There  is  also  a  partial  review  of  the 
campaign,  written  by  C.  E.  S.  Wood,  in  the  May  number  of  the  Century  mag 
azine,  1884,  which  contains  also  a  portrait  of  Joseph.     My  account  is  drawn 
chiefly  from  the  different  official  reports  in  the  Sec.  War  Rept,  1877-8. 

'Companies  M,  Capt.  Throckmorton,  D,  Capt.  Rodney,  A,  Capt.  Ban 
croft,  and  G,  Capt.  Morris,  4th  artillery;  and  E,  Capt.  Burton,  21st  infantry. 
A  company  of  volunteers  under  Capt.  Page  of  Walla  Walla,  scouting  along 
the  ridge  to  the  right  of  the  canon,  discovered  the  Indians.  This  company 
returned  home  on  the  29th,  escorting,  together  with  Perry's  company,  a  pack- 
train  under  Lieut  Miller  of  the  1st  cavalry  to  Lapwai,  for  supplies. 


HOWARD'S  CAMPAIGN.  503 

the  chief  gave  him  the  go-by,  and  escaped  to  Joseph, 
with  his  people,  leaving  over  600  horses  in  the  hands 
of  the  troops.  Whipple  then  marched  back  to  Cot- 
tomvood,  where  there  was  a  stockade,  and  scouted  to 
keep  the  road  from  Lapwai  open  for  the  supply  train 
under  Perry. 

Meantime  Howard  was  following  Joseph  through 
the  mountainous  region  on  the  west  side  of  the  Salmon. 
When  he  arrived  at  Craig's  crossing  of  the  river  he 
learned  that  the  Nez  Perces  had  already  recrossed  at 
a  lower  point,  and  doubling  on  their  track  had  re 
turned  to  Camas  prairie,  and  were  keeping  the  cavalry 
at  Cottonwood  penned  up  in  the  stockade. 

One  of  two  scouts  sent  out  to  reconnoitre  in  the 
direction  of  Lawyer  Creek  canon  was  captured.  The 
other  escaping  to  the  quarters  of  the  troops,  Whipple 
despatched  to  the  assistance  of  the  captive  ten  men 
under  S.  M.  Rains,  guided  by  the  survivor.  Before  the 
main  command  could  mount  and  overtake  this  detach 
ment,  the  whole  twelve  had  been  ambushed  and  slain. 
This  was  on  the  3d  of  July.  On  the  4th  Whipple 
marched  to  meet  Perry,  and  escorted  him  to  Cotton- 
wood  without  encountering  Indians;  they  were  sur 
rounding  the  station  with  the  design  of  capturing  the 
supplies.  Rifle-pits  and  barricades  were  constructed, 
and  Gatling  guns  placed  in  position.  Skirmishing  was 
kept  up  until  nine  o'clock  that  evening,  but  so  inade 
quate  was  the  force  to  the  situation  that  the  enemy 
was  suffered  to  move  off  unmolested  toward  the  Clear- 
water  the  following  morning.  A  company  of  seven 
teen  volunteers,  D.  B.  Randall  captain,  coming  from 
Mount  Idaho,  encountered  the  enemy  within  a  mile 
of  Cottonwood,  and  escaped,  after  a  severe  engagement, 
only  by  the  assistance  of  a  company  of  cavalry  from 
that  place,  which  rescued  them  after  half  an  hour  of 
exposure  to  the  Indian  fire.8 

8  When  Randall  saw  their  intention  and  his  situation,  he  ordered,  not  a 
retreat,  but  a  charge  through  the  Indian  line,  a  dash  to  the  creek  bottom 
about  a  mile  from  Perry's  camp,  there  to  dismount  and  return  fire,  until  relief 
should  be  sent  them  from  that  place.  The  order  was  obeyed  without  falter- 


504  INDIAN  WARS. 

When  Howard  heard  of  the  appearance  of  the  Ind 
ians  on  Camas  prairie  he  treated  it  as  the  rumor  of  a 
raid  only,  and  ordered  McConville'sand  Hunter's  vol 
unteers  to  reenforce  Perry,  in  command  at  Cotton- 
wood.  This  force  performed  escort  duty  to  the  wagon 
conveying  the  wounded  and  dead  of  Randall's  com 
mand  to  Mount  Idaho,  and  returned  in  time  to  meet 
the  general  when  he  arrived  at  Cotton  wood  via  Craig's 
ferry,  sixteen  miles  distant  from  that  camp.  McCon- 
ville  then  proposed  to  make  a  reconnoissance  in  force 
by  uniting  four  volunteer  companies  in  one  battalion, 
and  discover  the  whereabouts  of  the  Indians.  Ac 
cordingly,  he  soon  reported  them  within  ten  miles  of 
Kamiah,  and  that  he  with  his  battalion  occupied  a 
strong  position  six  miles  from  Kamiah,  which  Howard 
requested  him  to  hold  until  he  could  get  his  troops 
into  position,  which  he  did  on  the  llth,  McConville 
withdrawing  on  that  day0  to  within  three  miles  of 
Mount  Idaho  to  give  protection  to  that  place  should 
the  Indians  be  driven  in  that  direction. 

Joseph  was  at  this  time  in  the  full  flush  of  success. 
He  had  abundance  of  ammunition  and  booty.  His 
return  to  Carnas  prairie  and  the  reservation  grounds 
had  drawn  to  him  about  forty  of  the  young  warriors 

ing  and  the  position  gained,  but  Randall  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  charge. 
He  sat  xipon  the  ground  and  fired  until  within  five  minutes  of  his  death.  The 
remaining  sixteen  made  no  attempt  to  run  toward  camp,  trusting  in  the  com 
mander  of  the  troops  to  be  rescued,  which  rescue  was  afforded  them  after  an 
hour  of  hard  fighting.  In  the  mean  time  B.  F.  Evans  was  killed,  and  A. 
Bledland,  D.  H.  Houser,  and  Charles  Johnson  wounded.  The  other  members 
of  this  brave  coihpany  were  L.  P.,Willmote,  J.  Searly,  James  Buchanan, 
William  Bcemer,  Charles  Chase,  C.  M.  Day,  Ephraim  Bunker,  Frank  Vancise, 
George  Riggings,  A.  D.  Bartley,  H.  C.  Johnson,  and  F.  A.  Fenn. 

9  There  seem  to  have  been  the  usual  jealousies  and  misunderstandings 
between  tho  regulars  and  volunteers.  /McConville  was  blamed  for  leaving  his 
position,  which  Howard  designed  him  to  hold  as  a  part  of  tho  enveloping  force; 
but  the  volunteers  certainly  did  not  lack  in  courage.  They  were  only  90 
strong,  and  were  attacked  by  the  Indians  on  the  night  of  the  10th,  losing  50 
of  their  horses.  Howard  was  then  across  the  south  branch  of  the  Clcarwater, 
4  miles  beyond  Jackson's  bridge,  undiscovered  by  the  Indians,  who  were 
giving  their  whole  attention  to  the  volunteers,  who  thus  performed  a  very 
important  duty  of  diverting  observation  from  the  army  while  getting  in  posi 
tion.  Being  separated  from  Howard  by  tho  river,  and  having  lost  a  large 
number  of  their  horses,  it  was  prudent  and  good  tactics  to  retire  and  let  the 
Indians  fall  into  the  trap  Howard  had  set  for  them,  near  their  own  camp,  and 
to  place  himself  between  the  settlements  and  the  Indians.  See  Howard's  re-'X 
port,  in  Sec.  War  Rvpt,  1877-S,  122;  Sutherland'*!  Howard's  C'ampai/jn,  6.  / 


BATTLE  OF  THE  CLEARWATER.  505 

of  the  treaty  bands,  and  twenty  or  more  Coeur 
d'Alenes,  thirsting  for  the  excitement  of  \var.  He 
expected  to  be  attacked,  but  from  the  direction  of 
the  volunteers,  on  which  side  of  his  camp  he  had 
erected  fortifications.  On  the  other  he  had  prepared 
a  trail  leading  up  from  the  Clearwater  as  a  means  of 
escape  in  case  of  defeat,  and  made  many  caches  of 
provisions  and  valuable  property.  The  camp  lay  not 
far  from  the  mouth  of  Cottonwood  Creek,  in  a  defile 
of  the  high  hills  which  bordered  the  Clearwater.  A 
level  valley  of  no  great  width  was  thus  bounded  on 
either  side  of  the  river.  When  Howard  placed  his 
guns  in  position  for  firing  into  the  enemy's  camp  he 
found  that  on  account  of  the  depth  of  the  canon  which 
protected  the  Indians  he  only  alarmed  instead  of 
hitting  them,  and  they  ran  their  horses  and  cattle 
beyond  range  of  the  artillery  up  the  stream,  on  both 
sides  of  the  Clearwater,  getting  them  out  of  danger 
in  ten  minutes. 

Hurrying  the  guns  to  another  position  around  the 
head  of  a  ravine,  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half,  the 
Indians  were  found  to  have  crossed  the  river,  and 
thrown  up  breastworks  ready  for  battle.  Firing  com 
menced  here,  and  Howard's  whole  command  was 
posted  up  and  down  the  river  for  two  miles  and  a  half, 
in  a  crescent  shape,  with  supplies  and  horses  in  the 
centre.  So  active  were  the  Indians  that  they  had 
almost  prevented  the  left  from  getting  into  position, 
and  had  captured  a  small  train  bringing  ammunition, 
which  the  cavalry  rescued  after  two  packers  were 
killed.  Their  sharp-shooters  were  posted  in  every 
conceivable  place,  and  sometimes  joined  together  in  a 
company  and  attacked  the  defences  thrown  up  by  the 
troops.  To  these  fierce  charges  the  troops  replied  by 
counter-charges,  the  two  lines  advancing  until  they 
nearly  met.  In  these  encounters  the  Indians  had  the 
advantage  of  occupying  the  wooded  skirts  of  the 
ravines,  by  which  they  ascended  from  the  river  bottom 
to  the  open  country,  while  the  soldiers  could  only 


506 


INDIAN  WARS. 


avo'  1  their  fire  by  throwing  themselves  prone  upon 
the  earth  in  the  dry  grass,  and  firing  in  this  position. 
All  the  time  the  voice  of  Joseph  was  heard  loudly 
calling  his  orders  as  he  ran  from  point  to  point  of  his 
line.  And  thus  the  day  wore  on,  and  night  fell,  after 
which,  instead  of  the  noise  of  battle,  there  was  the 
death-wail,  and  the  scalp-song  rising  from  the  Nez 
Perce  camp.  The  only  spring  of  water  was  in  the 
possession  of  the  Indians,  and  was  not  taken  until  the 
morning  of  the  12th. 

Howard  then  withdrew  the  artillery  from  the  lines, 
leaving  the  cavalry  and  infantry  to  hold  them,  and 
Captain  Miller  was  directed  to  make  a  movement 


THE  LOLO  TRAIL. 

with  his  battalion,  piercing  the  enemy's  line  near  the 
centre,  crossing  his  barricaded  ravine,  and  facing 
about  suddenly  to  strike  him  in  reverse,  using  a 
howitzer.  At  the  moment  Miller  was  about  to  move 
to  execute  this  order  a  supply  train,  under  Captain 
Jackson,  was  discovered  advancing,  and  Miller's  bat 
talion  was  sent  to  escort  it  within  the  lines,  which 


PURSUIT  OF  JOSrPii.  507 

was  done  with  a  little  skirmishing.  This  accomplished, 
he  marched  slowly  past  Howard's  front,  and  turning 
quickly  and  unexpectedly,  charged  the  barricades, 
about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  After  a  few 
moments  of  furious  fighting,  the  Indians  gave  way, 
their  defences  were  taken,  and  they  fled  in  confusion, 
the  whole  army  in  pursuit,  the  Indians  retreating  to 
the  Kamiah  ferry  and  the  trail  to  the  buffalo  country 
by  the  Lolo  fork  of  the  Clearwater. 

Joseph  was  not  in  a  condition  to  leave  Idaho  at 
once.  He  therefore  encamped  four  miles  beyond 
Kamiah,  over  a  range  of  hills,  and  sent  word  to 
Howard  that  he  wished  to  surrender.  The  general 
had  spent  the  14th  in  reconnoitring,  and  had  started 
on  the  15th  to  march  with  a  column  of  cavalry  twenty 
miles  down  the  Clearwater  and  cross  at  Dunwell's 
ferry,  hoping  the  Indians  would  believe  he  had  gone 
to  Lapwai.  But  Joseph  had  been  once  taken  by  a 
strategic  movement  of  that  kind,  and  had  no  fear  of 
another.  He  rose  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  by 
another  ruse  de  guerre  induced  Howard  to  hasten  to 
Kamiah  to  listen  to  his  proposal  of  surrender.  At 
Kamiah  he  met,  not  Joseph,  but  a  head-man  from  his 
staff,  who  entertained  him  with  a  talk  about  his  chiefs, 
while  one  of  his  people  fired  on  the  general  from  an 
ambush.  This  put  an  end  to  negotiations;  the  mes 
senger  surrendered  with  his  family,  and  a  few  recruits 
from  the  neighboring  tribes  whom  the  battle  of  Clear- 
water  had  satisfied  with  war,  and  Howard  again  pre 
pared  to  follow  Joseph.10 

It  was  not  until  the  17th  that  the  pursuit  com 
menced.  On  that  day  Colonel  Mason,  with  the  cav- 
B.\ry,  the  Indian  scouts,  and  McConville's  volunteers, 
were  ordered  to  make  a  two  days'  march  to  discover 
the  nature  of  the  trail,  and  whether  the  Indians  were 

10  Sutherland  says  that  Joseph  really  desired  to  surrender,  and  was  only 
deterred  by  the  answer  of  Howard,  that  if  ho  would  come  in  with  his  warriors 
they  would  be  tried  by  a  military  court,  and  get  justice,  with  which  prospect 
Joseph  was  not  satisfied.  Howard,  however,  states  in  his  report  that  he 
regarded  the  proposition  to  surrender  as  a  ruse  to  delay  movements. 


508  INDIAN  WARS. 

keeping  on  toward  the  buffalo  country.  They  found 
the  trail  leading  over  wooded  mountains,  where  masses 
of  fallen  timber  furnished  frequent  opportunities  for 
ambuscades,  and  on  the  18th,  when  within  three 
''miles  of  Oro  Fino  Creek,  the  scouts  and  volunteers 
ran  into  the  enemy's  rear-guard.  Only  the  tactics  of 
the  scouts,  by  drawing  the  attention  of  the  attacking 
party,  saved  the  volunteers  from  severe  loss.  Three 
of  the  scouts  were  disarmed,  one  wounded,  and  one 
killed.  The  enemy  sustained  a  loss  of  one  warrior 
killed,  and  two  pack-animals.  After  this  involuntary 
skirmish,  the  troops  hastily  retreated  to  Kamiah, 
where  they  arrived  that  night. 

The  retreat  of  the  cavalry  was  followed  by  the  re 
turn  of  a  small  force  of  the  hostile  Nez  Perces,  who, 
scattering  themselves  over  the  country  in  search  of 
plunder,  caused  great  alarm  to  the  white  inhabitants 
and  the  reservation  Indians.  They  pillaged  and 
burned  some  houses  on  the  north  fork  of  the  Clear- 
water,  captured  400  horses  from  the  Kamiahs,  and 
rejoined  their  main  army.  This  raid  was  the  last  one 
made  by  Joseph's  people  in  Idaho.  From  this  time 
they  pushed  on  upon  their  extraordinary  exodus, 
whose  objective  point  became  the  British  possessions. 
By  the  battle  of  the  Clear  water,  Joseph's  plans 
were  disarranged.  Had  he  been  as  successful  here 
as  up  to  this  time  he  had  been,  all  the  ill-disposed 
reservation  and  non-treaty  Indians  would  have  gath 
ered  to  his  camp  and  the  war  would  have  been  much 
more  disastrous  than  it  was.  His  loss  in  battle  was 
twenty-three  killed,  and  between  forty  and  fifty 
wounded,  a  large  percentage  out  of  300  fighting  men. 
Taken  together  with  the  loss  of  camp  equipage  and 
provisions,  he  had  sustained  a  severe  blow,  among 
the  severest  of  which  was  the  desertion  of  his  tempo 
rary  recruits.  Henceforth  he  could  not  hope  to  in 
crease  the  number  of  his  followers  in  his  own  country. 
Howard's  loss  was  thirteen  killed,  and  two  officers  and 
twenty- two  men  wounded. 


ESCAPE  OP  THE  INDIANS.  509 

The  last  raid  of  Joseph  had  also  interfered  with 
the  plans  of  Howard,  by  compelling  him  to  remain  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  places  threatened  until  troops  then 
on  the  way  should  arrive  to  protect  them.  It  was 
his  first  intention  to  march  his  whole  command  to 
Missoula  City  in  Montana,  by  the  Mullan  road,  where 
he  hoped  to  intercept  Joseph  as  he  emerged  from  the 
Lolo  canon  in  that  vicinty.  He  had  already  tele 
graphed  Sherman,  then  in  Montana,  and  the  com 
manders  of  posts  east  of  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains, 
information  of  Joseph's  exodus  by  the  Lolo  trail,  and 
asked  for  cooperation  in  intercepting  him.  On  the 
30th,  two  weeks  after  the  Nez  Perces  started  from 
their  camps  beyond  Kamiah,  Howard  set  out  to  over 
take  them  with  a  battalion  of  cavalry,  one  of  infantry, 
and  one  of  artillery,  in  all  about  700  men,  another 
column  having  taken  the  Mullan  road  a  few  days 
earlier. 

Captain  Rawn  of  Fort  Missoula,  on  hearing  that 
Joseph  was  expected  to  emerge  from  the  Lolo  trail 
into  the  Bitter  Root  Valley,  erected  barricades  at  the 
mouth  of  the  canon  to  prevent  it,  and  hold  him  for 
Howard.  He  had  twenty-five  regular  troops,  and 
200  volunteers  to  garrison  the  stone  fort.  He  com 
mitted  the  error  of  placing  the  fortifications  too  near 
the  exit  of  the  trail,  outside  of  two  lateral  ravines,  of 
one  of  which  Joseph  made  use  to  pass  around  him  and 
escape,  having  first  consumed  four  days  in  pretended 
negotiations,  during  which  time  he  made  himself 
master  of  the  topography  of  the  country. 

Once  in  the  Bitter  Boot  Valley,  they  bartered  such 
things  as  they  had,  chiefly  horses,  with  the  inhabitants, 
who  dared  not  refuse,11  and  supplied  themselves  with 
what  they  most  needed.12 

11  One  merchant,  Young  of  Corvallis,  refused  to  trade  with  them,  closed 
his  store,  and  dared  them  to  do  their  worst.  Gibbon's  rept,  in.St'C.  War  Kept, 
1877-8,  GS.  Some,  however,  of  tho  little  town  of  Stephensville,  sold  provis 
ions  and  ammunition  to  the  Indians,  and  followed  them  in  wagons  to  trade. 
Sutherland's  Howard's  Campaign,  23. 

1JThis  needs  some  explanation.  There  were  a  considerable  number  of  old 
Indian  traders  and  Hudson's  Bay  men  in  Montana,  who  could  not  resist  the 


610  INDIAN  WARS. 

There  was  but  a  single  regiment  In  western  Montana 

m, 

when  Howard  made  his  demand  for  aid..  ,  This  was 
the  7th  infantry,  under  Colonel  John  Gibbon.  With 
drawing  all  he  could  from  forts  Benton,  Baker,  and 
Missoula,  Gibbon  started  in  pursuit  of  Joseph  soon 
after  he  passed  the  latter  post,  July  27th.  He  had 
seventeen  officers,  132  men,  and  thirty-four  citizen 
volunteers.  On  the  night  of  the  8th  of  August  he 
succeeded  in  creeping  close  to  Joseph's  camp,  which 
was  situated  on  a  piece  of  bottom-land  on  Ruby 
Creek,  a  small  stream  forming  one  of  the  head  waters 
of  Wisdom  River.  At  daylight  on  the  9th  he  attacked, 
and  the  Indians  being  surprised,  their  camp  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  infantry  in  less  than  half  an  hour. 
But  while  the  soldiers  were  firing  the  lodges,  the 
Indians,  who  had  at  first  run  to  cover,  began  pouring 
upon  them  in  return  a  leaden  shower,  which  quickly 
drove  them  to  hiding-places  in  the  woods.  Fighting 
continued  all  day  without  abatement,  the  Indians 
capturing  a  howitzer  and  a  pack-mule  laden  with 
ammunition.  During  the  night  the  Nez  Pcrces  es 
caped,  leaving  89  dead  on  the  field,  of  whom  some 
were  women  and  children.  Gibbon  had  29  killed  and 
40  wounded,  himself  being  one  of  the  latter.13 

On  the  second  morning  after  this  battle,  Howard 
came  up  with  a  picked  escort,  and  Mason  with  the 
remainder  of  the  cavalry  arrived  late  on  the  12th. 
On  the  13th  Howard  took  up  the  pursuit  again  with 
the  addition  to  his  battalion  of  fifty  of  Gibbon's  com 
mand.  Proceeding  southward  he  was  met  by  the 
report  of  eight  men  killed  near  the  head  of  Horse 
prairie  the  previous  night,  and  200  horses  captured.14 

tempting  opportunity  to  increase  their  stock  from  the  herds  of  the  fugitive 
Nez  Perec's.  The  U.  S.  officers  complained  of  this  in  their  reports,  without 
discriminating  between  this  class  and  American-born  citizens. 

13 Of  the  killed,  0  were  volunteers,  viz.:  L.  C.  Elliott,  John  Armstrong, 
David  Morrow,  Alvin  Lockwood,  Campbell  Mitchell,  H.  S.  Bostwick. 
Wounded  volunteers:  Myron  Lockwood,  Otto  Syford,  Jacob  Baker,  and 
William  Ryan.  Gibbon's  rept,  in  Sec.  War  Rept,  1877-8,  72. 

11  This  may  refer  to  the  same  attack  by  the  Noz  Perec's  mentioned  in 
Shoup's  Idaho  Territory,  MS.,  12-13,  which  says  that  Joseph's  people  met  a 
large  train  coming  over  the  mountains  from  Bannack  City  to  Lemhi,  and 


THE  CHASE  CONTINUED.  511 

But  on  the  15th  he  received  a  message  from  Colonel 
George  L.  Shoup,  of  the  Idaho  volunteers,  informing 
him  that  the  Indians  had  recrossed  the  mountains 
into  Idaho,  and  surrounded  the  temporary  fortifica 
tions  at  Junction,  in  Lemhi  Valley,  containing  only 
forty  citizens.  Shoup  with  sixty  volunteers  had 
reconnoitred  their  camp  west  of  Junction,  finding 
them  too  strong  to  attack,  and  called  for  help.  Before 
Howard  could  decide  to  send  assistance,  another 
courier  informed  him  that  Joseph  had  made  a  sudden 
movement  toward  the  east,  leaving  the  fortified 
settlers  of  Lemhi  unharmed.  Other  couriers  from 
the  stage  company  intercepted  him  on  the  16th,  and 
reported  the  Indians  on  the  road  beyond  Dry  Creek 
station,  in  Montana,  interrupting  travel,  and  cutting 
off  telegraphic  communication,  although  a  guard  had 
been  set  upon  every  pass  known  to  the  commander  of 
the  pursuing  army.  It  was  not  until  the  18th  that 
their  camp  was  discovered  near  that  place. 

The  following  clay  was  Sunday,  and  Howard,  who 
had  religious  scruples,  went  into  camp  early  in  the 
afternoon,  about  eighteen  miles  from  the  encampment 
of  the  Nez  Perces.  The  opportunity  was  a  good 
one  for  Joseph,  who  commenced  a  movement  on  his 
own  rear  a  little  before  sunset,  cautiously  approach 
ing  Howard's  camp,  and  sending  a  few  skilled  horse- 
thieves  into  it,  undertook  to  divert  the  attention  of 
the  troops  by  a  sudden  advance  on  the  pickets,  while 
they  stampeded  the  pack-animals.  At  daylight  three 
companies  started  in  pursuit,  and  a  skirmish  ensued, 
which  by  continuance  became  a  battle,  the  remainder 
of  the  force  joining  in.  The  result  was  one  man 
killed,  six  wounded,  and  the  loss  of  the  pack-train, 
which  was  not  recovered.  Thus  the  chase  was  kept 
up  as  far  as  Henry  Lake,  where  Howard  awaited 
supplies,  and  rested  his  men  and  horses. 

attacking  them,  drove  them  into  the  stockade  in  Lemhi  Valley.  They  also 
captured  and  destroyed  8  wagons,  loaded  with  goods  for  Shoup  &  Co.  and 
Frederick  Phillips,  killing  five  men  and  the  teams. 


512  INDIAN  WARS. 

As  for  Joseph,  he  and  his  people  seemed  made  all 
of  endurance.  They  passed  on  into  Wyoming  and 
the  national  park  by  the  way  of  the  Madison  branch 
of  the  Missouri.  In  the  lower  geyser  basin  they 
captured  a  party  of  tourists,  resting  but  a  short  time 
near  Yellowstone  Lake.  Although  a  large  number  <i 
of  troops  were  put  into  the  field,  namely,  six  companies 
of  the  7th  cavalry  under  Colonel  Sturgis,  five  of  the 
fifth  cavalry  under  Major  Hart,  and  ten  other  cavalry 
companies  under  Colonel  Merritt,  to  scout  in  every 
direction,  Joseph  again  evaded  them,  and  crossed  the 
Yellowstone  at  the  mouth  of  Clark  Fork,  September 
10th,  leaving  both  Sturgis  and  Howard  in  the  rear. 
Sturgis,  being  reenforced  and  sent  in  fast  pursuit,  over 
took  the  Indians  below  Clark  Fork,  and  skirmishing 
with  them,  killed  and  wounded  several,  and  captured 
a  large  number  of  horses.  Nevertheless,  they  again 
escaped,  crossing  the  Musselshell  and  Missouri  Rivers, 
the  latter  at  Cow  Island,  the  low-water  steamboat 
landing  for  Fort  Benton,  where  they  burned  the  ware 
houses  and  stores,  and  skirmished  with  a  detachment 
of  the  7th  infantry  engaged  in  improving  the  river 
near  Cow  Island.  On  the  23d  of  September  they 
moved  north  again  toward  the  British  possessions. 

When  Howard  found  that  the  Nez  Perces  had  es 
caped  from  Sturgis  and  himself  at  Clark  Fork,  he 
sent  word  to  Colonel  Miles,  stationed  at  the  mouth  of 
Tongue  River,  who  immediately  organized  a  force  to 
intercept  them.  This  command  left  Tongue  River 
barracks  on  the  18th,  reaching  the  Missouri  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Musselshell  on  the  23d,  learning  the 
direction  taken  by  the  fugitives  on  the  25th,  and 
coming  up  with  their  camp  on  Snake  Creek,  near  the 
north  end  of  Bear  Paw  Mountains,  on  the  29th.  An 
attack  was  made  the  next  morning  by  three  several 
battalions,  the  Indians  taking  refuge,  as  usual,  in  the 
mountain  defiles.15 

13  Besides  Miles'  own  regiment  of  the  5th  infantry,  he  had  a  battalion  of 
the  7th  cavalry  under  Captain  Hale,  and  another  of  the  2d  cavalry  under 
Captain  Tyler,  detailed  to  his  command.  Sec.  War  Eept,  1877-8,  74. 


JOSEPH  SURRENDERS.  513 

The  first  charge  cut  off  from  camp  all  the  horses, 
which  were  captured,  and  half  the  warriors.  In  the 
second  charge,  on  the  rifle-pits,  Captain  Hale  and 
Lieutenant  Biddle  were  killed.  As  soon  as  the  infan 
try  came  up,  the  camp  was  entirely  surrounded,  but 
as  it  was  evident  the  fortifications  could  not  be  taken 
without  heavy  loss,  Miles  contented  himself  with 
keeping  the  enemy  under  fire  until  he  should  surren 
der.  For  four  days  and  nights  the  Indians  and  the 
troops  kept  their  positions.  A  white  flag  was  several 
times  displayed  in  the  Nez  Perce  camp,  but  when 
required  to  lay  down  their  arms  they  refused.  At 
length,  on  the  5th  of  October,  after  three  and  a  half 
months  of  war,  meanwhile  being  ten  weeks  hunted 
from  place  to  place,  the  Nez  Perces  were  forced  to 
surrender,  and  General  Howard,  who  had  arrived  just 
in  time  to  be  present  at  the  ceremony,  directed  Joseph 
to  give  up  his  arms  to  Colonel  Miles.  In  the  last 
action  Joseph  had  lost  his  brother  Onicut,  a  young 
brave  resembling  himself  in  military  talent,  Looking- 
glass,  another  prominent  chief,  and  two  head-men, 
besides  twenty-five  warriors  killed  and  forty-six 
wounded.  Miles  lost,  beside  the  two  officers  named, 
twenty-one  killed  and  forty-four  wounded.  The  num 
ber  of  persons  killed  outside  of  battle  by  Joseph's 
people  was  about  fifty;  volunteers  killed  in  war,  thir 
teen;  officers  and  men  of  the  regular  army,  105.  The 
wounded  were  not  less  than  120. 

To  capture  300  warriors,  encumbered  with  their 
families  and  stock,  required  at  various  times  the  ser 
vices  of  between  thirty  and  forty  companies  of  United 
States  troops,  supplemented  by  volunteers  and  Indian 
scouts.  The  distance  marched  by  Howard's  army 
from  Kamiah  to  Bear  Paw  Mountains  was  over  1,500 
miles,  a  march  the  severity  of  which  has  rarely  been 
equalled,  as  its  length  on  the  war-path  has  never 
been  surpassed. 

The  fame  of  Joseph  became  wide-spread  by  reason 
of  this  enormous  outlay  of  money  and  effort  in  his 


HIST.  WASH.— 33 


514  INDIAN  WARS. 

capture,  and  from  the  military  skill  displayed  in  avoid 
ing  it  for  such  a  length  of  time.  It  only  shows  that 
war  may  be  maintained  as  well  by  the  barbarian  as  by 
the  civilized  man,  the  best  arms  and  the  greatest 
numbers  deciding  the  contest.  When  the  Nez  Perces 
surrendered,  they  were  promised  permission  to  return 
to  Idaho,  and  were  given  in  charge  of  Colonel  Miles, 
to  be  kept  until  spring,  it  then  being  too  late  to  make 
the  journey.  But  General  Sheridan,  in  whose  de 
partment  they  were,  ordered  them  to  Fort  Leaven- 
worth,  and  afterward  to  the  Indian  Territory,  near 
the  Ponca  agency,  where  they  subsequently  lived 
quietly  and  enjoyed  health  and  comfort.  That  this 
was  a  judicious  course  to  pursue  under  the  circum 
stances,  the  behavior  of  a  part  of  White  Bird's  band, 
who  fled  to  the  British  possessions  after  surrendering, 
and  returned  to  Idaho  the  following  summer,  satis 
factorily  demonstrated.16 

Scarcely  was  the  N"ez  Percd  war  over,  and  Joseph's 
people  banished,  before  the  territory  was  again  agi- 

16  The  number  of  Nez  Perec's,  exclusive  of  Joseph's  followers,  still  off  the 
reservation  in  1878,  was  500.  The  progress  of  the  Nez  Percys  who  remained 
on  the  reservation  was  rather  assisted  than  retarded  by  the  separation  from 
their  fellowship  of  the  non-treaty  Indians.  Four  of  the  young  men  from 
Kamiah  were  examined  by  the  presbytery  of  Oregon  in  1877,  and  licensed  to 
preach  and  teach  among  their  tribe.  The  membership  of  the  Kamiah  and 
Lapwai  churches  in  1879  was  over  300.  They  were  presided  over  by  one 
white  minister,  and  one  Nez  Perc6  minister  named  Robert  Williams,  and  con 
tributed  of  their  own  means  toward  the  support  of  their  teachers.  That  a 
good  deal  of  their  Christianity  was  vanity,  was  shown  on  the  4th  of  July,  1879, 
which  day  was  celebrated  by  the  Kamiah  division  of  the  tribe.  As  the  pro 
cession  formed  to  march  from  camp  to  the  place  selected  for  the  exercises, 
those  wearing  blankets  and  adhering  to  aboriginal  customs  were  excluded  by 
the  chief  and  head-men  with  a  contemptuous  'no  Indians  allowed.'  Such  is 
the  inexorable  law  of  progress — no  Indians  allowed.  In  1880  there  were 
nearly  4,000  acres  under  cultivation  by  170  Nez  Perc6  farmers.  Of  the  1,200 
who  lived  on  the  reserve,  nearly  900  wore  citizens'  dress.  In  educational 
matters  they  were  less  forward.  Notwithstanding  the  grant  by  treaty  of 
$0,000  annually  for  educational  purposes,  for  thirteen  years,  and  notwith 
standing  missionary  efforts,  the  number  who  could  read  in  1880  was  110. 
The  number  of  children  of  school  age  on  the  reservation  was  2oO,  about  one 
fifth  of  whom  attended  school.  On  the  1st  of  July,  1880,  the  Stevens  treaty 
expired  by  limitation,  and  with  it  chieftainships  and  annuities  were  abolished, 
la  most  cases  chieftainship  had  been  a  source  of  jealousy  to  the  Indians  and 
danger  to  the  white  people,  as  in  the  instances  of  Joseph,  White  Bird,  and 
others;  but  the  influence  of  Lawyer  and  his  successor  was  probably  worth 
much  more  than  the  salary  he  received,  in  preserving  the  peace.  When  it 
finally  passed  away,  it  was  no  longer  needed  for  that  purpose. 


SHOSHOXE  AFFAIRS.  515 

tatod  by  the  threatening  attitude  of  the  Shoshone 
and  allied  tribes.  The  origin  of  the  outbreak  was 
their  dissatisfaction  as  wards  of  the  government.  For 
a  few  years  after  their  subjugation  by  generals  Crook 
and  Conner  the  people  of  Idaho  enjoyed  a  period  of 
freedom  from  alarms,  but  in  1871  there  was  a  general 
restlessness  among  the  tribes  of  southern  Idaho,  from 
the  eastern  to  the  western  boundary,  that  boded  no 
good.17 

In  1 867,  while  the  Shoshone  war  was  yet  in  progress, 
Governor  Ballard,  in  his  capacity  of  ex-officio  super 
intendent  of  Indian  affairs,  made  an  informal  treaty 
with  the  Bannack  branch  of  the  Shoshone  nation  in 
the  eastern  part  of  Idaho,  by  which  they  agreed  to 
go  upon  the  Fort  Hall  reservation  before  the  1st  of 
June,  1868,  provided  the  land  should  be  set  apart  for 
ever  to  them,  and  that  they  should  be  taught  hus 
bandry,  mechanics,  and  given  schools  for  their  chil 
dren.  The  Boise  and  Bruneau  Shoshones  were  also 
gathered  under  an  agent  and  fed  through  the  winter. 
In  1868  all  these  Indians  were  located  on  the  reserva 
tion  at  Fort  Hall,  some  of  them  straying  back  to 
their  former  homes.  A  formal  treaty  was  this  year 
made  with  the  Bannacks,  by  which  1,568,000  acres 
were  set  apart  for  their  use  and  that  of  kindred  tribes. 
But  the  ardor  with  which  some  of  these  Indians  set 
to  work  to  learn  farming  was  quenched  by  the  results 
of  the  first  year's  effort,  the  grasshoppers  destroying 
a  large  portion  of  their  crop,  in  addition  to  which  the 
government  was,  as  so  often  happened,  behind  with 
its  annuities.  By  the  terms  of  the  treaty  the  Indians 
were  permitted  to  go  to  the  buffalo-grounds,  and  to 
dig  camas  on  Big  Camas  prairie,  a  part  of  which  was 
agreed  to  be  set  aside  for  their  use  whenever  they 
should  desire  it.18  Affairs  progressed  favorably  until 

17  The  language  of  Norkok,  a  Shoshone  chief,  to  the  agent  at  the  Bannack 
and  Shoshone  agency  in  1809,  on  being  refused  annuity  goods  off  the  reserva 
tion,  was  that  he  supposed  the  only  way  to  obtain  presents  was  '  to  steal  a  few 
horses  and  kill  a  few  white  men.'  Ind.  Aff.  Kept,  18G9,  275. 

18  Reversion  of  Indian  Treaties,  1873,  p.  931,  in  Sec.  War  Rcpt,  187S-9.  ii. 
151. 


516  INDIAN  WARS. 

the  death  of  the  principal  chief,  Tygee,  in  1871,  when 
the  Indians  began  to  present  a  hostile  front.  In 
1872  an  Indian  from  the  Fort  Hall  reservation  at 
tempted  to  shoot  a  farmer  at  work  making  hay  on  the 
South  Boise  River.  He  was  seized,  but  finally  liber 
ated  by  the  white  man  who  took  him,  rather  than  in 
cur  the  danger  of  bringing  on  a  conflict  with  the  tribe. 
Several  similar  affairs  happened  during  the  summer, 
and  some  murders  were  committed.  In  1873  the 
government  ordered  the  special  commission  before  re 
ferred  to,  of  which  Shanks  was  chairman,  to  investi 
gate  causes  of  trouble  in  the  district  of  Idaho.  These 
commissioners  made  a  modification  of  the  former  treaty 
with  the  Bannacks  and  Shoshones,  by  which  they  re 
linquished  their  right  to  hunt  on  the  unoccupied  lands 
of  the  United  States  without  a  written  permit  from 
the  agent.  But  no  reference  was  made  in  the  amend 
ments  to  Camas  prairie  privileges.  Once  at  Camas 
prairie,  the  Indians  proceeded  under  their  different 
chiefs,  in  detachments,  to  the  Weiser  Valley,  now 
being  occupied  by  settlers,  where  they  were  met  by 
the  Umatillas  from  Oregon,  and  where  they  held  a 
grand  fair,  horse-races, -and  exchange  of  property  in 
the  ancient  manner.  When  thus  assembled,  they 
numbered,  with  the  Umatillas,  about  2,000,  and  the 
settlers  felt  unsafe  from  their  proximity.  The  super- 
intendency  having  been  taken  away  from  the  gov 
ernor,  there  was  no  appeal  within  the  territory,  except 
to  the  agent  at  Fort  Hall,  who  justified  the  giving  of 
passes  on  account  of  the  meagreness  of  the  commis 
sary  department  at  the  agency. 

Further  trouble  was  caused  in  1874  by  an  order 
from  the  Indian  department  for  the  removal  of  about 
a  thousand  Indians — among  whom  was  a  band  known 
as  the  Sheep  Eaters,  who,  five  years  previous,  had 
been  settled  in  the  Lemhi  Valley  under  an  agent — to 
the  Fort  Hall  reservation,  these  Indians  refusing  to 
be  removed.  In  the  following  year  the  order  was 
withdrawn,  and  a  reservation  set  apart  for  them  con- 


BANNACKS  AND  PIUTES.  517 

taining  100  square  miles.  In  this  year,  also,  an  ad 
dition  was  made  to  the  Malheur  reservation  in  Oregon, 
which  was  still  further  enlarged,  with  new  boundaries, 
in  187G. 

But  meantime  the  Modoc  war  and  Joseph's  atti 
tude  concerning  the  Wallowa  Valley  had  their  effect 
in  disturbing  the  minds  of  the  Indians,  particularly 
those  of  the  Oregon  Shoshones  and  the  Piutes  asso- 

o 

elated  with  them.  Three  or  four  years  of  deceitful 
quiet  followed  the  banishment  of  the  Modocs.  When 
the  N"cz  Perce  outbreak  occurred,  great  alarm  was 
felt  by  the  white  inhabitants  lest  the  Shoshones 
and  Piutes  should  join  in  the  revolt.  Winnemucca, 
chief  of  the  Piutes,  appeared  on  the  Owyhee  with  all 
his  warriors;  but  finding  the  people  watchful,  and  the 
military  active,  they  remained  quiescent,  and  Joseph 
was  permitted  to  do  his  own  fighting.  Yet  the  wide 
spread  consternation  which  this  one  band  was  able  to 
create,  and  the  injury  it  succeeded  in  inflicting,  en 
couraged  the  Indians — many  of  whom  were  believers 
in  the  Smohallah  doctrine  of  the  conquest  of  the 
country  by  the  red  men — to  think  that  a  more  com 
bined  attack  would  be  successful. 

In  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1877  the  Bannacks 
on  the  Fort  Hall  reservation  became  so  turbulent  as 
to  require  a  considerable  military  force  at  the  agency. 

When  spring  came  there  was  not  enough  food  to 
keep  them  all  on  the  reservation,19  would  they  have 
stayed;  and  being  off,  in  May  they  commenced  shoot 
ing  white  people  on  Camas  prairie,  to  which,  under 
the  treaty,  they  laid  claim  equally  with  the  United 
States.  As  the  settlers  kept  swine,  the  camas  root 
was  destroyed  by  them  in  a  wholesale  manner  very 
irritating  to  the  Indians. 

19  It  should  be  explained  that  the  scarcity  of  food  was  partly  occasioned 
by  the  Nez  Perc6  war,  which  prevented  the  Indians  from  hunting  as  usual. 
Of  this  the  Bannacks  were  as  well  aware  as  their  agent.  Congress  appropri 
ated  $14,000  for  their  subsistence  in  1877,  but  the  deficiency  mentioned  and 
the  greater  number  on  tho  reservation  caused  a  partial  famine. 


518 


INDIAN  WARS. 


Their  first  demonstration,  after  threatening  for 
some  time,  was  to  fire  upon  two  herders,  wounding 
them  severely.  They  next  captured  King  Hill  stage- 
station,  destroying  property  and  driving  off  the  horses, 
the  men  in  charge  barely  escaping.  About  the  same 
time  they  appeared  on  Jordan  Creek,  demanding 
arms  and  ammunition,  and  captured  two  freight- 
wagons  near  Glen's  ferry  on  Snake  River,  driving  off 


CAMAS  PRAIRIE  AND  VOLCANO  DISTRICT. 


100  horses,  cutting  loose  the  ferry-boat,  and  destroy 
ing  several  farm-houses  from  which  the  families  had 
fled.  The  settlers  of  this  region  fortified  themselves 
at  Payne's  ferry,  and  formed  a  volunteer  company. 
All  over  the  territory  again,  as  in  the  preceding  sum 
mer,  business  was  prostrated,  farms  were  deserted, 
and  citizens  under  arms. 

Again  it  required  time  to  concentrate  troops  and 
find  where  to  strike  the  Indians.  Their  movement 
seemed  to  be  from  Fort  Hall  west  along  Snake  River 
to  the  Owyhee.  The  leader  of  the  hostile  Bannacks 
was  Buffalo  Horn,  one  of  the  Bannack  scouts  em- 


MORE  FIGHTING.  519 

ployed  in  the  Nez  Perce  war,  but  who  was  said  to 
have  deserted  Howard  at  Henry  Lake  because  he 
would  not  be  advised  by  him,  and  push  on  to  Joseph's 
camp,  which  he  insisted  could  be  taken  at  that  time. 
Evidently  he  had  a  taste  for  fighting  which  was  not 
satisfied  with  Howard's  tactics.  The  chiefs  of  the 
Piutes,  Winnemucca  and  Natchez,  maintained  an  ap 
pearance  of  friendship,  while  Eagan  and  Oits  led  the 
Indians  of  south-western  Oregon  arid  northern  Ne 
vada,  Piutes  and  Malheurs,  in  their  murderous  raids. 
The  Umatilla  Indians  were  divided,  many  cf  them 
joining  the  war-making  bands,  and  others  volunteer 
ing  to  fight  with  the  troops.  There  seemed  imminent 
danger  that  the  uprising  would  become  general,  from 
Utah  and  Nevada  to  British  Columbia. 

The  first  actual  conflict  between  armed  parties  was 
on  the  8th  of  June,  when  a  company  of  thirty-five 
volunteers,  under  J.  B.  Harper  of  Silver  City,  en 
countered  sixty  Bannacks  seven  miles  east  of  South 
Mountain  in  Owyhee  county.  The  volunteers  were 
compelled  to  retreat,  with  four  white  men  and  two 
Indian  scouts  killed,  one  man  wounded,  and  one  miss 
ing.20  On  the  llth  the  stage  was  attacked  between 
Camp  McDermitt  and  Owyhee,  the  driver  killed, 
mail  destroyed,  and  some  arms  and  ammunition  in 
tended  for  citizens  captured.  The  Indians  on  the 
Malheur  reservation  in  Oregon  had  left  the  agency 
about  one  week  previous,  after  destroying  a  large 
amount  of  property,  going  in  the  direction  of  Boise. 
On  the  15th  Howard,  who  was  near  Cedar  Mountain 
in  Oregon,  announced  the  main  body  of  the  enemy, 
GOO  strong,  to  be  congregated  in  the  valley  between 
Cedar  and  Steen  mountains,  and  that  he  was  about  to 
move  upon  them21  with  sixteen  companies  of  cavalry, 

20  See  Silver  City  Avalanche,  June  22,  1878.  One  of  the  killed  was  0.  H. 
Purely,  one  of  the  discoverers  of  the  Owylice  mines.  He  insisted,  against 
more  cautious  counsels,  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  company  to  go  to  the  as 
sistance  of  the  people  of  Jordan  Valley,  which  was  threatened.  By  doing  so 
he  lost  his  life,  but  diverted  the  Indians  from  their  purpose  for  the  time. 
Buffalo  Horn  was  supposed  to  have  been  killed  by  Purdy  in  this  skirmish. 

"  The  companies  in  the  field  were  those  of  Sandford,  Bendire,  Sumncr,  and 


520  INDIAN  WARS. 

infantry,  and  artillery.  This  movement  was  com 
menced  on  the  23d,  the  advance,  under  Bernard,  sur 
prising  himself  and  the  Indians  by  running  into  their 
rear  near  Camp  Curry  the  next  morning  at  nine 
o'clock.  The  cavalry,  four  companies,  charged  the 
Indians,  who  rallied  and  forced  Bernard  to  send  for 
assistance.  Not  much  loss  numerically  was  sustained 
on  either  side,  the  Bannacks,  however,  losing  their 
leader,  Buffalo  Horn,  which  was  to  them  in  moral 
force  equivalent  to  a  partial  defeat.  Before  Howard 
came  up,  on  the  25th,  the  Indians  had  disappeared, 
and  left  their  course  to  be  conjectured  by  the  general. 
He  believed  that  they  would  proceed  north  by  Silver 
Creek  and  the  south  branch  of  John  Day  River,  then 
up  Granite  Creek  to  Bridge  Creek,  to  join  the  dis 
contented  Cayuses  and  other  Indians  in  that  vicinity, 
when  they  would  make  a  demonstration  still  farther 
north.  To  provide  for  this,  he  sent  Colonel  Grover 
to  Walla  Walla  to  take  command  of  five  companies  of 
cavalry,  numbering  240  men,  to  intercept  them,  while 
he  remained  in  their  rear  with  480  with  whom  to 
follow. 

Being  thus  driven,  the  Indians  moved  rapidly  north. 
On  the  29th  they  poured  into  the  valley  of  the  south 
branch  of  John  Day  River,  surrounding  a  little  com 
pany  of  fifteen  home-guards,  killing  one  and  wounding 
several.  Wherever  they  went  they  pillaged  and  de 
stroyed.  Cattle  were  butchered  by  the  hundreds  and 
left  to  rot;  valuable  horses  were  killed  or  maimed, 
and  whole  herds  of  sheep  mutilated  and  left  to  die. 
The  appeals  for  military  aid  from  beleaguered  outly 
ing  settlements  were  as  vain  as  they  were  piteous. 
Soldiers  could  not  be  spared  for  guard  duty  while  em 
ployed  in  driving  the  Indians  upon  the  citizens.  Ap 
peals  to  the  governor  of  Oregon  were  equally  fruitless, 

Carr,  under  Col  Grover,  ordered  to  concentrate  at  Kinney's  ferry,  near  old  Fort 
Bois<j;  Bernard's  and  Whipple's,  en  route  from  Bruneau  River,  McGregor, 
and  Bomus  to  join  Bernard;  Stewart's  column,  consisting  of  two  companies 
of  artillery  and  five  of  infantry,  at  Rhinehart's  ferry  on  Malheur  River;  Eg 
bert's  reserve  of  five  companies  at  Camp  Lyon,  to  be  rce'nforced  by  Cochran  with 
one  company  of  infantry.  Sec.  War  Kept,  1878-9,  152. 


THE  UMATILLA  ALLIES. 


521 


as  he  was  not  permitted  to  call  for  volunteers,  and 
was  without  arms  to  distribute  to  the  unarmed  set 
tlers,  or  citizen  companies. 

On  the  2d  of  July  the  loyal  Umatillas,  under  their 
agent,  Connoyer,  met  the  enemy  400  strong,  fighting 
them  all  day,  killing  thirty,  with  a  loss  of  only  two. 
This  prevented  a  raid,  but  alarmed  the  thousand  or 
more  of  helpless  women  and  children  gathered  at  Pen- 
dleton,  and  a  petition  for  troops  was  sent  to  Walla 


EASTERN  OREGON. 


Walla,  where  General  Wheaton  had  a  small  force. 
Wheaton  had  been  advised  of  the  probable  approach 
to  the  Columbia  River  of  the  raiders,  and  not  yet 
having  been  joined  by  Grover,  had  moved  his  whole 
available  force  of  fifty-four  men  to  Wallula,  where 


522  INDIAN  WARS. 

they  were  to  take  a  steamboat  and  patrol  the  river 
to  observe  if  any  Indians  were  crossing.  But  on 
receiving  the  call  for  help  from  Pendleton,  he  directed 
this  company  to  proceed  to  that  place. 

All  at  once  calls  came  from  everywhere  along  the 
line  of  settlements,  from  Dos  Chutes  to  the  head 
waters  of  John  Day,  showing  hostile  Indians  all  along 
between  these  points.  At  Bake  Oven,  fifty  miles 
from  The  Dalles,  on  the  2d  of  July,  they  captured  a 
wagon  laden  with  arms  and  ammunition  for  the  state 
militia,  burned  a  house,  killed  one  man,  and  wounded 
two  others.  At  the  same  date  they  were  fighting 
in  the  vicinity  of  Canon  City  and  raiding  at  other 
points.  On  the  5th  of  July  Wheaton  managed  to  get 
possession  of  a  steamer,  which  he  manned  with  ten 
ordnance  soldiers  and  ten  others,  under  Captain  Kress, 
who, furnished  with  a  howitzer  and  Gatling  gun,  started 
to  patrol  the  Columbia  in  the  vicinity  of  Wallula. 

On  the  Gth  General  Howard  was  near  Granite 
City,  fifty  miles  south  of  Pendleton.  Half-way 
between  him  and  that  place,  at  Willow  Springs, 
a  company  of  citizens  was  attacked,  and  Cap 
tain  Sperry  and  nearly  all  his  command  killed  or 
wounded.  Hearing  how  the  war  was  going,  if  war  it 
could  be  called  which  was  only  a  raid  feebly  resisted, 
governors  Chadwick  and  Ferry  hastened  to  Pendle 
ton  to  confer  with  Howard.  A  large  number  of 
families  were  sent  down  the  river  to  The  Dalles  on  a 
special  steamer.  A  few  arms  obtained  at  Vancouver 
were  distributed  at  that  place,  and  medical  service 
rendered  to  the  sick,  of  whom  there  were  many,  owing 
to  the  crowded  condition  of  the  town  and  the  mental 
strain.  The  Portland  militia  companies  tendered 
arms  and  services.  The  former  were  accepted,  and  a 
consignment  of  guns  made  to  Governor  Brayman  of 
Idaho,  arrested  at  Umatilla  by  permission,  and  fur 
nished  to  the  people  in  that  vicinity.  Governor 
Ferry  also  lent  the  guns  belonging  to  Washington  for 
use  by  the  citizens  of  Oregon. 


THE  WAR  CONTINUES.  523 

On  the  8th  of  July  three  companies  of  cavalry 
from  the  department  of  the  Clear  water,  under  Throck- 
morton,  inarching  from  Lapwai  via  Walla  Walla  and 
Pendleton,  made  a  junction  with  Howard's  force  at 
Pilot  Rock  on  Birch  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Uma- 
tilla  River,  which  skirts  the  reservation  of  the  Uma- 
tilla  Indians  on  the  west,  and  near  which,  in  Fox 
Valley,  the  Indian  army  had  received  a  reenforce- 
ment  of  disloyal  Umatillas,  the  number  of  the  hostile 
Indians  being  now  estimated  at  1,000.  The  scouts 
at  this  point  discovered  the  Indians  in  force  six  miles 
south-west  of  Pilot  Rock,  on  Butter  Creek,  directly 
on  the  route  to  the  Columbia,  forty  miles  distant. 
Strongly  posted  on  the  crest  of  a  steep  hill,  which 
could  only  be  reached  with  difficulty  by  crossing  a 
canon,  they  awaited  the  approach  of  the  troops,  who 
skirmished  to  the  top  and  drove  them  from  their 
position,  capturing  some  camp  material,  ammunition, 
and  two  hundred  broken-down  horses.  Again  they 
took  a  position  among  the  pines  which  cover  the  crests 
of  the  Blue  Mountains,  but  were  soon  dislodged  by 
the  cavalry  under  Bernard,  arid  fled  still  farther  into 
the  mountains,  where,  owing  to  the  roughness  of  the 
country,  they  were  not  pursued.  In  this  skirmish 
the  Indians  sustained  slight  loss.  Their  best  horses, 

O 

with  their  families  and  property,  were  between  them 
and  the  Columbia  River,  but,  as  Howard  thought, 
going  toward  Grand  Rond.  On  the  same  day  several 
small  bands  effected  a  crossing  to  the  north  side  of 

o 

the  Columbia,  driving  large  bands  of  horses.  Cap 
tain  Kress  with  his  armed  steamboat  intercepted 
one  party  below  Umatilla,  and  Captain  Wilkinson 
another  above  that  place.  The  presence  of  boats  at 
the  crossings,  notwithstanding  Captain  Worth,  just 
from  San  Francisco  with  his  company  for  this 
service,  had  been  for  several  days  engaged  in  seizing 
boats  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the  Indians,  showed 
the  complicity  of  the  Columbia  River  Indians. 

Howard  having  satisfied  himself  that  the  principal 


524  INDIAN  WARS. 

movement  of  the  marauders  was  toward  Snake  River, 
through  the  Grand  Rond,  sent  Sandford's  three  com 
panies  of  cavalry  and  a  company  of  infantry  under 
Miles  to  follow  them.  The  remainder  of  his  force, 
under  Forsyth,  was  ordered  to  Lewiston  and  Lap- 
wai,  to  intercept  the  enemy  at  the  Snake  crossing. 
At  Weston,  on  the  12th,  he  had  a  conference  with 
governors  Ferry  and  Chadwick,  the  latter  endeavor 
ing  to  show  that  the  movement  toward  Lapwai  was 
premature,  and  the  country  in  danger  if  the  troops 
abandoned  Oregon  at  that  time.  He  requested  that 
Throckmorton,  who  was  stationed  on  Butler  Creek, 
should  be  ordered  to  the  Umatilla  agency.  Howard 
maintained  his  belief  that  the  Indians  were  hurrying 
toward  Snake  River,  and  departed  the  same  afternoon 
for  Lewiston  by  steamer,  Chadwick  returning  to 
Pendleton.  As  he  did  so,  he  observed  signal-fires 
on  the  Meacham  road  over  the  Blue  Mountains, 
east  of  Cayuse  station,  where  he  had  dined  that  day, 
and  learned  that  the  station  had  been  attacked  and 
burned,  the  raiding  party  pursuing  the  stage  from 
Meacham's,  and  attacking  another  party  of  travellers, 
\vounding  two,  one  mortally.22  Turning  aside,  he 
reached .  Pendleton  by  a  different  route  during  the 
night,  finding  the  towns-people  greatly  agitated,  the 
Indians  being  within  six  miles  of  that  place,  on  the 
reservation.  The  governor  had  just  despatched  the 
few  arms  at  his  command  to  La  Grande,  and  could  do 
nothing  toward  arming  the  citizens.  He  had  hastened 
a  courier  after  Howard,  who  did  not,  however,  return ; 
and  to  give  the  people  confidence,  organized  a  bat 
talion  of  three  hundred  men,23  who  ignorantly  believed 
they  were  to  be  armed. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  couriers  had  overtaken 
Miles,  who  was  not  far  from  Pendleton  with  one  com- 

22  George  Coggan,  proprietor  of  the  St  Charles  Hotel,  Portland,  died  of  his 
wounds.  Alfred  Bunker  of  La  Grande  and  a  man  named  Foster  were  with 
him.  Foster  escaped. 

i3  Chadwick,  in  Historical  Correspondence,  MS.;  Governor's  Message,  Or., 
1878,  13-22. 


WHEATON'S  CAMPAIGN.  525 

pany  of  infantry,  one  of  artillery,  and  Bendire's  cavalry, 
and  who,  being  joined  by  a  company  of  volunteers,  gave 
the  Indians  battle  on  the  morning  of  the  13th,  and 
drove  them  in  confusion  several  miles,  or  until  they 
again  escaped  to  the  Blue  Mountains.  Five  Indians 
were  killed,  and  many  wounded,  while  the  loss  on 
the  side  of  the  troops  was  two  wounded. 

On  the  same  day  Wheaton,  being  informed  that 
Indians  were  approaching  Wallula  by  the  Vansycle 
canon,  sent  an  order  to  the  cavalry  under  Forsyth, 
moving  toward  Lewiston,  to  turn  back  and  intercept 
them.  On  learning  of  the  invasion  of  the  reservation, 
Forsyth  was  ordered  to  hasten  to  the  assistance  of 
Miles,  and  Wheaton  himself  joined  the  commands  at 
the  Umatilla  agency  on  the  15th.  Sanford,  who  had 
by  this  time  reached  La  Grande,  was  ordered  by  tele 
graph  to  return  and  cooperate  with  Forsytn's  column, 
which  was  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  in  attacking  the 
Indian  position  on  the  head  of  McKay  Creek,  in  the 
mountains,  not  far  from  Meacham's  station  on  the  road 
to  La  Grande.  He  found  his  force  too  small  to  meet 
the  Indians  congregated  at  the  summit,  and  retreated 
to  Grand  Rond,  where,  with  the  assistance  of  volun 
teer  companies,  he  kept  watch  upon  the  passes  into 
that  valley. 

On  the  16th,  while  Wheaton  was  marching  toward 
Meacham's  station,  a  company  of  Umatilla  Indian 
volunteers  pursuing  the  raiders  killed  their  chief, 
Eagan,  and  brought  in  his  head  for  identification, 
together  with  ten  scalps.  These  sanguinary  trophies 
looked  less  horrible  after  finding  the  bodies  of  seven 
teamsters  killed  along  the  road  to  Meacham's,  and  the 
contents  of  their  wagons  strewn  upon  the  ground  for 
miles.  Again  on  the  17th  the  Umatillas,  in  charge 
of  three  white  scouts,  found  the  trail  of  the  savages 
near  the  east  branch  of  Birch  Creek,  on  the  Daly  road 
to  Baker  City,  and  battled  with  them,  killing  seven- 
teen  and  capturing  twenty-five  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren.  Egbert's  command  on  Snake  River  had  taken 


526  INDIAN  WARS. 

an  equal  number  of  prisoners.  These  reverses,  and 
particularly  the  death  of  Eagan,  dispirited  these 
Indians,  who  had  never  shown  the  persistence  or  the 
bravery  of  the  N"ez  Perces  under  Joseph.  They  were 
soon  scattered  in  small  parties,  endeavoring  to  get 
back  to  Idaho  or  Nevada,  and  the  troops  were  em- 
ployed  for  several  weeks  longer  in  following  and 
watching  them.  Little  by  little  they  surrendered. 
On  the  10th  of  August  600  souls  were  in  the  hands  of 
the  commander  of  the  department  in  Oregon.  But  it 
was  some  weeks  later  before  depredations  by  small 
parties  ceased  in  Idaho.  The  loss  of  property  was 
immense.  To  the  marauding  parties  were  added, 
about  the  1st  of  August,  a  portion  of  White  Bird's 
band  of  Nez  Perces,  returned  from  the  British  pos 
sessions,  where  they  had  not  met  with  satisfactory 
treatment  from  Sitting  Bull,  the  expatriated  Sioux 
chief,  to  whom  they  had  fled  on  the  surrender  of 
Joseph.  The  close  of  hostilities  soon  after  their 
arrival  rendered  them  powerless  to  carry  on  war,  and 
they  became  reabsorbed  in  the  Nez  Perce'  nation. 
The  establishment  of  Camp  Howard,  near  Mount 
Idaho,  and  Camp — later  fort— Coeur  d'Alene,  followed 
the  outbreaks  here  described.  After  this  no  serious 
trouble  was  experienced  in  controlling  the  Indians. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

NATURAL    WEALTH. 

1865-1885. 

MINING  PROSPERITY  AND  REVERSES — EARLY  AND  LATER  DEVELOPMENTS — 
THE  SEVERAL  GOLD  AND  SILVER  MINING  DISTRICTS — THE  SNAKE  RIVER 
REGION — PRODUCTION— BASE  METALS — IRON  VEINS— SALT — SULPHUR — 
SODA— MICA — STONE — AGRICULTURE — SOIL — BRASSES  AND  GRAZING — 
FORESTS — CLIMATE — HEALTH — BOUNDLESS  POSSIBILITIES. 

FROM  1865,  when  quartz-mining  was  very  promis 
ing  in  Idaho,  to  1876,  a  fair  degree  of  prosperity  was 
enjoyed  by  the  owners  of  mines.  Prospecting  was, 
however,  much  retarded  by  the  Indian  troubles  from 
1865  to  1868,  an  account  of  which  has  been  given  in 
my  History  of  Oregon.  Expensive  milling  machinery 
had  been  hastily  introduced  in  the  first  excitement 
of  quartz  discoveries,  which  lessened  the  profits  with 
out  much  increasing  the  results  of  reducing  the  ores 
in  arastras.  But  the  straw  which  broke  the  camel's 
back  was  the  defaulting  of  the  secretaries  of  three  of 
the  richest  mining  companies  in  the  Owyhee  region, 
and  the  suspension  of  the  Bank  of  California,  which 
occurred  about  the  same  time.  These  combined  mis 
fortunes  operated  against  investment  from  abroad,  and 
checked  the  increase  of  home  enterprise;  and  as  min 
ing  property  is  taken  hold  of  with  great  caution  except 
in  the  excitement  of  discovery,  the  fame  of  the  Idaho 
quartz  lodes  became  overshadowed  by  later  discov 
eries  in  other  territories.  There  occurred  no  mining 
rush,  no  brain-turning  find  of  incredible  treasure,  after 
the  close  of  what  might  be  termed  the  second  period 

(527) 


528  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

in  the  history  of  mining  in  Idaho,  when  placers  were 
exhausted  of  their  first  marvellous  wealth,1  and  veins 

1  Some  of  the  first  discovered  veins,  already  mentioned  in  a  previous  chap 
ter,  retained  their  productiveness.  The  Gold  Hill  mine  was  sold  in  1SG9,  since 
which  time  to  1884  it  produced  $2,850,000.  It  was  not  until  1878  that  the 
Banner  district,  north  of  Quartzburg,  in  Boise"  county,  began  to  be  really  de 
veloped.  The  mines  of  War  Eagle  Mountain,  in  Owyhee  county,  continued 
productive.  Oro  Fino,  the  first  discovery,  yielded  §2,756,128  in  six  years, 
without  any  considerable  cost  to  its  owners.  The  Elmore.  later  called  the 
Bannack,  in  one  month  in  1868  yielded  §500,000,  the  ore  being  crushed  in 
a  twenty-stamp  mill.  This  mine,  irregularly  worked,  a  few  months  at  a  time, 
produced  from  1868  to  1886  §2,000,000.  The  entire  production  of  the  Poor- 
man  previous  to  its  suspension  was  $4,000,000.  This  mine  yielded  a  large 
quantity  of  extraordinary  rich  chlorides.  Some  masses  of  horn-silver  looked 
like  solid  lead  tinted  with  crimson,  and  was  sixty  per  cent  pure  silver.  Its 
second  and  third  class  ores  yielded  $230  to  the  ton  in  the  early  period  of  its 
development,  and  the  first  grade  as  high  as  §4,000.  A  block  of  this  ore  weigh 
ing  500  pounds  was  sent  to  the  world's  exposition  at  Paris  in  1866,  which  ob 
tained  an  award  of  a  gold  medal,  and  was  regarded  with  much  interest.  But 
the  Poorman,  after  various  changes  of  management,  owing  to  litigation,  suf 
fered  a  final  blow  to  its  prosperity  in  1876,  when  the  secretary  of  the  company 
absconded  with  the  funds,  and  it  suspended  work,  along  with  every  other  in 
corporated  mine  in  Owyhee  except  the  Golden  Chariot,  which  ran  for  some 
time  longer.  A  period  of  depression,  followed  by  the  Indian  disturbances  of 
1877  and  1878,  involved  many  mining  operators  in  apparently  hopeless  dis 
aster.  But  in  1880  capital  began  once  more  to  seek  investment  in  the  long- 
neglected  quartz  mines  of  Owyhee.  It  may  be  interesting  hereafter  to  be 
able  to  refer  to  the  names  of  mines  discovered  in  Owyhee  previous  to  1865. 
They  were  the  Whiskey  Gulch,  Oro  Fino,  Morning  Star,  Ida  Elmore  (Ban 
nack),  Golden  Chariot,  War  Eagle,  Minnesota,  Silver  Bullion,  Hidden  Treas 
ure,  General  Grant,  Noonday,  Centurion,  Golden  Eagle,  Allison,  Blazing  Star, 
Montana,  Home  Ticket,  Floi'eta,  Silver  Legion,  Eureka,  Calaveras,  Caledonia, 
Empire,  Dashaway,  Red  Jacket.  Poorman  was  discovered  a  little  later  than 
these.  Between  1865  and  1880  many  other  mines  were  added  to  the  list.  Ma 
hogany,  Stormy  Hill,  South  Chariot,  Illinois  Central,  North  Extension  Illi 
nois  Central,  Belle  Peck,  North  Extension  Poorman,  South  Poorman,  Lucky 
Poorman,  Big  Fish,  Boycott,  Glenbrook,  Clearbrook,  Idlewild,  North  Empire, 
South  Empire,  San  Juan,  Dubuquc,  Silver  Cloud,  Louisiana,  Ruby,  Jackson, 
Silver  City,  Ruth,  Sinker,  By  Chance,  Potosi,  Rattling  Jack,  St  James, 
South  Extension  Morning  Star,  Northern  Light,  Trook  &  Jennings,  Whiskey, 
Brannan,  Home  Resort,  Savage,  Piute,  Miami,  Lone  Tree,  Home  Stake,  Lit 
tle  Fish,  Silver  Cord,  Golden  Cord,  Standard,  Ruby  and  Horn  Silver  Lode, 
Philox,  Webfoot,  Wilson,  Idaho,  Gentle  Emma,  Stoddard,  Ohio,  Henrietta, 
Tremont,  Crown  Point,  Redemption,  Boonville,  Empire  State,  Florida,  Hill, 
Seventy-Nine,  Paymaster,  Black  Jack.  Leviathan,  Sierra  Nevada,  Owyhee, 
Treasury,  Yreka,  Crown  Point,  Avenue,  Rose,  Hudson,  Phoenix  No.  1,  Phce- 
nix  No.  2,  Phoenix  No.  3,  and  Carson  Chief,  were  all  more  or  less  prospected, 
and  about  half  them  being  worked  to  some  extent. 

The  mining  districts  of  Owyhee  were  five  in  number.  Carson  district 
began  on  the  summit  of  War  Eagle  Mountain,  and  ran  west  8  miles,  and 
north  and  south  15  miles.  French  district  began  on  the  summit  of  the  same 
mountain,  and  ran  easterly  toward  Snake  River,  and  north  and  south  about 
12  miles.  Steele  district  adjoined  French,  and  was  about  8  miles  from  Sil 
ver  City.  Flint  district  was  9  miles  south  of  Silver  City.  Mammoth  district 
was  12  miles  south-west  of  the  same  place,  and  Wagontown  district  7  miles 
north-west.  South  Mountain  was  30  miles  south  of  Silver  City.  The  min 
eral  characteristics  of  the  several  districts  were  gold  and  silver  in  the  War 
Eagle  and  Florida  mountains;  geologically,  War  Eagle  was  granite  and  Flor- 


IDAHO  MINES. 


529 


of  gold  and  silver  quartz  were  eagerly  sought  after. 
For  several  years  no  one  thought  of  mining  on  Snake 

ida  porphyritic.  In  the  Flint  district  were  found  refractory  ores  and  tinf 
geologically,  it  was  granitic  and  porphyritic,  as  was  also  Wagontown,  which 
produced  silver  and  milling  ores.  South  Mountain  produced  argentiferous 
galena,  its  rocks  being  limestone,  porphyry,  and  granite,  with  some  inetar 
morphoscd  slates.  Lithologically,  the  two  extremes  of  the  Owyhec  region, 
War  Eagle  and  South  Mountain,  were  separated  by  a  mass  of  basalt  ami  lava* 
The  gold  reins  ran  almost  due  north  and  south;  the  silver  veins,  north-west 
and  south-cast.  At  the  centennial  exposition,  1876,  medals  were  awarded 
to  the  gold  ores  from  Golden  Chariot  and  South  Chariot,  and  silver  ores  from 
Home  liesort  and  Leviathan;  for  silver-gold  ores  from  Oro  Fino;  for  lead 
bullion  from  South  Mountain;  and  silver-lead  ores  from  the  Silver  Chord 
mine. 


Sal  Die 

lirune.iu  Valley          SW 

3      SAGE  .BRUSH       \ 

PLAINS 


SOUTH-WESTERN  IDAHO. 


In  1881  the  depth  to  which  Owyhec  mines  had  been  worked  varied  frdm 
150  to  1,500  feet.  I  am  indebted  to  a  series  of  articles  by  Gilbert  Butler 
which  appeared  in  the  Silver  City  Avalanche,  in  1881,  for  much  knowledge 
of  the  condition  and  history  of  the  Idaho  mines  down  to  that  period. 

The  Owyhec  Treasury  on  Florida  Mountain  furnished  ore,  one  hundred  feet 
down,  that  yielded  seventy-five  cents  to  the  pound.  A  'stringer'  in  the 
mine  yielded  nearly  $46  to  a  pound  of  ore,  worked  in  a  common  mortar. 
From  120  pounds  was  taken  $2,344.80;  but  the  ordinary  milling  ore  was  rated 
at  §50  per  ton.  Several  mines  in  the  vicinity  promised  nearly  equal  riches. 
The  bullion  output  for  Owyhee  county  in  1881  was  nearly  $300,000.  Silver 
State,  June  24,  1SS1.  Sold  to  the  Varkoff  Mining,  Smelting,  and  Milling 
Company  were  the  mines  Catalow,  Graham,  Tuscarora,  Venice,  New  York, 
Gazelle,  Belcher,  Mono,  Black  Warrior,  New  Dollar,  and  Red  Fox,  aggre 
gating  14,200  linear  feet.  Silver  City  Avalanche,  May  7,  1881. 

For  many  years  it  was  known  to  prospectors  that  the  Wood  Paver  country 

contained  large  ledges  of  galena  ores.     The  first  lode  was  discovered  by  W.  P. 

Callahan,  while  on  his  way  to  Montana,  in  1864.    Nothing  was  done  until  1872, 

when  Callahan  returned  and  relocated  it,  naming  it  after  himself.     It  was  on 

HIST.  WASH.— 34 


530  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

River,  that  stream  not  presenting  the  usual  features 
of  a  placer  mining  district,  although  flour-gold  was 

the  main  Wood  River,  11  miles  above  the  crossing  of  the  Boise"  and  Salmon 
City  road.  A  little  work  was  done  on  the  vein  annually,  the  ore  being  shipped 
to  Salt  Lake  for  smelting,  at  a  great  expense,  where  it  sold  in  1880  for  $200  a 
ton.  T\iQ  second  camp  was  5  miles  north  of  the  road,  and  named  after  the 
discoverer,  Frank  Jacobs.  Silver  City  Avalanche,  March  13,  1880.  The  bel 
ligerent  attitude  of  the  Indians  of  southern  Idaho,  who  knew  that  settlement 
followed  mining,  prevented  the  occupation  of  that  region  until  after  the  sub 
jugation  of  the  Bannacks  in  1878.  During  the  summer  of  1879-80  in  an  area 
of  60  miles  square  as  many  as  2,000  claims  were  taken  up,  the  ore  from 
which,  shipped  to  Salt  Lake,  yielded  on  reduction  from  §100  to  $500  per 
ton  in  silver.  Several  towns  immediately  sprang  up.  Bellevue  hud  '250 
houses  at  the  end  of  the  first  seven  months,  and  the  Elk  horn  mine  had  shipped 
$16,000  worth  of  ore,  besides  having  left  150  tons.  Rock  from  the  Bullion 
mine  assayed  $11,000  per  ton,  and  although  not  all  showed  equally  rich,  tho 
yield  of  from  $100  to  $500  was  common,  making  tlie  belt  in  which  the  Bullion 
mine  was  situated,  and  which  gave  it  its  name,  one  of  the  richest  as  well  as 
one  of  the  most  extensive  in  the  world,  being  eighteen  miles  long,  extending 
from  Bellevue  to  Kctchum,  and  a  part  only  of  the  silver-bearing  region,  which 
comprised  between  4,000  and  5,000  square  miles.  The  gross  product  of  the 
Bullion  mine  in  1883  was  $250,000. 

The  Bullion  belt  and  district  was  the  richest  yet  discovered.  The  geologi 
cal  formation  was  quartzite,  slate,  and  porphyry.  The  ores  were  galena  and 
carbonates,  with  antimony  and  copper,  yielding  sixty  to  eighty  per  cent  of 
lead.  On  the  east  side  of  the  river  the  best  mineral  was  found  in  limestone, 
or  limestone  and  granite.  The  ores  were  cube,  leaf,  and  fine-grained  galena 
and  carbonates,  yielding  lead  in  about  the  same  proportion  as  the  Bullion 
belt,  and  silver  at  the  rate  of  $100  to  $300  per  ton.  South-west  from  the 
Bullion  belt  was  the  Ornament  Hill  and  Willow  Creek  district.  The  ledges  in 
this  district  were  immense  in  size,  and  in  a  granite  belt,  containing,  besides 
lead  and  silver,  antimony  and  gold.  Again,  on  the  Wood  River  Mountains, 
on  the  cast  side,  was  another  belt  of  mines  in  calcareous  shale,  limestone,  and 
quartzite,  yielding  from  $50  to  $100  per  ton.  The  Ornament  Hill  miner,,  very 
rich  in  silver  and  bearing  traces  of  gold,  were  the  only  free-milling  ores  in 
the  whole  silver  region.  The  Mayflower  mine,  discovered  in  1880,  was  sold  to 
a  Chicago  company  and  consolidated  with  two  others.  It  had  shipped  in 
1883  three  thousand  tons  of  ore;  the  first  thousand  tons  yielding  $152,000, 
the  second  $144,000,  and  the  third  $270,000.  This  mine  adjoined  the  Bullion. 
On  the  same  lode  were  the  Jay  Gould,  Saturn  Group  of  four  mines,  Ophir- 
Durango  group,  and  Highland  Chief.  This  was  the  middle  one  of  three  lodes 
running  north- west  and  south-east.  On  the  western  lode  were  the  Mountain 
View,  lied  Elephant,  O.  K.,  and  Point  Lookout.  On  the  eastern  lode  were 
the  Coloradan,  Fraction,  Chicago,  Bay  State,  Iris,  Eureka,  Idahoan,  Parncll, 
and  Pass.  There  were  in  1883  four  smelters  at  work  on  Wood  River  between 
Bellevue  and  Galena,  two  of  forty  tons  capacity  per  day  and  two  of  sixty  tons, 
producing  together  an  average  of  lifty  tons  of  bullion  daily.  The  names  of 
other  mines  favorably  known  in  the  early  days  of  Wood  River  were  the  Star, 
Minnie  Moore,  Gladiator,  Concordia,  Idaho  Democrat,  Solid  Muldoon,  Over 
land,  Homestake,  Guy,  and  Mountain  Belle,  in  the  lower  Wood  River  or 
Mineral  Hill  district. 

North  of  Mineral  Hill  district,  which  contained  the  above-mentioned 
mines,  was  the  Warm  Springs  district,  containing  many  locations  considered 
of  great  value;  north-west  of  this,  the  Saw  Tootli  district;  and  west  of  it,  the 
Little  Smoky  district — each  rivalling  the  other  in  promising  ledges.  There 
were  the  Imperial,  Oriental,  Greenhorn,  Perry,  and  Maud  May;  the  Kelly 
group,  comprising  the  West  Fork,  West  Fork  2,  Yellow  Jacket,  Black  Hawk, 
and  Big  Beaver;  the  Moffit  and  Irvin  group,  comprising  18  locations,  among 


WOOD  RIVER  DISTRICT. 


531 


known  to  exist  in  considerable  quantities.  But  about 
1871  the  experiment  was  made,  which  resulted  in  find- 

which  were  the  Ontario,  Niagara,  North  Star,  Sunday,  and  Black  Horse. 
The  Mountain  Lily,  owned  by  Lewis,  produced  copper-silver  glance  assaying 
900  ounces  to  thn  ton.  Wood  111  far  Miner,  Aug.  12,  1881.  The  Elkhorn  mine, 
4  miles  from  Kctchum,  also  belonged  to  Lewis,  and  produced  very  valu 
able  ores.  On  the  east  fork  of  Wood  River  were  the  North  Star,  Ameri 
can  Eagle,  Silver  Fortune,  Champion,  Boss,  Paymaster,  Summit,  Silver  King. 
The  ElUhorn  was  discovered  by  John  Rasmussin,  the  North  Star  by  William 
Jaikovski.  In  the  same  district  were  the  Star  Mountain  group,  consisting  of 
the  Ohio,  Lulu,  Hawkeye,  Commodore,  Bellevue,  Star  Mountain,  Gartield, 
Amazon,  Empire,  and  Hancock.  On  Deer  Creek  were  the  Narrow  Gauge,  N. 
G.  No.  2,  Banner,  Kit  Carson,  Saturday  Night,  and  Monumental.  The  Little 
Smoky  mines  were  at  the  head  of  Warm  Springs  Creek,  and  assayed  from  100 
to  3,000  ounces  smelting  ore  to  the  ton.  Among  them  were  the  Climax  and 
Carrie  Leonard. 


WOOD   RlVOiR   MiNEItAL    DISTRICTS. 


In  the  Upper  Wood  River  or  Galena  district,  in  a  formation  of  slate  and 
lime  with  sonic  porphyry,  was  another  group  of  mines  averaging  from  $175 
to  §200  to  the  ton  of  smelting  ore.  Among  the  locations  in  the  Galena  dis 
trict  were  the  Shamrock,  Signal,  Western  Home,  Adelaide,  White  Cloud, 
Gladiator,  Accident,  Little  Chief,  Big  Chief,  Eunice,  Wood  River,  J.  Marion 
Sims,  Baltimore,  Dincro,  Grand  View,  Lawrence,  Senate,  Red  Cloud,  Inde 
pendence,  Wellington,  Leviathan,  Highland  Chief,  Monarch,  Our  Girl,  Clara, 
Garfield,  and  Serpent,  the  latter  throe  being  consolidated.  These  mines  lay 
at  an  altitude  of  from  8,500  to  10,000  feet  above  sea-level.  In  the  Saw  Tooth 
district,  which  was  divided  from  Wood  and  Salmon  rivers  by  a  high  ridge 
called  the  Saw  Tooth  Mountains,  in  a  granite  formation,  was  a  group  of 
ledges  bearing  milling  ores  of  a  high  grade,  but  sufficiently  refractory  to  re- 


532  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

ing  good  pay  on  the  gravel  bars  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Great  Falls,  the  mouth  of  Raft  River,  Henry's  Ferry, 

quire  roasting,  the  yield  of  bullion  being  from  250  to  500  ounces  to  the  ton. 
The  most  noted  of  the  early  Saw  Tooth  mines  were  the  Pilgrim,  Vienna, 
Columbia,  Smiley 's,  Beaver,  Beaver  Extension,  Lucky  Boy,  Scotia,  Atlanta, 
Nellie,  Sunbeam,  and  Naples.  This  district  was  discovered  in  July  187!),  by 
L.  Smiley,  a  Montana  pioneer  and  former  superintendent  of  Utah  mines, 
with  a  party  of  half  a  dozen  men  from  Challis.  An  assay  of  the  ore  led  to 
the  return  of  Smiley  in  1879,  with  E.  M.  Wilson,  J.  F.  Kinsley,  J.  B.  Riehy, 
O'Leary,  and  others.  Smiley  located  the  Emma,  Wilson  the  Vienna,  Kinsley 
the  Alturas,  and  many  others  were  prospected  during  the  season.  Silver  City 
Avalanche,  March  20,  1880. 

Lying  north  of  Salmon  River,  and  directly  north  of  the  Galena  distict  of 
Wood  River,  was  the  Yankee  Fork  district,  discovered  in  1870,  but  little 
worked  before  1875,  when  the  Charles  Dickens  gold-quartz  lode  was  located 
by  W.  A.  Norton,  which  paid  §2,000  a  ton.  This  renowned  discovery  was 
followed  by  the  location  of  the  Charles  Wayne  ledge  by  Curtis  Estes,  on 
Mount  Estes,  and  a  few  months  later  by  the  location  of  the  General  Custer 
and  Unknown  on  Mount  Custer,  by  E.  G.  Dodge,  J.  R.  Baxter,  W.  McKcen, 
and  James  Dodge.  The  Custer  mine  was  in  every  respect  a  wonderful  one. 
It  was  an  immense  ledge  projected  above  the  surface,  requiring  only 
quarrying  instead  of  mining,  and  was  as  rich  as  it  was  large,  and  con 
veniently  situated.  It  involved  no  outlay  of  capital;  its  face  was  good 
for  a  vast  amount,  which  was  easily  extracted.  The  walls  of  this  treas 
ury  had  been  nibbled  away  for  several  hundred  feet  by  the  tooth  of 
time,  exposing  the  solid  mass  of  wealth  to  whoever  would  come  and 
take  it.  A  tunnel  was  run  into  this  ore  body  and  a  tramway  constructed, 
which  served  to  convey  the  ore  to  the  mill,  1,300  feet  down  the  mountain. 
All  the  works  were  so  nearly  automatic  in  arrangement  as  to  require  at  the 
mine  and  mill  only  fifty-two  men  to  perform  every  part  of  the  labor.  The 
average  value  of  the  ore  per  ton  was  $135.  From  Feb.  to  Nov.  1881,  the 
owners  sent  to  market  $800,000  worth  of  bullion,  half  of  which  was  profit. 
Other  well-known  mines  of  this  district,  which  is  high  and  well  wooded,  were 
the  Montana,  Bay  Horse,  Ram's  Horn,  Skylark,  Silver  Wing,  Utah  Boy, 
Bull-of-thc- Woods,  Cuba,  Juliet,  River  View,  Post  Boy,  Hood,  and  Beardslcy. 
The  Montana  produced  from  700  to  1,000  ounces  of  bullion  to  the  ton.  Wood 
River  Miner,  July  20,  1881.  The  total  value  of  130,098  pounds  of  Montana 
ore,  in  23  different  lots,  was  $73,170.46.  Yankee  Fork  Herald,  Sept.  15,  1881. 
They  shipped  and  sold  40  tons  of  ore  which  netted  them  $53,000.  They  are 
down  145  feet,  and  have  a  165-foot  level  in  $500  ore,  12  feet  thick.  Shoup's 
Idaho  Ter.,  MS.,  9.  The  Montana  mine  was  discovered  by  James  Hooper,  A. 
W.  Faulkner,  Duncan  Cameron,  Amos  Franklin,  and  D.  B.  Varney.  Bonanza 
City  Yankee  Fork  Herald,  July  24,  1879.  The  Ram's  Horn  was  the  longest 
vein  known  in  the  history  of  modern  mining.  There  were  24  claims  1,500 
feet  long  located  on  it.  It  assayed  800  ounces  in  silver  per  ton.  Other  mines 
on  Mount  Estes  were  the  Tonto,  Pioneer,  Cynosure,  Snow  Bird,  Hidden 
Treasure,  General  Miles,  Colorado,  Indiana,  Manhattan,  Golden  Gate,  North 
Star,  Ophir,  Polar  Star,  Last  Chance,  Lake,  Snowshoe,  King  Idaho,  Gold- 
stone,  and  Bobtail.  A  rival  to  the  Custer  was  the  Montana,  a  gold  mine  on 
Mount  Estes,  near  which  Bonanza  City  was  laid  out  in  1877.  The  vein  was 
six  and  a  half  feet  wide,  and  the  rock  fairly  welded  together  with  gold. 

North-west  of  Yankee  Fork  district  was  the  mining  region  of  the  middle 
fork  of  the  Salmon,  in  which  were  a  number  of  large  ledges,  on  which  locations 
were  made  in  1881.  One  mine,  the  Galena,  assayed  190  ounces  in  silver  to  the 
ton;  and  the  Northern  Pacific,  discovered  by  E.  Miller  and  Harry  Smith,  as 
sayed  even  richer.  The  Greyhound,  13  miles  north-west  of  Cape  Horn,  on  a 
high  mountain,  was  on  a  6-foot  vein  containing  antimonial  silver  and  chloride. 


CARIBOO  AND  OTHER  DISTRICTS.  533 

mouth  of  Catherine  Creek,  and  other  localities.  In 
1871  and  1872  several  mining  camps  or  towns  sprang 

Parallel  to  it,  GO  feet  north,  was  the  White  Dog,  and  CO  feet  north  of  that  the 
Lake  View,  4  and  G  feet  in  width,  and  containing  ore  similar  to  the  Grey 
hound.  The  Patrick  Henry  vein  was  10  feet  wide  at  the  surface.  The  Colonel 
Bernard,  Rufus,  and  Blue  Grouse  were  of  this  group. 

The  Blue  VV'ing  silver  district,  25  miles  east  of  the  Yankee  Fork  district; 
Texas  Creek  silver  district,  75  miles  north-west  of  the  town  of  Camas  in  the 
northern  part  of  Oneida  county;  Cariboo  gold  district  iu  the  eastern  part  of 
the  same  county;  Squaw  Creek  silver  district,  40  miles  north-west  of  Boise; 
Wciser  gold,  silver,  and  copper  district  on  Weiser  River;  Lava  Creek  silver 
district,  70  miles  west  of  Blackfoot  in  Oneida  county,  and  Cariboo  gold  dis 
trict,  75  miles  north-cast  of  Blackfoot— all  contained  mines  of  a  high  grade  of 
ores. 

The  Cariboo  district,  when  first  discovered  in  1870  by  F.  S.  Babcock  and 
S.  McCoy,  was  mined  as  a  placer  district,  and  yielded  for  ten  years  $2.~>0,000 
annually.  The  auriferous  gravels  were  accumulated  in  what  was  known  as 
Bilk  gulch,  which  lies  immediately  under  the  summit  of  Cariboo  Mountain, 
and  consisted  of  abraded  volcanic  and  sedimentary  materials  largely  mixed 
with  the  red  earth  derived  from  the  softer  shales.  The  placers  were  distrib 
uted  along  Bilk  and  Iowa  gulches,  to  the  confluence  with  McCoy  Creek,  a 
distance  of  three  miles,  and  on  several  small  creeks  and  gulches  in  the  neigh 
borhood.  Quartz  was  discovered  in  this  district  in  1874  by  Daniel  Griffiths 
and  J.  Thompson,  who  located  the  Oneida,  a  mine  very  rich  in  spots,  and  of  good 
average  yield;  $35,000  was  refused  for  the  mine  in  1880.  In  1877  John  Rob- 
iiison  discovered  a  porphyry  belt  on  the  north  slope  of  the  mountain,  in  which 
he  located  the  Robinson  mine  at  the  head  of  Bilk  gulch.  The  Austin,  on  the 
same  belt,  was  developed  along  with  the  Robinson.  These  mines  had  a  very 
large  outcrop,  extending  more  than  1,000  feet  without  a  break,  and  having  a 
width  of  25  feet.  Within  20  feet  of  this  ledge  was  another  parallel  vein  of 
great  richness,  and  the  intermediate  porphyry  gold-bearing. 

On  the  southern  slope  of  the  mountain  is  another  belt  of  porphyry,  on 
which  were  the  Northern  Light,  Virginia,  Orphan  Boy,  Paymaster,  and  other 
mines.  In  the  district  were  about  eighty  locations,  carrying  free  gold  from 
$10  to  81,200  per  ton.  Timber  was  plentiful  in  the  district,  and  the  ledges  pro 
nounced  by  experts  to  bo  true  fissure  veins.  Other  mines  in  Cariboo  district 
were  the  Peterson,  Nabob,  Mountain  Chief,  Nealson,  Oneida  South,  Northern 
Light  Extension,  N.  S.  Davenport,  and  Silver  Star,  more  or  less  developed. 
Altitude  over  nine  thousand  feet.  These  discoveries  conclusively  proved 
Idaho  a  mining  country.  From  the  eastern  to  the  western  boundary,  taking 
a  wide  swath  through  the  central  portion  of  the  territory,  the  billowy  swells 
and  rugged  heights  were  found  full  of  minerals.  Add  to  this  central  territory 
the  country  on  the  Clearwater,  the  lately  discovered  Cceur  d'Alunc  district, 
and  the  Ovvyhce  region,  there  is  but  little  left  which  is  not  metalliferous.  It 
has  long  been  known  that  gold  existed  in  the  Cccur  d'Alune  region.  A  redis 
covery  was  made  in  1SS3,  when  the  usual  rush  took  place.  The  first  eager 
gold-seekers  pushed  into  the  mines,  dragging  their  outfits  on  toboggans  (a 
kind  of  hand-sled,  sometimes  drawn  by  dogs),  over  several  feet  of  snow.  Eagle 
City  started  up  with  plenty  of  business;  a  saw-mill  was  erected  at  an  enor 
mous  expense  by  Hood  £  Co. ,  and  a  newspaper  was  started,  called  the  Nuyjct, 
by  C.  F.  McGlashan  and  W.  E.  Edwards.  Considerable  coarse  gold  was 
found  and  some  valuable  nuggets,  but  so  far  there  seems  nothing  to  justify 
any  excitement.  S.  F.  Call,  March  31,  1S84. 

The  placer  mines  of  Idaho,  as  first  discovered,  were  once  supposed  to  be 
worked  out  to  a  degree  to  warrant  only  Chinese  laborers  on  the  ground.  But 
the  newer  methods  of  bed-rock  flumes  and  hydraulic  apparatus  have  com 
pelled  the  placers  of  Bois6  basin  to  yield  a  new  harvest,  which,  if  not  equal 
to  the  first,  is  richly  remunerative.  Ben.  Willson,  the  'placer  king,'  hail  50 


534  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

up  along  the  river.2  Thousands  of  ounces  of  gold- 
dust  of  the  very  finest  quality  were  taken  from  the 
gravel  in  their  neighborhood  in  these  two  years.  The 
placers,  however,  were  quickly  exhausted  on  the  lower 
bars,  the  implements  in  use  failing  to  save  any  but 
the  coarsest  particles.  The  higher  bars  were  unpros- 
pected  and  the  camps  abandoned.  But  about  1879 
there  was  a  revival  of  interest  in  the  Snake  River 
placers,  and  an  improvement  in  appliances  for  mining 
them  and  saving  the  gold,  which  enabled  operators  to 
work  the  high  bars  which  for  hundreds  of  miles  are 
gold-bearing.  In  many  places  they  lift  themselves 
directly  from  the  water's  edge,  ten,  twenty,  a  hundred, 
or  two  hundred  feet,  and  then  recede  in  a  slope  more 
or  less  elevated.  At  other  points  they  form  a  suc 
cession  of  terraces,  level  at  the  top,  varying  from  a 
few  hundred  feet  to  a  mile  or  more  in  width.8 

miles  of  ditches  on  Grimes  Creek,  costing  $150, 000.  Elliott's  Hist.  Idaho,  175. 
The  Salmon  River  placers,  in  Lernlii  county,  which  gave  rise  to  Salmon  City 
in  1SGG,  paid  from  five  to  seventeen  dollars  a  day  to  the  hand.  Working  them 
by  the  old  methods  they  were  practically  exhausted  in  live  years,  but  by 
the  new  method  the  same  yield  was  obtained  as  at  first.  Shoup's  Idaho  Tcr., 
MS.,  4.  Ward  and  Napius  discovered  these  mines.  Loon  Creek  was  dis 
covered  by  Nathan  Smith,  a  Cal.  pioneer.  In  1802  he  came  to  Idaho,  and 
was  one  of  the  discoverers  of  the  Florence  diggings.  In  1869  he  prospected 
Loon  Creek,  which  he  named  from  a  bird  of  that  species  found  on  the  stream. 
A  thousand  men  were  mining  there  at  one  time,  and  the  town  of  Oro  Grande 
was  built  up  as  a  centre  of  trade.  When  the  white  men  had  taken  off  the 
richest  deposits,  the  Chinese  purchased  the  ground,  and  were  working  it, 
when  in  the  winter  of  1878-9  the  Sheep  Eater  Indians  made  a  descent  upon 
them  and  swept  away  the  whole  camp,  carrying  off  the  property  of  the 
slaughtered  Mongolians  to  their  hiding-places  in  the  mountains,  from  which 
Capt.  Bernard  had  so  much  trouble  to  dislodge  them  the  following  summer. 
Bonanza,  City  Yankee  Fork  Herald,  Oct.  18,  1884. 

2  Mudbarville,  Spring  Town,  Waterburg,  and  Dry  Town  were  their  eu 
phonious  appellations. 

3  The  deposits  were  of  various  depths,  the  upper  bed  being  from  25  to  50 
feet  deep,  and  lying  on  a  hard-pan  of  pseudo-morphous  rock  from  a  few  inches 
to  three  feet  in  thickness,  beneath  which  is  another  deposit  generally  richer 
than  the  first.     Or,  in  some  places,  the  hard-pan  is  represented  by  a  soft 
cement,  found  at  a  depth  of  from  three  to  nine  feet.     The  cost  of  opening  a 
claim,  and  putting  it  in  good  order  for  working  is  about  §5,000;  and  the  re 
ceipts  from  it  from  §10  to  $50  a  day.     Careful  estimates,  based  on  actual 
yields  and  measurements  of  ground,  give  the  amount  of  gold  obtained  from 
an  acre  of  ground  as  being  from  §5,000  to  §10,000,  at  the  rate  of  from  §20  to 
$100  a  day,  with  the  gold-saving  machines,  which  are  furnished  with  an 
amalgamator. 

The  greatest  hinderancc  to  be  overcome  was  the  hoisting  of  water  for  min 
ing  purposes  from  the  bed  of  the  river,  where  there  are  no  streams  entering. 
The  moat  feasible  solution  of  this  difficulty  would  be  the  construction  of  a 


BULLION  PRODUCT.  535 

Coming  to  the  actual  production  of  the  mines  of 
Idaho,  I  find  that,  according  to  the  annual  report  of 
the  director  of  the  mint  of  the  United  States,  Idaho 
in  1879,  when  it  was  beginning  to  recover  from  the 
misfortunes  of  the  previous  decade,  produced  $1,150,- 
000  in  gold  and  $650,000  in  silver,  while  the  estimate 
in  the  tenth  census  is  $1,944,203.  In  1882  the  pro 
duct  in  gold  and  silver  was  $3,500,000,  divided  among 
ten  counties,  of  which  Custer,  or  the  Wood  River 
mines,  produced  more  than  one  third.4  But  the  report 
of  the  mint  director  is  no  more  than  a  guide  to  the 
actual  amount  of  gold  produced,  the  larger  part  of 
which  is  shipped  out  of  the  territory  by  banking  firms 
or  in  private  hands,  and  goes  to  the  mint  at  last  with 
out  any  sign  of  its  nativity.  The  total  gold  product 
of  Idaho  down  to  1880  as  deposited  at  the  mints  and 
assay  offices  has  been  set  down  at  $24,157,447,  and 
of  silver  $727,282.60.  But  some  $60,000,000  should 
be  added  to  that  amount,  making  the  yield  of  precious 
metals  for  Idaho  $90,000,000  previous  to  1881,  when 
the  revival  of  mining  took  place.  Strahorn  estimates 
the  output  of  1881  in  gold,  silver,  arid  lead  at 
$4,915, 100.5 

canal  taking  water  out  of  the  river  above,  and  carrying  it  to  all  the  mines 
below.  This  device,  besides  making  mining  a  permanent  business  on  Snake 
River,  would  redeem  extensive  tracts  of  land  which  only  need  water  for  irri 
gation  to  change  them  from  sage-brush  wildernesses  to  gardens  of  delicious 
fruits  and  vegetables,  or  fields  of  golden  grain.  The  principal  claims  were 
on  the  upper  .Snake  River,  at  Cariboo,  and  above  in  Wyoming,  and  also  at 
Black  Canon,  where  the  Idaho  Snake  River  Gold  Mining  Company  had  some 
rich  ground,  §100  a  day  to  the  man  having  been  taken  out  with  a  rocker,  a 
copper  plate,  and  a  bottle  of  cyanide  of  potassium.  The  average  yield  was 
$2.5  a  day  over  80  acres  of  auriferous  gravel.  The  Lawrence  and  Holmes 
Company  had  a  claim  near  Blackfoot  paying  from  $19  to  §50  a  day  to  the 
man.  Lane  &  Co.,  near  the  mouth  of  Raft  River,  obtained  §25  a  day  to  the 
man;  and  Argyle  &  Co.,  near  Fall  Creek,  owned  placers  that  paid  §100  a 
day  to  the  man.  Other  rich  placers  were  mined  in  the  vicinity  of  Salmon 
Falls.  The  best  seasons  for  working,  in  reference  to  the  stage  of  water  in 
the  river  and  the  state  of  the  weather,  was  from  the  1st  of  March  to  the 
middle  of  May,  and  from  the  1st  of  September  to  the  1st  of  November. 

*That  every  county  but  four  should  be  quoted  as  gold-producing  shows  a 
very  general  diffusion  of  precious  metals.  The  proportion  was  as  follows: 
Alturas  §945,000;  Boist'- §310,000;  Cassia  §25,000;  Custer  §1,250,000;  Idaho 
$240,000;  Lemhi  §210,000;  Nez  Perc<$  §5,000;  Oneida  §35,000;  Owyhee 
$430,000;  Shoshone  §50,000. 

5  See  fttruhonCii  Idaho  Ter.,  Gl.  The  Virginia  and  Helena  Post  of  Jan.  15, 
1867,  makes  the  output  of  the  Idaho  mines  in  1866  §11,000,000.  When 


636  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

Turning  from  the  precious  metals  to  the  baser 
metals  and  minerals,  we  find  that,  besides  lead,  Idaho 
has  abundance  of  iron,  copper,  coal,  salt,  sulphur,  mica, 
marble,  and  sandstone.  Bear  Lake  district  contains 
copper  ore  assaying  from  60  to  80  per  cent,  and  also 
native  copper  of  great  purity.  Galena  ores  78  per 
cent  lead  with  a  little  silver  are  found  in  the  same  dis 
trict.  Bituminous  coal  exists  in  abundance  in  Bear 
Lake  county,  where  one  vein  70  feet  in  thickness  is 
separated  from  other  adjacent  veins  by  their  strata  of 
clay,  aggregating  a  mass  200  feet  in  depth  of  coal. 

Near  Rocky  Bar,  in  Alturas  county,  is  a  vein  of 
iron  ore  seven  feet  in  thickness,  and  fifty-six  per  cent 
pure  metal.  Near  Challis,  in  Custer  county,  is  a  large 
body  of  micaceous  iron,  yielding  50  to  60  per  cent 
metal.  At  a  number  of  points  on  Wood  River  rich 
iron  ores  are  found  in  inexhaustible  quantities.  In 
Owyhee  county,  a  few  miles  east  of  South  Mountain, 
is  the  Narragansett  iron  mine,  an  immense  body  so 
nearly  pure  as  to  permit  of  casting  into  shoes  and  dies 
for  stamp-mills.  A  mammoth  vein  of  hematite  in  the 
neighborhood  carries  thirty  dollars  a  ton  in  gold. 
Deposits  of  iron  ore  are  found  not  far  from  Lewiston, 
which  yield  seventy -five  per  cent  pure  metal;  and 
similar  deposits  exist  near  the  western  boundary  of 
Idaho,  in  Oregon,  in  Powder  River  Valley. 

The  Oneida  Salt  Works,  in  Oneida  county,  manu 
facture  a  superior  article  of  salt  from  the  waters  of  the 
salt  springs,  simply  by  boiling  in  galvanized  iron  pans.6 
The  demand  has  increased  the  production  from  15,000 
pounds  in  1866  to  600,000  in  subsequent  years,  and  to 
1,500,000  in  1880.  A  mountain  of  sulphur,  eighty -five 
per  cent  pure,  is  found  at  Soda  Springs,  on  Bear  River. 
It  has  been  mined  to  some  extent.  The  same  local 
ity  furnishes  soda  in  immense  quantities.  Mines  of 

Ross  Browne  made  his  report  to  the  government  on  the  gold  yield  of  the  Pacific 
•tatcs  and  territories  he  omitted  Idaho,  which  had  produced  from  $10,000,000 
to  820,000,000  annually  for  4  years.  Silver  City  Avalanche,  Feb.  9,  1SG7. 

°This  salt  analyzed  yields,  chloride  of  sodium,  97.79;  sulphate  of  soda, 
1.54;  chloride  of  calcium,  .67;  sulphate  magnesia,  a  trace.  Strahom't 
Idaho  Tcr.,  03. 


AGRICULTURAL  RESOURCES.  537 

mica  exist  in  Washington  county,  near  Wciser  River, 
from  which  thousands  of  tons  arc  being  extracted  for 
the  market.  Other  deposits  of  mica  have  been  discov 
ered  in  northern  Idaho,  as  also  white  and  variegated 
marbles,  and  beautiful  granites  and  sandstones  of  the 
most  desirable  colors  for  building  purposes,  as  also  a 
quarry  suitable  for  grindstones.  There  is  little  that  a 
commonwealth  needs,  in  the  way  of  minerals,  which  is 
not  to  be  found  in  Idaho. 

But  no  matter  what  the  wealth  of  a  mineral  coun 
try  may  be,  it  is  never  looked  upon  with  the  same 
favor  by  the  permanent  settler  or  home-seeker  as  the 
agricultural  region,  because  there  is  always  a  look- 
ing-forward  to  the  time  when  the  mines  will  be  worked 
out,  while  to  the  cultivation  of  the  earth  there  is  no 
end.  Were  Idaho  as  dependent  upon  its  mines  aa 
in  the  days  of  its  earlier  occupation  it  was  thought 
to  be,  it  would  be  proper  to  treat  it  altogether  as  a 
mineral-producing  territory,  which  with  the  better 
understanding  now  had  it  would  not  be  proper  to  do. 

The  conditions  necessary  to  agriculture  are  those 
pertaining  to  soil  and  climate.  Of  the  former  there 
are  four  kinds,  and  of  the  latter  a  still  greater  variety. 
Taking  the  valley  lands,  large  and  small,  they  ag 
gregate,  with  those  reclaimable  by  irrigation,  be 
tween  14,000,000  and  16,000,000  acres.  The  soil 
of  the  valleys  is  eminently  productive,  containing  all 
the  elements,  vegetable  and  mineral,  required  by 
grains,  fruits,  and  vegetables.  It  is  of  a  good  depth, 
and  lies  upon  a  bed  of  gravel,  with  an  inclination  suf 
ficient  for  drainage.  Springs  of  water  are  abundant, 
both  warm  and  cold.  Wood  grows  in  the  gulches  of 
the  mountains  which  enclose  the  valleys.  The  climate 
is  mild,  with  little  snow  in  ordinary  seasons.  This 
phenomenon  in  so  elevated  a  region  is  accounted  for 
by  the  theory  of  a  river  of  warm  air  from  the  heated 
table-lands  of  Arizona,  the  Colorado  Valley,  and  the 
dry  valleys  of  Chihuahua  and  Sonora  passing  through 


538  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

the  funnel  of  the  upper  Del  Norte.  There  are  other 
influences  more  nearly  local,  like  the  Yellowstone 
geysers  and  the  Pacific  warm  stream.  Deep  snows 
fall  in  the  more  elevated  regions,  and  brief  periods  of 
severe  cold  are  experienced,  bat  the  longest  Idaho 
winter  is  short  compared  with  those  of  the  Atlantic 
states.  For  Boise  Valley  the  average  temperature  for 
eight  years,  from  1874  to  1881,  was  between  51°  and 
53°,  while  the  mean  temperature  for  1880  and  1881  in 
Lapwai  Valley,  much  farther  north,  was  5G.08°. 
Peach-trees  frequently  blossom  in  February  at  Lew- 
iston.  The  extremes  in  the  Boise  Valley  for  seven 
years  have  been  12°  below  zero  in  January,  and  108° 
above  in  July;  but  the  average  temperature  in  Janu 
ary  has  been  2G.01°,  and  for  July  75.86°,  this  being 
the  hottest  month  in  the  year.  Spring  and  autumn 
are  delightful.  The  average  rainfall  for  seven  years 
has  been  twelve  inches;  the  lowest  less  than  three, 
and  the  greatest  over  seventeen  inches. 

Taking  Boise  for  a  standard  of  valley  climate,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  altitude  to  a  considerable, 
and  latitude  to  a  less,  extent  influence  temperature 
in  Idaho.  Boise  is  2,800  feet  above  sea-level; 
Lapwai,  nearly  three  degrees  farther  north,  and  800 
feet  lower,  has  an  average  temperature  in  July  of  90° 
and  in  January  of  20°,  being  both  hotter  and  colder 
than  Boise.  Other  valleys  vary  in  climate,  in  accord 
ance  with  altitude  and  position  with  reference  to  the 
prevailing  south-west  wind.  Another  factor  in  the 
climate  of  Idaho  is  the  dryness  and  rarity  of  the 
atmosphere,  which  lessens  the  intensity  of  heat  and 
cold  about  twenty  degrees,  out-door  labor  being  sel 
dom  suspended  on  account  of  either.  The  same  gen 
eral  remarks  apply  to  every  portion  of  the  country; 
the  cold  and  snowfall  are  in  proportion  to  altitude. 

The  soil  of  the  mountains  and  wooded  regions  is 
deep,  rich,  black,  and  contains  much  vegetable  mould. 
Its  altitude  would  determine  its  fitness  for  cultiva 
tion.  The  valleys  having  an  elevation  of  from  GOO  to 


SOIL  AND  CLIMATE.  539 

5,000  feet,  it  would  depend  upon  the  situation  of  the 
mountain  lands  whether  they  could  be  successfully 
fanned.  The  soil  of  the  grass  and  sage  plains  in 
Snake  River  Valley  is  the  best  that  nature  has  pro 
vided  for  the  growth  of  cereals,  would  man  but  con 
trive  the  appliances  for  bringing  water  upon  it.  In 
the  northern  portion  of  Idaho,  wheat  and  other  grains 
may  be  grown  without  artificial  irrigation,  but  not  in 
the  southern  portion,  which  must  be  redeemed  from 
drought.  There  is  a  limited  amount  of  alkali  soil, 
which  produces  only  grease-wood,  on  which  cattle 
subsist  in  the  absence  of  or  in  connection  with  the 
native  grasses. 

Of  grazing  lands,  it  is  estimated  that  there  are  not 
less  than  25,000,000  acres  in  Idaho,  a  large  propor 
tion  of  which  furnish  food  continuously  throughout 
the  year ;  hence  it  is  essentially  a  cattle-raising  country. 
The  native  grasses  are  the  bunch,  rye,  timothy,  red- 
top,  and  blue-stem  varieties,  which  together  with  the 
white  sage  sustain  and  fatten  immense  herds  of  cattle 
and  sheep. 

The  area  of  forest  lands  is  computed  at  7,000,000 
acres,  lying  for  the  most  part  in  the  mountainous  re 
gions,  which  division  of  territory  amounts  to  18,400,- 
000  acres.  Out  of  this  amount  comes  also  most  of 
the  lake  surface  of  Idaho,  computed  to  be  600,000 
acres.  The  waste  lands  are  less  than  have  been 
supposed.7 

For  salubrity  of  climate  Idaho  stands  unequalled, 
the  percentage  of  deaths  in  the  army,  by  disease, 
being  lower  than  in  any  of  the  United  States, 
Thus  nature  provides  compensations  for  her  stern 
ness  of  aspect  by  real  benignity.  Those  who  best 
know  the  resources  of  the  territory  predicted  for  it  a 
brilliant  and  honorable  future.  This  is  the  more 

7  No  great  accuracy  can  be  attained.  Gilbert  Butler  divides  the  area  of 
Idaho  as  follows:  llich  agricultural  lauds  5,000,000  acres;  that  may  be  re 
claimed  by  irrigation  10,000,000;  grazing  lands  20,000,000;  timber  lands  10,- 
000,000;  mineral  lands  10,000,000;  lakes  and  volcanic  overflow  3,328,100. 
Silver  City  Idaho  Avalanche,  June  29,  1881. 


540  NATURAL  WEALTH. 

remarkable  when  the  hardships  and  liability  to  acci 
dent  of  a  new  country  are  considered;  the  death  rate 
being  one  third  that  of  Colorado,  one  fifth  that  of 
California,  and  half  that  of  Oregon. 

The  settlement  of  Idaho  having  been  begun  for  the 
sake  of  its  mineral  productions,  little  attention  was  at 
first  given  to  agriculture.  Further  than  this,  there 
was  the  prejudice  against  the  soil  and  climate,  result 
ing  from  false  conclusions  and  ignorance  of  facts. 
Thirdly,  there  was  the  constant  danger  of  loss  by 
Indian  depredations  to  discourage  the  stock-raiser, 
and  the  want  of  transportation  to  deter  the  farmer 
from  grain  and  fruit  raising  beyond  the  demands  of 
the  home  market. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

MATERIAL  AND-SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 
1864-1886. 

ADA  COUNTY" — CREATION  or  THE  CAPITAL  OF  IDAHO — ORIGIN  AND  DEVELOP 
MENT  OF  TOWNS — FARMING  SETTLEMENTS — ORCHARDS — STOCK-RAISING 
• — PIONEERS — ALTURAS  COUNTY — MINERAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  LANDS 
AND  SETTLEM-ENT — BEAR  LAKE  COUNTY — BOISE,  CASSIA,  CUSTER,  IDAHO, 
KOOTENAI,  LEMHI,  NEZ  PERCE,  ONEIDA,  OWYUEE,  SHOSIIONE,  AND 
WASHINGTON  COUNTIES — PUBLIC  LANDS  IN  IDAHO — SOCIAL  CONDITION 
—EDUCATION — RELIGION — BENEVOLENT  SOCIETIES — PUBLIC  IMPROVE 
MENTS — RAILROADS  AND  TELEGRAPHS. 

I  WILL  now  take  up  the  progress  and  condition  of 
Idaho.  Ada  county  was  created  out  of  Boise  in 
December  1864,  with  Boise  City  as  the  county  seat. 
The  location  of  Fort  Boise  on  the  5th  of  July,  1863, 
was  the  immediate  cause  of  the  location  of  the  town, 
which  followed  on  the  7th.  But  before  either  of 
these  were  founded,  on  the  3d  of  February  of  the 
same  year,  Thomas  and  Frank  Davis  and  Sherlock 
Bristol  took  up  a  land  claim  and  built  a  cabin  on  a 
part  of  the  town  site  as  subsequently  located,  where 
they  had  a  vegetable  garden.  The  town  was  laid  off 
by  C.  Jacobs  and  H.  C.  Biggs,  and  incorporated  by 
a  compan}''  of  seventeen  men,  including  several  officers 
of  the  fort,1  who  had  it  surveyed  and  a  plan  litho 
graphed,  as  I  have  mentioned  in  another  place,  for 
the  use  of  the  legislature,  to  induce  that  body  to 

1  Hughes,  quartermaster,  was  one.  Sherlock  Bristol,  who  was  president  of 
the  company  and  owned  one  ninth  of  the  lots,  furnished  me  a  manuscript  on 
the  nomenclature  of  Idaho  and  scraps  of  early  history.  He  was  born  in 
Cheshire,  Conn.,  June  5,  1815.  He  removed  in  time  to  Fond  du  Lac  co.,  Wis. , 
and  from  there  to  Idaho  in  1862.  Bristol's  Idaho,  MS.,  5. 

(641) 


542  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

make  it  the  capital  of  the  territory,  as  it  did.2  It 
prospered  notwithstanding  some  contention  as  to  own 
ership,  which  was  settled  by  the  government  issuing  a 
patent  to  the  mayor,  in  1870,  of  the  town  site,  to  be 
held  in  trust  by  him  until  the  territorial  legislature 
should  prescribe  the  mode  of  the  execution  of  the 
trust,  and  the  disposal  of  the  proceeds.3  It  had  300 
inhabitants  when  it  became  the  metropolis  of  Idaho, 
and  a  population  in  1885  of  2,000.* 

2  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  Sept.  5,  1863;  Bols6  News,  Nov.  28,  18G3;  Or. 
Arnus,  Oct.  5,  18G3;  Idaho  Statesman,  Oct.  10,  1868. 

3  Idaho  Statesman,   Dec.    12,    1870.     The   act  concerning  the  town  site, 
passed  by  the  legislature,  made  the  mayor  trustee  to  execute  deeds  to  claim 
ants  on  sufficient  proof  of  the  validity  of  their  pretensions.     For  the  purpose 
of  defraying  the  expenses  of  procuring  the  title,  the  sum  of  from  $1,  $5,  and 
$10  per  lot,  according  to  the  situation,  was  required  to  be  paid  into  the  treas 
ury  of  Bois6  City  and  disbursed  for  tliat  purpose,  the  residue,  if  any,  to  be  ex 
pended  under  the  direction  of  the  common  council.  Idaho  Laws,  1870-1, 
29-31. 

4  Cyrus  Jacobs,  who  purchased  the  first  parcel  of  gold-dust  taken  from  the 
Boiso  basin,  took  a  stock  of  goods  to  Boise1  City  in  the  summer  of  18G3,  and 
sold  them  from  a  tent  as  fast  as  they  arrived,  by  the  help  of  H.  C.  Riggs  and 
James   Mullancy,   clerks.     Riggs  and  James  Agnew   erected   the   building 
known  as  Riggs'  Corner  in  July,  and  about  the  same  time  J.  M.  Hay  and 
John  A.  James  erected  a  meat  market.     A  well  was  dug  by  Thompson  & 
McClcllan.     The  first  justice  of  the  peace  was  D.  S.  Holton,  his  office  being  in 
a  log  cabin  on  the  site  of  the  present  Overland  liotel.     H.  J.  Adams  was  the 
first  blacksmith,  the  shop  being  where  Levy's  shop  now  stands.     The  first 
school,  started  in  the  winter  of  1863-4,  was  taught  by  F.  B.  Smith.     First 
hotel  was  kept  by  Burns  &  Nordyke.     The  first  newspaper,  published  by 
J.  S.  Reynolds  &  Co.,  has  been  noticed.     The  first  contractors  and  builders 
were  Joseph  Brown  and  Charles  May,  brick-makers  and  masons.     First  dry- 
goods  establishment  was  by  B.  M.  Du  Relland  C.W.  Moore.  Idaho  St.atenm'in, 
April  1,  1870.     Du  Hell  and  Mooi'c  opened  a  national  bank  in  18G9.  Silver 
City  Avalanche,  May  11,  18G9.    The  first  saw-mill  was  erected  by  A.  H.  Robie, 
in  18G4.  who  removed  his  mill  from  Idaho  City.     The  first  church  erected 
was  by  the  catholics,  in  1870,  at  a  cost  of  $8,000.     It  was  destroyed  by  a  fire 
in  1871,  which  burned  §57,000  worth  of  property.    Not  a  mining,  but  a  com 
mercial  centre,  with  the  capital  and  a  military  post  to  give  it  standing,  Bois<§ 
City  is  regarded  as  the  most  important  as  well  as  the  most  beautiful  town  in 
the  territory.     The  Bois6  River  emerges  from  the  mountains  about  seven 
miles  above  the  town,  where  the  valley  proper  begins.     The  city  stands  on 
the  river  bank,  with  the  fort  on  a  higher  plateau  a  mile  removed.     The  streets 
are  wide  and  well  shaded,   the  residences  neat  and  tasteful,   standing  in 
flowery  enclosures  kept  green  by  streams  of  living  water  flowing  down  the 
streets.     The  squares  devoted  to  public  buildings  are  well  kept,  and  tho 
edifices  of  brown  stone.     Up  and  down  the  river  are  many  charming  drives, 
and  altogether  the  place  is  an  attractive  one.     Its  central  location  with  refer 
ence  to  other  commercial  towns  in  the  surrounding  states  and  territories  is 
likely  to  continue  it  in  its  present  eminence  as  the  chief  town  of  Idaho. 

Some  other  facts  concerning  the  capital  of  Idaho  may  bo  of  interest,  as  fol 
lows:  Its  altitude  is  2,800  feet;  latitude 43°  37';  distance  from  Chicago,  1,400 
miles  west  and  a  little  over  103  miles  north;  from  San  Francisco,  380  miles  east 
and  about  the  same  distance  north;  from  Portland,  about  170  miles  cast  and 
140  south;  from  Salt  Lake  City,  200  miles  north  and  150  west.  It  had  in 


EARLY  FARMING.  543 

Among  the  first  to  take  up  farms  in  Ada  county 
were  Thompson  and  McClellan,  who  also  kept  a  ferry 
on  Boise  River  at  Boise  City.  They  located  their 
claim  May  28,  1863.  S.  A.  Snyder,  T.  McGruc,  L. 
F.  McHenry,  Samuel  Stewart,  the  Pur  vine  brothers, 
and  Mooncy  took  up  claims  the  same  year.  Little 
was  expected  from  farming  by  the  pioneers;  but  land 
that  in  1877  was  a  wilderness  of  artemisia  was  soon 
covered  with  fields  of  golden  grain;  and  some  of  the 
finest  orchards  on  the  Pacific  coast  sprang  up  in  Ada 
county.  The  agent  which  wrought  this  change  was 
water.5 

1885  two  newspapers  besides  the  Statesman^,  viz.:  the  Idaho  Democrat,  started 
in  May  1S77  as  the  semi-weekly  Idahoan  by  A.  J.  Boyakin,  and  changed  its 
name  in  1879;  and  the  Republican,  started  in  March  1870  by  Daniel  Bacon. 
Starteil  and  failed,  the  Boise  City  News,  by  John  McGoniglc  in  1S70;  the 
.Boise  Democrat,  by  J.  C.  Boyle  &  Co.,  and  the  Capital  Chronicle,  by  D.  C. 
Schwatka  &  Co.  The  latter  was  purchased  by  Boyakin  and  became  the 
Idaho  Democrat.  In  Bois6  City  was  a  large  public  school  building,  7  teachers 
employed;  number  of  children  710.  The  first  protcstant  church  organized  in 
Idaho  was  the  methodist,  Nov.  23,  1872,  by  J.  M.  Jameson  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  conference,  presiding  elder  of  the  Commie  district.  A  church 
edifice  was  completed,  and  dedicated  on  tho  25th  of  April,  1875,  the  corner 
stone  having  been  laid  October  4tli  by  Gov.  T.  W.  Bennett.  The  1st  presby- 
terian  church  was  dedicated  in  1879,  and  the  1st  baptist  church  about  the  same 
time.  The  catholics  rebuilt  their  house  of  worship,  and  the  episcopalians 
erected  a  house  for  their  congregation.  One  of  the  features  of  BoisO"  City 
was  an  equestrian,  full-size  statue  of  Washington,  in  military  dress,  fashioned 
out  of  mountain  fir  with  a  common  axe,  saw,  gouge,  and  chisel.  It  was  placed 
on  a  bronze  pedestal  in  one  of  the  public  parks.  The  sculptor,  to  whom  \yas 
paid  $3,000  by  the  territorial  legislature,  was  Charles  Ostncr,  bora  in  1823  at 
Baden,  who,  involved  in  a  Hungarian  revolt,  immigrated  to  Cal.  in  1858, 
and  thence  to  Idaho  in  18G2.  From  the  Florcn3o  mines,  Ostncr  went  to  the 
upper  Payette  Valley  and  settled  himself  upon  a  farm  in  180 1,  also  keeping  a 
ferry.  During  the  winter  and  at  intervals  he  worked  upon  his  statue,  which 
was  completed  and  set  up  in  1809  with  imposing  ceremonies,  and  speeches  by 
Chief  Justice  McBridc  and  others.  Bolss  Statesman,  Jan.  9,  1809.  The  govern 
ment  had  a  signal  station  at  Bois6  City.  A  board  of  trade  was  organized  in 
April  1833,  J.  A.  Pinney  president,  Nathan  Falk  secretary,  Charles  II.  Nim- 
rod  treasurer.  A  fire  department  was  established,  also  several  lodges  of 
masons,  odd  fellows,  good  templars,  champions  of  the  red  cross,  turn-vcreins, 
etc.,  a  free  library  association,  territorial  law  library,  and  literary  and  dra 
matic  club. 

5  As  early  as  1864  a  right  was  granted  to  William  B.  Hughes  and  others, 
who  incorporated  as  the  Vallisco  Water  Co.,  to  take  water  out  of  the  Boise" 
River  above  Rocky  Point,  and  convey  ib  in  a  ditch  or  aqueduct  to  Boise  City 
and  Fort  Boise,  and  down  to  Snake  River.  Idaho  Laws,  18S34,  475-7.  In  Nov. 
1S79  W.  D.  Morris,  supt  of  the  North-western  Stage  Co.,  began  the  construc 
tion  of  a  canal,  to  be  8  feet  wide  at  the  bottom  and  12  at  the  top,  and  between 
five  and  six  miles  in  length,  carrying  3,000  inches  of  water,  or  sufficient  to 
float  logs  to  the  saw-mills  in  the  valley,  and  cord-wood  to  tho  farmers  along 
its  course,  besides  furnishing  power  for  mills  and  factories,  and  water  for  irri 
gating  and  reclaiming  20,000  acres  of  land.  The  grade  of  the  canal  was 


544  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

During  the  period  between  1876  and  1886  extensive 
orchards  were  planted  in  the  Boise  Valley,  some  of 
which  produced  from  25,000  to  40,000  bushels  of  fruit 
annually,  few  failures  occurring  in  twelve  years.  L. 
F.  Cartee  at  Boise  City  had  a  vineyard  in  which  grew 
forty  varieties  of  grapes.0 

Stock-raising  was  carried  on  to  a  considerable  ex 
tent  in  Ada  county.  Fine  breeds  of  cattle  were  im 
ported,  and  from  500  to  2,000  grazed  upon  the  grassy 
uplands.7 

twenty  inches  to  the  mile,  and  the  estimated  cost  $25,000.  Morris  died  in 
May  1878.  The  property  fell  into  the  hands  of  W.  Ridenbaugh,  \\-\io  completed 
the  canal,  and  gave  it  a  width  of  20  feet  at  top,  a  mile  more  in  length,  a  "depth 
of  four  feet  of  water,  which,  moving  at  the  rate  of  27  lineal  inches  per  second, 
equalled  0,000  miner's  inches  of  water.  A  reservoir  three  miles  from  its 
head  covered  ten  acres,  and  was  used  to  hold  saw-logs,  which  were  iloated 
down  the  river  to  the  canal.  The  lands  irrigated  by  this  canal  yielded  40 
bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  and  enormous  vegetable  and  root  crops.  Av 
erage  crops  in  Idaho  were  30  bushels  of  wheat,  25  of  rye,  55  of  oats,  40  of 
barley,  35  of  corn,  and  250  of  potatoes  to  the  acre.  Strahomi's  Idaho,  G6. 
Morris  became  possessed,  under  tlie  desert-land  act,  of  17,070  acres  of  valley 
land,  by  paying  25  cents  an  acre  and  constructing  this  canal.  The  act  re 
quired  the  purchaser  to  pay  an  additional  $1  per  acre  at  the  end  of  three 
years  when  the  irrigation  was  furnished.  The  cost  of  the  whole  enterprise 
probably  was  some  §00,000,  the  land  reclaimed  being  worth  §700,  COO. 

0  Cartee  was  born  at  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  in  1823,  graduated  from  St  John's  col 
lege  at  Cincinnati,  and  came  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1849,  opening  r.n  oliice  at 
Oregon  City  in  1850  as  surveyor  and  engineer.  In  1863  he  went  to  Idaho, 
and  erected  the  first  saw-mill  and  quartz-mill  at  Rocky  Bar.  He  was  ap 
pointed  surveyor-general  in  1SG7,  which  office  he  continued  to  hold  for  more 
than  12  years.  He  was  a  successful  pomologist  and  stock-raiser.  Fruit-trees 
matured  early,  and  were  remarkably  healthy.  The  orchard  of  Thomas  Davis 
when  19  years  old  showed  few  signs  of  decay.  No  irrigation  was  necessary 
after  the  first  four  or  five  years.  He  had  10,000  trees  on  seventy-five  acres. 
In  1880  the  product  of  Davis'  orchard  was  40,000  bushels  of  large  fruits  and 
500  bushels  of  berries.  By  large  fruits  is  meant  apples,  pears,  peaches,  nec 
tarines,  apricots,  plums,  and  prunes.  A  portion  of  them  was  dried  for  the 
winter  market,  a  portion  sold  fresh  in  the  mines,  and  another  portion  made 
into  cider  and  vinegar. 

7  The  cost  of  keeping  cattle  on  the  range  varied  from  50  cents  to  $1  each 
per  annum,  according  to  the  size  of  the  herd.  In  some  of  the  higher  valleys 
of  Idaho  winter  feeding  was  followed  to  a  slight  extent,  which  increased  the 
expense.  Beef  steers  sold  at  from  §21  to  $24;  stock  cattle  at  §12;  two-year- 
olds  at  §14;  three-year-olds  at  §17;  and  yearlings  §8.  At  these  prices  large 
fortunes  were  quickly  made  in  raising  stock.  Ada  county  south  of  Bois6 
River  in  1885  contained  no  towns  except  the  railroad  station  of  Kuna.  Six 
miles  west  of  Bois6  City  was  the  hamlet  of  Thurman's  Mills,  the  establishment 
having  a  capacity  of  50  barrels  of  flour  daily.  Aikcn's  mills,  4  miles  west  of 
Boise"  City,  Morris'  mills,  opposite  the  town,  Russelville  mills,  one  mile  cast, 
and  Clark's  mills,  two  miles  east,  were  all  flouring  mills  of  good  capacity. 
Silver  City  Avalanche,  Feb.  12,  1881.  Star,  Middleton,  Caldwcll,  and  River 
side  were  on  the  lower  Bois6  road;  Emmcttville,  Falk's  Store,  and  Payctte- 
ville  on  the  road  to  Washoe  ferry.  Emmettville  was  the  only  place  of  any 
importance,  having  a  large  lumbering  interest  A  bridge  was  placed  across 


IRRIGATION  AND  PIONEERS. 


545 


I  have  been  thus  particular  in  the  description  of 
one  county  in  order  to  show  of  what  other  counties 

the  Payette  Iliver  here,  and  two  irrigating  ditches  opened,  which  watered 
about  GO  sections  of  excellent  land.  Population  of  Ada  county  in  1885,  5,500. 
Total  assessed  valuation  for  1882,  $1,734,508.  There  were  200,000  acres  of 
arable  land,  most  of  which  was  taken  up  in  farms  of  320  acres,  about  one 
fourth  of  which  was,  in  1885,  in  actual  cultivation. 


BOISE  AND  PAYETTE  VALLEYS. 


Calvin  P.  Bodfish,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Ada  county,  was  a  native  of 
Maine,  whence  he  went  to  Australia  in  1853,  and  thence  to  Cal.  in  1858.  He 
came  to  Idaho  on  the  discovery  of  gold,  and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  at 
Boise1  City.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first  Idaho  legislature,  and  was  ap 
pointed  assessor  of  internal  revenue  for  the  government.  He  died  suddenly 
of  apoplexy  Nov.  7, 1865,  at  the  age  of  43  years.  Boise  Statesman,  Nov.  11, 1865. 
Jonathan  Keeney  was  born  in  Missouri.  He  left  his  home  at  an  early  age  in 
1834  to  join  the  fur  companies  in  the  Rocky  Mountains;  returned  and  married 
in  1837,  and  immigrated  to  Oregon  in  1846,  going  to  Idaho  with  the  gold- 
seekers  in  18G3.  He  located  himself  at  Keeney  ferry,  on  Snake  River,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Boise1,  and  resided  there  till  about  1878,  when  he  sold  the 
property  and  retired  to  a  farm  on  Willow  Creek.  He  was  accidentally  shot 
on  the  15th  of  August,  1878,  at  the  age  of  78  years,  by  a  gun  in  his  own 
hands.  Boise  Statesman,  Aug.  24,  1878.  J.  C.  Henley,  born  in  Ohio,  came  to 
Idaho  in  18G2  from  Iowa,  and  settled  at  Idaho  City  in  1863.  On  the  organi 
zation  of  the  judicial  system  of  the  territory  he  became  clerk  of  the  U.  S. 
district  court  for  the  2d  district,  which  office  he  held  until  1865,  when  he  be 
came  a  partner  in  the  law  firm  of  Gilbert  &  Henley.  He  was  an  accomplished 
German  scholar,  a  republican  in  politics,  and  for  4  years  a  member  of  the 
national  republican  committee.  He  died  August  27,  1872,  at  Bois6  City, 
aged  36  years,  beloved  and  regretted.  J.  W.  Porter,  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
came  to  Cal.  from  Iowa  in  1850,  served  in  the  federal  army  in  the  civil  war, 
and  went  to  Idaho  at  its  close,  where  he  became  private  secretary  to  Gov. 
Ballard,  and  resided  at  Boise  City  until  hia  death,  March  29,  1870. 
HIST.  WASH.  35 


546  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

are  capable,  according  to  their  altitude,  extent  of 
valley  land,  and  facilities  for  irrigating  bench-land. 

Hiram  E.  Talbot  was  born  at  Richmond,  Va,  Sept.  22,  1809,  immigrated  to 
Cal.  in  18.39,  thence  to  Oregon,  and  again  to  Idaho  in  1863,  practising  medicine 
in  each  of  these  commonwealths.  He  died  Nov.  17,  1865,  at  the  age  of  56 
years,  leaving  several  sons  and  daughters.  His  obsequies  were  the  most  im 
posing  known  in  Boise5.  City  at  that  time.  H.  C.  Crane,  another  physician  of 
Boise  City's  early  days,  was  fatally  stabbed  by  a  nephew  of  the  same  name, 
in  a  fit  of  temporally  insanity,  in  the  autumn  of  1868.  John  Lernp,  a  native 
of  Germany,  immigrated  to  Louisville,  Ky,  in  1852,  at  the  age  of  14  years. 
On  the  discovery  of  the  Colorado  mines  he  went  to  Denver  and  erected  a 
brewery,  but  being  caught  by  the  rush  to  Idaho  in  1863,  went  thither,  and 
established  a  brewery  at  Boise  City  in  1864.  He  made  money,  and  married 
in  1806.  In  1874-5  was  elected  mayor.  James  A.  Pinney  came  to  Cal.  in 
1850  at  the  age  of  15,  and  went  to  Oregon  in  1853,  following  the  gold-hunters 
to  Idaho  in  1862,  engaging  in  packing  goods  from  Lewiston  to  the  mines,  and 
making  money  enough  to  set  up  as  a  merchant  at  Idaho  City  the  following 
year,  where  he  also  served  as  postmaster.  He  was  burned  out  in  the  great  fires 
of  1865  and  1867,  but  recovered  his  hold  upon  fortune,  and  removed  to  Boisd 
in  1870,  where  he  carried  on  a  large  stationery  and  book  business.  I.  N. 
Coston,  a  native  of  Tompkins  county,  New  York,  was  liberally  educated 
and  studied  law.  He  immigrated  to  Idaho  in  1862,  and  mined  at  Idaho 
City  for  two  years,  when  he  settled  as  a  farmer  in  Bois<$  Valley.  He  was 
elected  to  the  legislature  in  1870  and  1872  as  councilman  from  Ada  county, 
and  was  president  of  that  body  in  the  latter  year.  He  was  again  elected  in 
1876.  He  was  a  good  representative.  Silver  City  Avalanche,  Dec.  30,  1876. 
Albert  H.  Robie  was  a  native  Genesee  co.,  N.  Y.  He  came  to  the  Pacific 
coast  as  a  member  of  Governor  Stevens'  exploring  expedition,  as  I  have  noted 
in  the  previous  part  of  this  volume.  After  the  Indian  war  of  1855-6  he 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Indians  about  The  Dalles.  In  18GO,  when  the 
Nez  Perc6  mines  were  discovered,  he  erected  a  saw-mill  at  Lewiston,  removing 
thence  to  Idaho  City,  and  again  to  Boise  City,  where  he  was  ever  foremost  in 
useful  undertakings.  He  owned  a  large  herd  of  cattle,  which  was  grazed 
near  Steen  Mountain,  in  Oregon.  When  the  Bannack  war  of  1878  broke  out 
he  was  at  his  stock  rancho  and  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life.  Joining  in  the 
pursuit  of  the  Indians,  who  had  destroyed  his  herd,  he  fell  a  victim  to  an 
illness  brought  on  by  fatigue  and  exposure,  and  died  July  26,  1878,  at  his 
home  on  Dry  Creek,  Bois6  Valley,  aged  46  years,  leaving  a  wife  and  5  chil 
dren.  Boi$6  Statesman,  July  27,  1878.  D.  N.  Hyde  of  Seattle,  Washington, 
was  a  pioneer  of  Boise"  City.  Joseph  Branstetter,  one  of  the  discoverers  of 
Bois6  basin,  was  a  resident  of  this  county.  He  was  born  in  Berry  co. ,  Mo., 
April  17,  1842;  immigrated  to  Walla  Walla  in  I860,  and  followed  the  mining 
rush  to  Idaho  two  years  later.  In  1870  he  married  Laura  Marlette  of  Wis 
consin.  Branstetter's  Discovery  of  Boisb  Basin  is  a  manuscript  narrative  of 
an  expedition  which  resulted  fortunately  to  many.  John  B.  Pierce,  a 
pioneer  of  Boise"  Valley,  born  in  Cumberland  co.,  Ky,  in  1827,  removed  with 
his  parents  to  111.  in  1830.  His  opportunities  for  education  were  limited, 
but  being  a  good  observer  and  a  student  of  public  affairs,  acquired  by  reading 
considerable  knowledge  of  politics  and  law.  He  removed  to  Mo.  in  1844,  and 
crossed  the  plains  in  1850  to  Oregon,  settling  the  following  spring  in  Siskiyou 
co.,  Cal.,  where  he  was  engaged  in  mining,  packing,  lumbering,  and  other 
business  of  the  coiuitry.  In  1860  he  was  a  member  of  the  central  committee 
of  the  county  which  supported  John  C.  Breckenridge  for  president.  In 
1862  he  prospected  through  eastern  Or.  and  Wash.,  engaging  in  mining  in 
Boise  basin  among  the  earliest  pioneers  of  that  region.  He  assisted  in  organ 
izing  the  democratic  party  in  Idaho,  and  was  nominated  for  the  assembly  at 
the  first  election,  but  was  beaten.  He  joined  with  H.  C.  Street  and  J.  H. 
Bowman  in  purchasing  the  Boise  News  from  its  republican  owners,  and  con- 


ALTURAS  COUNTY.  547 

With  this  in  view,  a  brief  mention  of  the  others  will 
convey  all  the  information  requisite  to  an  understand 
ing  of  the  early  condition  of  the  territory. 

Alturas  county,  named  by  some  admirer  of  the 
Spanish  word,  signifying  heights,  or  mountains,8  had 
little  valley  land,  and  that  was  upon  the  margins  of 
its  numerous  mountain  streams.9 

verting  it  into  the  Idaho  World,  for  the  support  of  democracy.  He  was 
ollered  the  nomination  for  delegate  to  congress  in  1SG4,  but  declined.  He 
was  several  times  elected  to  the  legislature  from  Bois6  and  Owyhee  and  Ada 
counties,  and  served  as  chairman  of  the  special  code  committee  of  the  lower 
house  in  1874,  his  popularity  being  attributable  to  his  opposition  to  every 
kind  of  jobbery  in  politics,  of  which  there  lias  been  much  in  Idaho  in  his 
own  party.  He  was  a  prosperous  farmer  in  Boise1  Valley;  was  twice  mar 
ried,  2  of  his  sons  having  families  of  their  own. 

8  Though  the  miners  prefer  the  more  figurative  interpretation  of  '  heavenly ' 
heights. 

<J  Big  Camas  prairie  was  the  chief  body  of  agricultural  land  in  this  county, 
with  an  area  of  14,000  square  miles.  It  occupied  a  region  80  miles  in  length 
by  from  eighteen  to  twenty-five  in  breadth,  and  has  an  elevation  of  4,000 
feet.  The  Snake  River  lava-field  appeared  destined  forever  to  be  a  waste; 
but  the  sage-plains  west  of  Wood  River  proved  capable  of  redemption,  while 
the  foot-hills  and  benches  of  the  mountains  in  which  the  mines  were  situated 
afforded  extensive  cattle-ranges.  For  many  years  Camas  prairie  was  thought 
only  fit  for  a  hay-field,  and  used  as  such.  The  summers  were  warm  and 
pleasant,  but  there  was  a  heavy  snowfall  in  winter.  Later  settlers  raised 
wheat,  barley,  corn,  oats,  vegetables,  and  melons  successfully,  the  oat  crop 
requiring  no  irrigation.  The  valley  of  Wood  River,  for  a  distance  of  fifty 
miles  in  length  and  from  one  to  two  in  breadth,  was  a  favorite  location  for 
farmers.  The  population  of  Alturas  in  1883  was  9,000,  and  its  assessed 
valuation,  real  and  personal,  $2, 871, 060.  The  number  of  children  attending 
school  1,000.  Esmeralda  was  the  county  seat  when  the  county  was  organ 
ized,  but  Rocky  Bar  succeeded  to  the  honor  in  18G4.  Idaho  Laws,  1804,  429. 
In  consequence  of  the  discovery  of  the  Wood  River  mines  in  the  summer  of 
1879,  Hailey  was  chosen  for  county  seat  by  popular  vote,  in  1SS1.  Bcllcvue 
was  the  first  town  built  in  the  Wood  River  mining  region,  being  located  and 
settled  in  1880,  and  chartered  in  1882-3.  Its  newspaper,  the  Chronicle,  was 
owned  by  C.  &  J.  Foster.  Ketchum  was  next  located,  10  miles  above  Belle- 
vue,  also  in  1880,  and  Galena  City,  20  miles  farther  north,  in  what  was  after 
ward  Custer  county,  in  the  same  year.  Jacobsville  and  Marshall  competed 
with  other  places  for  the  dignity  of  being  considered  urban,  but  have  re 
mained  only  camps.  Hailey,  located  in  the  spring  of  1881,  four  miles  north 
of  Bellevue,  then  a  thriving  town  of  400  inhabitants,  having  83  school  children 
and  2  churches,  drew  to  itself  most  of  the  trade  and  population  on  account  of 
being  nearer  to  the  principal  mines.  H.  Z.  Burkhart,  with  a  machine,  made 
a  kiln  of  80,000  brick  in  1882.  The  court-house,  hotel,  school-house,  railroad 
depot,  and  other  buildings  were  constructed  of  brick.  Lime  was  plentiful 
and  cheap.  A  newspaper,  the  Wood  liiner  News,  was  started  at  Bellvue  in 
the  spring  of  1881  by  Clay,  Allen,  and  George,  and  sold  to  Frank  0.  Harding, 
who  removed  it  to  Hailey,  changing  the  title  to  Wood  I'iver  Miner.  Two 
other  newspapers,  the  Chronicle  and  Time;-*,  are  published  in  this  county. 
Methodist,  presbyterian,  episcopal,  congregational,  independent,  and  cath 
olic  churches  have  been  organized,  but  church  edifices  were  as  numerous  as 
the  societies  in  1883.  A  good  theatre  \vas  erected,  Some  warm  springs  in 
Croy  Gulch  were  fitted  up  as  a  place  of  resort.  The  growth  of  Hailey  resem- 


548 


MATERIAL  AXD  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 


Bear  Lake  county,  the  small  south-east  corner  of 
the  territory,  previous  to  1872  was  supposed  to  be 
long  to  Utah.  It  was  first  settled  by  a  colony  of 
Mormons  under  C.  C.  Rich,  and  was  called  Rich 
county.  The  establishment  of  the  boundary  of  Idaho 


^./^^.^iLL^lL 


SOUTH- EASTERN  IDAHO. 

by  survey  threw  the  greater  and  better  portion  of 
Rich  county  into  Idaho,  together  with  its  industrious 
and  thrifty  population,  and  it  was  considered  as  a  part 
of  Oneida  county  until  its  separate  organization  in 
January  1875.  The  first  settlers  were,  like  most  of 
the  Mormons,  agriculturists.  But  their  earlier  ef 
forts  at  farming  were  failures,  owing  to  frost  and 
grasshoppers,  which  together  took  the  greater  part 
of  their  crops  for  several  years.  The  altitude  of 
Bear  Lake  Valley  is  G,G6G  feet,  from  which  elevation 
came  the  frosts.  The  grasshoppers  were  a  periodical 

blcs  that  of  Idaho  City  in  1863-5.  The  rapid  settlement  of  Wood  River  and 
Canias  prairie  was  after  1880.  Many  of  the  incomers  were  from  Norway,  and 
do  not  fear  the  snows  of  winter.  There  were  fifty  families  in  1881  where  there 
were  not  a  dozen  the  year  before.  Fifty  homesteads  were  taken  up  in  1881 
by  an  agent  of  the  German  colony  of  Aurora,  Marion  co.,  Oregon.  They 
were  all  agriculturists,  and  will  make  a  garden  of  the  cultivable  parts  of 
Alturas  county. 


BOISE  COUNTY.  549 

plague.  But  by  making  hay  and  raising  stock  the 
settlers  prospered,  and  little  by  little  overcame  the 
worst  of  their  difficulties.10 

The  early  history  of  Boise  county  has  already 
been  given  in  a  previous  chapter.  Its  principal  wealth 
long  continued  to  be  mines.11  The  upper  Payette 

10  The  valley  of  Bear  Lake,  called  Mormon  Valley,  a  fertile  plain  15  miles 
wide  and  2,1  miles  long,  had  a  population,  in   1885,  of  4,000.     By  irrigating, 
large  crops  of  wheat,  oats,  and  barley,  the  finest  potatoes  in  abundance, 
and  the  largest  hay  crop  in  the  territory  were  raised,  while  herds  of  cattle 
and  sheep  covered  the  hillsides.     The  lumbering  interest  in  this  county  was 
of  importance,  pine  .and  spruce  being  the  prevailing  timber  on  the  moun 
tains.     The  manufacture  of  cheese  was  introduced,  the  product  in  1883  being 
200,000  pounds.     By  cooperation  the  Mormon  population  carried  on  their 
enterprises  with  good  results.     It  was  by  cooperation  that  they  made  the 
cheese  factory  profitable,  its  capacity  being  900  pounds  daily.     There  was 
the  Paris  Cooperative  Institution,  composed  of  200  shareholders,  with  a  capital 
of  §25,000.     It  conducted  a  reneral  merchandise  store,  boot  and  shoe  factory, 
harness  factory,  tin-shop,  and  tailoring  establishment,  besides  a  planing-lathe 
and  shingle-mill.     Members  were  not  permitted  to  hold  more  than  $400  worth 
of  stock,  lest  the  few  should  be  benefited  to  the  exclusion  of  the  many.     Since 
its  establishment  in   1S74,  in  10  years  it  paid  §27,000  in  dividends,  besides 
expending  20, 000  annually  for  labor.     In  1882,  2,870  pairs  of  boots  and  shoes 
were  manufactured,  900  pieces  of  leather  tanned,  §b',000  worth  of  planed  lum 
ber  and  shingles  sold,  and  35,000  pounds  of  cheese  made,  besides  the  business 
of  the  other  establishments.     While  the  results  thus  obtained  furnished  no 
wonder-provoking  figures  like  mining,  they  secured  contentment  and  steady 
prosperity,  which  mining  too  often  does  not.     There  were  several  villages  in 
Bear  Lake  county,    namely,    Paris,    the   county   seat,    Fish    Haven,    Ovid, 
Liberty,  Montpelier  (formerly  Brigham),   Preston,   St  Charles,   Bennington, 
and  Georgetown.     The  Oregon  Short  Line  railroad  was  laid  out  on  the  east 
side  of  the  lake,  through  Montpelier,  Bennington,  and  Georgetown.     The 
assessed  valuation  of  Bear  Lake  county  in  1882  was  §239,940. 

11  The  mining  ditch  constructed  by  J.  Marion  Moore  and  J.  C.  Smith  in 
1803  was  the  beginning  of  Ben  Willson's  enterprises  before  mentioned.     He 
bought  out  Smith,  and  subsequently  purchased  Moore's  half.     Moore  was 
shot  in  a  mining  war  over  the  possession  of  the  Golden  Chariot  mine,  near 
Silver  City,  Owyhee,  in   1SGS.     Samuel  Lockhart,   another  owner,  was  also 
shot.     Moore  was  greatly  regretted  by  the  pioneers  of  Idaho,  who  regarded 
him  as  the  most  indefatigable  of  them  all  in  everything  pertaining  to  the 
development  of  the  territory,  and  as  a  true  man.   Capitol  Chronicle,  Oct.  20, 
18G9.     He  was  buried  with  honors  in  the  masonic  cemetery  at  Idaho  City, 
near  the  creek  which  bears  his  name.  Idaho  World,  April  8,  1868.     Willson, 
an  Englishman  by  birth,  came  to  Cal.  at  the  age  of  15,  and  was  thoroughly 
Americanized.     He  went  to  Idaho  and  Bois6  basin  in  the  spring  of  1803.  and 
did  more  real  work  than  almost  any  other  man  in  the  county.     In  1803  he 
built  a  toll-road,  and  ran  a  stage  line  between  Pioneer  City  and  Centreville. 
He  built  a  saw-mill,  in  company  with  Paikinson  and  Warriner,  at  Idaho 
City,  and  also  engaged  in  merchandising  with  James  Powelson.    At  the  same 
time  he  bought  mining  ground  and  constructed  ditches,  being  the  first  to  in 
troduce  hydraulic  mining,  using  at  first  duck  hose  with  a  common  nozzle,  but 
finally  iron  pipe,  15  inches  diameter  at  the  lower  end,  and  the  giant  nozzle. 
Thus  Willson  became  owner  of  100  miles  of  ditches,  a  mill  for  sawing  lum 
ber,  several  shops  for  repairing  tools,  and  a200-acre  farm  on  Clear  Creek,  ad 
joining  the  town  of  Pioneer,  besides  being  a  partner  in  the  Mammoth  quartz 
mine.     He  was  a  member  of  the  bar,  and  served  in  the  legislative  council, 


550  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

Valley  proved  the  choicest  farming  region  in  Boise 
county.12 

In  Cassia  county  were  found  a  good  soil  and  climate, 
but  the  valleys  were  small  and  elevated.  Upper 
Goose  Creek  had  the  choicest  body  of  farming  land  in 
the  county.  Raft  River  Valley,  thirty  miles  long 
by  ten  wide,  contains  fine  meadow-lands.  A  settle 
ment  was  made  at  the  head  of  the  valley,  called  the 
Cove.  With  irrigation  the  sage-lands  produce  well. 
Like  Bear  Lake  county,  Cassia  raised  wheat,  oats, 
barley,  and  potatoes  for  market,  in  abundance,  and 
grazed  large  herds.  It  had  mines,  though  not  much 
prospected;  also  one  grist-mill  and  three  saw-mills.13 

as  well  as  in  county  offices.  Moore  Creek  was  surveyed,  and  also  Granite 
and  others,  with  a  view  to  constructing  bed  rock  flumes  in  the  same  manner. 
S.  A.  Merritt,  delegate  to  congress,  was  intrusted  with  the  business  of  get 
ting  a  bill  passed  granting  right  of  way,  and  other  privileges,  on  Moore 
Creek,  for  a  distance  of  7  miles,  but  failed.  A  job  was  attempted,  while 
Ainslie  was  in  congress,  to  get  all  the  waters  of  Snake  River,  and  other 
streams,  granted  to  a  company,  which  would  compel  the  farmers  to  pay  for 
it  at  their  price.  Another  congressional  job  proposed  was  to  grant  all  the 
waters  in  Boise'  River  to  a  company,  which  would  have  paralyzed  placer 
mining  in  Boise  basin,  by  placing  them  at  the  mercy  of  the  company.  The 
people  of  Idaho  have  ever  been  alive  to  the  withering  effect  of  iniquitous 
monopolies. 

J'2There  were  in  1885  about  thirty  good  farms  in  this  section,  with  a  wagon- 
road  from  the  valley  to  Placerville  and  Idaho  City.  Back  of  the  bottom-land 
was  a  sago  plain  partially  redeemed  by  irrigation,  and  rising  higher,  a  series 
of  rolling  hills  gradually  attained  an  altitude  of  5,000  feet,  covered  with  bunch- 
grass,  making  the  best  of  cattle-ranges.  On  the  crest  of  the  hills  to  the  east 
was  a  heavy  growth  of  timber.  Long  and  Round  valleys  were  used  only  for 
grazing  purposes.  Garden  Valley  was  soon  under  high  cultivation,  lying 
only  ten  miles  north  of  the  mining  centre  of  the  Boise1  basin,  which  furnished 
a  profitable  market  for  the  grain,  vegetables,  and  fruits  raised  in  this  'para 
dise,'  as  it  is  fondly  named.  From  the  dividing  line  between  Ada  and  BoistS 
counties  to  Horse  iShoe  Bend  is  about  twenty-five  miles  of  farming  land  occu 
pied  by  one  hundred  settlers,  who  have  under  cultivation  15,000  acres.  In 
the  lower  Payette  Valley  resided  D.  M.  Bivens,  a  native  of  Missouri,  who 
immigrated  from  Kansas  to  Idaho  in  18G2.  He  was  among  the  first  to  Like  a 
farm  on  the  Payette,  where  he  made  himself  a  beautiful  home.  He  died  Nov. 
17,  1879,  aged  51  years.  Boi*6  Tri-weeUy  Statesman,  Nov.  25,  1879. 

Bois6  county  had  3,212  inhabitants  in  1880,  with  a  total  valuation  in  1882 
of  $GG9,719.  In  1883  the  population  had  increased  to  12,000,  with  a  pro 
portionate  increase  of  property.  Idaho  City,  the  county  seat,  had  diminished 
from  7,000  in  1804  to  700  in  1880,  but  expanded  again.  Placerville,  Centre- 
ville,  Quartzburg,  Pomona,  Banner,  Deadwood,  Clarkville — named  after 
Henry  C.  Clark,  a  pioneer,  who  has  a  store  in  this  place.  Silver  City, 
Idaho,  Avalanche,  Aug.  12,  187G — Horse  Shoe  Bend — C.  H.  Angle,  pioneer  at 
this  place,  and  justice  of  the  peace,  died  March  10,  187G.  He  left  a  wife  and 
4  children — Bairdsville — settled  first  by  C.  Baird  on  upper  Squaw  Creek, 
Starr'*  Idaho,  MS.,  8 — and  Jerusalem  were  the  early  mining  and  farming 
centres  of  BoiscS  county. 

13  The  old  road  to  Salt  Lake  by  the  City  of  Rocks  passed  through  some 


CUSTER  COUNTY.  551 

Custer  county,  named  after  General  Ouster,  cut  off 
from  Alturas  and  Lemhi  in  1881,  proved  inconsider 
able  as  an  agricultural  region.  There  was  a  fine 
valley,  forty  miles  long  by  from  five  to  fifteen  miles 
wide  on  the  upper  Salmon  River,  furnished  with  wood, 
water,  and  grass  in  abundance,  and  numerous  small 
tracts  of  agricultural  land  along  the  streams,  but  the 
county  was  preeminently  a  mining  country.  In  18GG 
or  1867  a  party  of  prospectors  from  Montana,  lieaded 
by  one  Richardson,  penetrated  to  that  branch  of  the 
Salmon  which  they  named  Yankee  Fork,  because  the 
party  consisted  of  New  Englanders.  They  did  not 
remain  long  in  the  country,  which  was  at  the  best 
inhospitably  strange  and  remote.  In  1873  D.  V. 
Varney  and  Sylvester  Jordan  found  their  way  to 
Yankee  Fork  and  located  some  placer  mining  claims, 
naming  Jordan  Creek  branch  of  that  stream.  Four 
years  later  the  great  discoveries  were  made  in  quartz, 
of  the  Charles  Dickens,  Charles  Wayne,  Custer,  and 

of  the  settlements,  and  it  was  in  the  direction  of  Ogden  and  Salt  Lake  City 
that  the  farmers  looked  for  a  market.  The  population  in  1885  was  2,500; 
and  the  assessed  valuation  in  1882,  417,332.  Albion,  the  county  seat,  situ 
ated  in  Marsh  basin,  an  agricultural  district,  was  settled  about  1875.  Its 
population  ten  years  later  was  some  400.  In  Itiblctt's  Snake  River  Region,  MS. , 
2-3,  is  a  brief  account  of  Cassia  county,  by  Frank  Riblett,  surveyor.  In  the 
south-eastern  portion  of  the  county  was  the  Black  Pine  mining  camp.  Simon 
Schwabacher  was  the  principal  owner  in  this  region,  and  erected  the  first 
quartz-mill.  A  New  York  company  paid  $65,000  for  a  placer  mine  at  Bonanza 
Bar,  and  other  companies  took  claims  near  this  one.  There  was  another 
fanning  settlement  started  on  Sublette  Creek,  thirty  miles  east  of  Raft  River, 
and  some  of  villages;  namely,  Beecherville,  Alamo,  Gassier  Creek,  Bridge,  Oak 
ley,  Goose  Creek,  Rock  Creek,  and  several  stations  on  the  road  to  Salt  Lake. 
Samuel  R.  Given,  a  prominent  citizen  of  thisco.,  born  in  Nashville,  Tenn., 
in  1822,  was  a  son  of  John  Given,  whose  father  fought  in  the  revolutionary  war, 
under  Gen.  Marion.  Samuel  received  a  common-school  education  in  La.  In 
1849  he  came  to  Gal.,  via  Fort  Smith,  Ark.,  Santa  Fe",  Socorro,  Gila,  and  San 
Diego,  arriving  at  San  Francisco  in  October,  and  engaging  in  teaming  during 
the  winter.  The  following  spring  he  went  to  Mariposa  co.,  and  mined  for  a 
time,  afterward  farming  and  raising  hogs  on  the  Merced  River.  In  the  flood 
of  1802  he  lost  §20,000  worth  of  hogs,  and  all  his  improvements,  but  remained 
in  the  co.  until  he  recovered  a  part  of  his  losses,  when  in  1873  he  put  $3,000 
into  horses  and  mules  and  started  for  Cheyenne,  Wy.,  being  2  years  on  the 
road.  In  1875  he  sold  off  his  stock,  and  went  to  freighting  to  the  Black  Hills, 
making  $0,000  in  18  months.  He  then  commenced  buying  mining  claims, 
opening  and  selling  them,  including  the  Homestake  No.  2,  and  the  Pierce 
mines,  making  $70,000  in  another  year  and  a  half.  Next  he  purchased  a 
range  on  Raft  River,  and  stocked  it  with  cattle  and  horses,  and  here  he  made 
his  home,  in  the  Cnest  section  fora  winter  range  between  tlie  Sierra  Nevada 
and  the  Missouri  River. 


552  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

Unknown,  which  led  to  the  hasty  populating  of  this 
rich  mining  region,  among  the  most  famous  districts 
of  which  are  the  Kinnikinick,  Bay  Horse,  and  Ouster. 
Bonanza  City  was  laid  off  in  1877.14 

Idaho  county,  organized  under  the  government  of 
Washington  in  1862,  began  its  career  as  a  mining 
district  through  the  discovery  of  the  Florence  and 
Warren  diggings.  The  placers  at  Warren  were  among 
the  most  lasting  and  best  paying  in  Idaho.13 

uThe  first  trading  establishment  was  opened  by  George  L.  Shonp  and  his 
partner  Boggs.  Mark  Musgrove  started  a  newspaper  July  24,  1870,  the 
Yankee  Fork  Herald.  Challis,  the  county  seat,  the  centre  of  a  large  and  rich 
mining  district  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Salmon  River,  was  founded  in 
1878  by  A.  P.  Challis  and  others,  and  had  in  1880  a  population  of  500.  A 
newspaper  called  the  Messenger  was  published  here.  There  were  a  number 
of  mining  camps  in  Custer  county — Galena,  Robinson's  Bar,  Jordan  Creek, 
Crystal  City,  Lost  River,  Clayton,  Concord,  Bay  Horse,  Custer,  Cape  Horn, 
Oro  Grande,  Round  Valley,  and  Fisher.  The  population  of  the  county  in 
1883  was  3,000,  and  the  assessed  value  of  real  and  personal  property  the  pre 
vious  year  was  Jj>389,475. 

15  The  town  had  a  steady  growth  for  three  years,  containing  1,500  inhab 
itants  in  1865,  but  declined  subsequently,  until  in  1807  it  had  but  500.  The 
discovery  of  quartz  brought  it  up  again  to  1,200  in  1SCS,  but  not  proving 
rich  as  expected,  the  population  declined  to  400  in  1872,  when  1,200  Chinese 
came  in  and  worked  the  abandoned  diggings.  But  after  taking  out  gold 
enough  to  pay  for  the  ground  they  had  purchased,  most  of  the  Chinamen 
abandoned  the  place.  The  first  saw-mills  were  erected  in  1868  by  F.  Shesslcr, 
Madison,  and  William  Bloomer,  and  the  first  five-stamp  quartz-mill  by  God 
frey  Gamble,  who  employed  water-power  only.  Gamble  and  Leland  erected 
a  second  water-power  five-stamp  mill,  five  miles  above  Warren.  The  quartz 
at  Warren  failing  to  pay  as  anticipated,  Gamble  and  Leland  purchased  a  ten- 
stamp  stear.i-mill  at  Florence,  which  they  removed  to  a  mine  two  miles  from 
the  town  of  Washington,  on  Warren  Creek,  which  also  failed  to  meet  expecta 
tions.  In  1873  a  stock  company  moved  the  latter  milJ  to  the  Rescue  ledge 
at  Warren,  and  have  made  it  pay  from  that  time,  although  the  gold  is  in 
chimneys  or  pockets.  The  settlement  of  the  county  was  slow,  owing  to  its 
extreme  roughness  and  inaccessibility.  'Salmon  River,  in  Idaho  county,' 
says  Leo  Hofen,  'cuts  the  earth  almost  in  two,  the  bank  being  4,000  feet 
perpendicular  for  miles,  and  backed  by  high  mountains  that  show  evidence  of 
having  been  torn  and  rent  by  most  violent  convulsions.'  Hofen  was  born  in 
Germany  in  1835,  and  came  to  S.  F.  in  1855,  soon  after  removing  to  Nevada, 
whence  he  went  to  Lewiston,  Idaho,  in  1862,  and  engaged  in  merchandising 
and  assaying.  In  the  spring  of  1865  he  made  another  remove  to  Warren, 
where  he  remained  until  1784.  For  several  years  Hofen  held  the  control  of 
all  the  business  between  Payette  and  Salmon  rivers.  He  was  the  last  of  the 
pioneers  of  Warren  to  desert  the  camp;  and  returned  to  S.  F.,  where  he  en 
gaged  in  the  coffee  and  spice  business,  1 1  of  erf  x  Hist.  Idaho  County,  MS.,  1-2. 

James  H.  Hutton  was  another  pioneer  of  Idaho  county.  He  was  born  in 
Maine,  and  followed  the  sea.  Arriving  at  S.  F.  in  1850,  he  went  to  the  mines 
on  American  River,  but  soon  returned  to  S.  F.  and  engaged  in  the  coasting 
traffic.  In  1862  he  visited  the  Cariboo  mines,  going  thence  to  Idaho  the 
same  year  and  working  in  the  placers  of  the  Florence  district  until  1867, 
when  he  went  to  Warren,  where,  with  a  partner  named  Cocaine,  he  put  up 
the  first  five-stamp  quartz-mill  on  the  Rescue  lode.  In  partnership  with  C. 


KOOTENAI  COUNTY.  553 

Kootenai  county  had  almost  no  white  population 
until  the  building  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad 

Johnson,  he  located  the  Sampson  lode,  which,  though  moderately  rich,  was 
too  narrow  to  be  profitably  worked.  Hutton  was  in  1879  a.  detective  on  the 
police  force  of  San  Francisco.  Hutton 's  Early  Events,  MS.,  1-6. 

Florence  was  the  first  county  seat  of  Idaho  county.  In  18G9  the  seat  of 
the  county  was  removed  to  Warren,  and  in  1874-5  the  legislature  again  re 
moved  the  county  seat  to  Mount  Idaho.  The  history  of  Mount  Idaho  is  the 
history  of  farming  in  Idaho  county.  Situated  on  North  Camas  prairie,  which 
by  the  last  legislative  act  concerning  the  boundaries  of  Idaho  county  was  in 
cluded  in  it,  the  town  was  settled  in  1862  by  L.  P.  Brown,  through  whose 
efforts  it  was  made  flourishing.  Located  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains 
on  the  east  side  of  the  prairie,  it  became  a  picturesque  place,  with  mills, 
stores,  and  good  buildings.  H.  S.  Crossdale  and  one  Baring  resigned 
commissions  in  the  British  army  and  settled  on  the  prairie,  10  miles  north 
of  Mount  Idaho,  about  1870,  where  they  raised  sheep.  Idaho  Statesman, 
March  4,  1876.  A  rival  to  Mount  Idaho  was  Grangeville,  two  miles  north 
west,  which  about  equalled  it  in  business  and  population  for  some  time.  The 
other  settlements  in  this  county  were  Washington,  Elk  City,  Florence,  John 
Day,  Freedom,  Dixie,  White  Bird,  Manuel  Rancho,  Pittsburg  Landing,  and 
Glen  wood.  The  population  of  Idaho  county  in  1883  was  2,400,  and  the 
assessed  value  of  real  and  personal  property  $509,252. 

B.  F.  Morris,  born  in  Kay  co.,  Mo.,  in  1843,  came  to  Idaho  with  a  mule 
team  in  1863,  and  the  following  spring  went  to  the  Salmon  River  mines  in 
Idaho  co.  He  made  his  home  in  the  co.,  of  which  he  was  for  many  years 
auditor  and  treasurer.  He  married  H.  F.  Graham  in  1881. 

James  Odle,  born  in  Scioto  co.,  Ohio,  in  1823,  came  to  Cal.  in  1849  with  a 
party  of  21  young  men,  called  the  Hoy  and  Odle  company,  William  Hoy  be 
ing  the  other  chief.  Oil  reaching  Placerville,  Edward  Hoy  died,  and  also 
English.  Odle  remained  in  the  mines  until  Oct.  1850,  when  he  went  to  Doug 
las  co.,  Or.,  and  afterwards  to  Yamhill  co.  In  1862  he  came  to  Idaho,  and 
was  among  the  first  settlers  of  Mt  Idaho.  He  married  Catherine  L.  Crusin 
in  1854,  and  has  2  sons  and  2  daughters. 

Loyal  P.  Brown,  born  in  Coos  co.,  N.  H.,  in  1829,  came  to  Cal.  by  sea  in 
1S49,  the  schooner  Haunt  Nut,  of  the  Massasoit  company,  bringing  them  to 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  Crossing  on  pack-mules,  the  passengers  chartered 
a  brigantine,  which  was  condemned  at  Mazatlan,  compelling  them  to  wait  for 
a  steamer,  which  finally  brought  them  to  San  Francisco,  by  which  time  their 
means  were  exhausted,  and  10  of  the  company  worked  their  passage  to  Sacra 
mento,  where  they  took  a  contract  to  cut  hay  at  Sutter's  Fort,  after  which 
Brown  and  3  others  went  to  the  mines  on  the  Middle  Fork  of  American  River 
at  Rector's  Bar.  In  1850  Brown  went  to  Trinity  River,  engaging  in  trade 
and  packing  for  2  years,  then  to  Scottsburg  on  the  Umpqua  River,  re 
maining  in  southern  Or.  until  1862,  when  he  removed  to  Mount  Idaho.  He 
was  employed  in  the  quartermaster's  department  of  the  volunteer  arrcy  in 
1855-6,  and  after  the  war  engaged  in  stock-raising  in  Douglas  co.  He  went 
through  the  exciting  scenes  of  the  Nez  Perec1  war  in  Idaho  in  1877,  in  which 
he  performed  good  service.  His  present  business  is  merchandising. 

Jacob  B.  Chamberlain,  born  in  Lennox  co.,  Canada  West,  immigrated  to 
Vancouver  Island  in  1862  by  sea,  remaining  3  years  in  Victoria,  and  remov 
ing  thence  to  Idaho  in  1865.  He  was  elected  commissioner  of  Idaho  co.  in 
1878,  and  county  auditor  in  1880  and  1882. 

John  Aram,  born  in  Seneca,  N.  Y.,  in  1827,  came  with  his  brother  Joseph 
to  Cal.  in  1850  by  sea.  He  resided  5  years  in  San  Jose",  and  4  years  in  Amti- 
dor  co.,  Cal.,  after  which  he  removed  to  Or.  in  1859,  and  to  Grangeville,  on 
Camas  prairie,  Idaho,  in  1864.  He  married,  in  1853,  Sarah  Barr,  born  in  Wy 
oming  co.,  N.  Y. ,  in  1831. 

William  C.  Pearson,  born  in  Chautauqua  co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1829,  immigrated 


554  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

brought  people  there  to  perform  the  labor  of  its  con 
struction,  between  1880  and  1883.  The  Cceur  d'Alene 
Indian  reservation  occupied  most  of  the  southern  por 
tion,  extending  as  far  north  as  the  Spokane  River, 
and  the  head  of  Cceur  d'Alene  Lake.16 

Lemhi  county  was  set  off  from  Idaho  county  Janu 
ary  9,  1869,  assuming  $700  of  the  parent  county's  in 
debtedness.  A  change  was  made  in  the  boundary  in 
January  1873,  the  western  line,  south  of  Salmon 
Hiver,  commencing  at  the  mouth  of  the  Middle  Fork, 
thence  south-west  along  the  divide  between  the  Mid 
dle  and  South  forks  to  the  line  of  Boise  county.  The 
published  maps  do  not  give  the  actual  boundaries,  the 
county  lines  very  generally  being  unsurveyed.  The 
early  history  of  Lemhi  county  has  been  given.17 

overland  with  his  father's  family  to  Washington  co.,  Or.,  in  1853,  removing 
to  Camas  prairie,  Idaho,  in  1804,  where  he  engaged  in  fanning  and  stock- 
raising  near  Grangeville.  He  married  Belle  Crooks  in  1862. 

H.  Titman,  born  in  Warren  co. ,  N.  J.,  in  1832,  went  to  Pike's  Peak  in 
I860  with  other  gold-lmnters,  from  there  to  Virginia  City,  Nov.,  and  from 
there  to  the  mines  of  Idaho  in  18G2.  In  1870  he  engaged  in  stock-raising  on 
Salmon  River.  The  following  year  he  married  M.  E.  Turner,  and  settled  at 
Grangeville. 

10  Elevation  of  Coeur  d'Alene,  2,280  feet;  soil  gravelly,  raising  fair  crops  of 
grain  and  vegetables,  while  for  fruit  the  land  was  supei'ior.  North  the  coun 
try  was  lower,  being  but  1,456  feet  above  sea-level  at  Pend  d'Oreille  Lake, 
and  the  land  rich  and  productive.  A  German  colonjTin  1880-1  purchased  ten 
townships  of  railroad  land  on  the  Pend  d'Oreille  division  of  the  Northern  Pa 
cific,  and  established  a  thriving  settlement.  The  county  seat  of  Kootenai  co., 
Coeur  d'Alene,  had  a  population  in  1885  of  150.  Towns  arose  in  the  progress 
of  railroad  construction,  Kootenai,  at  the  moutk  of  Park  River,  30  miles  by  a 
trail  to  Kootenai  River,  which  was  navigated  for  150  miles  by  a  steamer, 
Sand  Point,  Cocolala,  Dry  Lake,  Westwood,  Rathdrum,  and  Pend  d'Oreille. 
Population  of  Kootenai  2,000  in  1883,  largely  railroad  floating.  Valuation  of 
property  in  1882  §305,741,  the  number  of  taxable  inhabitants  being  only  89. 
Fort  Coeur  d'Alene,  which  was  selected  by  General  Sherman,  in  1877,  was  called 
the  most  beautiful  military  reservation  in  the  country.  It  fronted  on  Lake 
Cceur  d'Alene.  The  residence  of  the  commanding  officer  was  finished  with 
native  woods  in  their  natural  colors. 

17  It  was  first  settled  by  a  Mormon  colony  in  1855,  who  cultivated  a  rich 
body  of  land  in  the  valley,  which  they  named  Lemhi,  the  same  land  later  oc 
cupied  as  an  Indian  reservation.  The  colony  was  called  in  by  the  president 
of  the  Mormon  church,  and  no  further  settlement  took  place  till  mining  dis 
coveries  opened  up  the  country  in  1866.  In  the  following  spring,  George  L. 
Shoup,  with  others,  laid  off  the  site  of  Salmon  City,  which  became  the  county 
seat,  distributing  the  lots  among  themselves,  and  devoting  some  to  public 
uses.  The  discoverers  of  the  mines  at  Salmon  City  were  from  Montana; 
namely,  Bonney,  Sharkcy,  William  Smith,  Elijah  Mulky,  Ward,  Napius,  and 
others.  Skoup'a  Idaho  Ter.,  MS.,  3.  As  many  as  5,000 men  visited  the  place 
during  its  first  season,  but  only  about  1,500  remained.  When  the  owners  of 
the  claims  had  carried  off  the  richest  of  the  spoils,  operators  came  in  with  bed- 


NEZ  PERCE  COUNTY.  555 

N"ez  Force  county,  an  agricultural  rather  than  a 
mining  district,  early  became  settled  by  farmers. 

rock  flumes,  and  there  being  no  further  employment  for  the  former  mining 
population  it  drifted  off,  and  only  those  remained  who  had  other  interests. 
Salmon  City  became  a  thriving  town  with  a  population  of  800.  Quartz  was 
discovered  in  18G8  twelve  miles  from  Salmon  City,  the  Silver  Star  ledge  being 
located  by  G.  L.  Shoup,  J.  C.  Evans,  Thomas  Pope,  Michael  Spahn,  and  J. 
Cabt,  which  mine  was  sold  to  a  New  York  company.  It  was  not  until  1876 
that  much  attention  was  given  to  quartz-mining.  There  were  in  1885  six 
quartz-mills  near  Salmon  City.  In  18G7  the  first  newspaper  was  started  at 
Salmon  City,  the  Mining  N<jws,  by  Frank  Kenyon.  After  a  few  months  he 
moved  the  material  to  Montana.  If  the  reader  now  turns  back  to  Custer 
county  and  reads  its  early  history  as  that  of  Lcmhi,  and  regards  the  towns 
Bonanza,  Challis,  and  the  rest  as  belonging  to  the  latter,  the  record  will  be 
completed.  Some  good  land  was  found  in  Lemhi  county,  the  valley  of  the 
Lemhi  raising  25  to  40  bushels  of  wheat,  50  to  100  of  oats,  and  from  150  to 
350  of  potatoes,  to  the  acre.  All  the  fruits  of  the  temperate  zone  grew  abun 
dantly,  and  in  the  hardest  winters,  although  the  altitude  is  about  4,000  feet, 
the  loss  in  cattle  was  not  more  than  one  per  cent.  The  first  flouring  mill  was 
erected  in  1872  by  James  Glendening  and  Job  Barrack,  at  Salmon  City. 
Lemhi  Valley  later  shipped  flour  to  Salt  Lake  and  southern  Idaho.  I  am  in 
debted  for  many  of  these  items  to  George  L.  Shoup,  whose  manuscript  enti 
tled  Idaho  Territory/  is  a  compendium  of  facts  concerning  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  country.  Shoup  was  born  in  Pa,  went  to  111.,  and  subsequently  to 
Nebraska  and  Colorado,  where  he  was  engaged  in  merchandising.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  first  constitutional  convention  of  Colorado.  On  the  breaking- 
out  of  the  war  for  the  union  he  organized  an  independent  cavalry  company, 
and  served  as  2d  lieut,  and  finally  as  maj.  and  lieut  col.  In  18GG  he  took  a 
stock  of  goods  to  Virginia  City,  Montana,  and  the  following  year  settled  at 
Salmon  City.  He  was  one  of  3  supervisors  of  Lemlii  co.  who  appointed  its 
first  officers,  the  first  councilman  from  the  county  in  the  territorial  legislature, 
and  has  been  constantly  identified  with  the  growth  of  his  section  of  the  coun 
try.'  His  wife  was  Lena  Dawson  of  Galesburg,  111.,  to  whom  he  was  married 
at  Salmon  City  in  18G8.  The  dairy  products  of  Lemhi  valley  became  favor 
ably  known.  The  Indian  reservation  occupies  12  miles  square  of  land. 

Another  valley,  the  Pahsimeroi,  on  both  sides  of  the  Pasamari  River,  and 
therefore  partly  in  Custer  county,  was  more  recently  settled  than  the  Lcmhi, 
but  was  found  similar  in  its  characteristics.  Leesburg  was  laid  off  on  Napius 
Creek  in  18GG,  and  Grantville  soon  after.  They  formed  together  one  con 
tinuous  street,  and  survived  under  the  name  of  the  former.  Gibbon ville  is 
an  old  mining  camp  known  in  its  first  period  of  existence  as  Dahlong's,  but 
revived  and  named  after  Colonel  Gibbon,  in  honor  of  his  hard-fought  battle 
with  the  Nez  Perces  in  1877.  The  quartz  mines  at  this  place  furnish  free- 
milling  ores,  and  have  recently  been  worked  by  arastras. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  pioneers  of  Lemhi  county,  in  common  with 
Colonel  Shoup,  was  E.  T.  Beatty,  who,  as  a  member  of  the  territorial  legis 
lature,  labored  successfully  for  the  organization  of  Lcmhi  county  at  the  ses 
sion  of  18G9-70.  He  was  an  able  parliamentarian,  and  for  many  years,  when 
the  democracy  ruled  Idaho,  presided  either  in  the  upper  or  lower  house.  His 
life  has  been  checkered.  He  came  to  Cal.  in  1849;  was  connected  with  the 
naval  service  for  some  years;  practised  law;  was  twice  a  member  of  the  Cal. 
legislature;  and  went  to  Idaho  in  early  mining  times.  In  1SG4  he  shot  D.  N. 
Anderson,  at  Walla  Walla,  for  marrying  his  divorced  wife.  He  was  himself 
shot,  almost  fatally,  at  Rocky  Bar,  the  same  year  by  Terry,  who  was  acquitted. 
Beatty  afterward  gave  much  attention  to  mining,  and  became  known  as  the 
father  of  Lcmhi  county. 

J.  II.  Hockensmith,  a  native  of  Ky,  born  in  1834,  brought  up  on  a  farm, 
and  educated  in  the  common  schools,  was  taught  the  trade  of  carriage-making. 


556  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

North  of  the  Clearwater  are  rolling  table-lands  having 
an  altitude  of  2,500  feet,  with  a  deep,  black,  alluvial 
soil,  well  watered,  and  exceedingly  fertile.  This  is  a 
great  wheat-producing  region.  On  the  south  side  of 
the  Clearwater,  between  the  Snake  River  and  the 

In  1837  he  came  overland  toCal.,  mining  and  working  at  his  trade  until  1864, 
when  lie  removed  to  Idaho.  He  mined  1  year  at  Idaho  City,  and  after  visiting 
Washington  and  Montana  for  short  periods,  he  settled  in  Lemhi  Valley  in 
1807  at  Leesburg,  his  present  residence,  and  follows  farming  and  mining. 

John  P.  dough,  born  in  111.  in  1845,  was  bred  a  farmer,  and  attended  the 
common  schools.  In  1SG6  he  crossed  the  plains  to  Beaver  Head  co.,  Montana, 
where  ho  remained  3  years  at  farming.  After  a  visit  to  his  old  home,  he 
settled  in  Lemhi  Valley,  where  he  engaged  in  raising  horses  and  cattle.  He 
married  Lucy  Ross  in  1872. 

Jacob  Yearian,  a  native  of  Ohio,  born  in  1829,  removed  to  111.  with  his 
parents  in  1838,  and  was  brought  up  to  farm  life.  In  1850  he  came  to  Cal. 
overland  with  an  ox-team.  Atter  mining  for  4  years  he  returned  East,  and 
in  18G1  removed  to  Neb.,  where  he  lived  on  a  farm  until  18G4,  when  he  again 
crossed  the  plains  to  Montana,  locating  at  Bannack,  and  engaging  in  mining 
for  7  years.  He  then  removed  to  Lemhi  Valley,  where  he  has  a  stock 
farm.  He  married  M.  J.  Purcell  in  1856. 

Z.  B.  Yearian,  born  in  111.  in  1841,  removed  to  Ohio  at  the  age  of  7  years, 
and  attended  the  public  schools  for  10  years.  He  learned  the  trade  of  a 
machinist,  which  he  followed  12  years,  after  which  he  immigrated  to  Mon 
tana,  where  he  remained  2  years  before  settling  in  Lemhi  Valley  at  the  busi 
ness  of  breeding  Ilolstein  cattle  and  horse-raising.  He  married  Jane  Stroud. 

F.  B.  Sharkey,  born  in  Me.  in  1840,  went  to  sea  at  the  age  of  14  years 
and  landed  in  Cal.  3  years  afterward,  where  he  remained  at  mining  for  7 
years  with  good  results.  In  18G4  he  removed  to  Mont.,  mining  for  a  time  on 
Elk  Creek  in  Mcagher  co.  He  settled  in  18GG  in  Lemhi  co. ,  Idaho,  being  one 
of  the  discoverers  of  the  mines  at  Salmon  City,  the  others  being  Elijah  Mulky, 
William  Smith,  Thomas  Certrie,  and  Joseph  Ropp.  He  married  Rebecca 
Ann  Catey  in  18/2,  and  is  both  miner  and  stock-grower. 

L.  P.  \Vit!iington,  born  in  Pa  in  1827,  and  bred  a  farmer,  with  a  com 
mon-school  education,  came  to  Cal.  by  sea  in  1854,  where  he  remained  at 
mining  for  4  years.  In  1858  he  removed  to  Wash. ,  where  he  engaged  in 
merchandising  until  18G5,  when  he  went  to  Mont.,  mining  on  Elk  Creek  for 
1  year,  at  the  end  of  which  he  located  in  Lemhi  Valley  at  farming  and  stock- 
raising.  He  married  Julia  Anna  Holbrook  in  1868. 

J.  A.  Hughes,  born  in  Mo.  in  1840,  and  bred  a  farmer,  immigrated  to 
Virginia  City,  Mont.,  in  1864.  He  mined  in  Alder  Gulch  2  years  and  on  the 
Yellowstone  1  year,  then  went  to  farming  near  Helena,  remaining  until  1878 
in  that  locality  and  on  the  Missouri  River  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  then 
removed  to  Lemhi  Valley,  where  he  carried  on  a  dairy  farm.  He  married 
Mary  Noteware  in  1874. 

Joseph  Barrack,  born  in  Scotland  in  1844,  migrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1859, 
and  after  two  years  spent  in  lumber  manufacture  in  111.  came  to  Cal.  across 
the  plains  with  a  horse-team,  stopping  but  a  few  months  before  he  went  to  Or. 
to  engage  in  mining  on  Powder  River.  Being  robbed  by  the  Indians  of  all 
he  possessed,  he  removed  to  Lemhi  Valley  in  1864,  where  he  farmed  and  raised 
stock.  He  married  Josie  J.  Johnson  in  1882. 

Alexander  Barrack,  born  in  Scotland  in  1847,  followed  his  brother  to  the 
U.  S.  in  1869,  settling  in  Lemhi  Valley  the  same  year,  and  erecting  a  flouring 
mill  in  partnership  with  him  in  1872,  which  property  he  later  owned  sepa 
rately.  From  him  I  learn  that  the  annual  crop  of  wheat  in  the  valley  was 
11,000  bushels.  His  mill  ground  6,000  pounds  per  diem. 


LEWISTON  AND  MOSCOW.  557 

Nez  Perce  Indian  reservation,  and  south  of  it,  is  a 
tract  of  lower  lying  and  warmer  land  of  superior 
quality.  One  township  south  of  the  Clearwater,  with 
two  fractional  ones,  raised,  in  1883,  30,000  tons  of 
wheat.  Fruit  also  does  well.  The  winters  are  short 
and  mild.  At  Lewiston,  along  the  river  bottoms,  and 
in  low  and  sheltered  localities,  grapes,  peaches,  and 
apricots  of  a  large  size  and  fine  flavor  are  easily  raised. 
The  staple  productions  of  Nez  Perce  county  are  wheat, 
barley,  flax,  hay,  and  vegetables.18 

18 Perhaps  from  the  desire  to  avoid  the  neighborhood  of  the  Indian  reser 
vation,  perhaps  in  anticipation  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad,  the  lands 
north  of  the  Clearwater  were  more  eagerly  seized  upon  than  the  warmer  and 
equally  fertile  land  on  the  south  side.  A  number  of  towns  grew  up  between 
1875  and  1885.  Moscow,  in  Paradise  Valley,  was  founded  in  1878,  and  a 
branch  railroad  connected  it  with  the  trunk  line.  Mention  is  made  of  extraor 
dinary  vegetable  productions  in  Paradise  Valley,  such  as  turnips  weighing 
14  pounds,  beets  weighing  22  pounds,  potatoes  weighing  4  pounds  and  onions 
G  pounds;  while  sugar-cane,  corn,  melons,  and  hardy  fruits  attain  marvellous 
proportions.  In  every  new  country  and  virgin  soil  similar  phenomena  are 
observed;  but  the  region  of  Palouse  River  has  produced  some  remarkable 
specimens  of  vegetables,  and  wonderful  crops  of  grain.  The  trade  of  Moscow 
amounted  in  1882  to  §400,000.  Schools,  churches,  and  a  public  library  sprang 
up,  and  a  newspaper,  the  Moscow  Mirror,  was  published  by  C.  1>.  Reynolds. 
Lewiston,  the  county  seat,  was  the  principal  town  south  of  the  Ciearwater, 
with  whose  early  history  the  reader  is  acquainted.  It  did  not  long  remain  a 
canvas  town,  intruding  upon  an  Indian  reservation,  watched  by  a  military 
company  to  keep  the  peace,  populated  by  adventurers  with  a  large  proportion 
of  the  criminal  classes,  gamblers,  horse-thieves,  and  highwaymen,  who  met 
here  to  intercept  the  successful  miner  on  his  homeward  road.  On  the  removal 
of  the  capital,  and  the  rush  of  miners  to  southern  Idaho,  it  remained  for  years 
a  quiet,  Mexican-looking  town  of  one  principal  street,  and  one  or  two 
side  streets,  its  most  interesting  institution  being  the  large  warehouse  where 
could  be  seen  miners'  pack-saddles  and  outfits.  A  new  life  was  infused 
by  the  settlement  of  the  country  north  of  the  Clearwater,  and  the  construction 
of  a  branch  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railway.  The  one-story  structures 
of  the  earlier  period  rapidly  gave  way  to  large  fine  buildings.  Avenues  of 
trees  sprang  up  to  shade  its  sandy  streets,  and  gardens  of  the  choicest  flowers 
beautified  its  homesteads.  With  its  line  location  on  a  point  between  two 
rivers,  sloping  back  gradually  to  the  grassy,  rolling  hills,  its  admirable 
climate,  and  rich  agricultural  surroundings,  Lewiston  with  many  was  the 
favorite  city  of  the  Snake  River  country.  Fort  Lapwai  and  the  Indian 
agency  were  twelve  miles  from  Lewiston,  in  the  pretty  little  Lapwai  Valley. 
Camp  Howard  was  also  about  75  miles  away,  on  the  south  side  of  the  reser 
vation.  After  the  purchase  of  the  land  from  the  Nez  Percys  in  1803-7,  a 
conflict  of  titles  arose,  claim  being  laid  to  certain  settled  portions  of  the 
town  by  Alonzo  Oilman,  who  in  common  with  others  occupied  the  land  before 
a  title  could  be  acquired.  At  all  events,  so  it  was  decided  by  the  commis 
sioner  of  the  U.  S.  land  office.  The  town  site  was  entered  by  Levi  Ankeny 
in  trust  for  the  inhabitants  of  Lewiston  in  1871,  having  been  incorporated  in 
18(iO,  and  the  commissioner  allowed  the  claim.  Lewixton  Kiyiial,  June  28, 
1873;  Idaho  Law*,  18G6-7,  87,  1872-3,  10-21.  The  other  early  towns  of  the 
county  were  Cottouwood,  Cenesee,  Thorn,  Lidyville,  Blam,  Four  Mile, 
Palouse,  Mountain  Cove,  Camas  Creek,  and  Pine  Creek.  The  population  in 
1883  was  4,500,  and  the  assessed  valuation  for  the  previous  year  §1,327,010. 


558  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

Oneicla  county,  the  south-east  corner  of  Idaho,  was 
early  settled  by  Mormons,  being  organized  by  the 
legislature  of  18G5.  It  occupied  a  large  extent  of 
territory,  about  one  quarter  of  which  was  taken  up  by 
the  Fort  Hall  Indian  reservation.  The  resources  of 
Oneida  county  are  varied.  It  has  two  agricultural 
districts  of  great  fertility  and  considerable  extent,  the 
Malade  and  Cache  valleys,  aside  from  the  fertile  lands 
adjacent  to  Snake  River,  which  extends  for  100  miles 
along  the  northern  and  western  boundary  of  the 
county,  and  gathers  its  many  head  waters  into  the 
main  stream  within  these  limits.19 

Ezra  Bird,  born  in  Schoharie  co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1839,  came  to  Cal.  by  sea  in 
1861,  remaining  in  S.  F.  one  year,  when  he  removed  to  Idaho  and  engaged  in 
mining,  express-carrying,  and  cattle-raising.  He  was  elected  sherilt'  of  Nez 
Perct!  co.  in  1873,  serving  3  terms.  He  married  Alice  Odle  in  1873. 

S.  C.  Hale,  born  in  Gardiner,  Me,  in  1829,  arrived  in  Cal.  by  sailing  vessel 
in  1850,  and  after  a  year's  residence  at  Napa,  returned  home  as  he  came.  The 
following  year  he  came  out  to  Or.  and  resided  there  4  years,  when  he  again 
went  home,  and  married  Fidelia  Matthews,  by  whom  he  has  1  child,  a 
daughter.  In  1858  he  came  out  a  3d  time,  to  Olympia,  W.  T.,  where  he  had 
a  brother,  C.  H.  Hale.  In  18(52  he  went  to  Idaho  and  settled  at  Lewiston. 

Edmund  Pearcy,  born  in  Bedford  co.,  Va,  in  1832,  came  overland  to  Cal., 
via  Sonora,  with  a  drove  of  cattls,  in  1853.  Leaving  the  cattle  in  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley,  he  went  to  Or.,  settling  in  Multnomah  co. ,  where  he  had  3 
brothers.  In  1850  he  went  to  Scott  Valley,  Cal.,  to  mine,  with  his  brother 
James.  On  their  return  his  brother  was  killed  by  Indians  at  Grave  Creek 
hill.  In  1S59  he  went  with  the  Mullan  expedition  as  far  as  the  Bitter  Root 
Mountains,  returning  to  winter  at  Walla  Walla,  where  he  remained  2  years, 
when  he  went  to  Lewiston.  He  married  Mrs  Jennie  Davis  in  1881.  His 
brother,  Nathan  Pearcy,  resided  at  Portland. 

John  B.  Menomy,  born  in  New  York  city  in  1828,  came  to  Cal.  by  sea  in 
1849,  remaining  in  San  Francisco  until  1856,  when  he  went  to  Monterey,  and 
thence  to  the  Pajaro  Valley.  In  1866  he  went  to  the  Boise"  mines,  and  from 
there  to  Lewiston  the  following  year,  where  he  remained.  He  married  in 
1864  Mary  E.  Gloyed,  who  died.  He  married  a  second  time,  Emma  R.  Lent, 
by  whom  he  had  1  child,  which  died.  The  mother  followed  in  1881.  He 
has  a  brother,  Edward  T.  Menomy,  in  San  Francisco. 

J.  Clindinning,  born  in  St  Stephen's,  New  Brunswick,  in  1831,  came  to 
Cal.  overland  in  1851,  with  a  horse-team,  in  company  with  H.  H.  Sloan, 
arriving  at  American  Valley,  Plumas  co.,  in  July.  He  mined  in  different 
localities  for  3  years,  when  he  settled  at  Crescent  City  until  1862,  at  which 
time  he  went  to  the  Nez  Perc6  mines,  remaining  in  Elk  City  5  years.  Sub 
sequently  he  traded  in  the  mines  of  Kootenai  and  Warren,  Idaho,  and  also 
in  the  Montana  mines,  having  his  headquarters  at  Lewiston,  where  he  still 
resides.  He  married  H.  E.  Martin  in  1881. 

19  Cache  Valley,  or  the  valley  of  Bear  River,  called  also  Gentile  Valley  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  Mormon  settlement  of  Bear  Lake,  has  been  pronounced 
the  garden-spot  of  Oneida  county.  Round  Valley,  which  is  the  upper  end  of 
Cache  Valley,  is  the  wheat  granary  of  southern  Idaho  and  northern  Utah. 
The  land-oflice  for  this  district  is  at  Oxford  in  this  valley.  The  Utah  and 
Northern  railroad  passes  through  it.  The  Idaho  Enterprise  is  published  at 
Oxford,  and  has  run  ever  since  1878,  J.  A.  Straight,  editor  and  publisher. 


OWYHEE  COUNTY.  559 

Owyhee  county,  organized  by  the  first  legislature 
of  Idaho,  and  once  regarded  as  the  chief  silver-pro 
ducing  region  of  the  country,  long  retained  its  eminence 
as  a  mining  region.  Though  never  an  agricultural 
county,  it  had  much  good  land  on  Jordan,  Reynolds, 
Sinker,  Catherine,  and  other  creeks,  and  in  the  valley 
of  the  Bruneau,  where  some  fine  farms  were  made. 
But  the  chief  business  has  been  stock-raising.20 

Swan  Lake,  a  lovely  sheet  of  water,  abounding  in  fish  and  water-fowl,  is  a 
silvery  mirror  reflecting  the  sharply  pencilled  outlines  of  the  Wasatch  range. 
The  scenery  all  about  Round  Valley  is  fascinating.  The  foothills  furnish 
excellent  ranges  for  stock.  W.  H.  Cooper,  in  1880,  sold  $10,000  worth  of 
horses  off  these  natural  pastures.  Malade  Valley,  population  in  1880,  2,500, 
contained  in  1885  many  of  the  finest  farms  in  Idaho.  Malade  City,  the  prin 
cipal  town,  with  a  population  of  1 ,200  and  the  county  scat  of  Oneida,  has 
been  made  an  attractive  place,  the  streets  having  ditches  of  pure  running 
water,  and  gardens  thickly  set  with  trees.  The  court-house  cost  §12,000, 
and  with  other  public  buildings  gives  an  air  of  substantial  prosperity  to 
the  town. 

Henry  Peck,  sometime  probate  judge,  was  the  first  settlex  in  Malade 
__V_alley,  i-n  the  spring  of  18G5.  During  the  summer  Benjamin  Thomas,  Lewis 
Goutler,  James  McAllister,  Richard  Jones,  and  others  made  locations,  and  in 
iiatili  there  was  an  influx  of  Joscphite  Mormons.  Silver  City  Idaho  Avalanche, 
March  11,  1870.  Franklin  became  an  important  place;  also  Socla  Springs, 
from  the  curative  properties  of  the  waters,  a  second  Saratoga  or  a  German  Spa, 
Weston,  Cherry  Creek,  Chadvillc,  Samaria,  Battle  Creek — so  called  from  a 
battle  fought  with  the  Bannacks  in  1803-4,  the  road  passing  through  a  defile 
named  Connor's  canon,  because  General  Connor  was  here  attacked  by  the 
Indians  under  Pocatclla  in  ambush,  and  defeated  them;  Mink  Creek,  St 
John,  Swan  Lake,  Nine  Mile,  Arimo,  Oneida,  Belle  Marsh,  Port  Ncuf,  Poca- 
tella,  Ross  Fork,  Blackfort,  Shoshonc,  Eagle  Rock,  Camas,  Pleasant  Valley, 
and  Beaver  Canon  were  in  1885  small  towns  or  railroad  stations. 

Oneida  co.  had  in  1885  six  grist-mills  and  30  saw -mills,  the  salt-works  be 
fore  mentioned,  the  mining  district  of  Cariboo,  and  the  placer  mines  of  Snake 
River,  besides  its  farming  and  stock-raising,  to  create  wealth.  Population 
7,500;  assessed  valuation  $1,401,410,  exclusive  of  railroad  property  on  the 
Indian  reservation,  which  it  crosses,  and  where  the  company  has  refused  to 
pay  taxes.  It  had  more  wealth  and  greater  advantages  than  ar.y  other  dis 
trict  in  Idaho  with  the  exception  of  Ada  and  Nez  Pcrco  counties.  Various 
attempts  were  made  for  the  suppression  of  polygamy  in  Idaho,  but  all  through 
the  early  period  of  its  histoiy  the  Mormon  influence  there  was  strong  enough 
successfully  to  oppose  such  efforts. 

20  In  1882  the  taxable  property  of  Owyhee  was  assessed  at  $665,152,  of 
which  $321,979  was  for  live-stock.  Cattle  were  assessed  at  $10  a  head,  and 
sheep  at  $1.50,  while  horses  were  valued  at  ten  dollars  and  upwards.  The 
number  of  cattle  in  the  county  was  given  at  24,559,  the  number  of  sheep  at 
15,150,  the  number  of  horses  at  2,046.  Dairying  was  followed  in  the  lower 
Jordan  Valley.  There  was  little  timber.  Game  abounded  on  the  plains  and 
among  the  hills,  and  mineral  springs  of  value  were  found  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  county.  The  county  seat  was  removed  from  Ruby  City  to  Silver  City 
in  1866-7,  which  place  finally  absorbed  the  former,  and  grew  into  a  scattering 
collection  of  residences  and  quartz-mills,  covering  two  sides  of  Jordan  Caiion. 
The  Avalanche  newspaper  was  published  here,  and  was  an  authority  on  mines, 
and  altogether  a  valuable  journal  to  the  territory.  The  early  towns  of  Owyhco 
county  were  not  numerous  or  large.  Fairview,  a  thriving  little  city,  suffered 


560  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

Shoshone  county  was  the  first  part  of  Idaho  mined 
and  settled.  It  was  soon  abandoned  by  its  mercurial 
population,  attracted  by  gold  discoveries  elsewhere. 
The  whole  region  is  elevated  and  broken,  except  on 
the  plains  near  the  junction  of  the  North  Fork  with 
the  Clearwater,  where  there  is  a  body  of  fine  agri 
cultural  land,  which  was  rapidly  settled.  There  were 
extensive  forests  of  fir,  pine,  cedar,  spruce,  and  hem 
lock  on  the  mountains  and  the  bottoms  of  the  streams, 
to  be  rafted  down  the  Clearwater  to  mills  and  market.21 

Washington  county  was  laid  off  along  the  Snake 
River  for  a  hundred  miles,  commencing;  at  no  great 

O  O 

distance  south  of  the  mouth  of  Salmon  River.  The 
country  is  much  broken,  the  valley  of  the  Weiser 
being  the  largest  body  of  farming  land  in  this  dis 
trict.  Lower  Weiser  Valley  had  25,000  acres  of 
fertile  bottoms.22 

a  loss  of  $100,000  by  fire  in  October  1876.  Boonville,  Ruby  City,  Camp  Lyon, 
Flint,  Reynolds  Creek,  Castle  Creek,  South  Mountain,  McKenzie,  and  Bru- 
ueau  were  mining  and  farming  settlements  of  no  great  importance.  The 
population  of  the  county  in  1885  was  1,600. 

21  The  population  of  the  county  in  1885  was  800.  Pierce  City,  the  county 
seat,  had  connection  with  Lewiston  by  stage  over  a  good  road  for  90  miles. 
The  town  of  Oro  Fino  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  August  18G7,  but  the  mines  of 
Oro  Fino  district  continued  to  be  worked,  and  the  inhabitants  manifested  a 
faith  in  their  county  and  its  resources  which  enabled  them  to  keep  up  an 
organization  and  representation  in  the  legislature,  against  the  efforts  of  the 
more  populous  counties  to  disorganize  it.  The  property  of  Shoshone  county 
was  assessed  in  1882  at  §44,368. 

2'2  Little  Salmon  Meadows  in  the  north,  Council  Valley  in  the  central,  and 
Indian  Valley  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county,  and  several  other  small 
bodies  of  rich  land,  are  all  good  farming  or  grazing  sections.  This  place  was 
founded  in  1S80,  by  S^lomon_jIefIrieSj  who  donated  ground  for  the  county 
buildings.  It  was  iaid~oIFTn~blocks  of  five  acres  each,  with  streets  a  hundred 
feet  wide.  Building  was  begun  in  1881,  and  in  1883  there  were  250  inhabi 
tants,  with  a  good  court-house  and  jail,  a  school-house,  a  town-hall,  a  flouring 
mill,  three  general  merchandise  establishments,  three  hotels,  three  livery- 
stables,  hardware,  harness,  and  saddlery  stores,  a  brewery,  drug  store, 
and  all  the  conveniences  needed  by  a  young  community.  The  Weiser 
City  Leader,  a  weekly  newspaper,  was  published  by  H.  C.  Street,  connected 
with  various  democratic  publications  in  the  early  years  of  Bois6  basin.  The 
town  of  Boomerang  was  laid  out  near  the  month  of  the  Payette  River. 
Other  settlements  were  Mann  Creek,  Salubria,  Old's  Ferry,  Brownlee  Ferry, 
or  Ruthburg,  and  Council  Valley.  Two  brothers  named  Wilkinson  were  the 
first  settlers  on  the  upper  Weiser,  where  they  took  farming  claims  in  1863, 
and  made  beautiful  homesteads.  In  1 864  the  Abernethy  brothers,  the  Allison 
brothers,  and  one  Jewell  located  in  the  neighborhood.  On  the  lower  river, 
Shaw,  Thomas  Galloway,  Woodson  Jeffries,  James  Galloway,  and  Havens 
were  pioneers,  and  had  many  a  tilt  with  the  Shoshones  and  Piutes. 


SURVEY  AND  SOCIETY.  561 

Surveys  of  the  public  lands  in  Idaho  began  in 
186G,  when  L.  F.  Cartee  was  appointed  surveyor- 
general,  with  his  office  at  Boise  City.  The  initial 
point  of  survey  was  fixed  on  the  summit  of  a  rocky 
butte,  standing  isolated  in  the  plain  between  the 
Boise  and  Snake  rivers,  on  the  parallel  of  43°  36'  of 
north  latitude,  distant  nineteen  miles  from  Boise 
City,  in  the  direction  of  south  29^°  west.  Congress, 
in  1864,  had  appropriated  $10,000,  under  which  the 
contracts  were  let  for  establishing  the  standard 
lines.23 

Of  the  social  condition  of  Idaho,  it  is  indicative  of 
the  character  of  its  permanent  residents  that  they 
have  been  from  the  first  a  reading  community  and 
that  more  books  of  the  better  class  may  be  found  in 
the  homes  and  camps  throughout  the  territory,  than 
in  many  towns  of  a  like  population  in  the  older  states, 
east  and  west.  Shoup  says  that  farmers  of  Lemhi 
county  are  as  intelligent  and  refined  a  class  as  can  be 
found  anywhere;  and  similar  statements  are  made 
concerning  other  counties.  Twenty  newspapers  were 
published  in  Idaho  in  1884.  Owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  IGth  and  36th  sections  granted  by  congress  to 
each  state  for  common-school  purposes  cannot  be  sold 

23  The  population  of  Idaho  in  1870  was  14,999;  in  1880,  32,611;  and  in 
1883,  52,3:20,  including  5,000  Chinese;  finances  prosperous;  valuation  of 
property,  exclusive  of  mining  claims,  which  are  not  taxed,  in  1882,  $9,339,071; 
bonded  indebtedness,  $69,248;  and  the  estimated  surplus  in  1883  was  $60,000. 
Governor' a  J\lesxar/e,  1882,  3-6;  Treasurer's  Kept,  1882,  3.  Manufactures 
few;  mills  in  1880,  grist  16,  lumber  48,  others  98.  Lime  was  made  in  Ada 
and  Alturas  counties.  Pottery  was  attempted  as  early  as  1863,  by  Pliny 
Thayer,  at  Idaho  City.  Fish  were  cured  in  brine  for  market  at  the  Great 
Payette  Lake  by  two  companies.  A  small  trade  in  furs  was  continued  after 
the  settlement  of  Idaho,  increasing  after  1869,  when  Orchard  and  Colin  be 
gan  shipping  east  by  rail.  The  skins  were  marten,  fisher,  mink,  and  beaver, 
and  were  taken  in  the  country  between  the  Salmon  and  Payette  rivers. 
There  was  quite  a  local  trade  in  wild  meat  in  the  shooting  season.  A  game 
law  was  enacted  in  1863-4,  for  the  protection  of  the  larger  game  from  Feb. 
to  July,  throughout  the  territory,  which  was  not  strictly  regarded  in  the 
mountains.  There  was  also  a  law  for  the  preservation  of  quail,  grouse,  and 
ducks,  from  March  to  August,  in  the  county  of  Ada;  and  to  prevent  the  de 
struction  of  their  eggs,  or  the  trapping  of  birds  in  any  part  of  the  territory. 
Fish-wears  were  also  declared  a  nuisance,  and  the  use  of  giant  powder  for 
bidden  in  the  taking  of  fish. 
HIST.  WASH.— 36 


5G2  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS, 

until  the  territory  has  become  a  state,  Idaho,  like 
every  other  territory,  has  been  compelled  to  support 
its  schools  as  best  it  has  been  able.  The  annual  reve 
nue  for  schools,  derived  from  the  interest  on  escheated 
estates,  grants  or  bequests  made  for  the  support  of 
the  schools,  and  from  a  tax  on  all  taxable  property  of 
not  less  than  two  mills  or  more  than  eight  on  the 
dollar,  has  amounted  to  $25,000.  The  tax  collectors 
and  county  treasurers  received  no  fees  for  their  services. 
The  territorial  comptroller  was  ex-officio  superin 
tendent  of  public  instruction,  serving  also  without 
salary.24 

24  See  Idaho  Laws,  1879,  14-26;  Governors  Rept,  1S80,  14-15.  The  school 
law  of  1864  gave  one  per  cent  of  gross  proceeds  of  all  toll-roads,  bridges, 
ferries,  and  all  other  franchises  to  the  school  fund.  The  law  of  1875  set  apart 
lines  for  the  same  purpose.  Each  county  received  the  exclusive  benefit  of  its 
own  educational  resources,  receiving  no  aid  from  the  territory,  Lewiston  and 
Boise  City  alone  having  graded  schools.  Private  means  were  often  devoted  to 
school  purposes,  since  school-houses  are  as  plentiful  here  as  elsewhere.  A  bill 
to  grant  lands  to  Idaho  for  university  purposes  became  a  law  of  congress 
June  15,  1880;  but  it  has  been  suggested  by  Governor  Neil  that  a  grant  of 
land  for  the  support  of  common  schools  in  each  of  the  territories  would  be  the 
greater  benefit.  Indeed,  congress  did  grant,  in  February  1881,  72  sections  of 
public  lands  for  school  purposes,  under  certain  restraints.  The  immediate 
benefit  to  the  territory  was  insignificant.  Congress  gives  annually  a  large 
amount  of  money  for  the  maintenance  of  schools  on  Indian  reservations,  and 
not  a  cent  for  the  education  of  the  first  generation  of  white  children  in  the 
new  commonwealths  of  the  federal  union. 

The  Boise"  Valley  seminary,  a  private  institute,  was  founded  at  Boise 
City  in  the  spring  of  1867,  by  H.  Hamilton.  A  movement  was  made  in 
1874  at  Boise"  City,  toward  founding  a  university  at  that  place. 

The  earliest  religious  teachers  in  Idaho  were  the  missionaries  at  Lapwai 
and  Kamiah,  and  at  the  Cceur  d'Alene  Lake,  whose  operations  have  been  re 
corded  in  a  previous  volume.  Hist.  Or.,  i.  ch.  xiii.  Peter  J.  De  Stnet,  the 
pioneer  of  the  Cceur  d'Alene  country,  died  at  St  Louis,  May  23,  1873.  He 
was  a  native  of  Belgium,  born  in  1801.  H.  H.  Spalding,  the  pioneer  of  Lap 
wai,  died  at  that  place,  August  3,  1874,  in  his  73d  year.  Gray's  Or.  Presby 
tery,  11.  A.  B.  Smith  left  the  country  in  1841.  De  Smet,  at  Cceur  d'Alene, 
named  the  St  Joseph  River  in  Idaho,  and  the  St  Ignatius  in  Montana,  when 
the  whole  country  was  called  a  part  of  Oregon.  Gregory  Mengarini  and 
Nicholas  Point,  two  Jesuit  fathers,  began  the  mission  of  the  sacred  heart,  on 
St  Joseph's  River,  in  1841,  directly  north  of  Lapwai.  It  was  found  that  the 
waters  of  the  Lake  backed  up  in  the  season  of  floods,  and  prevented  the  im 
provements  necessary  to  carrying  out  their  plans.  Therefore,  in  1846,  they 
removed  to  the  present  site  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene  mission  on  the  river  of  that 
name.  The  church,  built  of  wood  in  a  poor  imitation  of  M.  Angclo's  San 
Miniato  on  the  hill,  stood  on  a  knoll  surrounded  by  low,  flat,  alluvial  lands. 
Approaching  from  the  west  it  was  seen  at  the  other  end  of  the  valley,  facing 
north.  In  the  rear  was  the  residence  of  the  fathers — a  rustic  cottage  with 
overhanging  eaves,  and  a  narrow  piazza  all  round  it.  A  hundred  feet  to  the 
west  was  the  refectory,  and  grouped  around  the  sides  of  the  knoll  were  50 
wigwams  and  cabins.  In  front  of  and  to  the  east  of  the  church  considerable 
ground  was  enclosed  by  a  substantial  rail  fence.  Here  the  Indians  labored 


CHURCH  AND  CHARITY.  563 

Little  had  been  done  in  1886  by  the  government  for 
the  improvement  of  Idaho.  Its  public  buildings  were 

ns  much  as  they  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  do.  P.  P.  Joset,  who  succeeded 
Mengarini  at  this  mission,  taught  the  Indians  agriculture.  Point,  who  was 
in  charge,  was  succeeded  in  1847  by  Gazzoli,  who  remained  for  many  years 
at  this  mission.  It  was  said  he  belonged  to  an  illustrious  Italian  family. 
Dalles  Mountaineer,  Nov.  21,  1865;  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  Sept.  2,  1864; 
Shea's  Missions,  476;  Kip's  Army  Life,  78-9.  A  fire  destroyed  the  mission 
in  1864,  which  was  rebuilt.  Gazzoli  died  June  10,  1882.  Palouse  Gazette, 
June  23,  1882.  Mengarini  and  Zerbinati  established  the  mission  of  St  Igna 
tius  on  Clarke  Fork  of  the  Columbia  River,  north-east  of  Kalispel  or  Pend 
d'Oreille  Bay  in  1844.  DeSmet's  Missions,  180-1.  It  lay  in  a  prairie,  and  the 
buildings  were  begun  in  1845.  In  1846  it  had  14  houses  and  a  large  barn, 
with  everything  prepared  for  erecting  a  church.  Three  hundred  acres  were 
fenced  and  sowed,  and  the  missionaries  had  30  cattle.  On  ascension  day, 
1845,  P.  Hoecken  baptized  over  100  Indian  adults.  He  was  joined  and 
assisted  by  Ravelli.  l3e  Smet  first  selected  the  St  Joseph  as  the  proper  site 
of  a  mission,  but  removed  to  the  Cceur  d'Alene  River  after  a  trial  of  two  or 
three  seasons,  finding  the  ground  too  wet  at  the  place  first  selected.  The 
protestant  mission  of  Spalding,  under  the  patronage  of  the  American  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  was  established  in  1836-7,  on  the  Clearwater,  in  the 
warm  and  fertile  valley  of  the  Lapwai.  Lapwai  signifies  place  of  meeting,  or 
a  boundary,  and  was  the  dividing  line  between  the  upper  and  lower  Nez 
PerciiS.  Victor's  Or.,  121-4.  The  residence  was  a  one-story  log  house.  A 
saw-mill  and  grist-mill  were  erected,  and  good  crops  raised,  while  the  Indians 
were  taught  farming  and  Christian  ethics.  The  Cayuse  war  was  the  cause  of 
the  abandonment  of  the  mission  in  1847.  After  white  people  began  to  go  into 
the  Nez  Perce  country  to  mine,  Spalding  returned  as  a  teacher  to  the  Indians 
at  Lapwai,  and  there  died.  Henry  Hart  Spalding,  son  of  the  missionary, 
settled  at  Almota,  Whitman  county,  Washington,  in  1872.  He  married,  in 
1875,  Mary  Warren.  He  built  the  first  road  out  of  Almota  toward  Colfax. 
The  first  church  erected  in  Idaho  was  by  the  catholics,  in  1863,  at  Idaho 
City,  by  A.  Z.  Poulin,  dedicated  by  Father  Mesplie.  In  the  following  spring 
there  was  a  protestant  church  erected  by  C.  S.  Kingsley,  methodist  clergyman 
and  merchant  as  he  was  quoted  in  the  city  directory.  Both  of  these  churches 
were  on  Commercial  Street.  The  great  fire  of  1865  destroyed  the  methodist 
church,  and  a  building  was  afterward  put  up  to  serve  for  the  use  of  all  de 
nominations,  and  used  also  as  a  court-house,  for  which  purpose  it  was  finally 
sold  in  18G6.  Idaho  World,  Sept.  9,  1865;  Virginia  and  Helena  Pout,  Nov.  6, 
1806.  The  catholics  also  erected  the  church  of  St  Bernard  at  Placerville,  and 
the  chapels  of  St  Dominick  arid  St  Francis  at  Centreville  and  Pioneer  City, 
all  in  1863-4.  They  were  first  at  Bois<5  City,  as  well.  A  very  determined 
effort  was  made  by  the  catholics  to  obtain  the  patronage  of  Idaho  in  religious 
and  educational  matters.  Owing  partly  to  this,  partly  to  Mormon  influence, 
there  were  but  three  protestant  churches  prior  to  1871,  and  four  Sunday- 
schools.  The  number  of  churches  had  increased  in  1874  to  15,  after  which 
time  there  was  a  steady  improvement  in  religious  architecture.  A  bible  so 
ciety  was  established  in  1871.  The  first  session  of  the  Idaho  conference  of 
the  methodist  church  was  held  Sept.  17,  1884.  The  baptist  association  meets 
annually. 

The  people  of  Idaho,  even  in  the  wildest  whirl  of  early  events,  were  not 
forgetful  of  charities.  In  1864  a  hospital  for  the  indigent  sick  was  provided 
in  Bois6  county,  the  county  commissioners  being  authorized  by  law  to  make 
a  levy,  not  exceeding  $2  annually,  upon  each  taxable  inhabitant,  in  addition 
to  a  tax  not  exceeding  a  quarter  of  one  per  cent  upon  the  value  of  all  taxable 
property.  I.  H.  Harris  was  the  first  attendant  physician,  and  A.  S.  Goodrich 
had  charge  of  the  hospital.  The  county  of  Ada  had  a  poor-farm,  with  good 
buildings.  The  legislature  of  1864  authorized  the  commissioners  of  each 


554  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

yet  to  be  erected,  its  military  roads  to  be  constructed, 
and  its  rivers  made  fit  for  navigation.  Petitions  have 
been  repeatedly  offered  by  the  legislature  for  these 
objects.  In  due  course  of  events-thcy  must  be  granted. 
That  so  much  has  been  done  by  so  small  a  population 
against  great  natural  obstacles  in  the  building  of 
wagon-roads  is  an  illustration  of  the  energy  of  the  in 
habitants.  Stages  were  running  to  all  the  mining 
towns  almost  as  soon  as  they  were  located.  Railroads 
were  early  advocated.25 

county  to  care  for  the  insane  and  idiotic  by  levying  a  tax;  but  as  this  could 
not  very  well  be  done,  the  insane  were  usually  sent  to  Oregon  or  Califor 
nia  at  the  expense  of  friends.  A  law  was  approved  in  Jan.  1881,  making 
the  governor  and  the  president  of  the  council  commissioners  to  contract 
with  the  proper  authorities  of  California  or  Oregon,  or  both,  for  the  care 
and  treatment  of  this  class  of  indigent  and  unfortunate  persons  where  the 
insanity  was  of  a  violent  or  dangerous  form,  the  expense  to  be  borne  by 
the  territory.  Idaho  Laws,  1880-1,  300-5.  The  benevolent  orders  of  ma 
sons,  odd-fellows,  and  good  templars  have  lodges  in  the  principal  towns. 
In  1872  the  grand  lodge  of  masons  in  Idaho  issued  a  circular  to  the  order, 
warning  its  members  to  cease  intemperance,  gambling,  and  playing  games 
in  drinking-saloons,  and  asking  masons  to  leave  off  keeping  such  places. 

The  territory  has  a  historical  society  of  Idaho  pioneers,  for  the  main 
tenance  of  which,  and  the  furtherance  of  its  work  of  collecting  and  pre 
paring  historical  matter  and  statistical  records,  the  legislature  of  1880,  by 
resolution,  appropriated  $250  per  annum. 

20  An  act  of  the  legislature  of  January  11,  18G6,  incorporated  the  Idaho, 
Salt  Lake,  and  Columbia  R-iver  Branch  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  with  au 
thority  to  construct  a  road  from  the  north  end  of  Salt  Lake  to  a  point  ten 
miles  below  Old's  ferry  on  Snake  River.  The  incorporators  were  Caleb  Lyon, 
H.  C.  Riggs,  E.  Bohannon,  John  Wasson,  George  Ainslie,  John  M.  Cimiuidy, 
W.  H.  Parkinson,  E.  T.  Beatty,  F.  O.  Nelson,  W.  W.  Thayer,  S.  W.  Wright, 
S.  S.  Fenn,  of  Idaho;  H.  D.  Clapp,  Ben  Holliday,  Erastus  Corning,  William 
M.  Tweed,  Marshall  0.  Roberts,  of  New  York  city;  J.  C.  Ainsworth,  Charles 
H.  Larrabee,  William  L.  Ladd,  of  Portland,  Oregon;  and  Amos  Reed  and  W. 
L.  Halsey  of  Salt  Lake  City.  Idaho  Lan-s,  18G5-6,  201-3.  Preliminary  sur 
veys  were  made  by  the  Union  Pacific  railway  in  18G7,  and  the  route  declared 
favorable  down  Snake  River  from  climatic  considerations,  and  believed  to  be 
without  serious  engineering  difficulties.  In  1869  the  sale  of  the  Union  Pacific 
west  of  Ogden  to  the  Central  Pacific  caused  the  abandonment  of  the  branch 
through  Idaho.  Boise  Statesman,  Nov.  19,  1865,  Feb.  9,  1867;  Walla  Walla 
Statesman,  Dec.  27,  18G7;  Idaho  World,  May  20,  1869.  The  people  of  the 
Humboldt  Valley  then  held  a  meeting  at  Elko,  resolving  to  give  all  possible 
aid  to  the  Idaho  people  in  eonstructing  a  branch  to  the  Central  Pacific.  A 
proposition  was  made  in  1871  to  extend  the  California  Pacific  from  Davisville 
via  Beckworth's  and  Noble's  pass  through  south-eastern  Oregon  and  the 
Snake  River  plains  to  Salt  Lake.  Sac.  Union,  Feb.  22,  1869,  May  20,  1871; 
Boise  Statesman,  July  10,  1879.  In  the  spring  of  1872  congress  passed  an 
act  granting  to  the  Portland,  Dalles,  and  Salt  Lake  Railroad,  an  Oregon  cor 
poration  of  March  25,  1871,  the  right  of  way.  11.  Ex.  Dor.,  47,  pt3,  p.  1002-3, 
4Gth  cong.  3d- sess.  The  Oregon  legislature  passed  a;i  Xot  appropriating  the 
proceeds  arising  from  the  sale  of  certain  public  lands  to  which  the  state  was 
entitled  to  the  assistance  of  this  company,  authorizing  it  to  issue  bonds,  and 
requiring  it  to  commence  with  the  construction  of  the  portage  links.  (Jr.  Laws, 


RAILROAD  AND  TELEGRAPH.  565 

Such  was    Idaho   twenty  years   after    settlement. 
Without    markets   or    manufactures    or   transporta- 

1872,  16-21.  An  effort  was  made  to  get  bills  through  the  Idaho  legislature 
in  support  of  the  scheme  of  the  Portland,  Dalles,  and  Salt  Lake  road,  propos 
ing  to  pay  the  interest  on  $3,000  or  85,000  per  mile  for  a  term  of  years.  But 
the  committee  to  which  they  were  referred  reported  adversely.  A  substitute 
was  passed  exempting  railroads  built  within  the  territory  from  paying  taxes 
for  seven  years.  Idaho  Lairs,  1872-3,  63.  John  H.  Mitchell  of  Oregon,  in 
Jan.  1874,  introduced  a  bill  in  the  U.  8.  senate  providing  for  the  construction 
of  a  narrow-gauge  railroad  by  the  Portland,  Dalles,  and  Salt  Lake  road  com 
pany,  the  work  to  be  commenced  on  the  division  east  of  the  Columbia  River 
within  six  months,  and  in  consideration  of  the  free  transportation  of  troops 
and  despatch  of  telegrams  for  the  government,  the  latter  should  guarantee 
the  payment  of  five  per  cent  interest  on  bonds  to  be  issued  to  the  extent  of 
$10,000  per  mile,  secured  by  a  mortgage  on  the  property  and  rights  of  the 
corporation.  Twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  net  earnings  were  to  be  set  aside 
as  a  sinking  fund  to  provide  for  the  redemption  of  the  bonds  at  maturity.  Boise 
Statesman,  Feb.  14  and  May  23,  1874.  This  bill  received  a  favorable  report 
from  the  committee.  In  1875  W.  W.  Chapman,  president  of  the  company, 
made  a  contract  with  a  London  company  for  the  completion  of  the  road,  at 
from  §26,000  to  828,000  per  mile,  exclusive  of  82,000  per  mile  local  aid 
pledged,  the  London  company  to  be  secured  by  mortgages  as  the  road  pro 
gressed.  None  of  these  plans  were  carried  to  a  successful  conclusion.  Con 
gress  neglected  to  pass  bills  as  desired,  and  time  slipped  away  until,  by  the 
vigorous  measures  adopted  by  the  Northern  Pacific  in  1879  to  complete  its 
line  to  the  Pacific,  thereby  controlling  the  transportation  of  the  north-west, 
tlie  Union  Pacific  was  inspired  to  construct  the  long-deferred  branch  through 
Idaho,  called  the  Oregon  Short  Line,  making,  with  the  Oregon  Railway  and 
Navigation  Company's  road  to  the  Snake  River  in  Baker  county,  a  continuous 
railway  from  Granger,  in  Wyoming,  to  the  Columbia  River,  with  one  branch 
to  Hailey,  and  other  branches  in  construction  and  contemplation.  In  the 
mean  time  congress  granted  the  right  of  way,  in  1873,  to  the  Utah  and 
Northern  Railroad,  and  a  narrow-gauge  road  was  built  127  miles  from  Ogden 
to  Oneida,  on  the  Fort  Hall  Indian  reservation,  a  distance  of  53  miles  north 
of  the  Idaho  line,  when  the  capital  of  the  company  became  exhausted,  and 
the  road  passed  into  the  hands  of  Sidney  Dillon  and  Jay  Gould,  in  1878,  who 
immediately  gave  it  a  fresh  impetus,  completing  it  almost  to  the  Montana 
line  the  following  year.  Codman's  Round  Trip,  2J9-60;  Port  Towmend  Argus, 
Oct.  16,  1879;  Bonanza  City  Yankee  fork  Herald,  Oct.  11,  1879;  S.  F.  Bulle 
tin,  Dec.  12,  1879.  It  was  completed  to  Deer  Lodge,  Montana,  in  1881-2, 
and  soon  after  to  the  junction  with  the  Northern  Pacific,  at  Blackfoot.  At 
the  time  of  its  construction  it  was  the  longest  continuous  narrow-gauge  line 
in  the  U.  S.,  and  was  well  equipped. 

A  number  of  acts  were  passed  by  early  legislatures  authorizing  the  con 
struction  of  telegraph  lines.  The  only  project  which  seemed  to  promise  con 
summation  was  that  of  a  line  from  Portland,  by  the  way  of  The  Dalles,  Uma- 
tilla,  Walla  Walla,  La  Grande,  Uniontown,  and  Baker  City  to  Boise1  City  in 
1868,  but  it  finally  failed  of  completion  because  the  people  of  eastern  Oregon 
lacked  the  energy  or  the  means  to  carry  it  through.  The  first  line  established 
was  in  1874,  from  WTinnemucca  in  Nevada  to  Boise1  City  via  Silver  City,  dis 
tance  275  miles.  It  was  completed  to  Silver  City  in  August,  when  on  the 
31st  its  advent  was  celebrated  by  public  festivities.  On  the  18th  of  Dec.  a 
branch  was  extended  25  miles  to  South  Mountain.  In  Sept.  1875  the  line 
was  completed  to  Boisii  City,  and  the  same  autumn  to  Baker  City  in  Oregon, 
the  Idaho  farmers  transporting  the  poles  to  their  places  along  the  route  be 
tween  Boise1  and  Snake  rivers  to  assist  the  work.  In  1879  the  signal  service 
office  constructed  a  line  from  Walla  Walla  to  Lewiston,  Idaho,  for  the  use  of 
the  government,  the  labor  being  performed  by  troops,  the  principal  object 


5Gfi  MATERIAL  AND   SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

tion,  it  had  to  pay  out  the  riches  dug  from  its  mines 
for  the  necessaries  of  life  brought  to  its  doors  at  enor 
mous  expense  in  the  "  prairie  schooner,"  the  old-fash 
ioned  Pennsylvania  freight-wagon. 

The  Northern  Pacific  railroad,  which  so  suddenly 
populated  and  developed  eastern  Washington,  and 
helped  to  develop  eastern  Oregon,  performed  no  such 
service  for  Idaho,  merely  crossing  the  Panhandle  as 
far  north  as  Pend  d'Oreille  lake.  That  it  assisted  in 
bringing  to  notice  the  mines  of  Cceur  d'Alene  district 
was  true,  and  that  later  it  sent  off  branches  to  these 
mines  and  to  other  parts  of  the  Panhandle  was  also 
true.  But  the  road  which  relieved  central  and  south 
ern  Idaho  of  the  state  of  lethargy  into  which  its  busi 
ness  was  falling,  and  which  brought  population  and 
mining  capital  to  the  territory,  was  the  Oregon  Short 
Line  railroad,  constructed  by  the  Union  Pacific  com 
pany.  Traversing  the  territory  from  east  to  west, 
through  its  most  inhabited  belt  of  counties,  it  com- 

O 

municated  to  the  dormant  nerves  of  these  isolated 
communities  a  shock  from  the  thought  batteries  of 

o 

the  great  world,  rousing  to  action  the  brain  and  mus 
cle  lying  idle.  The  taxable  property  of  the  territory, 
which  in  1884  was  $15,497,598,  was  three  years  later 
$20,441,192,  mining  property,  in  which  the  greater 
amount  of  capital  was  invested,  being  non-assessable. 
The  population,  which  in  1884  was  75,000,  was  in 
1887  over  97,000. 

The  forward  impulse  given  to  the  prosperity  of 
Washington  revived  in  the  northern  counties  of  Idaho 
the  project  of  annexation  to  that  commonwealth, 
which,  it  was  believed,  would  soon  arrive  at  statehood, 
and  whose  constitution,  adopted  in  1878  by  a  vote  of 
the  people  of  the  Idaho  Panhandle  as  well  as  of 
Washino-ton,  included  the  counties  north  of  the  Salmon 

O  ' 

being  to  facilitate  in  the  event  of  Indian  disturbances.  See  8.  F.  Clirrmirle, 
Jan.  25,  1879.  In  the  Nez  Perce  war  of  1877  Gen.  Howard  was  compelled 
to  send  all  his  despatches  to  Walla  Walla  by  stage  or  steamer,  one  of  his 
aids  being  constantly  employed  in  sending  despatches  to  tian  Francisco. 


LEGISLATIVE.  567 

river  rangre  of  mountains.      In  this  form  the  Washing- 

O  (  *— ' 

ton  delegate,  Mr  Brents,  advocated  in  congress  the 
admission  of  Washington,  and  its  legislature  in  1881- 
82  passed  a  memorial  for  an  enabling  act,  including 
this  portion  of  Idaho. 

The  politicians  about  this  time  saw  in  this  subject 
opportunity  for  a  party  issue,  and  seized  upon  it, 
making  it  the  point  on  which  the  election  of  1882  was 
lost  and  won,  George  Ainslee,  democratic  candidate 
for  congress,  opposing,  and  T.  F.  Singiser,  republican, 
advocating  it,  Singiser  being  elected  by  a  majority  of 
nearly  3,000.  In  1884,  however,  the  democrats  hav 
ing  put  an  annexation  plank  in  their  platform,  re 
turned  to  power,  and  Singiser  was  defeated,  while 
John  Hailey  was  elected  to  congress,  and  secured  the 
passage  of  a  bill  for  annexation,  which  passed  both 
houses,  and  only  failed  to  become  a  law  by  the  failure 
of  the  president  to  sign  it.26 

In  1886,  the  parties  returned  to  their  former  rela 
tive  positions  in  Idaho,"  although  Hailey,  democrat, 
was  supported  by  the  Panhandle  republicans  on  his 

26  The  legislature  of  1884-5:     George  Pettingill,  Ada  co. ;  T.  C.  Galloway, 
Ada  and  Washington;  Benjamin  Wilson,   Boise;  E.  C.    Brearly,    Boise  and 
Alturas;  James  E.  Hart,  Bear  lake;  Charles  A.  Wood,  Custer  and  Lemhi; 
R.  L.    Wood,    Cassia  and    Owyhee;  S.  C.   Poage,  Idaho;  H.  W.  Smith  and 
George  W.  Crawford,  Oneida;  S.  G.  Isamaii,  Nez  Perce;  S.  W.  Moody,  Nez 
Perce,    Shoshone,    and  Kootenci,    councilmen;  and  Charles  I.  Simpson,    D. 
W.  French,  M.  H.  Goodwin,  D.   L.   Lamme,   Ada  co. ;  J.    K.  Watson,   Al 
turas;  W.  N.  B.    Shepperd,    Amos  R.   Wright,    Bear  lake;  G.  B.    Baldwin, 
M.  G.  Luney,  Boise;  J.  C.  Fox,  Custer;  W.  C.   Martindale,    Cassia;  W.    S. 
M.    Williams,    Philip    C.    Cleary,    Idaho;  William  King,    Shoshone;  J.   P. 
Clough,  Lemhi;  W.  T.   McKern,  J.  P.   Quarles,  L.   P.   Wilmot,   Nez  Perce; 
David  Adams,  Owyhee;  D.  R.  Jones,  C.  M.   Hull,  A.   R.  Stalker,    W.  B. 
Green,  Oneida;  George  W.  Adams,  Washington,  representatives. 

27  The  14th  legislative  assembly,   1886-7,  was  composed  of  Charles  Him- 
rod,  Ada  co. ;  R.  H.   Robb,  Ada  and   Boise;  James  H.  Beatty,   E.    C.   Hel- 
frich,  Alturas;  H.  AV.  Smith,  Bingham;  P.  L.  Hughes,  Bingham  and  Oneida; 
E.  A.  Jordan,  Bear  lake,   Cassia,   and  Oneida;  A.   J.   Macnab,    Lemhi  and 
Custer;    Robert    Larimer,    Idaho;  Charles  Watson,   Nez    Perce;    James  I. 
Crutcher,  Owyhee  and  Washington,   councilmen;  and  D.  L.  Badley,  George 
Goodrich,  M.  H.  Goodwin,  Ada  co. ;  E.  G.  Burnett,   G.  J.   J.   Guheen,  W. 
Hunter,  T.  B.  Shaw,   Alturas;  R.  W.  Gee,   Bear  lake;  T.  A.    Hartwcll,  C. 
B.  Wheeler,   Bingham;  Josiah  Cove,  Boise;  Charles  Cobb,  Cassia;  J.  C.  Fox, 
Custer  and  Bingham;  John  S.   Rohrer,    Custer;  F.  A.   Fenn,    Idaho;  J.  P. 
Clough,  Lemhi;  James  De  Haven,  A.  S.  Chaney,  W.  A.   Elyea,   Nez  Perce; 
William  B.  Thews,  Oneida;  John  S.    Lewis,    Owyhee;  John  M.  Burke,  Sho 
shone  and  Ko^tenai;  R    S.   Harvey,   Shoshone;  M.    L.    Hoyt,  Washington, 
representatives, 


568  MATERIAL  AND   SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

record  as  an  annexationist,  he  receiving  a  majority  of 
536  in  the  northern  counties;  and  the  people  of  Nez 
Perce  county,  by  a  vote  of  1,679  to  26,  expressed 
themselves  in  favor  of  bsing  joined  to  Washington; 
but  Frederick  T.  Dubois,  republican,  who  gave  a 
pledge  not  to  oppose  annexation,  and  to  use  his  influ 
ence  for  the  suppression  of  polygamy  among  the 
Mormon  population,  was  elected  by  a  majority'8  of 
426.  But  the  interest  in  annexation  began  to  de 
cline  with  the  increase  of  population  and  the  revival 
of  industries,  giving  hope  of  statehood  for  Idaho  at 
no  distant  day,  and  that  for  which  a  majority  had 
more  than  once  voted  began  to  be  denounced  as  a 
scheme  ''born  in  local  jealousy  and  petty  spite,  fos 
tered  by  political  hatred  and  party  spleen,  and  advo 
cated  by  many  political  jobbers  and  tricksters,"  and 
as  "thoroughly  distasteful  to  a  majority  of  the  people 
of  Idaho,  and  repugnant  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
territory." 

28  The  federal  and  territorial  officers  m  1885-6  were  Edward  A.  Steven 
son,  governor,  appointed  Sept.  29,  1885,  for  four  years;  Edward  J.    Curtis, 
secretary  and  librarian,  appointed  Feb.  12,  1885;  Joseph  Perrault,  treasurer; 
Silas  W.  Moody,  comptroller  and  ex-officio  supt  of  public  instruction;  U.  P. 
B.  Pride,  attorney-general;  James  P.  Hays,  chief  justice;  Norman  Buck  and 
Case  Broderick,    associate  justices;  James  H.  Hawley,  U.  S.  dist  attorney; 
A.  L.  Richardson,  clerk  sup.  court;  Ezra  Baird,   U.    S.   marshal,   appointed 
Aug.  22,  1886.     In  1887  Charles  Himrod  was  chosen  territorial  treasurer, 
and  J.  H.  Wickersham  comptroller. 

29  There  was  probably  a  spice  of  party  spleen  in  these  remarks,  although 
it  was  true  that  the  annexation   fever   of  a  few  years  previous  was  visibly 
decreasing.     The  reasons,  both  for  its  access  and  its  decline,  were  easily  per 
ceived.      At  the  time  it  existed  the  Panhandle  counties  truly  felt  that  their 
natural  and  almost  impassable  southern  boundary,  the  Salmon  river  range, 
prevented  that  freedom  of  intercourse  between  them  and  the  southern  oouu- 
ties  which  would  make  them  a  homogeneous  people.     They  had  yet  to  learn 
what  railroad  engineering  could  do  with  the  insurmountable.     They  believed 
that  immigration  came  to  them  with  reluctance,  because  the  prospect  of 
statehood  was  so  remote,  and  they  justly  complained  of  the  inaccessibility 
of  their  own  capital,  whereas  if  they  were  joined  to  Washington  the  capital 
of  that  state   would   doubtless  be  removed  to   within   easy  distance,  and 
reached  quickly  by  railways.     The  evidence  of  what  one  railroad  had  done, 
and  the  promise  of  what  others  would  do,  created  a  diversion  of  interest, 
and  the  extraordinary  wealth  being  discovered  in  the  Cceur  d'  Alene  mining 
district  caused  promoters  of  the  agitation  to  reflect  upon  the  injustice  of 
taking  away  Idaho's  jurisdiction  over  so  valuable  a  portion  of  its  domain. 
But  doubtless  had  the  counties  interested  only  been  empowered  to  decide 
the  matter,  they  would  have  united  themselves  to  Washington;  and  a  bill 
was,  in  fact,  pending  in  congress  in  1888  for  the  admission  of  that   common 
wealth  into  the  union  with  this  part  of  Idaho  attached,  subject  to  the  vote 


FEDERAL  AFFAIRS.  569 

It  was  in  harmony  with  the  restrictive  acts  affect 
ing  territories,  passed  about  this  time,  that  congress 
should  say  that  no  law  of  any  territorial  legislature 
shall  be  made  or  enforced  by  which  the  governor  or 
secretary  of  a  territory,  or  the  members  or  officers  of 
any  territorial  legislature,  are  paid  any  compensation 
other  than  that  provided  by  the  laws  of  the  United 
States.  This  law,  the  result  of  the  recklessness  of 
long- past  territorial  legislatures,  came  at  a  period  in 
the  affairs  of  Idaho  when  the  duties  of  the  governor 
were  truly  onerous,  and  the  practices  of  legislatures 
had  so  much  improved  that  the  people  were  willing 
to  make  the  pay  of  the  executive  commensurate  with 
his  services,  and  consistent  with  the  dignity  and 
requirements  of  his  position.  The  salaries  of  judges 
of  the  supreme  court  were  also  beneath  the  value  of 
the  services  performed  with  the  expenses  attached  to 
them.  Besides,  the  business  of  the  courts  demanded 
the  establishment  of  another  district,  and  the  appoint 
ment  of  another  judge.  Idaho  had  collected  and  paid 
into  the  national  treasury  an  amount  largely  in  excess 
of  the  sums  appropriated  by  the  government  to  pay 
the  federal  expenses,  covering  also  the  many  defalca 
tions  of  federal  appointees  during  twenty-two  years. 
Governor  Edward  A.  Stevenson,  appointed  in  1885, 
mentioned  this  fact  in  his  report  to  the  secretary  of 
the  interior,  together  with  the  further  one,  that  no 
officer  appointed  from  the  people  of  the  territory  to  a 
federal  office  had  ever  defaulted.30 

About  1884-5  there  was  reached  a  distinctly  for 
ward  tendency  in  territorial  affairs.  In  1872  the 
indebtedness  of  Idaho  amounted  to  $132,217.71;  in 
1885  there  was  a  surplus  in  the  treasury  over  its 
bonded  debt  of  $5,546.30.  After  years  of  dissension 

of  the  four  counties,  but  delegate  Dubois  was  instructed  to  labor  to  suppress 
it,  and  had  also  a  bill  before  congress  to  divide  Nez  Perce  county  and  create 
the  county  of  Latah  out  of  the  northern  portion  of  it,  this  being  the  substitute 
for  a  bill  to  remove  the  county  seat  of  Nez  Perce  from  Lewiston  to  Moscow, 
taking  local  matters  entirely  out  of  the  hands  of  the  legislature. 
*»  Gov.'s  liept,  1885,  18-19. 


570  MATERIAL  AND   SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

concerning  the  capital,  the  legislature  of  1884-5  had 
established  it  permanently  at  Boise  City,  and  appro 
priated,  with  the  consent  of  the  people,  eighty  thou 
sand  dollars  to  erect  a  capital  edifice,  the  city  devot 
ing  a  whole  square  to  a  site,  the  building,  of  brick, 
being  constructed  with  every  modern  appliance,  com 
bining  elegance  with  convenience,  furnishing  not  only 

O  O  '  O  v 

legislative  halls,  but  offices  for  the  territorial  and 
federal  officials,  a  supreme  court  room,  library,  and 
judges'  chambers.  An  appropriation  was  made  by 
the  same  legislature  of  $20,000  for  the  erection  of 
an  insane  asylum  at  Blackfoot,31  which  was  subse 
quently  enlarged  at  a  considerable  additional  cost. 
The  expense  of  maintaining  the  institution  was  about 
$17,000  per  annum. 

In  the  matter  of  a  penitentiary,  the  territory  still 
paid  annually  about  $18,000  to  the  United  States 
for  keeping  its  prisoners  in  a  federal  building  which 
was  located  two  miles  east  of  Boise  City,  and 
which  Governor  Stevenson  pronounced  a  "disgrace 
to  great,  rich,  proud,  and  humane  government"; 
and  where  the  prisoners  were  "  clothed,  fed,  and 
crowded  into  cells  without  any  employment,  and 
only  kept  there  by  the  shot-guns  of  the  guards,"  the 
wall  surrounding  the  penitentiary  being  built  of  inch 
boards  set  up  on  end.  This,  too,  while  there  was  a 
quarry  of  excellent  stone  immediately  adjoining  the 
premises,  where  the  prisoners  could  have  been 

31  Gov.  Stevenson  remarked  in  his  report  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior 
that  the  necessity  which  called  for  the  action  of  the  tax-payers  of  the  terri 
tory  in  incurring  these  expenses  reflected  '  little  credit  on  congress,  which 
lavishes  its  millions  in  the  way  of  appropriations  upon  worthless  jobs... 
Congress  generally  winds  up  with  a  dividend  day  for  all  the  states,  with  the 
territories  left  out.  The  right  thing  for  congress  to  do  at  its  coming  session 
is  to  appropriate  §150,000  to  reimburse  our  territorial  treasury  for  the  outlay 
in  erecting  the  capitol  building  and  the  insane  asylum,  which  will  be  needed 
to  complete  and  finish  those  buildings  as  they  should  be,  and  the  purpose  of 
flagging  the  walks,  fencing  and  beautifying  the  grounds,'  etc.  Id.  17.  The 
main  building  of  the  insane  asylum  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  the  night  of  the 
2.3d  of  Nov.,  1889,  when  several  of  the  inmates  lost  their  lives,  it  being  im 
possible  to  rescue  every  one,  the  asylum  being  located  at  some  distance  from 
town,  and  the  employees  of  the  institution  having  all  to  do  in  saving  the 
patients.  The  estimated  loss  to  the  territory  of  the  building  and  furniture 
was  $50,000. 


PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS.  571 

profitably  employed  in  getting  out  materiel  for  a 
prison,  combining  security  with  some  regard  to  sani 
tary  conditions.  The  governor  proposed  that  the 
United  States  should  furnish  $20,000  to  pay  for 
extra  guards,  and  purchase  the  necessary  iron,  lum 
ber,  and  tools,  when  the  territory  would  put  the 
convicts  to  quarrying  stone  and  building  a  peni 
tentiary  which  should  be  a  credit  to  Idaho  and  the 
general  government.32 

Other  ofovernment  buildings  in  Idaho  there  were 

O  o 

none,  if  I  except  the  United  States  assay-office  at 
Boise  City,  which  cost  about  $100,000.  For  many 
years  it  was  of  little  use.  It  cost  the  government  so 
much  to  send  out  its  bullion — the  producers  having  to 
pay  the  fee — that  the  office  received  only  a  small  pro 
portion  of  the  gold-dust  and  bullion  produced  in  the 
territory.  In  188G  an  arrangement  was  made  with 
the  Pacific  express  company,  by  which  they  were  sent 
to  the  mints  either  at  San  Francisco  or  Philadelphia 
free  of  express  charges.  The  business  of  the  office 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1886,  was  7,910 
ounces,  valued  at  $122,046.61;  but  in  1887  it  was 
32,954  ounces,  valued  at  $446,641.66;  and  for  the 
year  ending  June  30,  1888,  it  was  estimated  the  busi 
ness  would  reach  $1,000,000. 

Boise  City  had  a  court-house,  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$60,000,  which  occupied  a  square  ;  and  another  square 
was  devoted  to  the  use  of  the  Independent  school  dis 
trict  of  Boise  City — a  district  organized  under  a  spe 
cial  charter  granted  by  the  territorial  legislature,  and 
which  was  independent  of  school  officers,  either  terri 
torial  or  county.  It  had  a  board  of  trustees,  with 
power  to  examine  and  employ  teachers,  disburse 
moneys,  and  transact  all  business  necessary  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  schools  in  the  district.  In  addi 
tion  to  the  county  apportionment,  a  revenue  was  col- 

32  The  number  of  territorial  prisoners  was  75,  and  U.  S.  prisoners  3.  Gov.'a 
Kept,  1888,  p.  54-5.  The  citizens  of  Boise  formed  a  Chautauqua  reading 
circle  among  the  convicts,  who  gladly  embraced  the  opportunity  for  study. 
Id.  1887. 


572  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

lected  from  escheated  estates,  and  from  a  special  tax. 
This  was  a  graded  school  system  consisting  of  primary, 
intermediate,  grammar,  academic,  and  high  school  de 
partments,  and  from  its  text-books  seems  to  have  been 
of  a  high  order  of  public  school.  Lewiston,  also,  had 
its  independent  school  district  and  system  in  four 
grades.  The  territorial  condition  handicapped  the 
cause  of  public  instruction  by  withholding  the  school 
lands  from  sale  until  the  attainment  of  statehood,  the 
school  money  having  to  be  drawn  from  the  people  by 
taxation,  for  which  reason  no  great  advance  could  be 
expected  before  the  territory  became  a  state.  Idaho 
will  have  much  and  valuable  land  for  school  pur 
poses.  In  anticipation  of  soon  coming  into  possession 
of  these  lands,  the  legislature,  in  January  1889,  passed 
an  act  locating  the  university  of  Idaho  at  Moscow,  in 
Latah  county,  and  appropriating  $15,000  with  which 
to  commence  its  foundation.33 

Turning1  to  the  condition  of  the  mining  interests  of 
Idaho  in  1889,  it  appears  that  there  has  been  an  im 
portant  increase  in  the  yield  of  the  mines  from  1884 
to  1889,  the  product  in  1885  being  $5,486,000;  in 
1886,  $5,755,602;  in  1887,  $8,905,136;  in  1888, 
$9,245,589; 'these  figures  being  from  conservative 
sources.34  Other  authorities35  claim  ten  millions  in 
gold,  silver,  and  lead  for  1888.  The  actual  amount 
reported  for  1889  of  gold  and  silver  was  $10,769,000; 
of  lead,  $6,490,000;  of  cof  per,  $85,000 — making  a 
total  of  $17,344,600  as  the  product  of  the  mines 
for  this  year,  while  $120,000,000  is  claimed  as  the 
amount  of  the  precious  metals  which  Idaho  has  given 
to  the  world  since  mining  began  within  its  borders. 
The  territory  in  1889  stood  fifth  in  the  list  of  bul 
lion-producing  commonwealths.  Besides  the  precious 

33  The   first   board   of   regents    consisted   of   9   members,    Willis   Sweet 
being  prest,  and  D.  H.  B.  Blake  sec'y.     The  site  of  the  university  consists 
of  20  acres,  one  mile  from  Moscow,  on  the  slope  of  a  hill  facing  the  town, 
and  approached  by  two  broad  avenues,  which  will  be  shaded  with  trees. 

34  H.  F.  Wild,  U.  S.  Assayer  at  Boise,  in  the  Rept  of  Gov.  Stevenson  for 
1888. 

30  Skoskone  Journal,  in  The  Northwest  Magazine,  May  1889. 


MINING  AND  IRRIGATION.  573 

metals,  the  abundance  of  iron,  copper,  salt,  sulphur, 
mica,  sandstone,  limestone,  granite,  and  marble  dis 
tributed  throughout  the  territory  offered  a  profitable 
field  to  capital  and  industry. 

About  16,000,000  acres  is  the  estimated  amount  of 
agricultural  lands  in  Idaho,  600,000  acres  of  which  in 
1889  had  been  brought  under  cultivation,  by  an 
expenditure  of  $2,000,000  in  irrigating  canals.  Expe 
rience  had  proved  that  when  irrigated  the  soil  of  Idaho 
produced  all  kinds  of  cereals  and  vegetables  and  all 
the  fruits  of  the  temperate  zone  in  almost  unexampled 
abundance  and  unrivalled  excellence.  Farmers  had 
come  to  prefer  the  irrigable  lands,  for,  water  being 
brought  upon  them,  they  were  more  constant  in  their 
productiveness  than  lands  depending  upon  rainfall. 
Irrigation  thereby  became  a  subject  of  vast  impor 
tance  to  agriculturists,  who  eagerly  studied  the 
various  plans  from  time  to  time  proposed  by  govern 
ment  agents  and  commissioners  for  some  generally 
practicable  solution  of  the  question  which  thus  far 
has  been  little  illumined  by  their  observations.36 

There  were  2,000  miles  of  irrigating  ditches  in  the 
territory,  and  schemes  on  foot  for  constructing  canals 
which  would  cost  several  millions,  for  reclamation 
purposes,  and  to  bring  arid  lands  into  market,  either 
as  agricultural  or  grazing  farms.  Even  stock-raising, 
which  is  a  leading  industry  in  Idaho,  will  be  greatly 
promoted  by  the  reclamation  of  waste  lands.  Much 
has  already  been  done  to  improve  the  stock  of  the 
breedmg-ranchos,  the  total  value  of  animals  of  all 
kinds  on  farms  being  set  down  at  $11,882,196. 

A  movement  looking  to  the  closing  out  of  Indian 
reservations  by  allotting  land  in  several ty  to  Indians 

36  The  last  report  of  the  irrigation  commissioners  presents  a  bill  of  costs, 
with  their  plan  of  diverting  the  waters  of  rivers  over  arid  lands  which  ren 
ders  it  wholly  void  of  utility.  Then  ccmes  Wm  N.  Byers  of  Colorado 
with  a  plan  for  storing  water  by  means  of  artificial  glaciers,  which  he  claims 
could  be  easily  constructed  during  the  winter  high  in  the  mountains,  and 
which  we  are  assured  would  keep  supplied  during  summer  those  streams 
which  otherwise  are  dried  up.  The  plan  is  deemed  worthy  of  consideration 
by  some  people. 


574  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

had  been  begun,  and  promised  good  results.  The 
Fort  Hall  and  Bannack  reservation,  comprising 
1,202,330  acres,  contained  525,000  acres  of  first-class, 
easily  irrigable  land,  the  remainder  being  good  grazing 
land,  with  some  portions  rich  in  mineral.  The  Indians, 
for  whom  all  was  reserved,  numbered  1,700  men, 
women,  and  children.  If  every  individual  should 
receive  160  acres,  there  would  still  be  left  over  a 
million  acres.  The  Indians  on  the  Fort  Hall  reser 
vation  had  made  some  progress  in  agriculture,  380  of 
them  cultivating  small  tracts,  on  which  they  raised  a 
variety  of  farm  products.37  The  Lemhi  reservation 
contained  105,960  acres,  which  was  held  for  548  In 
dians,  who  cultivated  258  acres.33  The  Nez  Perce 
reservation  embraced  746,651  acres  of  the  best  agri 
cultural  land  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  not 
excelled  by  any  portion  of  ths  union  for  soil,  water, 
timber,  and  all  natural  advantages.  It  was  held  for 
1,227  Indians — men,  women,  and  children.  About 
300  families  cultivated  small  farms,  raising  grains, 
fruit,  and  vegetables.39  This  tribe  had  been  taught 
almost  continuously  for  fifty  years,  and  were,  when 
first  known,  superior  to  all  the  other  tribes  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  Indian  Agent  George  W. 
Norris,  in  his  report  to  the  governor  of  Idaho  in 
1888,  remarked  concerning  this  people  that  they  took 
little  interest  in  education  beyond  a  desire  that  their 

37  These   Indians  raised   8,523   bushels  of  wheat,  or  an  average   of  11\ 
bushels   to  ths   farm;  8,085  bushels  of  oats;  915    bushels   of  barley;  8,450 
bushels   of  potatoes;  1,200   bushels   of  tu.nips;    100   bushels   of  onions;  40 
bushels   of  beans;  2,500   tons    of  hay;  500   pounds   of    butter.     The  stock 
owned  by  these  Indians  were,  6,250  horses.  2  mules,  1,000  cattle,  45  swine, 
and  350  domestic  fowls.     Gov.'s  Rf.pt,  1888,  p.  47. 

38  The  Indians  on   this   reservation   raised  200   bushels  of  wheat;  3,200 
bushels  of  oats;  450  bushels  of  potatoes;  25  bushels  of  onions;  400  bushels 
of  other  vegetables;  70  tons  of  hay;  and  owned  3,000  horses,  1  mule,  and 
GO  cattle.     Id.  48. 

39  The  Nez  Perces  raised  68,750  bushels  of  wheat;  1,000  bushels  of  corn; 
22,000  bushels  of  oats;  1,000  bushels  of  barley  and  rye;  10,000  bushels  of 
potatoes;   100    bushels    of    turnips;  300    bushels  of    onions,  500   bushels  of 
beans;  1,000  bushels  of  other  vegetables;  25,000    melons;  15,000  squashes; 
4,000   tons  of  hay;  400   pounds  "of    butter;  and    owned    14,000  horses,   10 
mules,  3,500  cattle,  500  swine,  7  sheep,  2,500  fowls;  and  cultivated   5,492 
acres.     Id.  49. 


INDIAN  AFFAIRS.  675 

children  should  learn  to  speak  the  English  language; 
arid  that  their  ambition  was  bounded  by  a  demand 
for  the  fires,  beds,  clothing,  and  subsistence  furnished 
during  the  winter  by  the  government.  In  his  opinion, 
land  should  be  allotted  to  them  individually,  and 
secured  by  patent,  and  they  be  compelled  to  labor, 
instead  of  being  dependent  upon  the  bounty  of  the 
United  States,  whose  creatures  have  taken  from  them 
about  all  that  they  once  possessed.  Their  increasing 
wants  would  lead  them  to  dispose  of  their  superfluous 
lands,  and  thus  the  reservation  question  be  amicably 
settled;  but  to  open  reservations  to  settlement  before 
the  allotments  were  made  would  alarm  the  Indians 
and  lead  to  trouble. 

The  fourth  Indian  reservation  in  Idaho  was  the 
Cceur  d'Alene,  in  which  wras  contained  598,500  acres, 
held  for  the  benefit  of  about  500  individuals.  A  por 
tion  of  this  territory  was  rich  in  minerals,  and  was  in 
actual  possession  by  a  mining  population.  Steps  were 
being  taken  to  secure  its  relinquishment  by  the  In 
dians,  who  jealously  guarded  their  rights  under  their 
treaty  with  the  United  States.  The  Cceur  d'Alenes 
were  catholics,  and  were  far  behind  the  Nez  Perces  in 
intelligence. 

Still  another  reservation  was  that  of  the  western 
Shoshones,  comprising  131,300  acres  at  the  head  of 
the  Owyhee  river,  and  occupied  by  about  400  Indians. 
These  were  wild  Indians  who  cultivated  no  farms. 

Thus  there  were  within  the  boundaries  of  Idaho 
2,884,731  acres  of  the  most  valuable,  agricultural, 
timbered,  and  mineral  lands,  held  for  4,375  persons, 
not  more  than  one  fifth  of  whom  were  heads  of  fami 
lies.  Aside  from  the  desire  to  have  these  lands  pro 
ductive  and  taxable  was  the  apprehension  that  any 
misunderstanding  might  involve  the  territory  in  an 
other  war  such  as  had  desolated  certain  portions  only 
as  recently  as  1877  and  1878.  This  conjunction  of 
circumstances  led  Governor  Stevenson  to  point  out  to 
the  general  government  that  while  Idaho  had  be- 


576  MATERIAL   AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

tween  4,000  and  5,000  Indians  within  her  borders, 
she  had  but  one  company  of  cavalry  and  one  of  in 
fantry  for  defense,  at  Boise  Barracks.40  Fort  Sher 
man,  also  a  two-company  post,  was,  to  be  sure,  in 
Idaho,  but  almost  at  its  extreme  northern  boundary, 
and  so  nearly  in  Washington  that  its  influence  was 
not  felt.  The  governor  called  attention  to  this  want 
of  consideration  for  Idaho,  and  demanded  "one  good 
permanent,  at  least,  four-company  post,"  to  check  the 
roaming  habits  of  the  Indians,  "whose  presence  ex 
cites  the  fears  and  evil  passions  of  our  people."' 

Previous  to  1885,  when  the  Oregon  Short  Line  rail 
road  was  completed  from  its  junction  with  the  Union 
Pacific  in  Wyoming  to  its  connection  with  the  Ore 
gon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company's  railroad  at 
Huntington,  on  Snake  river,  418  miles,  Idaho  could 
not  be  said  to  have  any  commerce,  or  at  best  to  have 
a  very  one-sided  commerce  with  the  world  on  any 
side.  The  opening  of  railroad  transportation  marked 
a  new  era,  encouraging  every  existing  industry,  and 
developing  new  ones.  The  exports  of  live-stock  in 
1885  aggregated  36,000  head  of  cattle  and  horses,  or 
1,800  car-loads;  and  the  imports  of  improved  stock 
for  breeding  purposes  reached  200  car-loads,  or  about 
4,000  head.42  The  railroad  was  a  great  relief  to 
miners,  also,  in  the  transportation  of  ores  and  bullion ; 

49  Boise  Barracks  is  a  two-company  post,  with  a  reservation  one  mile 
square,  on  which  are  erected  many  line  buildings  of  a  durable  stone  peculiar 
to  the  locality,  which  gives  them  an  imposing  appearance.  The  grounds  are 
well  cared  for  and  handsomely  laid  out. 

41  Stevenson   pointed  out   that   while  Idaho  was   so  nearly  defenseless, 
Montana  had  36  companies,  stationed  at  7  different  points;  New  Mexico  had 
2H,  at  5  points;  Arizona  34,  at  11  points;  Utah  15,  at  2  points;  Washington 
20,  at  4  points;  Wyoming  27,  at  7  points;  and  Dakota  37,  at   10  points. 
Gov.  's  Kept,  57-58. 

42  One  of  the  horse-raisers  of  Idaho  was  Miss  Kittie  Wilkins,  sometimes 
called  the    Horse   Queen,  of  Bruneau  valley,  where  she  resided  with   her 
parents,  on  a  large  range.     Her  stock  consisted  of  Black  Hawks,  Morgans, 
Percherons,  Hambletonians,  and  French  draught-horses.     The  father  of  Miss 
Wilkins   settled  in  Idaho  in  1865,  when  she  was  an  infant,  and  from  one 
filly,  given  the  child,  came,  by  good  management,  a  band  of  700  or  800 
horses.     Miss  Wilkins  was  educated  at  St  Vincent's  academy,  Walla  Walla, 
and  the  convent  of  Notre  Dame,  San  Jose,  Gal. 


COMMERCE.  577 

and  to  merchants  and  farmers.  For  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1888,  the  total  tonnage  of  Idaho  carried 
on  the  Oregon  Short  Line  and  Utah  and  Northern 
divisions  of  the  Union  Pacific  was  44,809  tons,  8,386 
of  which  was  grain,  11,874  ores,  6,913  live-stock, 
6,678  bullion  and  lead,  and  4,766  merchandise;  the 
remainder  being  miscellaneous  freight. 

The  total  outward  tonnage  of  all  the  railroad  and 
steamboat  lines  in  Idaho  in  the  year  ending  July  30, 
1889,  was  184,015,  of  which  50,000  tons  was  of 
wheat,  oats,  barley,  flax-seed,  and  other  farm  pro 
ducts;  while  the  freight  received  for  consumption 
amounted  to  119,600  tons.  The  value  of  farm  pro 
ducts  and  building  material  marketed  was  $9,520,176 
—a  statement  which  shows  the  importance  of  rapid 
transit  in  increasing  commerce. 

The  legislature  of  1886-7  enacted  a  law  constitut 
ing  the  governor,  controller,  and  treasurer  of  the  ter 
ritory  a  board  of  equalization,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
place  a  valuation  per  mile  on  each  line  of  road  passing 
through  more  than  one  county.  In  1889  there  were 
eleven  railways  traversing  various  parts  of  Idaho,  so 
sudden  was  the  transportation  system  by  rail  devel 
oped  in  this  inter-montane  commonwealth.43  The 
assessed  valuation  of  888.73  miles  of  railway  was  fixed 
by  the  commissioners  at  $4,719,786 — a  moderate  valu 
ation,  especially  when  it  is  considered  that  the  rail 
roads  fixed  their  own  tariffs,  which  the  people  had  to 
pay.  The  Northern  Pacific  claimed  exemption  from 

43  These  were  the  Oregon  Short  Line;  Utah  and  Northern,  129  miles; 
Idaho  Central,  ISA  miles;  Northern  Pacific,  88  miles;  Wood  River,  15^  miles; 
branch  of  Oregon  Short  Line,  54^  miles;  Washington  and  Idaho,  33  miles; 
Co3iir  d'Alune  Railway  and  Navigation  Company  (narrow-gauge),  38  miles, 
and  carrying  93, 000  tons  per  annum;  Spokane  and  Palouse,  t>^  miles;  0.  R.  &N. 
Branch  in  Latah  co.,  3  miles;  Spokane  Falls  and  Idaho  Railway,  13-^  miles. 
Besides  these,  the  Midland  Pacific,  a  transcontinental  line,  was  projected  from 
Seattle  to  Sioux  Falls  and  Chicago.  This  road  would  enter  Idaho  from 
the  east  on  the  north  fork  of  Snake  river,  crossing  the  Utah  and  Northern 
at  Market  lake,  crossing  the  plains  to  Birch  creek,  thence  on  the  divide  be 
tween  Snake  and  Salmon  rivers,  down  the  Lemhi  to  Salmon  City,  thence 
down  Salmon  river  to  Slate  creek,  and  through  the  northern  Camas  prairie 
to  Lewiston.  Its  length  in  Idaho  would  approximate  500  miles.  It  was 
contemplated  changing  the  route  of  the  Oregon  Short  Line  so  as  to  bring  the 
inaiu  line  through  Boise  City.  Itept  oj  Oov.  Geonje  L.  Shoup,  1889. 
HIST.  WASH.— 37 


5"8  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

taxation  for  its  franchise  and  road-bed  by  act  of  con 
gress,  and  only  its  rolling  stock  was  valued  for  taxa 
tion  by  the  county  authorities.44 

The  fifteenth  legislative  assembly  of  Idaho  con 
vened  December  10,  1888.45  The  session,  which 
held  until  the  7th  of  February  1889,  had  under  con 
sideration  as  subjects  of  more  than  usual  interest 
the  division  of  Alturas  county  and  the  creation  of 
the  county  of  Elmore  out  of  its  western  territory,  the 
exclusion  from  the  house  of  two  members  from  the 
mormon  districts  of  Bingham  and  Bear  Lake  on 
account  of  illegal  voting  and  the  question  of  state 
hood.  In  the  case  of  Elmore  county,  after  much 
display  of  legislative  tactics,  including  the  bolting  of 
the  speaker  of  the  house,  who  abruptly  left  his  chair 
during  the  reading  of  the  journal  on  the  last  day  of 
the  session,46  the  bill  was  passed  and  approved  by  the 
governor.  Logan  county  was  organized  at  the  same 
time,  and  the  county  of  Custer  also  created  at  this 
term. 

With  regard   to  the  contested  elections,  notwith- 

44  The  Western  Union  Telegraph  company  had  776  miles  of  wires  in  the 
territory,  valued  at  $61,393.90.     Other  companies  had  131  miles  of  wires, 
valued  at  $3,700. 

45  The  members  of  the  council  at  this  term  were:  J.  S.  Neglee,  Ada  co. ; 
Charles   McPherson   and   Perkins,   Alturas;   Frederick  Campbell,  Ada  and 
Boise;  S.  F.  Taylor,  Bingham;  J.  P.  Clough,  Custer  and  Lemhi;  J.  N.  Ire 
land,  Oneida  and  Bingham;  J.  W.  Brigham,  Nez  Perce  and  Latah;  T.  F.  Nel 
son,  Idaho;  J.  W.  Lamoreux,  Oneida,   Cassia,  and  Bear  Lake;  E.  S.  Jewell, 
Owyhee  and  Washington;  A.  E.  Mayhew,  Shoshone  and  Kootenai.     J.  P. 
Clough  was  chosen  president. 

The  representatives  of  the  lower  house  declared  entitled  to  seats  were: 
D.  L.  Bradley,  J.  M.  Martin,  and  M.  A.  Kurtz,  of  Ada  co. ;  J.  H.  Van 
Schaick,  H.  H.  Clay,  Ira  S.  Waring,  and  H.  C.  Burkhart,  Alturas;  J.  H. 
Kinnersley,  Bear  Lake;  H.  B.  Kinport  and  George  P.  Wheeler,  Bingham; 
G.  W.  Gorton,  Bingham  and  Custer;  J.  A.  Bruner,  Boise;  E.  A.  Jordan,  Cas 
sia;  C.  M.  Day,  Idaho;  A.  S.  Chancy,  J.  I.  Mitcham,  and  James  De  Haven, 
Nez  Perce;  R.  H.  Davis,  Oneida;  George  W.  Sampson,  Owyhee;  I.  C.  Sar- 
geant.  Shoshone;  J.  Rand  Sanburn,  Shoshone  and  Kootenai;  Marvin  Kilborn, 
Washington;  George  W.  Emory,  Custer.  No  member  from  Lemhi  was 
present  at  the  opening  of  the  session.  W.  H.  B.  Crow  and  James  Lyons  were 
admitted  to  contested  seats.  H.  C.  Burkhart  was  elected  speaker.  Idaho 
Jour.  Council  and  House  1888-9. 

46  The  president  of  the  council  also  vacated  the  chair  on  the  last  day  of 
the  session,  in  order  to  obstruct  the  passage  of  a  measure  obnoxious  to  him. 
In  neither  case  was  the  action  successful,  as  the  house  immediately  elected 
Geo.  P.  Wheeler,  of  Bingham,  chairman,  and  the  council  chose  S.  F.  Taylor, 
of  Bingham,  president. 


CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.  579 

standing-  a  well-argued  minority  report  in  their  favor 
by  the  member  from  Nez  Perce  county,  the  mormon 
members  were  unseated.  This  bitterness  towards  a 
portion  of  the  population  of  the  territory,  however 
much  it  may  have  had  to  justify  it,  is  a  painful  spec 
tacle  in  a  republic.  Congress  was  memorialized  to 
refuse  Utah  admission  into  the  union,  and  also  to  re 
quire  of  homestead  and  preemption  settlers  an  oath 
touching  polygamous  practices.47  A  perusal  of  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  legislature  would  impress  the  reader 
with  the  conviction  that  the  main  point  to  be  gained 
in  all  their  legislation  was  securitv  ao-ainst  the  growth 

O  v  O  O 

of  mormon  principles  in  the  territory. 

A  bill  establishing  a  board  of  immigration  to  en 
courage  the  movement  of  population  to  Idaho  was 
passed.  "It .is  a  well-known  fact,"  said  the  report  of 
the  committee  on  territorial  affairs,  while  recommend 
ing  the  passage  of  this  bill,  "that  the  advantages  and 
resources  of  Idaho  are  the  least  known  of  all  the  ter 
ritories.  We  believe  the  time  has  come  when  Idaho 
should  take  that  rank  amono;  the  territories  which  her 

O  •  t 

mines,  her  soil,  her  climate,  and  her  resources  justly 
entitle  her  to."48 

*7  The  law  required  superintendents  of  schools  to  take  an  oath  that  they 
were  neither  "bigamist  or  polygamist,"  but  at  this  session  it  was  so  altered 
that  in  case  the  person  challenged  were  a  woman,  the  objectionable  terms 
should  not  be  included  in  the  oath.  Idaho  Jour.  Council  1888-9,  128. 

48  With  regard  to  mines  of  which  the  early  history  has  been  given,  the  fol 
lowing  may  be  interesting:  The  Oro  Fino  group  of  8  mines  belongs  to  the  Oro 
Fino  Mining  company,  limited,  of  London,  England.  The  original  Oro  Fino 
mine  produced  $1,800,000,  and  is  soon,  according  to  Gov.  Shoup  s  report,  from 
which  I  take  these  items,  to  produce  much  more.  The  lode  is  situated  on 
War  Eagle  mountain,  in  Oroyhee  district,  3  miles  from  Silver  City.  The 
vein  is  a  true  fissure,  varying  from  2  to  6  feet  in  width,  carrying  free  milling 
ore  of  gold  and  silver.  The  shaft  has  reached  the  depth  of  307  feet,  while 
the  mine  has  not  been  stoped  out  to  that  depth.  Levels  already  started  on 
this  mine  before  it  was  purchased  by  the  company  now  owning  it  have  been 
continued  with  good  results.  A  lode  of  very  rich  ore  has  been  discovered  for 
a  distance  of  120  feet  in  length,  reaching  upward  100  feet.  At  a  recent  test 
this  ore  assayed  $225  per  ton,  nearly  all  gold.  Over  the  mine  is  a  substan 
tial  shaft-house,  with  hoisting  machinery  capable  of  working  the  mine  to  a 
depth  of  1,500  feet,  while  at  Silver  City  is  the  new  Oro  Fino  20-stamp  steam 
quartz-mill.  The  Oro  Fino  group  of  mines  is  covered  by  ten  locations,  patents 
tor  which  have  been  applied  for. 

The  Poorman  group  covers  an  area  of  about  one  half  mile  in  width  by  one 
mile  in  length,  and  is  composed  of  8  or  10  lodes,  the  principal  of  which  is  the 
celebrated  Poorman,  the  Belle  Peck,  Oso,  Illinois  Central,  South  Poorman, 


580  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

It  is  worthy  of  mention  that  the  legislature  appro 
priated  $50,000  for  the  construction  of  a  road,  long 
needed,  between  Mount  Idaho,  in  Idaho  county,  and 
Little  Salmon  Meadows,  in  Washington  county,  more 
closely  connecting  the  Panhandle  to  the  main  body  of 
the  future  state.  Congress  was  memorialized  for  an 
amendment  to  the  alien  act,  so  as  to  except  mines  from 
its  prohibitions.  A  bill  was  passed  establishing  a 
board  of  immigration.  The  'University  of  Idaho' 
was  established.  Congress  was  asked  to  pay  the  In 
dian  war  claims  of  1877-8-9,  and  a  badge  or  button 
asked  of  congress  as  a  distinguishing  mark  for  the  men 
who  served  in  those  wars,  with  local  legislation  of  or 
dinary  importance. 

On  the  14th  of  January  a  bill  was  introduced  in 
the  house  by  Bruner  of  Boise  providing  for  a  consti- 

Silver  Cord,  and  Jackson.  All  these  mines  have  produced  more  or  less,  while 
the  Poorman  has  yielded  millions.  United  States  patents  have  been  applied 
for  for  this  group  of  mines.  The  property  was  purchased  in  1888  by  a  syndi 
cate  then  living  in  London. 

The  Morning  Star  mine,  situated  one  fourth  of  a  mile  from  Silver  City, 
owned  by  Stoddard,  Townsend,  &  Smith,  has  produced  $750,000.  Six  other 
mines  situated  in  this  district  are  mentioned  in  the  report  of  Gov.  Shoup. 
In  the  adjoining  district  of  Wagontown,  discovered  in  1876  by  J.  W.  Stodard, 
is  the  Wilson,  the  largest  and  richest  mine  in  Idaho,  owned  by  Christian  and 
Louis  Wahl  of  Chicago,  and  J.  R.  De  Lamar  of  Owyhee  co.  The  veins,  15, 
30,  and  77  feet  in  width,  have  all  been  opened,  showing  300,000  tons  of  ore 
that  will  mill  from  §15  to  $200  per  ton.  The  bullion  produced  is  high  grade 
in  gold. 

Concerning  the  Cceur  d'Alene  mines  of  the  Panhandle,  the  following  is  the 
history:  In  1884,  the  first  discovery  of  galena  was  made  on  Canon  creek,  a 
tributary  of  the  Coaur  d'Alene  river.  The  Tiger  and  Poorman  mines,  now 
famous  for  their  product,  are  the  nucleus  of  the  flourishing  town  of  Burke. 
Soon  after  their  discovery,  the  Bunker  Hill  and  Sullivan  mines,  on  Milo  gulch, 
also  a  tributary  of  the  South  Fork,  were  found.  They  were  of  such  extraor 
dinary  magnitude  and  richness  as  to  awaken  the  interest  of  the  capitalists  of 
Montana,  who  the  ensuing  year  constructed  a  narrow-gauge  railway  from 
Lake  Ccaur  d'Alene  to  these  mines,  and  began  shipping  the  ore  to  the  con 
centrating  works  at  Wickes,  Mont.  This  was  the  entering  wedge  which 
opened  the  marvellous  treasures  of  the  Cosur  d'Alene  to  the  world,  and  enabled 
it  in  less  than  3  years  to  become  the  greatest  lead-producing  region  in  the 
United  States.  Ten  concentrators,  with  an  average  capacity  of  100  tons  daily 
each,  are  now  in  operation  in  this  district.  They  produce  70,000  tons  of  con 
centrates  per  annum,  containing  an  average  of  30  oz.  of  silver  and  GO  per 
cent  of  lead,  besides  45,000  tons  of  selected  ore,  averaging  40  oz  of  silver 
and  60  per  cent  of  lead,  aggregating  a  cash  value  of  $9,030,000  at  the  market 
price  of  silver  and  lead. 

Large  copper  mines  are  found  in  Washington  co. ,  but  cannot  be  profitably 
worked  until  railroads  are  constructed  to  this  district — Seven  Devils  by 
name — also  in  Alturas,  Custer,  and  Bingham  counties. 


STATEHOOD.  581 

tutional  convention  preparatory  to  the  admission  of 
Idaho  into  the  union,  and  on  the  17th  councilman 
Perkins  of  Alturas  gave  notice  of  a  joint  memorial 
praying  congress  for  an  act  enabling  Idaho  to  form  a 
state  government.  In  the  mean  time  the  citizens  of 
Lewiston,  having  held  a  mass  meeting,  sent  their  reso 
lutions  to  the  legislature,  in  which  they  "insisted 
upon,  and  respectfully  demanded  of  congress,  admis 
sion  as  a  state  into  the  federal  union,"  and  indorsed 
the  efforts  of  delegate  Dubois  and  others  to  secure 
this  end,  and  calling  upon  the  legislature  and  the 
towns  and  counties  of  Idaho  to  unite  in  urging  imme 
diate  action.  On  the  29th  of  January  the  council 
approved  a  house  joint  memorial  for  the  admission  of 
Idaho  without  a  dissenting  voice;  and  on  the  4th  of 
February  a  select  committee  appointed  to  examine  a 
house  bill  providing  for  the  calling  of  a  constitutional 
convention  made  a  favorable  report.  The  desire  of 
the  people  was  declared  to  be,  while  not  doubting  the 
national  will  and  power  to  legislate  for  the  interests 
of  the  territory,  that  the  government  affairs  of  Idaho 
be  placed  in  their  hands.  They  had  the  wealth  and 
population,  and  believed  that  further  delay  would 
postpone  the  enlistment  of  capital  in  the  development 
of  their  resources.49 

Nothing  more  was  needed  to  impel  the  governor  to 
issue  a  proclamation  calling  for  a  state  constitutional 
convention. 

The  general  condition  of  Idaho  was  much  improved 
in  1889.  Mining  and  agriculture  were  both  making 
long  strides  forward  by  means  of  transportation  facili 
ties  and  irrigation.50  Land  was  advancing  in  value, 
population  increasing,  and  various  enterprises  being 

"  Idaho,  Jour.  House  1888-9,  204. 

59  The  Central  Canal  and  Land  company  was  24  miles  in  length  in  Decem 
ber  1889,  and  would  irrigate  50,000  acres.     The  Settlers'  ditch,  which  had 
been  in  progress  three  years,  was  about  ready  to  run  lateral  lines  to  100 
farms.     Both  these  canals  were  in  Ada  county.     Portland  Oretionian.  Dec 
20,  1889. 


582  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

projected.  All,  or  nearly  all,  the  old  political  acri 
mony  had  died  out.  Even  the  scheme  so  long 
entertained  in  northern  Idaho  of  being  annexed  to 
Washington  was  no  longer  heard  of,  except  to  be  de 
nounced.  The  legislature  of  1886-7  passed  a  resolu 
tion  protesting  against  any  proposition  to  segregate  any 
portion  of  Idaho  with  a  view  to  attach  it  to  another 
state  or  territory  by  a  vote  9  to  3  in  the  council  and 
20  to  4  in  the  house.  A  similar  resolution  was  in 
corporated  in  the  platform  adopted  by  the  democratic 
territorial  convention  held  at  Boise  City  in  June 
1888;  and  the  measure  was  strongly  denounced  by 
the  republican  convention  of  the  same  year. 

The  republican  convention  of  1888  also  declared  in 
favor  of  statehood  "  for  the  whole  territory."  The 
movement  for  statehood,  it  was  alleged,  was  based 
upon  the  desire  of  the  people  to  have  a  voice  in  presi 
dential  elections,  the  need  to  become  possessed  of  a 
state's  landed  dowery,  and  the  wish  to  do  away  with 
the  alien  act  of  congress,  prohibiting  the  invest 
ment  of  foreign  capital  in  the  territories,  which  was 
detrimental  to  mining  interests.  Of  the  opposition 
to  statehood,  which  proceeded  chiefly  from  the  farming 
population,  it  was  said  that  a  state  government  suffi 
cient  in  all  its  departments  for  the  needs  of  a  growing 
commonwealth,  affording  means  for  the  prompt  admin 
istration  of  justice  in  the  courts,  providing  a  teacher 
for  every  child  of  school  age,  and  an  asylum  for  every 
helpless,  blind,  dumb,  or  idiotic  dependent,  would  cer 
tainly  cost  more  than  a  government  which  delayed 
justice,  turned  out  the  feeble  to  the  charities  of  the 
world,  and  reared  the  young  in  ignorance;  but  that 
every  good  thing  was  worth  its  cost,  and  no  people 
ever  bore  just  burdens  with  greater  patience  than  the 
people  of  Idaho.51  The  general  government  paid  only 
$28,000  per  annum  for  the  support  of  the  territory, 
while  the  tax-payers  paid  $75,000,  and  by  economy 
the  state,  with  its  greater  advantages,  would  be  able 

01  Proclamation  by  Gov.  Shoup  in  Gov.'s  Rept,  1889,  106. 


STATEHOOD.  583 

to  meet  all  the  increased  obligations  necessary  to  be 
assumed.  These  arguments,  as  we  shall  see,  proved 
convincing  to  the  majority. 

The  changes  in  the  judiciary  of  Idaho  had  always 
been  frequent.  James  B.  Hays  was  appointed  chief 
justice  in  1886  in  place  of  John  I.  Morgan;  Norman 
Buck  and  Case  Broderick,  appointed  in  1884,  being 
his  associates,  and  James  H.  Hawley  United  States 
attorney.  In  1888,  Hugh  W.  Weir  was  chief  justice, 
and  John  Lee  Logan  and  Charles  H.  Berry  associates, 
with  Hawley  still  United  States  attorney.  In  1889, 
Weir  was  superseded  by  James  H.  Beatty  of  Hailey; 
and  Logan,  who  was  removed  on  account  of  ill  health,52 
was  followed  by  Willis  Sw^et  of  Moscow,  who  had  a 
few  months  previously  been  appointed  United  States 
attorney.  E.  S.  Whittier,  district  attorney  of  Bing- 
ham  county,  was  mentioned  as  successor  to  Judge 
Berry,  and  Fremont  Wood  of  Boise  was  appointed 
United  States  attorney,  and  John  P.  Wilson  mar 
shal.  Thus  at  last  Idaho  secured  courts  from  among1 

O 

her  own  citizens.  With  a  change  of  administration 
and  the  election  of  1888  in  Idaho  came  a  quite  gen 
eral  change  of  federal53  and  territorial  officials.  Fred 
erick  T.  Dubois,  however,  wras  again  chosen  delegate 

52  Judge  Logan  came  to  Idaho  when  the  bench  and  society  were  shaken 
to  their  foundations,  and  mob  law  openly  advocated.     The  atmosphere  was 
foul  with  venality,  corruption,  and  moral  weakness.     A  change  occurred  as 
if  by  magic  when  Judge  Logan  ascended  the  tribune.     The  people  recognized 
in  him  a  splendid  lawyer,  a  man  of  firmness  and  clearness  of  mind.     He 
conducted  and  ruled  the  court;  the  court  did  not  rule  him.     He  was  just  and 
fair,  impartial  and  fearless.     The  first  criminal  cases  tried  before  him  showed 
that  he  was  a  judge  for  the  people,  that  he  would  interpret  the  law  as  it 
should  be  interpreted,   and  that  he  would  honestly  discharge  his  duties. 
Grangeville  Free  Press. 

53  Other  federal  appointments  were  Charles  S.   Kingley,  register  of  the 
U.  S.  land-office,  and  Joseph  Perrault,  receiver,  Boise  City;  H.  0.  Billings, 
register  of  the  U.  S.  land-office,  and  C.  0.  Stockslager,  receiver,  Hailey; 
Perry  J.  Anson,  register  of  the  U.  S.  land-office,  and  W.  H.  Danielson,  re 
ceiver,  Blackfoot;  Francis  F.  Patterson  of  the  U.  S.  land-office,  and  Charles 
M.  Force,  receiver,  Lewiston;  William  J.  McClure,  register  of  the  U.  S.  laud- 
office,  and  Robert  E.  McFarland,  receiver,  Cteur  d'Alene;  S.  G.  Fisher,  U.  S. 
Ind.  agent  at  Ross  Fork  agency  (Fort  Hall);    W.   D.  Robbins,  U.  S.  Ind. 
agent,  Nez  Perce"  agency;  J.  M.  Needham,  U.  S.  Ind.  agent,  Lemhi  agency, 
and  H.  J.  Cole,  U.  S.  Ind.  agent  at  Coeur  d'Alene  agency;  W.  J.  Cunning 
ham,  U.   S.  assayer,  Boise  City;  William  A.  Kortz,  sergeant  in  charge  of 
U.  S.  signal-office,  Boise  City. 


584  MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

to  congress.  George  L.  Shoup  was  appointed  gov 
ernor,  E.  J.  Curtis  remained  secretary,  Joseph  C. 
Straughn  was  appointed  surveyor-general,  Richard 
Z.  Johnson  was  elected  attorney -general  of  the  terri 
tory,  James  H.  Wickersham  comptroller,  Charles 
Hiinrod  treasurer,  and  Charles  C.  Stevenson  super 
intendent  of  public  instruction.54 

Before  Governor  Stevenson  was  relieved  of  the  ex 
ecutive  office,  he  issued  a  proclamation  April  2,  1889, 
recommending  that  the  people  elect  delegates  to  a 
constitutional  convention,  to  meet  at  Boise  City,  July 
4th  of  that  year,  to  frame  a  constitution  for  the  state 
of  Idaho,  although  no  enabling  act  had  been  passed  by 
congress.  On  the  30th  of  April  Shoup  took  the  oath 
of  office,  and  assumed  the  duties  of  o'overnor  on  the  1st 

7  O 

of  May.  On  the  llth  he  supplemented  Stevenson's 
proclamation  with  another,  approving  the  holding  of 
a  constitutional  convention.  Seventy-two  delegates 
were  elected,  and  the  convention  was  in  session  for 
thirty-four  days.  The  instrument  as  framed  by 
them  declared  the  constitution  of  the  United  States 
the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  and  aimed  to  protect 
and  foster  the  industries  and  interests  of  the  territory. 
It  forever  prohibited  bigamy  and  polygamy.  The 
government  of  the  state  was  in  three  departments, 
legislative,  executive,  and  judicial.  The  legislature 
was  to  consist  of  18  senators  and  36  assemblymen, 
and  should  not  be  increased  to  exceed  24  and  60  re 
spectively.  It  should  meet  biennially,  except  in  spe 
cial  instances.  The  executive  department  was  to 
consist  of  a  governor,  lieutenant-governor,  secretary 
of  state,  auditor,  treasurer,  attorney-general,  and 
superintendent  of  public  instruction,  each  to  hold 

54  The  legislative  appointments  were:  Trustees  for  the  care  and  custody 
of  the  capitol  building,  R.  Z.  Johnson,  C.  Himrod,  J.  H.  Wickersham;  com 
missioners  for  the  improvement  of  the  capitol  grounds,  C.  W.  Moore,  Peter 
Sonna,  I.  L.  Tiner,  R.  Z.  Johnson;  territorial  prison  commissioners,  Wil 
liam  Bryon,  C.  P.  Bilderback,  J.  B.  Wright;  directors  of  the  insane  asyhni» 
at  Blackfoot,  I.  N.  Coston,  0.  P.  Johnson,  N.  A.  Just;  regents  of  the  uni 
versity  of  Idaho,  George  L.  Shoup,  Isaac  H.  Bowman,  John  W.  Jones,  J.  W 
Reid,  Nathan  Falk,  B.  F.  Morrison,  Willis  Sweet,  H.  B.  Blake,  Richard 
Z.  Johnson. 


WAR  ON  THE  MORMONS.  585 

office  for  two  years.  The  governor,  secretary  of 
state,  and  attorney -general  were  to  constitute  a  board 
of  pardons. 

The  supreme  court  should  consist  of  three  justices, 
to  be  elected  at  large.  Five  judicial  districts  were 
provided,  the  judges  to  reside  in  and  be  chosen  by 
the  electors  of  their  respective  districts;  and  a  dis 
trict  attorney  should  be  elected  for  each  district. 

Absolute  secrecy  of  the  ballot  was  guaranteed. 
Six  months'  residence  was  required  to  become  a 
qualified  elector.  Religious  freedom  was  guaranteed. 
Taxes  for  state  purposes  should  never  exceed  ten  mills 
on  the  dollar;  when  the  assessed  valuation  should 
have  reached  $50,000,000,  five  mills;  or  $100,000,000, 
not  more  than  three  mills,  with  greater  reduction  as 
the  wealth  of  the  state  should  increase. 

The  capital  was  located  at  Boise  City  for  20  years. 
The  insane,  blind,  deaf,  and  dumb  were  provided  for. 
All  railroads  and  express  companies  were  declared 
common  carriers,  subject  to  legislative  regulations. 
Provision  was  made  to  prevent  inconvenience  in 
changing  the  business  of  the  territorial  to  the  state 
courts.  In  all  these  matters  the  Idaho  constitution 
resembled  other  modern  state  organic  laws,  the  only 
thing  in  which  it  was  singular  being  in  the  prohibi 
tion  of  bigamy  and  polygamy,  and  in  truth  this  ques 
tion  had  become  one  of  the  deepest  interest  in  Idaho. 
Governor  Shoup  gave  it  as  his  belief  that  the  pop 
ulation  of  Idaho  in  1889  was  113,777,  and  that  of  this 
number  25,000  were  adherents  of  the  mormon  faith 
and  practices,  and  although  public  sentiment  to  a 
considerable  extent  suppressed  the  visible  fact  of  polyg 
amous  relations,  it  was  known  that  plural  marriages 
were  contracted,  and  that  the  doctrine  was  taught  by 
the  mormon  church  leaders.  It  was  not  so  much,  he 
said,  that  examples  of  plural  marriages  could  be  pointed 
out  that  the  gentile  majority  made  war  upon  mor- 
monism,  but  because  the  preachers  of  the  mormon 
minority  taught  that  all  laws  enacted  for  the  suppres- 


586  MATERIAL  AND   SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

sion  of  polygamy  were  unconstitutional,  on  the  ground 
that  they  were  an  interference  with  religious  liberty. 
This  was  a  point,  he  claimed,  most  dangerous  to  good 
morals ;  for  any  association  of  persons  could,  under  the 
name  of  religion,  commit  any  crimes  against  society 
with  impunity,  protected  by  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States. 

To  break  their  power,  the  legislature  of  1884-5 
passed  a  registry  law  requiring  voters  to  take  a  'test 
oath '  of  the  most  rigid  nature,55  which  kept  a  large 
majority  of  mormon  voters  away  from  the  polls, 
only  about  1,000  taking  the  stringent  oath,  and 
voting  at  the  election  for  adopting  or  rejecting  the 
constitution  in  which  it  was  incorporated,  which  was 
held,  according  to  the  governor's  proclamation,  on  the 
5th  of  November.  The  number  of  votes  polled  at  the 
election  was  14,184,  12,398  being  for  and  1,773 
against  the  adoption  of  the  constitution.  Upon  the 
presumption  that  the  mormon  vote  was  against  the 
constitution,  the  vote  of  the  territory  was  almost 
unanimous  in  favor  of  state  government  without  re 
gard  to  party. 

In  order  to  settle  a  question  raised  by  the  mor 
mons  of  .the  constitutionality  of  the  registry  oath,  a 
mormon  voter  was  arrested,  charged  with  conspiracy, 
and  imprisoned.  His  friends  began  habeas  corpus  pro 
ceedings,  but  the  court  decided  that  the  writ  would 

f 5  The  oath  is  as  follows :  '  You  do  solemnly  swear,  or  affirm,  that  you  are 
a  male  citizen  of  the  United  States  over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years;  that 
you  have  actually  resided  in  this  territory  for  four  months  last  past,  and  in 
this  county  thirty  days;  that  you  are  not  a  bigamist  or  polygamist;  that  you 
are  not  a  member  of  any  order,  organization,  or  association  which  teaches, 
advises,  counsels,  or  encourages  its  members,  devotees,  or  any  other  person, 
to  commit  the  crime  of  bigamy  or  polygamy,  or  any  other  crime  defined  by 
law,  as  a  duty  arising  or  resulting  from  membership  in  such  order,  organiza 
tion,  or  association,  or  which  practises  bigamy  or  polygamy,  or  plural  or 
celestial  marriage,  as  a  doctrinal  rite  of  such  organization;  that  you  do  not, 
either  publicly  or  privately,  or  in  any  manner  whatever,  teach,  advise,  or 
encourage  any  person  to  commit  the  crime  of  bigamy  or  polygamy,  or  any 
other  crime  defined  by  law,  either  as  a  religious  duty  or  otherwise;  that  you 
regard  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  and  the  laws  thereof  and  of  this 
territory,  as  interpreted  by  the  courts,  as  the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  the 
teachings  of  any  order,  organization,  or  association  to  the  contrary  notwith 
standing;  and  that  you  have  not  previously  voted  at  this  election;  so  help 
you  God.' 


STATEHOOD.  587 

not  hold,  and  the  case  was  taken  to  the  United  States 
supreme  court  to  obtain  an  opinion  which  would  make 
valid  or  invalid  the  test  oath,  and  that  part  of  the 
Idaho  constitution  in  which  it  is  incorporated.56  Dele 
gate  Dubois,  who  was  taking  the  opinion  of  congress  on 
the  admission  of  Idaho,  was  met  by  the  assertion  of 
the  mormon  leaders  that  the  effort  to  disfranchise 
25,000  of  the  population  would  prove  a  stumbling- 
block  in  the  way  of  statehood — an  assertion  to  which 
he  returned  the  counter-statement  that,  rather  than 
come  in  without  the  anti-mormon  clause  in  the  con 
stitution,  the  territory  would  prefer  to  remain  out  of 
the  union.57  Nevertheless,  he  labored  strenuously  for 
it,  not  on  party  grounds,  for  Idaho  was  so  evenly  bal 
anced  in  politics  at  this  period  that  neither  party 
dared  claim  it,  but  simply  on  the  merits  of  her  claims 
to  recognition.  "  Our  constitution,"  said  the  delegate, 
"forbids  the  carrying  of  any  flag  in  public  processions, 
except  the  American  flag.  We  want  a  state  for  those 
whose  highest  allegiance  is  to  the  United  States,  or 
else  we  want  no  state  at  all."  Truly,  the  times  were 
changed  since  1864,  when  the  scum  of  secession  over 
ran  the  territory,  and  a  loyal  man  dared  hardly 
breathe  a  sentiment  of  devotion  to  the  union.  But 
there  were  complications  in  the  way  besides  the  mor 
mon  test  oath.  Unless  the  state  should  be  admitted 
by  the  congress  about  to  meet,  it  might  have  to  wait 
for  years,  because  in  1890  a  census  would  be  taken, 
and  the  apportionment  for  representation  in  congress 
undoubtedly  raised  to  about  200,000.  Congress  was 
already  so  unwieldly  that  it  would  not,  probably,  in 
crease  the  number  of  representatives,  but  rather  the 
requirement  of  population,  and  it  might  be  very  long 
before  Idaho  doubled  hers.  Again,  it  was  said  that 
the  democrats  in  congress  would  unite  in  opposition 
to  the  admission  of  Idaho,  and  Wyoming  which  was 

56  H.  W.  Smith  of  Ogden  went  to  Washington  as  the  special  attorney  of 
Iilaho,  to  argue  the  case  before  the  supreme  court.  Portland  Oreaonian,  Dec. 
6,  1889. 

"  Id.,  Nov.  27,  1889, 


588  MATERIAL  AND   SOCIAL  PROGRESS. 

also  an  aspirant  for  statehood,  unless  New  Mexico 
should  be  admitted  at  the  same  time.  Thus  hopes  and 
fears  had  their  turn.  Meanwhile,  the  newspapers,  of 
which  there  were  now  thirty-eight  in  Idaho,58  asserted 
truthfully  that  never  had  there  been  so  many  new 
enterprises  inaugurated  as  in  this  year  of  1889  ;  irriga 
tion  schemes  that  would  cost  millions;  new  mining 
camps  as  fast  as  they  could  be  built  and  machinery 
could  be  'freighted'  to  the  mines;  homestead  filings 
for  the  year,  861;  homestead  proofs,  463  ;  preemption 
filings,  841;  preemption  proofs,  441;  desert  filings, 
294;  desert  proofs,  841  ;  timber  culture  filings,  293  ; 
timber  culture  proofs,  5  ;  mineral  filings,  72;  proofs,  62. 
All  these  meant  so  many  times  160  acres  improved, 
or  about  to  be.  The  total  amount  of  land  surveyed  in 
Idaho  was  8,500,000  acres;  of  land  patented  or  filed 
on,  4,500,000  acres;  and  land  in  cultivation,  surveyed 
and  unsurveyed,  600,000  acres.  Idaho  contained 
about  55,000,000  acres,  12,000,000  of  which  were 
suitable  for  agriculture,  while  nearly  as  much  more 
could  be  made  so  by  irrigation.  There  were  5,000,000 
acres  of  grazing  land,  10,000,000  acres  of  timber,  and 
8,000,000  acres  of  timber  land.  Idaho  had  indeed  ad 
vantages  unsurpassed  in  any  quarter  of  the  globe. 
Railroads,  irrigation,  and  statehood  would  make  this 
evident.  Such  was  the  voice  of  the  Idaho  press,  and 
such,  by  their  vote  on  the  constitution,  was  the  voice 
of  the  people. 

58  Free  Press,  Grangeville;  Star  and  Mirror,  Moscow;  Teller,  and  Stars 
and  Bars,  Lewiston;  Times  and  Review,  Cceur  d'Alene  City;  Sun,  Murray; 
News,  Wardner;  Courier,  Rathdrum;  Messenger,  Challis;  Citizen,  Salubria; 
Leader,  Weiser;  Recorder,  Salmon  City;  Keystone,  Ketchum;  News  Miner 
and  Timts,  Hailey;  Press,  Bellevue;  State  Journal,  Shoshone;  Register,  Eagle 
Rock;  News,  Blackfoot;  Herald  and  Republican,  Pocatello;  Enterprise,  Malade 
City;  Times,  Albion;  Independent,  Paris;  Bulletin,  Rocky  Bar;  Progress, 
Nampa;  Tribune,  Caldwell;  Statesman  and  Democrat,  Boise;  World,  Idaho 
City;  Avalanche,  Silver  City;  Independent,  Burke;  Free  Press,  Wallace;  Post, 
Post  Falls;  Observer,  Montpelier;  and  Mail,  Mountain  Home.  ReptofGov. 
Stwup,  1889,  100. 


HISTORY  OF  MONTANA. 


CHAPTER   I. 

NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 
1728-1862. 

THE  NAME — CONFIGURATION-  AND  CLIMATE — GAME — STOCK-KATSINT? 

TAGES — MINERALS  AND  METALS  —  CATACOMBS  —  MAUVAISES  TERRES — 
EARLY  EXPLORATIONS  —  FUR-HUNTERS  AND  FORTS — MISSIONARIES  AND 
MISSIONS  —  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS  —  RAILROAD  SURVEY  —  WAGON- 
ROADS—EARLY  STEAMBOATS— GOLD  DISCOVERIES— THE  CATTLE  BUSI 
NESS — FIRST  SETTLERS— NEW  COUNTIES  OF  WASHINGTON. 

MONTANA,  mountainous  or  full  of  mountains/  is  a 
name,  as  herein  used,  no  less  beautiful  than  significant. 
From  the  summit  of  its  loftiest  peak — Mount  Hay- 
den — may  be  seen  within  a  day's  ride  of  each  other 
the  sources  of  the  three  great  arteries  of  the  terri 
tory  owned  by  the  United  States — the  Missouri,  the 
Colorado,  and  the  Columbia.  From  the  springs  on 
either  side  of  the  range  on  whose  flanks  Montana 
lies  flow  the  floods  that  mingle  with  the  North  Pa 
cific  Ocean,  the  gulf  of  California,  and  the  gulf  of 
Mexico.  The  Missouri  is  4,600  miles  in  length,  the 
Columbia  over  1,200,  and  the  Colorado  a  little  short 
of  1,000;  yet  out  of  the  springs  that  give  them  rise 
the  Montanian  may  drink  the  same  day.  Nay,  more : 
there  is  a  spot  where,  as  the  rain  falls,  drops  descend 
ing  together,  only  an  inch  asunder  perhaps,  on  strik- 

1  Many  infer  that  the  word  is  of  Spanish  origin,  a  corruption,  perhaps,  of 
montaiia,  a  mountain,  but  it  is  purely  Latin.  It  was  a  natural  adoption,  and 
the  manner  of  it  is  given  elsewhere. 

(589) 


590  NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 

ing  the  ground  part  company,  one  wending  its  long, 
adventurous  way  to  the  Atlantic,  while  the  other 
bravely  strikes  out  for  the  Pacific.  These  rivers,  with 
their  great  and  numerous  branches,  are  to  the  land 
what  the  arteries  and  veins  are  to  the  animal  organism, 
and  whose  action  is  controlled  by  the  heart;  hence  this 
spot  may  be  aptly  termed  the  heart  of  the  continent. 
From  New  Orleans  to  the  falls  of  the  Missouri  there 
is  no  obstacle  to  navigation.  Wonderful  river! 

Could  we  stand  on  Mount  Hayden,  we  should  see 
at  first  nothing  but  a  chaos  of  mountains,  whose  con 
fused  features  are  softened  by  vast  undulating  masses 
of  forest;  then  would  come  out  of  the  chaos  stretches 
of  grassy  plains,  a  glint  of  a  lake  here  and  there, 
dark  canons  made  by  the  many  streams  converging 
to  form  the  monarch  river,  rocky  pinnacles  shooting 
up  out  of  interminable  forests,  and  rising  above  all,  a 
silvery  ridge  of  eternal  snow,  which  imparts  to  the 
range  its  earliest  name  of  Shining  Mountains.  The 
view,  awe-inspiring  and  bewildering,  teaches  us  little; 
we  must  come  down  from  our  lofty  eminence  before 
we  can  particularize,  or  realize  that  mountains,  lakes, 
forests,  and  river-courses  are  not  all  of  Montana,  or 
that,  impressive  as  the  panorama  may  be,  greater 
wonders  await  us  in  detail. 

The  real  Montana  with  which  I  have  to  deal  con 
sists  of  a  number  of  basins  among  these  mountains, 
in  which  respect  it  is  not  unlike  Idaho.  Commencing 
at  the  westernmost  of  the  series,  lying  between  the 
Bitterroot  and  Rocky  ranges,  this  one  is  drained  by 
the  Missoula  and  Flathead  rivers,  and  contains  the 
beautiful  Flathead  Lake,  which  lies  at  the  foot  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  in  latitude  48°.  From  the  lake 
south  for  fifty  miles  is  a  gently  undulating  country, 
with  wood,  grass,  and  water  in  abundance,  and  a  good 
soil.  The  small  valley  of  the  Jocko,  which  is  reached 
by  crossing  a  range  of  hills,  is  a  garden  of  fertility  and 
natural  loveliness.  But  true  to  the  character  of  this 
montane  region,  another  and  a  higher  range  must  be 


HELLGATE  AKD  BITTERROOT.  591 

crossed  before  we  can  get  a  glimpse  of  the  grander 
and  not  less  lovely  Hellgate2  Valley,  furnished  also 
with  £ood  Grass  and  abundance  of  fine  timber.  Branch- 

O  O 

ing1  off  to  the  south  is  the  valley  of  the  Bitterroot, 
another  fertile  and  picturesque  region.  The  Hellgate 
and  Bitterroot  valleys  are  separated  from  Idaho  on 
the  west  by  the  Bitterroot  range,  on  the  lofty  peaks 
of  which  the  snow  lies  from  year  to  year.  These 
mountains  have  a  general  trend  south-east  and  north 
west,  and  cover  an  area  of  seventy-five  miles  from 
west  to  east,  forming  that  great  mass  of  high,  rough 
mineral  country  so  often  referred  to  in  my  description 
of  Idaho,  and  which  is  covered  with  forest. 

Passing  out  of  the  Bitterroot  and  Hellgate  val 
leys  to  the  east,  we  travel  through  the  pass  which 
gives  its  name  to  the  latter.  This  canon  is  forty  miles 
in  length,  cutting  through  a  range  less  lofty  than 
those  on  the  west.  Through  it  flows  the  Hellgate 
River,  receiving  in  its  course  several  streams,  the 
largest  of  which  is  the  Big  Blackfoot,  which  heads  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  near  Lewis  and  Clarke's  pass  of 
1806.  At  the  eastern  end  of  this  canon  is  Deer 
Lodge  Valley,  watered  by  the  Deer  Lodge  River, 
rising  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  south  and  east  of  this 
pass,  and  becoming  the  Hellgate  River  where  it  turns 
abruptly  to  the  west  after  receiving  the  waters  of  the 
Little  Blackfoot,  and  which  still  farther  on  becomes 
the  Missoula.  Other  smaller  streams  and  valleys  of 
a  similar  character  go  to  make  up  the  north-western 
basin,  which  is  about  250  miles  long  by  an  average 
width  of  75  miles.  It  is  the  best  timbered  portion 
of  Montana,  being  drained  toward  the  north-west, 
and  open  to  the  warm,  moisture-laden  winds  of  the 
Pacific,  which  find  an  opening  here  extending  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

2  The  name  of  Hellgate  Rond  was  given  to  a  circular  prairie  at  the  mouth 
of  a  canon,  the  passage  of  which  was  so  dangerous,  from  Indian  ambush,  to 
the  fur-hunters  and  trappers,  that  in  their  nomenclature  they  could  iind  no 
word  so  expressive  as  Hellgate.  Virginia  and  Helena  Post,  Oct.  14,  1SGG; 
White's  Or.,  289, 


592  NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 

The  north-east  portion  of  Montana,3  bounded  by 
the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  west,  the  divide  be 
tween  the  Missouri  and  the  river  system  of  the  Brit 
ish  possessions  on  the  north,  and  by  a  broken  chain 
of  mountains  on  the  south,  is  drained  toward  the 
east  by  the  Missouri  River,  and  is  a  country  essen 
tially  different  from  the  grassy  and  well-wooded  re 
gions  west  of  the  great  range.  It  constitutes  a  basin 
about  400  miles  in  length  and  150  in  breadth,  the 
western  portion  being  broken  occasionally  by  moun 
tain  spurs,  or  short,  isolated  upheavals,  such  as  the 
Little  Rockies,  the  Bear  Paw  Mountains,  or  the 
Three  Buttes,  and  taken  up  in  the  eastern  portion 
partly  by  the  Bad  Lands.  Its  general  elevation  is 
much  less  than  that  of  the  basin  just  described,4  yet 
its  fertility  is  in  general  not  equal  to  the  higher  re 
gion  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  There  is  a  belt 
of  grass-land  from  ten  to  twenty  miles  in  width,  ex 
tending  along  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  for  a  hun 
dred  and  fifty  miles,  backed  by  a  belt  of  forest  on  the 
slopes  of  the  higher  foothills.  The  lower  plains  are 
for  some  distance  alon^  the  Missouri  a  succession  of 

o 

clay  terraces,  entirely  sterile,  or  covered  with  a  scanty 
growth  of  grass  of  inferior  nutritive  quality.  Through 
this  clay  the  rivers  have  worn  canons  several  hundred 
feet  in  depth,  at  the  bottom  of  which  they  have  made 
themselves  narrow  valleys  of  fertile  soil  washed  down 

3  In  Ingersoll's  Knocking  around  the  Rockies,  192-202,  there  are  some  bits 
of  description  touching  Montana's  physical  features  worth  reading,  though 
taken  together,  no  very  clear  notion  of  the  country  could  be  obtained  from 
the  book. 

4  The  following  table  shows  the  relative  positions  and  climatic  peculiari 
ties  of  these  two  natural  divisions  of  Montana:  Feet. 

Summit  of  Bitterroot  range,  near  the  pass 5,089 

Junction  of  the  Missoula  and  St  Regis  de  Borgia  rivers 2,897 

Bitterroot  Valley,  at  Fort  Owen 3,284 

Big  Blackfoot  River,  near  mouth  of  Salmon  Trout  Fork 3,966 

Deer  Lodge,  at  Deer  Lodge  City 4,768 

Prickly  Pear  Valley,  near  Helena 4,000 

Mullaii's  Pass  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 6,283 

Lewis  and  Clarke's  Pass 6,519 

Forks  of  Sun  River 4, 1 14 

Fort  Benton,  Missouri  River 2,780 

Fort  Union,  mouth  of  Yellowstone ...... 2,022 


BASINS  OF  MONTANA.  593 

from  the  mountains,  supporting  some  cottonwood 
timber  and  grass.  Higher,  toward  the  south,  about 
the  heads  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Missouri,  there  is  a 
region  of  good  agricultural  and  grazing  lands  lying  on 
both  sides  of  the  Little  Belt  and  Snow  Mountains. 
The  scenery  of  the  upper  Missouri  also  presents,  for 
a  hundred  or  more  miles,  commencing  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Jefferson  fork,  a  panorama  of  grandeur  and 
startling  effects,  the  Gate  of  the  Mountains,  a  canon 
five  miles  in  length  and  a  thousand  feet  deep,  being 
one  of  the  finest  river  passes  in  the  world  in  point  of 
beauty. 

South  of  the  vast  region  of  the  main  Missouri  are 
three  separate  basins;  the  first  drained  to  the  east  by 
the  Jefferson  fork  of  that  river,  and  by  its  branches, 
the  Bighole5  and  Beaverhead,  the  latter  heading  in 
Horse  Prairie,  called  Shoshone  Cove  by  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  who  at  this  place  abandoned  canoe  travel,  and 
purchased  horses  of  the  Indians  for  their  journey  over 
the  mountains.  They  were  fortunate  in  their  choice 
of  routes,  this  pass  being  the  lowest  in  the  Rocky 
range,  and  very  gentle  of  ascent  and  descent.  The 
Beaverhead-Bighole  basin  is  about  150  miles  by  100 
in  extent,  containing  eight  valleys  of  considerable  di 
mensions,  all  having  more  or  less  arable  land,  with 
grass  and  water. 

East  of  this  section  lies  another  basin,  drained  by 
the  Madison  and  Gallatin  forks  of  the  Missouri,  and 
having  an  extent  of  150  miles  north  and  south,  and 
80  east  and  west.  In  it  are  five  valleys,  containing 
altogether  a  greater  amount  of  agricultural  land  than 
the  last  named. 

Last  is  the  Yellowstone  basin.  It  contains  eight 
principal  valleys,  and  is  400  miles  long  and  150  miles 
wide.  The  Yellowstone  River  is  navigable  for  a  dis- 

8  This  valley  was  formerly  called  by  the  French  Canadian  trappers,  Le 
Grand  Trou,  which  literally  means  big  hole,  from  which  the  river  took  its 
name.  The  mountain  men  used  this  word  frequently  in  reference  to  these  ele 
vated  basins,  as  Jackson's  Hole,  Pierre's  Hole,  etc.  McClure  gives  a  differ 
ent  origin  in  his  Three  Thounand  Milts,  309,  but  he  is  misinformed. 
HIST.  WASH.— 38 


594 


NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 


tance  of  340  miles;  there  is  a  large  amount  of  agri 
cultural  and  grazing  lands  along  its  course,  and  be 
tween  it  and  the  Missouri,  with  which  it  makes  a 
junction  on  the  eastern  boundary  of  Montana.  About 
the  head  of  this  river,  named  by  early  voyageurs 
from  the  sulphur  tint  of  the  rocks  which  constitute 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  MOUNTAIN  PASSES. 

its  banks  in  many  places,  cluster  a  world  of  the 
world's  wonders.  The  finger-marks  of  the  great 
planet-making  forces  are  oftener  visible  here  than 
elsewhere.  Hundreds  of  ages  ago  about  these  moun 
tain  peaks  rolled  an  arctic  sea,  the  wild  winds  sweep 
ing  over  it,  driving  the  glittering  icebergs  hither  and 
thither.  When  the  mountains  were  lifted  out  of  the 
depths  by  volcanic  forces  they  bore  aloft  immense 
glaciers,  which  lay  for  centuries  in  their  folds  and 
crevices,  and  slid  and  ground  their  way  down  the 
wrinkled  slopes,  tracing  their  history  in  indelible 
characters  upon  the  rocks,  while  they  gave  rise  and 
direction  to  the  rivers,  which  in  their  turn  have 


YELLOWSTOXE  VALLEY.  595 

scooped  out  the  valleys,  and  cut  the  immense  canons 
which  reveal  to  us  the  nature  of  the  structure  of  the 
earth's  foundations. 

Volcanic  action  is  everywhere  visible,  and  has  been 
most  vigorous.  All  the  stratified  rocks,  the  clays  and 

O  •/ 

slates  in  the  Yellowstone  range,  have  been  subjected 
to  fire.  There  are  whole  mountains  of  breccia.  Great 
ravines  are  filled  with  ashes  and  scoria.  Mountains 
of  obsidian,  of  soda,  and  of  sulphur,  immense  overflows 
of  basalt,  burnt-out  craters  filled  with  water,  making 
lakes  of  various  sizes,  everything  everywhere  points 
to  the  fiery  origin,  or  the  later  volcanic  history  of  the 
Yellowstone  range. 

The  valley  of  the  Yellowstone  where  it  opens  out 
presents  a  lovely  landscape  of  bottom-lands  dotted 
with  groves,  gradually  elevated  benches  well  grassed 
and  prettily  wooded,  reaching  to  the  foothills,  and 
for  a  background  the  silver-crested  summits  of  the 
Yellowstone  range.  As  a  whole,  Montana  presents  a 
beautiful  picture,  its  bad  lands,  volcanic  features,  and 
great  altitudes  only  increasing  the  effect.  In  its  for 
ests,  on  its  plains,  and  in  its  waters  is  an  abundance  of 
game,  buffalo,  moose,  elk,  bear,  deer,  antelope,  mountain 
sheep,  rabbits,  squirrels,  birds,  water-fowl,  fish,6  not 
to  mention  the  many  wild  creatures  which  civilized 
men  disdain  for  food,  such  as  the  fox,  panther,  lynx, 
ground-hog,  prairie-dog,  badger,  beaver,  and  marten. 
The  natural  history  of  Montana  does  not  differ  from 
that  of  the  west  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  except 
in  the  matter  of  abundance,  the  natural  parks  on  the 
east  side  of  the  range  containing  almost  a  superfluity 

6  Buffalo  used  formerly  to  be  numerous  on  the  plains  between  the  South 
Pass  anil  the  British  possessions,  the  Xez  Perc6  'going  to  buffalo'  through  the 
Flataead  and  Blackfoot  country,  and  the  fur  companies  wintering  on  the 
Yellowstone  in  preference  to  farther  south,  both  on  account  of  climate  and 
game.  The  Montana  buffalo  is  said  to  have  been  smaller,  less  humped,  and 
with  finer  hair  than  the  southern  animal.  In  18G5  a  herd  of  them  were  seen 
on  the  head  waters  of  Hellgate  River  for  the  first  time  in  many  years.  Idaho 
World,  Aug.  28,  1865.  The  reader  of  Lewis  and  Clarke's  journal  will  re 
member  their  frequent  encounters  with  the  huge  grizzly.  See  also  the  ad 
ventures  of  the  fur-hunters  with  these  animals  in  Victor's  Sivc.r  of  the  West. 
Besides  the  grizzly,  black,  brown,  and  cinnamon  bears  were  abundant. 


596  NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 

of  animal  life — a  feature  of  the  country  which, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  hardy  and  warlike 
indigenous  tribes,  promises  well  for  the  prosperity  of 
the  white  race  which  unfolds  therein. 

As  to  the  climate,  despite  the  general  elevation  of 
the  territory,  it  is  not  unpleasant.  The  winter  camps 
of  the  fur  companies  were  more  often  in  the  Yellow 
stone  Valley  than  at  the  South  Pass  or  Green  River. 
Here,  although  the  snow  should  fall  to  a  considerable 
depth,  their  horses  could  subsist  on  the  sweet  cotton- 
wood,  of  which  they  were  fond.  But  the  snow  sel 
dom  fell  to  cover  the  grass  for  any  length  of  time, 
or  if  it  fell,  the  Chinook  wind  soon  carried  it  off;  and 
it  is  a  remarkable  trait  of  the  country,  that  stock  re 
mains  fat  all  winter,  having  no  food  or  shelter  other 
than  that  furnished  by  the  plains  and  woods.7  Occa 
sional  'cold  waves'  affect  the  climate  of  Montana, 
along  with  the  whole  region  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  sometimes  accompanied  with  high  winds 
and  driving  snow.8  But  the  animals,  both  wild  and 
tame,  being  well  fed  and  intelligent,  take  care  to  es 
cape  the  brief  fury  of  the  elements,  and  seldom  perish.9 
This  for  the  surface,  beneath  which,  could  the  beholder 

7Ttie  yearly  mean  temperature  of  Deer  Lodge  City,  the  elevation  being 
nearly  5,000  feet,  is  40°  7',  and  the  mean  of  the  seasons  as  follows:  Spring  41 J 
6',  summer  69°  7',  autumn  43°  1',  winter  19°  9'.  This  temperature  is  much 
lower  than  that  of  the  principal  agricultural  areas.  The  total  yearly  rainfall 
is  17  inches,  and  for  the  growing  season,  April  to  July,  9.15  inches.  Norton's 
Wonder-Land,  89.  Observations  made  at  Fort  Bcnton  from  1872  to  1877 
gave  a  mean  annual  temperature  of  40°,  and  an  average  of  291  clear  days  each 
year.  The  average  temperature  for  18G6  at  Helena,  which  is  1,000  feet  higher 
than  many  of  the  valleys  of  Montana,  was  44°  5'.  The  snowfall  varies  from 
4 1  inches  to  41 J.  The  report  of  the  U.  S.  signal  officer  at  Virginia  City  gives 
the  lowest  temperature  in  6  years,  with  one  exception,  at  19°  below  zero,  and 
the  highest  at  94"  above.  Observations  taken  in  the  lower  valleys  of  Mon 
tana  for  a  number  of  years  show  the  mean  annual  temperature  to  be  48°. 
Navigation  opens  on  the  Missouri  a  month  earlier  near  Helena  than  at  Omaha. 
The  rainy  season  usually  occurs  in  June.  Omaha  New  West,  Jan.  1879; 
Schott's  .Distribution  and  Variations,  4S-9;  Montana  Scraps,  54,  69-71. 

8  These  storms,  which  are  indeed  fearful  on  the  elevated  plateaux  and 
mountains,  are  expressively  termed  'blizzards'  in  the  nomenclature  of  the 
frontier.  The  winter  of  1831-2  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  most  severe  known, 
before  or  since. 

9Shonp,  in  his  Idaho,  MS.,  4,  speaking  of  stock-raising,  says:  'Cattle  of  all 
kinds  thrive  in  the  hardest  winters  without  stall-feeding,  and  we  lost  none 
through  cold  or  snow.  My  loss  in  the  hardest  whiter  in  5,000  head  was  not 
more  than  one  per  cent.' 


MONTANA,  HOME  OF  GOLD  597 

look,  what  might  he  not  see  of  mineral  riches,  of  gold, 
silver,  and  precious  stones,  with  all  the  baser  metals ! 
Montana  is  the  native  home  of  gold.  Nowhere  is 
it  found  in  so  great  a  diversity  of  positions;  in  the 
oldest  igneous  and  metamorphic  rocks,  in  the  mica 
ceous  slates,  in  alluvial  drifts  of  bowlders  and  gravel, 
sometimes  in  beds  of  ferruginous  conglomerates,  and 
infiltrated  into  quartz,  granite,  hornblende,  lead,  iron, 
clay,  and  every  kind  of  pseudomorphs.  In  Montana 
quartz  is  not  always  the  'mother  of  gold/  where  iron 
and  copper  with  their  sulphurets  and  oxides  are  often 
a  matrix  for  it.  Even  drift-wood  long  embedded  in 
the  soil  has  its  carbonaceous  matter  impregnated  with 
it;  and  a  solution  of  gold  in  the  water  is  not  rare.10 
The  forms  in  which  the  precious  metal  exists  in  Mon 
tana  are  various.  It  is  not  always  found  in  flattened, 
rounded,  or  oval  grains,  but  often  in  crystalline  and 
arborescent  forms.11  The  cube,  octahedron,  and  do 
decahedron  are  not  uncommon  forms,  the  cube,  how 
ever,  being  most  rare.  Cubes  of  iron  pyrites  are 
sometimes  covered  with  crystals  of  gold.12  Beautiful 
filaments  of  gold  frequently  occur  in  quartz  lodes  in 
Montana,  and  more  rarely  spongiform  masses.13  Curi 
ously  exemplifying  the  prodigality  and  eccentricity  of 
the  creative  forces,  cubes  of  galena,  strung  on  wires 
of  gold,  and  rare  tellurium,  are  found  in  the  same 
place  in  the  earth. 

10  This  statement  I  take  from  an  article  by  W.  J.  Howard,  in  the  Helena 
Rocky  Mountain  Gazette,  Dec.  24,   1868.     The  author  writes  like  a  man  ac 
quainted  with  his  subject.     Might  not  this  account  for  the  presence  of  flour 
gold  in  certain  alluvial  deposits  2 

11  The  same  may  be  said  of  California,  Oregon,  and  Idaho.     I  have  seen  a 
stem  with  leaves,  like  the  leaf-stalk  of  a  rose,  taken  from  a  creek-bed  in  Cali 
fornia,  and  the  most  elegant  crystalline  forms  from  the  Santiam  mines  of 
Oregon. 

14  The  Venus  lode,  in  Trout  Creek  district,  Indian,  Trinity,  and  Dry 
gulches  in  the  vicinity  of  Helena,  have  produced  some  beautiful  tree  forms 
of  crystallization.  Also  other  crystalline  forms  of  gold  have  been  found  near 
the  head  of  Kingsbury  gulch,  on  the  cast  side  of  the  Missouri  lliver,  in  seams 
in  clay  slate  overlying  granite.  Helena  1'ocbj  Mountain  Gazette,  Dec.  24,  1868. 

13  The  finest  specimens  of  thread  gold,  says  Howard,  were  found  in  the 
Uncle  Sam  lode,  at  the  head  of  Tucker  gulch.  A  sponge-shaped  mass  valued 
at  §300  was  taken  from  McClellan  gulch,  both  in  the  vicinity  of  Mullan's 
pass.  See  Virginia  Montana  Post,  June  2,  I860;  Deer  Lodge  Independent, 
Nov.  30,  1867;  Deer  Lodge  New  Northwest,  Dec.  9,  1870. 


598  NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 

Silver  is  present  here,  also,  in  a  variety  of  forms, 
as  the  native  metal,  in  sulphides,  chlorides  of  various 
colors,  antimonial  silver,  ruby,  and  polybasite,  with 
some  rarer  combinations.  Gems,  if  not  of  the  finest, 
are  frequent  in  gulch  soils  where  gold  is  found.  By 
analogy,  there  should  be  diamonds  where  quartz 
pebbles,  slate  clay,  brown  iron  ore,  and  iron  sand  are 
found.  Sapphires,  generally  of  little  value  because 
of  a  poor  color,  beryl,  aquamarine,  garnet,  chryso- 
beryl,  white  topaz,  amethyst,  opal,  agate,  and  moss- 
agate  are  common.  Of  these  the  amethyst  and  the 
moss-agate  are  the  most  perfect  in  points  of  fineness 
and  color.  Of  the  latter  there  are  several  varieties, 
white,  red,  black,  and  green,  in  which  the  delicate 
fronds  of  moss,  or  other  arborescent  forms,  are  defined 
by  the  thin  crystals  of  iron  oxides,  manganese,  or 
other  mineral  matter  in  the  process  of  formation; 
crystals  of  epidote,  dark  red  and  pale  green,  form 
veins  in  the  earth;  calcite,  of  a  beautiful  light  red 
color,  marbles,  tin  ores,  cinnabar,  magnesia,  gypsum, 
and  fire-clays,  base  metals,  coal — these  are  what  this 
montana  storehouse  contains,  waiting  for  the  re 
quirements  of  man. 

There  have  been  those  who  talked  of  catacombs 
in  Montana,  of  underground  apartments  tenanted  by 
dead  warriors  of  a  race  as  far  back  as  one  chooses  to  go. 
However  this  rnay  be,  it  is  certain  that  in  the  mauvaises 
terres,  or  bad  lands  of  the  early  French  explorers, 
are  immense  catacombs  of  extinct  species  of  animals. 
These  Bad  Lands  form  one  of  the  wonders  of  the 
world,  which  must  be  counted  since  the  discovery  of 
this  region  to  be  at  least  eight.  The  region  is  geo 
logically  remarkable.  Under  a  thin  gray  alkaline 
alluvium,  which  supports  only  occasional  pines  and 
cedars  on  the  banks  of  the  streams,  is  a  drab-colored 
clay  or  stone,  which  covers,  in  most  places,  beds  of 
bituminous  coal,  or  lignite.  The  soil  is  interspersed 
with  seams  of  gypsum  in  the  crystalline  form,  which 


THE  BAD  LANDS.  599 

sparkle  in  the  sun  like  necklaces  of  diamonds  upon 
the  hills  and  river-bluffs.  Other  seams  consist  of  spar 
iron,  carbonates  of  magnesia,  and  deposits  of  many 
varieties  of  the  spar  family  in  beautiful  forms  of  crys 
tallization.  In  the  alluvium  are  bowlders  of  lime 
and  sandstone,  containing  as  a  nucleus  an  am 
monite,  some  of  which  are  five  feet  in  diameter, 
and  glowing  when  discovered  with  all  the  colors 
of  the  rainbow.  Fossil  crustaceans  also  abound 
in  the  shales,  their  shining  exposed  edges  making 
a  brilliant  mosaic.  Beds  of  shells  of  great  depth, 
and  of  beautiful  species,  are  exposed  in  the  walls  of 
canons  hundreds  of  feet  beneath  the  surface.  Balls 
of  sandstone,  in  size  from  a  bird-shot  to  half  a  ton's 
weight,  are  found  on  the  Missouri  River,  the  centre 

O          ' 

of  each  being  a  nucleus  of  iron.  Bones  of  the  mam 
moth  elephant,  of  a  height  a  third  greater  than  the 
largest  living  elephants,  and  of  twice  their  weight,  are 
scattered  through  the  land,  together  with  other  fossils. 
In  some  localities  the  country  is  sculptured  into  the 
likeness  of  a  city,  with  narrow  and  crooked  streets, 
white,  shining,  solitary,  and  utterly  devoid  of  life — the 
most  striking  picture  of  desolation  that  could  be  im 
agined.  Fancy  fails  in  conjecturing  the  early  devel 
opments  of  this  region,  now  dead  past  all  resurrection.14 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  shining  appearance 
of  the  Bad  Lands,  which  the  Indians  of  Montana 

14  It  is  not  in  the  Bad  Lands  alone  that  we  find  interesting  fossil  remains  in 
Montana.  Teeth  and  bones  of  extinct  fossil  mammals  have  been  exhumed  at 
various  points,  as  in  Alder  gulch,  at  Virginia  City,  where  also  an  enormous 
tusk  has  been  dug  up,  and  shells,  in  state  of  almost  perfect  preservation. 
Forty  feet  from  the  surface  in  Last  Chance  gulch  a  tooth,  in  good  condition, 
corresponding  to  the  Gth  upper  molar  of  the  extinct  e/cphanntormedius,  was 
found.  A  little  lower  two  tusks,  one  measuring  9  feet  in  length  and  20 
inches  in  circumference,  were  taken  out,  this  being  but  a  part  of  the  whole. 
New  York  gulch  produced  a  tooth  14  inches  long  and  5  inches  across.  Helena 
llocky  Mountain  Gazette,  Dec.  31,  1868.  Many  hints  as  to  the  geography  and 
resources  of  Montana  have  been  gathered  from  the  Deer  Lodye  Independent; 
Helena  Independent;  Helena  Herald;  Helena  Rocky  Mountain  Gazette;  Deer 
Loi/ye  New  Northwest;  yirr/i»ia  City  Post;  and  the  local  journals  of  Montana 
generally;  also,  from  Stevens'  Northwest;  Daly's  Address  Am.  Geog.  Soc.,1873; 
Smally's  Hint.  N.  Par.  /?.,  and  //.  Ex.  Doc.,  320,  248-71,  42d  cong.  2d  sess.; 
Overland  Monthly,  ii.  379-80. 


GOO 


NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 


described  to  the  tribes  farther  east,  and  they  to  others 
in  commercial  relations  with  the  French  in  Canada, 
and  which  became  mingled  with  descriptions  of  the 
great  mountain  range,  should  lead  to  a  journey  of 
exploration  in  search  of  the  Shining  Mountains,  where 
diamonds  and  gold  abounded,  by  the  Canadian  French. 


CARVER'S  MAP,  1778. 

For  the  progress  of  these  mercurial  people  since 
1728  westward  along  the  line  of  the  great  lakes,  for 
the  lies  of  Baron  La  Hontan,  the  adventures  of  Ve- 
rendrye,15  the  journey  of  Moncaht  Ape,  the  explora- 

13  It  was  the  1st  of  Jan.,  1743,  when  Verenclrye  reached  the  Shining  Moun 
tains.  The  point  at  which  the  ascent  was  made  was  near  the  present  city  of 
Helena,  where  the  party  discovered  the  Prickly  Pear  River,  and  learned  of  the 
Bitterroot.  They  described  the  Bear's  Tooth  Mountain  near  Helena,  and 
in  oth«r  ways  have  left  ample  evidence  of  their  visit. 


EARLY  EXPLORATIONS.  601 

tions  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  with  the  names  of  the  first 
white  men  in  Montana,16  and  the  doings  of  the  fur- 
hunters  17  and  missionaries  in  these  parts,  the  reader 

16  The  treaty  of  Reyswick,  concluded  in  1G95,  defined  the  boundaries  of 
the  English,  French,  and  Spanish  in  America;  but  so  crude  were  the  notions 
of  geography  which  prevailed  at  that  period,  that  these  boundaries  were  after 
all  without  intelligibility.    The  Spanish  possessions  were  bounded  on  the  north 
by  the  Carolinas  of  the  English,  but  to  the  west  their  extent  was  indefinite, 
and  conflicted  with  the  French  claim  to  all  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Missis 
sippi  and  west  of  the  Alleghauies,  which  was  called  Louisiana.     France  also 
claimed  the  region  of  the  great  lakes  and  river  St  Lawrence,  under  the  title 
of  Canada.     The  English  colonies  lay  east  of  the  Alleghanies,  from  Maine  to 
Georgia.     During  the  latter  part  of  the  17th  century  and  early  in  the  18th 
the  French  explored,  by  the  help  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  established  a  chain  of  stations,  one  of  which  was  St  Louis, 
penetrating  the  great  wilderness  in  the  middle  of  the  continent,  well  to\\  ard 
the  great  divide. 

17  A  fort  was  built  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bighorn  in  1807,  by  one  Manuel. 
In  1808  the  Missoiiri  Co.,  under  the  leadership  of  Maj;  Henry,  penetrated  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  was  driven  out  of  the  Gallatin  and  Yellowstone 
country  by  the  Blackfoot  tribe,  with  a  loss  of  33  men  and  50  horses.    But  in  the 
following  year  he  returned,  and  pursued  his  adventures  westward  as  far  as 
Snake  River,  naming  Henry  Lake  after  himself.     In  1816  Burrell,  a  French 
trader,  travelled  from  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  across  the  plains  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Platte  River.     The  St  Louis  and  American  fur  companies  soon 
followed  in  his  footsteps.     In  1823  W.    H.    Ashley  led  a  company  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  was  attacked  on  the  Missouri  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone,  losing  2G  men.     The  Missouri  Co.  lost  seven  men  the  same  year, 
and  §15,000  worth   of  goods   on  the   Yellowstone   River,    by  the   Indians. 
There  was  much  blood,  of  red  and  white  men,  shed  during  the  operations  of 
the  fur  companies.     Of  200  men  led  by  Wyeth  into  the  mountains  in  1832, 
only  40  were  alive  at  the  end  of  3  years.    Victor's  River  of  the   West.     The 
names  of  Henry,  Ashley,  Sublette,  Jackson,  Bridger,  Fitzpatrick,  Campbell, 
Bent,  St  Vrain,   Gantt,  Pattie,   Pilcher,  Blackwell,  Wycth,  and  Bonneville 
are  a  part  of  the  history  of  Montana.     Many  of  their  employes,  like  Carson, 
Walker,  Meek,  Newell,  Godin,  Harris,  and  others,  were  men  not  to  be  passed 
over  in  silence,  to  whom  a  different  sphere  of  action  might  have  brought 
a  greater  reputation.     If  not  settlers,  they  made  the  trails  which  other  men 
have  found  it  to  their  interest  to  follow. 

In  1829  there  was  established  at  the  mouth  of  the  Y'ellowstone,  by  Kenneth 
McKenzie  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  a  fortified  post  called  Fort  Union, 
the  first  on  the  Missouri  within  the  present  limits  of  Montana.  McKenzie 
was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  served  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Co. ,  from  which  he 
retired  in  1820,  and  two  years  afterward  located  himself  on  the  upper  Missouri 
as  a  trader,  where  he  remained  until  1829.  From  that  date  to  1839  he  was  in 
charge  of  the  American  company's  trade,  but  Alexander  Culbertsoii  being  ap 
pointed  to  the  position,  he  went  to  reside  in  St  Louis.  James  Stuart,  in  Con. 
Hist.  Soc.  Montana,  88. 

In  1830  the  American  Fur  Co.  made  a  treaty  with  the  Piegans,  a  branch 
of  the  Blackfoot  nation;  and  in  1831  Captain  James  Kipp  erected  another 
post  named  Fort  Piegan,  at  the  mouth  of  Maria  River,  in  the  country  of  the 
Piegans,  which  extended  from  Milk  River  to  the  Missouri,  and  from  Fort 
Piegan  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  situation,  however,  proved  untenable, 
on  account  of  the  bad  disposition  of  the  Indians,  and  for  other  reasons,  all  of 
which  led  to  its  abandonment  in  the  autumn  of  1832,  when  Kipp  removed  to 
a  point  opposite  the  mouth  of  Judith  River.  But  here  again  the  situation 
was  found  to  be  unprofitable,  and  later  in  the  season  D.  D.  Mitchell  of  the 
same  company  erected  Fort  Brul6  at  a  place,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Missouri 


602  NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 

is  referred  to  my  History  of  the  Northwest  Coast,  in 
this  series.18 

called  Brule"  Bottom,  above  the  mouth  of  Maria  River.  The  following  year 
Alexander  Culbertson  took  charge  of  this  fort,  remaining  in.  command  until 
1841,  when  he  went  to  Fort  Laramie,  and  F.  A.  Cheardon  assumed  the 
charge. 

Cheardon  proved  unworthy  of  the  trust,  becoming  involved  in  a  war  with  the 
Piegans,  and  losing  their  trade,  in  the  following  manner:  A  party  of  Piegana 
demanded  admittance  to  the  fort,  which  was  refused,  on  which  they  killed  a 
pig  in  malice,  and  rode  away.  Being  pursued  by  a  small  party  from  the  fort, 
among  whom  was  a  negro,  they  shot  and  killed  him,  after  which  the  pursu 
ing  party  returned  to  the  fort.  Cheardon  then  invited  a  large  number  of  the 
Indians  to  visit  the  post,  throwing  open  the  gates  as  if  intending  the  utmost 
hospitality.  When  the  Indians  were  crowding  in,  he  fired  upon  them  with 
a  howitzer,  loaded  to  the  muzzle  with  trade  balls,  killing  about  twenty  men, 
women,  and  children.  After  this  exploit  he  loaded  the  mackinaw  boats  with 
the  goods  of  the  establishment,  burned  the  buildings  of  the  fort,  and  descended 
to  the  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Judith  River,  which  he  named  Fort  Cheardon. 

Robert  Campbell  and  William  Sublette,  of  the  Missouri  Co.,  erected  a  fort 
five  miles  below  Fort  Union,  in  1833;  and  in  1834  another  sixty  miles  above, 
but  sold  out  the  same  year  to  the  American  co. ,  who  destroyed  these  posts.  In 
1832  McKenzie  of  the  latter  company  sent  Tullock  to  build  a  post  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Yellowstone  River,  three  miles  below  the  Bighorn,  to  trade 
with  the  Mountain  Crows.  These  Indians  were  insolent  and  exacting,  lying 
and  treacherous,  but  their  trade  was  valuable  to  the  fur  companies.  Tullock 
erected  a  large  fort,  which  he  named  Van  Buren.  The  Crows  often  wished 
the  trading  post  removed  to  some  other  point,  and  to  suit  their  whims,  Fort 
Cass  was  built  by  Tullock,  in  1836,  on  the  Yellowstone  below  Van  Buren; 
Fort  Alexander  by  Lawender,  still  farther  down,  in  1848;  and  FortSarpy  by 
Culbertson,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rosebud,  in  1850.  This  was  the  last 
trading  post  built  on  the  Yellowstone,  and  was  abandoned  in  1853. 

In  1843  Cullertson  returned  from  Fort  Laramie  to  the  Missouri,  and  built 
Fort  Lewis,  twenty-five  miles  above  the  mouth  of  Maria  River,  effecting 
a  reconciliation  with  the  Piegans,  with  whom  he  carried  on  a  very  profitable 
trade.  Three  years  afterward  this  post  was  abandoned,  and  the  timbers  of 
which  it  was  constructed  rafted  down  the  liver  eight  miles,  where  Culbertson 
founded  Fort  Benton,  in  1846.  In  the  following  year  an  adobe  building  was 
erected.  In  1848  Fort  Campbell  was  built  a  short  distance  above  Fort  Ben- 
ton  by  the  rival  traders  Galpin,  Labarge,  &  Co.,  of  St  Louis,  who  did  not  long 
occupy  it,  and  successively  a  number  of  fortified  stations  on  the  Missouri  and 
Yellowstone  rivers  have  been  built  and  occupied  by  traders  who  alternately 
courted  and  fought  the  warlike  Montana  tribes.  They  enriched  themselves, 
but  left  no  historical  memoranda,  and  no  enduring  evidences  of  their  occu 
pation. 

18  P.  J.  De  Smet,  missionary  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  in  the  spring  of  1840 
left  St  Louis  on  a  tour  of  exploration,  to  ascertain  the  practicability  of  estab 
lishing  a  mission  among  the  Indians  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Travelling 
with  the  American  Fur  Co.  to  their  rendezvous  on  Green  River,  he  there  met 
a  party  of  Flatheads,  who  conducted  him  to  the  Bitter  Root  Valley,  where 
he  remained  teaching  and  baptizing  from  the  17th  of  July  to  the  29th  of 
Aug.,  when  he  set  out  on  his  return,  escorted  as  before  by  a  company  of  Flat- 
head  warriors.  His  route  was  by  the  way  of  the  Yellowstone  and  Bighorn 
rivers  to  a  fort  of  the  American  Fur  Co.,  in  the  country  of  the  Crows.  From 
this  point  De  Smet  proceeded  down  the  Yellowstone  to  Fort  Union,  with  only 
a  single  companion,  John  de  Voider,  a  native  of  Belgium,  having  several  nar 
row  escapes  from  meeting  with  parties  of  hostile  Indians.  From  Fort  Union 
they  had  the  company  of  three  men  going  to  the  Mandan  village,  whence  De 
Smet  proceeded,  via  forts  Pierre  and  Vermilion,  to  Iiidependence-aud  St  Louis. . 


EARLY  SETTLERS.  603 

The  first  actual  settlers  of  Montana,  not  mission 
aries,  were  some  servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Coin- 
in  the  following  spring  he  set  out  again  for  the  mountains,  accompanied  by  two 
other  priests,  Nicolas  Point,  a  Vendeean,  and  Gregory  Mengariui,  an  Italian, 
and  three  lay  brethren.  Falling  in  at  \Vestport  with  a  party  from  New 
Orleans  going  to  the  mountains  for  a  summer's  sport,  and  another  party 
bound  for  Oregon  and  California,  they  travelled  together  to  Fort  Hall,  where 
the  Flatheads  again  met  the  missionaries  to  escort  them  to  their  country.  In 
all  this  journeying  De  Smet  evinced  the  utmost  courage,  believing  that  be 
cause  he  was  upon  an  errand  of  mercy  to  benighted  man  the  Lord  of  mercy 
would  interpose  between  him  and  harm.  I  am  impressed  with  his  piety,  but 
I  do  not  fail  to  observe  the  egoism  of  his  Christianity  when  he  writes  about 
other  religious  teachers,  inspired,  no  doubt,  by  an  equal  philanthropy. 

As  far  as  Fort  Hall  the  fathers  had  travelled  with  wagons,  which  there 
they  seem  to  have  transformed  into  carts,  and  to  have  travelled  with  these, 
by  the  help  of  the  Indians,  to  Bitterroot  Valley,  going  north  from  Fort  Hall 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Henry  branch  of  Snake  River,  at  the  crossing  of  which 
they  lost  three  mules  and  some  bags  of  provisions,  and  came  near  losing  one 
of  the  lay  brethren,  who  was  driving,  but  whom  the  Indians  rescued,  and  as 
sisted  to  get  his  cart  over.  As  De  Smet  nowhere  mentions  the  abandonment 
of  the  carts,  and  as  he  had  before  proved  himself  a  good  road-maker,  I  take 
it  for  granted  that  they  arrived  at  the  Bitterroot  with  their  contents,  among 
which  was  an  organ.  The  route  pursued  was  through  the  pass  of  the  Utah 
and  Northern  Railroad,  which  was  named  The  Fathers'  Defile,  thence  north, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  through  a  pass  at  the  head  of  Deer 
Lodge  River,  and  by  the  Hellgate  canon,  to  the  Bitterroot  Valley,  where,  on 
one  of  the  last  days  of  September  1841,  the  cross  was  set  up  among  the 
Flatheads,  and  a  mission  founded,  which  was  called  St  Mary's,  and  dedicated 
to  the  blessed  virgin.  A  long  account  is  given  by  the  father,  in  his  writings, 
of  a  journey  to  Fort  Colville,  and  subsequent  doings,  which  are  unimportant. 

In  1843  the  Jesuit  college  sent  out  two  priests — Peter  De  Vos  and  Adrian 
Hoeken — to  assist  Point  and  Mcngarini,  while  De  Smet  was  despatched  on  a 
mission  to  Europe  to  secure  both  men  and  women  for  the  mission.  He  was 
eminently  successful,  returning  with  both,  and  giving  much  assistance  to  the 
missions  of  western  Oregon.  De  Vos  and  Hoeken  arrived  at  St  Mary  in  Sept. 
with  three  lay  brothers.  In  1844  Hoeken  founded  the  mission  of  St  Ignatius  a 
short  distance  north  of  the  Clarke  branch  of  the  Columbia,  east  and  south  of 
Fort  Colville,  in  what  was  later  Washington.  Here  De  Smet  found  him  on  his 
return  from  Europe,  and  here  again  he  visited  him  in  1845,  having  been  down 
to  the  Willamette  Valley  and  loaded  a  train  of  eleven  horses  with  '  ploughs, 
spades,  pickaxes,  scythes,  and  carpenters'  implements,'  brought  by  ship  to 
the  Columbia  River.  Not  until  these  arrived  could  Hoeken  commence  any 
improvements,  nor  was  much  progress  made  until  1840.  During  these  two 
years  the  father  lived  as  Point  had  done,  roaming  about  with  the  Indians 
and  subsisting  on  camas-root  and  dried  berries.  After  the  first  year  Father 
Anthony  Ravelli  was  associated  with  Hoeken.  The  first  wheat  raised  was 
boiled  in  the  husks  for  fear  of  waste.  But  in  1853-4  the  mission  of  Stlgnatitis 
had  a  farm  of  100  acres  under  improvement,  a  good  mission-house  of  squared 
logs,  with  storeroom  and  shops  attached,  a  large  chapel  tastefully  decorated, 
barns  and  out-buildings,  a  windmill,  and  a  grindstone  hewn  out  of  native 
rock  with  a  chisel  made  by  the  mission  blacksmith.  Brick,  tinware,  tobacco- 
pipes  turned  out  of  wood  with  a  lathe  and  lined  with  tin,  soap,  candles,  vine 
gar,  butter,  cheese,  and  other  domestic  articles  were  manufactured  by  the 
missionaries  and  their  assistants,  who  were  often  the  Indians.  On  the  farm 
grew  wheat,  barley,  onions,  cabbages,  parsnips,  pease,  beets,  potatoes,  and 
carrots.  In  the  fields  were  cattle,  hogs,  and  poultry.  See  Stevens'  N.  P. 
R.  R.  Rept,  in  De  Smet's  Missions,  282-4;  Shea's  Missions,  14G;  Shea's  Indian 
Sketches,  passim. 


604  "NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 

pany,  and   all   foreign-born  except    the  half-breeds. 
These  men  seldom  had  any  trouble  with  the  Indians, 

At  the  same  time  the  Cceur  d'Alene  mission  was  equally  prosperous.  It 
was  situated  on  the  Coaur  d'Alene  River,  ten  miles  above  Cceur  d'Alene  Lake. 
Here  about  200  acres  were  enclosed  and  under  cultivation;  mission  buildings, 
a  church,  a  flour-mill  run  by  horse-power,  20  cows,  8  yokes  of  oxen,  100  pigs, 
horses,  and  mules,  constituted  a  prosperous  settlement.  About  both  of  these 
establishments  the  Indians  were  gathered  in  villages,  enjoying  with  the  mis 
sionaries  the  abundance  which  was  the  reward  of  their  labors.  The  mission 
of  St  Mary  in  1846  consisted  of  12  houses,  neatly  built  of  logs,  a  church,  a 
small  mill,  and  other  buildings  for  farm  use;  7,000  bushels  of  wheat,  between 
4,000  and  5,000  bushels  of  potatoes,  and  vegetables  of  various  kinds  were 
produced  on  the  farm,  which  was  irrigated  by  two  small  streams  running 
through  it.  The  stock  of  the  establishment  consisted  of  40  head  of  cattle, 
some  horses,  and  other  animals.  Then  comes  the  old  story.  The  condition 
of  the  Indians  was  said  to  be  greatly  ameliorated.  They  no  longer  suffered 
from  famine,  their  children  were  taught,  the  women  were  shielded  from  the 
barbarous  treatment  of  their  husbands,  who  now  assumed  some  of  the  labor 
formerly  forced  upon  their  wives  and  daughters,  and  the  latter  were  no  longer 
sold  by  their  parents.  But  alas  for  human  schemes  of  happiness  or  philan- 
throphy !  When  the  Flatheads  took  up  the  cross  and  the  ploughshare  they 
fell  victims  to  the  diseases  of  the  white  race.  When  they  no  longer  made 
war  on  their  enemies,  the  Blackfoot  nation,  these  implacable  foes  gave  them 
no  peace.  They  stole  the  horses  of  the  Flatheads  until  they  had  none  left 
with  which  to  hunt  buffalo,  and  in  pare  malice  shot  their  beef-cattle  to  pre 
vent  their  feeding  themselves  at  home,  not  refraining  from  shooting  the 
owners  whenever  an  opportunity  offered.  By  this  system  of  persecution 
they  finally  broke  up  the  establishment  of  St  Mary  in  1850,  the  priests  find 
ing  it  impossible  to  keep  the  Indians  settled  in  their  village  under  these  cir 
cumstances.  They  resumed  their  migratory  habits,  and  the  fathers  having 
no  protection  in  their  isolation,  the  mission  buildings  were  sold  to  John  Owen, 
who,  with  his  brother  Francis,  converted  them  into  a  trading-post  and  fort, 
and  put  the  establishment  in  a  state  of  defence  against  the  Blackfoot  ma 
rauders. 

In  1853-4  the  only  missions  in  operation  were  these  of  the  Sacred  Heart  at 
Cceur  d'Alene,  of  St  Ignatius  at  Kalispel  Lake,  and  of  St  Paul  at  Colville. 
though  certain  visiting  stations  were  kept  up,  where  baptisms  were  performed 
periodically.  In  1854,  after  the  Stevens  exploring  expedition  had  made  the 
country  somewhat  more  habitable  by  treaty  talks  with  the  Blackfoot  and 
other  tribes,  Hoeken,  who  seems  nearly  as  indefatigable  as  De  Smet, 
selected  a  site  for  a  new  mission,  'not  far  from  Flathead  Lake,  and  about  fifty 
miles  from  the  old  mission  of  St  Mary.'  Here  he  erected  during  the  summer 
several  frame  buildings,  a  chapel,  shops,  and  dwellings,  and  gathered  about 
him  a  camp  of  Kootenais,  Flatbows,  Vend  d'Oreilles,  Flatheads,  and  Kalis- 
pels.  Rails  for  fencing  were  cut  to  the  number  of  18,000,  a  large  field  put 
under  cultivation,  and  the  mission  of  St  Ignatius  in  the  Flathead  country  be 
came  the  successor  of  St  Mary.  In  the  new  'reduction,'  the  fathers  were 
assisted  by  the  officers  of  the  exploring  expedition,  and  especially  by  Lieut 
Mullan,  who  wintered  in  the  Bitterroot  Valley  in  1854-5.  In  return,  the 
fathers  assisted  Gov.  Stevens  at  the  treaty-grounds,  and  endeavored  to  con 
trol  the  Cceur  d'Alenes  and  Spokanes  in  the  troubles  that  immediately  fol 
lowed  the  treaties  of  1855,  of  which  I  have  given  an  account  elsewhere.  Sub 
sequently  the  mission  in  the  Bitterroot  Valley  was  revived,  and  the  Flatheads 
were  taught  there  until  their  removal  to  the  reservation  at  Flathead  Lake, 
which  reserve  included  St  Ignatius  mission,  where  a  school  was  first  opened 
in  18G3  by  Father  Urbauus  Grassi.  In  1858  the  missionaries  at  the  Flathead 
missions  had  300  more  barrels  of  flour  than  they  could  consume,  which  they 
sold  to  the  forts  of  the  American  Fur  Co.  on  the  Missouri,  and  the  Indiana 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  605 

with  whom  they  traded  and  dwelt,  and  among  whom 
they  took  wives.19  They  were  protected  against  the 
Blackfoot  tribe  by  the  Flatheads,  whom  they  assisted, 
in  their  turn,  to  resist  the  common  foe.  But  there 
was  not  the  same  security  for  other  white  residents. 
In  1853  John  and  Francis  Owen,  who  bought  the 
building  of  St  Mary's  mission,  and  established  them 
selves,  as  they  believed,  securely  in  the  Bitterroot 
Valley,  were  unable  to  maintain  themselves  longer 
against  the  warlike  and  predatory  nation  from  the 
east  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  set  out  with 
their  herds  to  go  to  Oregon,  leaving  their  other  prop 
erty  at  the  mercy  of  the  savages.  They  had  not 
proceeded  far  when  they  were  met  by  a  detachment 
of  soldiers  under  Lieutenant  Arnold,  of  the  Pacific 
division  of  the  government  exploring  expedition  in 
charge  of  I.  I.  Stevens,  coming  to  establish  a  depot 
of  supplies  in  the  Bitterroot  Valley  for  the  use  of 
the  exploring  parties  which  were  to  winter  in  the 
mountains.  This  fortunate  circumstance  enabled 
them  to  return  and  resume  their  settlement  and 
occupations.20 

Since  the  explorations  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  no  gov 
ernment  expedition  had  followed  the  course  of  the 

cultivated  fifty  farms,  averaging  five  acres  each.  In  their  neighborhood  were 
also  two  saw-mills.  In  1871  the  mission  church  of  St  Ignatius  was  pro 
nounced  the  'finest  in  Montana,"  well  furnished,  and  capable  of  holding  500 
persons,  while  the  mission  farm  produced  good  crops  and  was  kept  in  good 
order.  In  addition  to  the  former  school,  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  had  two 
houses  at  this  mission.  At  St  Peter's  mission  on  the  Missouri,  in  1808,  farm 
ing  had  been  carried  on  with  much  success. 

It  cannot  be  said,  although  no  high  degree  of  civilization  among  the  sav 
ages  followed  their  efforts,  that  De  Smet  and  his  associates  were  not  fearless 
explorers  and  worthy  pioneers,  who  at  least  prepared  the  way  for  civilization, 
and  the  first  to  test  the  capability  of  the  soil  and^climate  of  Montana  for  sus 
taining  a  civilized  population.  The  last  mention  I  have  made  of  the  superior 
of  the  Flathead  mission  left  him  at  St  Ignatius  in  the  summer  of  1845.  He 
travelled  thereafter  for  several  years  more  among  the  northern  tribes,  and  vis 
ited  Idaho  and  Montana,  finally  returning  to  his  college  at  St  Louis,  where  he 
ended  his  industrious  life  in  May  1873,  after  the  ground  he  had  trod  first  as 
a  settler  was  occupied  by  men  of  a  different  faith  with  far  different  motives. 

19  Louis  Brown,  still  living  in  Missoula  co.  in  1872,  was  one  of  these.  He 
identified  himself  with  the  Flatheads,  and  made  his  home  among  them.  Deer 
Lodt/e  New  Northwest,  March  9,  1872.  See  also  H.  Misc.  JJoc.,  59,  33d 
cong.  1st  sess. 

M  Gallon's  Adventures,  MS.,  13;  Pac.  It.  It.  Eept,  i.  257- 


606 


NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 


Missouri  in  Montana,  if  we  except  some  geological 
researches  by  Evans,  until  the  railroad  survey  under 
Stevens  was  ordered;  and  to  this  expedition,  more 


LEWIS  AND  CLARKE'S  MAP,  1806. 

than  to  any  other  cause,  may  the  gold  discoveries  in 
Idaho  and  Montana,  and  the  ultimate  rapid  settle 
ment  of  the  country,  be  credited.21  Stevens  left  at 

21  Stevens'  party,  charged  with  the  scientific  object  of  the  expedition,  con 
sisted  of  Capt.  J.  W.  T.  Gardiner,  1st  drag.;  Lieut  A.  J.  Donelson,  corps  of 
engineers,  with  ten  sappers  and  miners;  Lieut  Beckman  du  Barry,  3d  art.; 
Lieut  Cuvier  Grover,  4th  art. ;  Lieut  John  Mullan,  2d  art. ;  Isaac  F.  Osgood, 
disbursing  agent;  J.  M.  Stanley,  artist;  George  Suckley,  surgeon  and  nat 
uralist;  F.  W.  Lander  and  A.  W.  Tinkham,  assist  eng. ;  John  Lambert  topog 
rapher;  George  W.  Stevens,  William  M.  Graham,  and  A.  Remenyi,  in  charge 
of  astronomical  and  magnetic  observations;  Joseph  F.  Moffett,  meteorologist; 
John  Evans,  geologist;  Thomas  Adams,  Max  Strobel,  Elwood  Evans,  F.  H. 
Burr,  and  A.  Jekelfaluzy,  aids;  and  T.  S.  Everett,  quartermaster  and  com 
missary's  clerk.  Pac.  R.  11.  Rept,  xii.  33. 


DOTY,  GROVER,  AND  MULLAN. 


G07 


Fort  Benton,  and  west  of  there  along  the  line  of  ex 
ploration  in  Montana  in  the  winter  of  1853-4,  one  of 
his  assistants,  James  Doty,  to  study  under  Alexander 
Culbertson  the  character  and  feelings  of  the  Indian 
tribes  of  the  mountains,  preparatory  to  a  council  of 
treaty  with  the  Blackfoot  nation ;  Lieutenant  Grover, 
to  observe  the  different  passes,  with  regard  to  snow, 
during  the  winter;  and  Lieutenant  Mullan,  to  explore 


RECTOR'S  MAP,  1818. 

for  routes  in  every  direction.  These  officers  and  Mr 
Doty  seemed  to  have  failed  in  nothing.  Mullan  trav 
elled  nearly  a  thousand  miles,  crossing  the  divide  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  six  times  from  October  to  January, 
passing  the  remainder  of  the  winter  at  Cantonment 
Stevens  in  the  Bitterroot  Valley.  Grover  on  the  2d  of 
January  left  Fort  Benton,  crossing  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains  by  Cadotte's  pass  on  the  12th,  and  finding  the 
cold  severe,  the  temperature  by  day  being  21°  below 
zero.  On  the  16th,  being  on  very  elevated  ground,  at 
sunrise  the  mercury  stood  at  38°  below  zero.  In  the 
Hellgate  and  Bitterroot  valleys  it  was  still  from 
10°  to  20°  below  zero,  which  was  cold  weather 


608 


NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 


even  for  the  mountains.  On  the  30th  he  left  Fort 
Owen  for  Walla  Walla,  having  warmer  weather,  but 
finding  more  snow  from  Thompson  prairie  on  Clarke 
fork  to  Lake  Pend  d'Oreille  than  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  arriving  at  Walla  Walla  on  the  2d 
of  March. 

Meantime  Stevens  had  gone  to  Washington  city 
to  advocate  the  building  of  the  Northern  Pacific  rail 
road  and  the  construction  of  a  preliminary  wagon-road 


FINLET'S  MAP,  1826. 

from  Fort  Benton  to  Fort  Walla  Walla.  On  receiv 
ing  the  reports  of  Grover  and  Mullan  the  following 
spring,  he  directed  Mullan  and  Doty  to  continue  their 
explorations,  and  their  efforts  to  promote  peace  among 
the  natives,  especially  between  the  Blackfoot  and 
Flathead  tribes.  Of  the  temporary  failure  of  the 
scheme  of  a  wagon-road,  through  the  combination  of 
the  southern  tribes  for  war  in  1855,  the  narrative  has. 
been  given.  After  the  subjugation  of  the  natives, 
Mullan  was  permitted  to  take  charge  of  this  highway, 
which  played  its  part  in  the  early  history  of  the  set 
tlement  of  Montana,  and  its  trade  and  travel.  The 
road  was  first  advocated  as  a  military  necessity  to 


ROUTES  TO  MONTANA.  609 

save  time  and  money  in  moving  troops  across  the 
continent,  and  shortening  land  travel  for  the  annual 
immigrations.  The  rumored  discovery  of  gold  in 
some  places22  along  the  route,  with  the  natural 
spreading-out  of  the  mining  population,  attracted  first 
to  the  British  Columbia  and  Colville  mines,  together 
with  the  requirements  for  the  transportation  of  mili 
tary  stores  during  the  Indian  war,  completed  the 
chain  of  sequences  which  led  up  to  actual  immigra 
tion23  and  settlement. 

One  of  the  projects  of  Stevens  and  Mullan  was  to 
induce  owners  of  steamboats  in  St  Louis  to  send 
their  boats,  which  had  never  run  above  Fort  Union,24 
up  the  Missouri  as  far  as  Fort  Benton.  The  Robert 
Campbell,  in  which  a  part  of  Stevens'  expedition  as 
cended  the  Missouri,  advanced  seventy  miles  above 
Fort  Union  in  1853,  when  her  course  was  arrested 
by  sand  bars.20 

22  Gold  Creek  was  named  by  Mullan,  because  Lander,  it  is  said,  found 
gold  there.  Mullein's  Mil.  Road  Kept,  138. 

vit  There  was  an  expedition  by  Sir  George  Gore,  of  Sligo  in  Ireland,  to 
Montana,  in  1854-6,  simply  for  adventure.  Gore  had  a  retinue  of  40  men, 
witk  112  horses,  14  dogs,  0  wagons,  and  21  carts.  The  party  left  St  Louis  in 
1834,  wintering  at  Laramie.  Securing  the  services  of  James  Bridger  as  guide, 
the  following  year  was  spent  on  the  Powder  River,  the  winter  being  passed 
in  a  fort,  which  was  built  by  Sir  George,  eight  miles  above  the  moiuh  of  the 
river.  At  this  place  he  lost  one  of  his  men  by  illness — the  only  one  of  the 
party  who  died  during  the  three  years  of  wandering  life.  In  the  spring  of 
185(3  Gore  sent  his  wagons  overland  to  Fort  Union,  and  himself,  with  a  por 
tion  of  his  command,  descended  the  Yellowstone  to  Fort  Union  in  two  flat- 
boats.  At  the  fort  he  contracted  for  the  construction  of  two  mackiuaw  boats, 
the  fur  company  to  take  payment  in  wagons,  horses,  etc.,  at  a  stipulated 
price.  But  a  quarrel  arose  on  the  completion  of  the  boats,  Sir  George  insist 
ing  that  the  company  were  disposed  to  take  advantage  of  his  remoteness  from 
civilization  to  overcharge  him,  and  in  his  wrath  he  refused  to  accept  the 
mackinaws,  burning  his  wagons  and  goods  in  front  of  the  fort,  and  selling  or 
giving  away  his  horses  and  cattle  to  Indians  and  vagabond  white  men  rather 
than  have  any  dealings  with  the  fur  company.  Having  satisfied  his  choler, 
his  party  broke  up,  and  he,  with  a  portion  of  his  followers,  proceeded  on  his 
flat-boats  to  Fort  Berthold,  where  he  remained  until  the  spring  of  1857,  when 
he  returned  to  St  Louis  by  steamer.  Among  those  of  the  party  remaining  in 
the  country  was  Henry  Bostwick,  from  whom  this  sketch  was  obtained  by  F. 
George  Heldt,  who  contributed  it  to  the  archives  of  the  Hist.  Soc.  Montana, 
144-8. 

24  The  first  steamboat  to  arrive  at  Fort  Union  was  the  Yellowstone,  which 
reached  there  in  1832.  After  that,  each  spring  a  steamer  brought  a  cargo  of 
the  American  Fur  Co.'s  goods  to  the  fort;  but  the  peltries  were  still  shipped 
to  St  Louis  by  the  mackiuaw  boats  of  the  company.  Stuart,  Con.  Hist.  6'oc. 
Montana,  84. 

-/i5  The  Robert  Campbell  had  a  double  engine,  was  300  tons  burden,  and 
HIST.  WASH^-39 


610 


NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 


In  1858  and  1859  a  steamer  belonging  to  the  firm 
of  Chouteau  &  Co.  of  St  Louis  ascended  to  Fort 
Benton  and  Fort  Brule,26  to  test  the  practicability  of 
navigating  the  Missouri,  in  connection  with  the  mili 
tary  road,  the  construction  of  which  was  commenced 
in  the  latter  year.  In  1860  the  further  test  was  made 


TRADING  FORTS,  1807-1850. 

of  sending  three  hundred  soldiers,  under  Major 
Blake,  recruits  to  the  army  in  eastern  Washington 
and  Oregon,  to  Fort  Walla  Walla  by  the  Missouri 
River  route  and  the  Mullan  road,  which  was  so  far 
completed  that  wagons  passed  over  it  in  August  of 

drew  about  5  feet  of  water.  She  had  been  a  first-class  packet  on  the  Mis 
souri,  and  was  too  deep  for  the  navigation  above  Fort  Union.  Pac.  If.  K. 
Jtept,  xii.  80,  82.  Lieutenant  Saxton,  in  his  report,  describes  the  keel-boat 
(mackinaw)  in  which  he  descended  the  Missouri  from  Fort  Benton  to  Leaven- 
worth  as  80  feet  long,  12  feet  wide,  with  12  oars,  and  drawing  18  inches  of 
water.  In  this  he  travelled  over  2,000  miles  between  the  22d  of  Sept.  and 
the  9th  of  Nov.,  1853,  his  duty  being  to  return  to  St  Louis  the  17  dragoons 
and  employe's  of  the  quartermaster's  department,  who  had  escorted  the 
Stevens  expedition  to  Fort  Benton. 

26  It  is  usually  stated  that  the  first  steamer  to  reach  Fort  Benton  was  the 
Chippcwa,  in  1859.  Or.  Arrjus,  Sept.  17,  1859;  Con.  Hist.  Soc.  Montana,  3\1; 
,but  Mullan,  in  his  Military  Road  Jtept,  21,  says  that  steamboats  arrived  at 
Fort  Ben  ton  in  1858  and  1859. 


DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD.  611 

that  year,  conveying  the  troops  from  Fort  Benton  to 
their  destination.27  By  the  time  the  road  was  quite 
finished,  which  was  not  until  September  1862,  such 
changes  had  taken  place  with  respect  to  the  require 
ments  of  travel  that  a  portion  of  it  was  relocated; 
but  its  existence  was  of  great  temporary  benefit  to 
the  whole  country.28 

The  time  had  now  approached  when  this  montane 
region  could  no  longer  remain  the  common  ground  of 
Indian  tribes  and  white  traders,  where  a  travelling 
party  was  a  notable  event,  and  a  steamboat  a  surprise. 
The  genii  of  the  mountains  could  no  longer  hide  their 
secrets,  and  their  storehouses  once  invaded,  all  was 
turmoil. 

The  existence  of  gold  in  Montana  was  not  unknown 
to  the  Jesuit  fathers,  but  they  had  other  motives  than 
the  gathering  of  earthly  treasure,  and  they  would  not 
risk  the  souls  of  their  *  dear  Indians '  for  the  glitter 
ing  metal.  As  early  as  1852  a  half-caste  from  the 
Red  River  settlements,  named  Frai^ois  Finlay,  but 
known  as  Benetsee,  and  who  had  been  to  California, 
prospected  on  a  branch  of  the  Hellgate  River,  finding 
the  color,  but  no  paying  placers.  The  stream  became 
known  as  Benetsee  Creek;  but  in  1853  a  member  of 
the  railroad  exploring  expedition  took  out  of  this 
stream,  being  ignorant  of  Finlay 's  discovery,  some 
specimens  of  gold,  from  which  circumstance  it  was 
called  Gold  Creek  by  the  men  of  the  expedition,  which 
name  it  retained.  But  the  government  officers  were 
no  more  gold-seekers  than  the  fathers,  and  the  dis 
covery  was  passed  over  with  brief  comment.  Similar 
indications  had  been  observed  by  Evans  of  the  geo 
logical  survey,  and  by  McClellan's  party  in  the  We- 

27  The  Chippewa  and  the  Key  West  brought  the  soldiers  to  Fort  Benton. 

28  After  Gov.  Stevens  and  Lieut  Mullan,  the  persons  most  intimately  con 
nected  with  the  building  of  a  wagon-road  through  the  mountain  ranges  of 
Montana,  then  eastern   Washington,  were  W.  W.  De  Lacy  and  Con  way  R. 
Howard,    civil  engineers;    Sohon   and   Engle,    topographers;    Weisner  and 
Koleeki,  astronomers;  W.  W.  Johnson,  James  A.  Mullan,  and  Lieut  J.  L. 
White,  H.  B.  Lyon,  and  James  Howard,  of  the  3d  U.  S.  art. 


612  NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 

natchee  country,  at  the  eastern  base  of  the  Cascade 
Mountains,  hundreds  of  miles  west  of  Deer  Lodge 
Valley,  and  no  one  thought  much  about  it. 

But  the  time  had  come  when  the  knowledge  must 
be  forced  upon  the  world ;  and  there  appeared  one  day 
in  1857  at  Fort  Benton  an  unknown  mountaineer 
with  a  buckskin  sack  full  of  yellow  dust,  for  which  he 
requested  the  agent,  Culbertson,  to  give  him  in  ex 
change  $1,000  worth  of  goods.  Culbertson  was  not 
an  expert  in  judging  of  gold-dust,  never  having  been 
a  miner,  and  but  for  the  intercession  of  his  clerk,  Ray, 
would  have  declined  the  proffered  treasure.  On  the 
representations  of  the  latter,  but  still  in  some  doubt, 
he  accepted  this,  to  him,  singular  currency,  charging 
the  transaction  to  his  private  account.  In  due  time 
the  gold  was  minted  and  produced  over  $1,500.  Then 
the  agent  at  Fort  Benton  would  gladly  have  known, 
more  of  his  customer,  who  had  divulged  neither  his 
name  nor  the  locality  of  his  mine.  It  happened, 
however,  that  Mercure,  an  old  resident  of  Fort  Ben- 
ton,  who  had  been  present  at  this  transaction,  after 
ward  met  the  first  Montana  miner,  when  both  were 
digging  for  the  precious  metal,  and  learned  that  his 
name  was  Silverthorne.  Further  information  it  was 
said  no  one  ever  gathered  from  the  solitary  creature, 
and  in  a  few  years  he  disappeared  from  the  territory; 
but  whether  he  died  or  returned  to  friends  in  the  east, 
was  never  revealed.  Such  was  the  story.  Silver 
thorne  was  undoubtedly  the  first,  and  for  several 
years  the  only,  miner  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.29  But 
except  that  he  was  reticent  concerning  the  source  of 
his  gold  supply,  there  is  no  mystery  about  him  more 
than  about  many  other  mountain  men.  In  1859  he 
was  in  the  Bitterroot  Valley,  and  his  name  was  John, 
as  I  shall  show  further  on. 

The  first  party  to  undertake  to  prove  the  truth  of 
certain  rumors  concerning  gold  placers  in  the  then 
unorganized  eastern  limits  of  Washington,  and  the 

M  James  H.  Bradley,  in  Deer  Lodye  New  Northwest,  Oct.  8,  1875. 


THE  STUART  BROTHERS.  613 

western  part  of  Dakota,  was  one  of  which  James 
Stuart  was  the  leading  spirit.  In  the  spring  of  1857 
James  and  Granville  Stuart,  brothers,  left  Yreka, 
California,  to  pay  a  visit  to  their  former  home  in 
Iowa,30  in  company  with  Reece  Anderson  and  eight 
other  persons.  Granville  Stuart  being  seized  with  a 
severe  illness  when  the  company  had  progressed  as 
far  as  Malade  Creek,  a  branch  of  Bear  River,  they  en 
camped  for  ten  days  at  the  place  of  Jacob  Mecks,  a 
mountain  man  and  Indian  trader.  At  the  end  of 
that  time,  Stuart  not  having  recovered,  the  eight 
proceeded  on  their  journey,  leaving  the  two  brothers 
and  Anderson  on  the  Malade.  By  the  time  the  sick 
man  could  ride,  all  the  roads  leading  to  the  states 
were  patrolled  by  Mormon  troops,  then  at  war  with 
the  United  States,  and  the  Stuarts  decided  not  to 
place  themselves  in  the  power  of  the  Latter-day 
Saints,  but  to  join  some  mountain  men,  who  traded 
with  the  annual  immigrations  at  different  points,  and 
who  were  intending  to  winter  in  the  Beaverhead 
and  Bighole  valleys,  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.31 

30  The  Stuart  brothers  were  natives  of  Va.     James  was  born  March  14, 
1832.     His  parents  removed  to  111.  in  1830,  and  two  years  later  toMuscatine, 
Iowa.     The  country  being  new,  the  only  education  James  received  was  from 
his  parents,  sup] demented  by  a  year  of  study  at  a  private  school  taught  at 
Iowa  City  by  James  Harlan,  afterward  U.  S.  senator.     In  1852  the  brothers 
immigrated  to  Cal.  in  company  with  their  father,  who  returned  in  1853,  leav 
ing  them  in  the  mines  in  the  northern  part  of  that  state.     From  1857  their 
history   belongs   to   Montana,  where  they  became  prominent  citizens,  and 
where  James  died  Sept.  30,  1873.  Con.  Hist.  Soc.  Montana,  36-79;  Helena 
Rocky  Mountain  Gazette,  Oct.  8,  1873. 

31  The  place  of  the  Bighole  River  camp  was  a  short  distance  below  where. 
Brown's  bridge  later  stood.     Here  were  encamped  Jacob  Meeks,  our  adven 
turers,  Robert  Dcmpsey  and  family,  Jackson  Antoine  Leclaire  and  family, 
and  Oliver  and  Michael  Leclaire  'and  family,'  meaning  an  Indian  woman  and 
half-caste  children.     Within  a  radius  of  25  miles  were  the  following  H.  B. 
Co.  and  other  traders:  Richard  Grant,  Sr,  and  family,  John  F.  Grant  and 
family,  James  C.  Grant,  Thomas    Pambrun  and  family,  Louis  R.  Maillet, 
John  M.  Jacobs  and  family,  Robert  Hareford,  John  Morgan,  John  \V.  Powell, 
John  Saundera,  Mr  Ross,  Antoine  Pourrier,  several  employes  of  Hereford  and 
the  Grants  whose  names  have  been  lost,  Antoine  Courtoi  and  family,  and  a 
Delaware  Indian  named  James  Simonds  who  was  also  a  trader.     The  Indians 
sold  horses,  furs,  and  dressed  skins;   and  the  white  men  paid  them:  for  a 
horse,  two  blankets,  one  shirt,  a  pair  of  cloth  leggings,  a  knife,  a  small  mirror, 
a  paper  of  vermilion,  and  perhaps  some  other  trifles;  for  a  dressed  deer  skin, 
from  15  to  20  balls;  for  an  elk  skin,  from  20  to  25  balls,  and  powder;  for  an 
antelope  skin,  5  to  10  balls;  for  a  beaver  skin,  20  to  25  balls;  for  a  pair  of  good 
moccasons,  10  balls.  Con.  Hist.  Soc.  Montana^  38-9. 


614  NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 

There  were  ten  adults  and  a  number  of  half-breed 
children  in  the  camp,  and  within  a  radius  of  twenty- 
five  miles  a  number  of  similar  communities.  Late  in 
December,  while  they  were  in  Bighole  Valley,  their 
encampment  was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  ten 
volunteers  from  Johnston's  headquarters  at  Fort 
Bridger,  commanded  by  B.  F.  Ficklin,  and  guided  by 
Ned  Williamson/2  a  noted  mountaineer,  their  errand 
being  to  purchase  beef  for  the  army.33  But  not  being 
able  to  obtain  cattle  on  the  terms  offered,  and  fearing 
to  return  across  the  high  divide  in  midwinter,  the 
detachment  remained  in  Bighole  Valley  until  early 
spring,  when  they  returned  to  Fort  Bridger,  expe 
riencing  many  hardships  on  their  journey,  owing  to 
the  scarcity  of  game  and  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather. 

About  the  last  of  March  the  Stuarts,  Anderson, 
and  a  man  named  Ross  also  set  out  for  Fort  Bridger, 
the  Stuarts  having  now  no  property  remaining  but 
their  horses,  twenty  in  number,  and  wishing  to  dis 
pose  of  them.  The  snow  on  the  divide  being  too  deep 
for  the  horses  to  pass,  the  party  determined  upon  go 
ing  to  Deer  Lodge  Valley  for  the  purpose  of  hunting 
and  curing  meat  for  their  journey,  and  also  to  ascer 
tain  the  truth  of  an  account  given  them  while  on 
Malade  Creek  by  some  mountaineers,  of  the  gold 
placers  said  to  exist  on  Benetsee  Creek,  as  they  then 
called  Gold  Creek,  on  the  American  fork  of  the  Hell- 
gate  River.  They  started  about  the  1st  of  April, 
and  reached  there  without  difficulty,  finding  at  the 

82  Williamson,  while  acting  as  expressman  for  Mullan  in  the  winter  of  1859- 
60,  from  Bitterroot  Valley  to  Camp  Floyd,  was  caught  in  the  heavy  snows 
near  the  head  of  Snake  River  and  lost  his  horses.  He  made  snow-shoes  of  his 
saddle  rigging,  and  though  snow-blind  for  several  days,  made  the  greater  por 
tion  of  the  500  miles  on  foot,  reaching  Camp  Floyd  and  returning  on  horse 
back  within  50  days.  Mullan'x  Mil.  Road  Rept,  21-2. 

33  It  appears  from  the  narratives  of  Stuart  and  others  that  cattle  were 
somewhat  extensively  dealt  in,  even  as  early  as  1858,  by  the  settlers  of  Mon 
tana.  The  roving  traders  made  a  good  profit  buying  poor  and  exhausted 
stock  from  the  California  and  Oregon  immigrations,  keeping  it  on  the  excel 
lent  pastures  of  the  mountain  valleys,  and  exchanging  it  with  the  next  year's 
travel,  one  fat  animal  for  two  lean  ones,  or  selling  beef -cattle  wherever  a 
market  offered. 


THE  PIONEER  WOMAN.  615 

mouth  of  Gold  Creek  John  M.  Jacobs  with  a  herd 
of  cattle,  which  he  owned  with  John  F.  Grant,  who 
finally  settled  near  the  junction  of  the  two  forks  of 
Hellgate  River,  where  in  1860  he  had  erected  two  log 
houses.34 

The  Flathead  agency  at  the  Jocko  River  became 
the  home  of  the  first  white  woman  resident  in  Mon 
tana.  This  pioneer  was  Mrs  Minnie  Miller,  who  with 
her  husband,  Henry  G.  Miller,  accompanied  Lansdale 
to  the  Flathead  country  in  1855.35  A  cattle-owner, 
Thomas  Adams,  was  also  in  Hellgate  Valley  in 
1858.°° 

The  want  of  any  provisions  excepting  meat,  and  of 
proper  mining  tools,  combined  with  the  loss  of  several 
horses  stolen  by  the  Indians,  discouraged  the  young 
men  from  attempting  mining,  and  they  resolved  to  con 
tinue  their  journey  at  once  to  Fort  Bridger,  where  they 
arrived  about  the  last  of  June.  The  army,  however, 
had  removed  to  Camp  Floyd  in  Utah,  and  here  they 
followed  after  a  brief  rest,  and  where  their  horses 
brought  a  good  price.  The  Stuarts  had  by  this  time 
acquired  a  taste  for  adventure,  and  determined  to  re 
turn  to  Green  River,  where  they  began  operations  as 
traders,  buying  cattle  and  horses  from  the  teamsters 
of  Johnston's  army  and  wintering  them  in  the  valley 
of  Henry  fork  of  Snake  River.  For  two  years  the 
brothers  lived  in  this  manner.  In  the  winter  of  1860 

3*  Mullein's  Mil.  Pood  Rept,  140.  Grant  seems  to  have  been  the  second 
settler  on  the  Hellgate,  McArthur  being  the  first.  The  Owens  in  the  Bitter- 
root  Valley  and  the  traders  above  referred  to  constituted  the  white  popu 
lation  of  Montana  in  1858.  I  have  been  told  of  Grant  that  he  was  a  crafty 
trader,  and  when  a  Blackfoot  came  to  his  door  he  brought  forward  his  Black- 
foot  wife,  but  when  a  Flathead  appeared  he  presented  a  Flathead  wife.  An 
other  settler  in  Hellgate  Valley  in  1860  was  a  Frenchman  named  Brown. 
Mullau  mentions  C.  0.  Irvine  and  two  laborers.  The  names  of  Baptists 
Champaigne  and  Gabriel  Pruclhomme  also  occur  in  his  report.  It  would 
seem  that  the  H.  B.  Co.'s  men  liked  this  particular  region,  probably  on  account 
of  the  catholic  missions  as  well  as  the  friendly  character  of  the  Flathead 
Indians.  In  18G1  Higgins  and  Wordcii  had  a  trading-house  at  Hellgate,  and 
Van  Dorn  another;  and  a  grain  farm  was  opened  about  this  time  by  Robert 
Dempsey,  between  Flint  Creek  and  the  American  branch  of  Hellgate  River. 

3iMrs  Miller  was  born  in  Vermont,  was  educated  in  the  Mormon  faith,  and 
resided  at  North  Ogden.  At  the  age  of  16  she  married  a  gentile  and  fled  with 
him  to  escape  the  wrath  of  the  saints.  Helena  Independent,  Jan.  29,  1875. 

36  Later  a  resident  of  Washington  city. 


616  NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 

they  made  their  camp  in  Beaverliead  Valley,  but  the 
Indians  killing  their  cattle,  they  moved  to  Deer  Lodge 
Valley,  locating  themselves  at  the  mouth  of  Gold 
Creek,  still  having  in  mind  the  rumored  gold  placers. 

In  July  1859  the  war  department  had  one  of  its 
engineers — W.  F.  Reynolds — in  the  field  to  explore 
the  Black  Hills  and  the  Yellowstone  country.  Start 
ing  from  Fort  Pierre  on  the  Missouri,  furnished  with 
all  the  necessary  mining  tools  had  gold  been  dis 
covered,  and  commissioned  to  report  on  the  minerals 
of  the  country,  Reynolds,  whose  company  consisted 
of  roving  adventurers,  although  finding  evidences  of 
gold  on  the  affluents  of  the  Yellowstone,  discouraged 
searching  for  it,  oppressed  with  a  fear  that  he  should 
be  deserted,  and  the  arms  and  property  of  the  ex 
pedition  carried  off,  if  any  too  certain  evidences  of 
placers  or  quartz  gold  became  knowrn,  all  of  which  he 
reported  to  the  government. 

In  the  spring  of  1861  James  Stuart  went  to  Fort 
Benton  to  meet  the  steamer  Chippewa,  which  was 
expected  there,  to  endeavor  to  purchase  tools  and 
other  supplies.  But  the  steamer  and  all  her  cargo37 
was  burned  before  arrival.  On  returning  to  Gold 
Creek  he  found  that  Blackfoot  marauders  had  stolen 
all  his  horses  except  three  that  were  every  night  kept 
tied  at  the  cabin  door  by  his  brother.  Nothing 
daunted,  however,  he  hired  two  men  who  owned  a 
whip-saw  to  get  out  lumber  for  sluice-boxes  at  ten 
cents  a  foot,  and  sent  to  Walla  Walla,  which  since  the 
discovery  of  the  Nez  Perce  mines  had  become  a  thriv 
ing  town,  to  procure  picks  and  shovels,  Worden  & 
Co.  of  that  place  having  a  pack-train  on  the  Mullan 
road,  then  about  completed.  The  tools  did  not  ar- 

37  The  Chippewa  exploded  400  miles  below  Fort  Benton,  a  deck-hand  hav 
ing  taken  a  lighted  candle  into  the  hold  to  steal  some  alcohol  from  a  cask, 
when  the  spirit  took  fire.  There  were  280  kegs  of  powder  on  board.  Both 
alcohol  and  powder  were  intended  for  the  Indian  trade.  The  boat  was  run 
ashore,  and  the  passengers  ran  a  mile  away.  It  is  soberly  stated  that  a 
safe  weighing  2,000  Ibs  was  hurled  three  quarters  of  a  mile  by  the  force  of  the 
explosion.  The  passengers  were  Left  to  get  to  Fort  Bentoii  as  they  could. 
Corr.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Aug.  28,  1SG1. 


EARLY  MINING.  617 

rive  until  it  was  too  late  to  commence  mining  that 
year,  but  a  ditch  had  been  dug,  and  every  preparation 
made  for  beginning  in  the  following  spring.  Late  in 
the  autumn  three  other  men — W.  Graham,  A.  S. 
Blake,  and  P.  W.  McAdow — arrived  at  Gold  Creek, 
and  prospected  in  a  dry  gulch  where  the  village  of 
Pioneer  was  located,  finding  good  indications,  and 
remaining  until  spring  to  work  their  claims.  Ander 
son  having  taken  a  steamer  down  the  Missouri  in 
1860,  there  remained  only  the  Stuarts  and  the  new 
arrivals,  five  in  all,  to  make  the  experiment  at  mining. 

The  results  at  first  were  not  flattering,  the  claims, 
excepting  one  in  Pioneer  gulch,  which  paid  from  six 
to  twenty  dollars  per  day,  yielding  no  more  than  from 
one  and  a  half  to  three  dollars.  While  working  for 
this  small  amount  the  Stuarts  kept  their  remaining 
horses  picketed  on  a  sloping  piece  of  grass-land,  which 
was  afterward  discovered  to  conceal  an  enormously 
rich  deposit,  which  took  the  name  of  Bratton  Bar 
in  18GG.  A  man  named  Hurlbut  discovered  the 
placers  on  Big  Prickly  Pear  Creek  about  midsummer 
of  this  year. 

In  my  account  of  the  Idaho  mines  I  have  men 
tioned  that  in  1862,  and  later,  certain  immigrants  and 
gold-hunters  made  the  attempt  to  reach  Salmon  River 
mines  from  Fort  Hall,  or  the  South  pass,  and  failed, 
some  being  killed  by  Indians,  and  others  being  scat 
tered  among  various  localities.  Such  a  party  arrived 
in  June  1862  at  Deer  Lodge.38  They  discovered  a 

88  As  an  episode  in  the  history  of  settlement,  the  following  is  interesting: 
In  April  1862  a  party  of  six  men  left  Colorado  'for  Salmon  River,  or  Oregon, 
or  anywhere  west,  to  escape  from  Colorado,  which  we  all  then  thought  a  sort 
of  Siberia,  in  which  a  man  was  likely  to  end  his  days  in  hopeless  exile  from 
his  home  and  friends,  because  of  the  poorness  of  its  mines.'  At  a  ferry  on 
the  north  Platte  they  fell  in  with  14  others,  and  finding  Bridger's  pass  filled 
with  snow,  the  winter  having  been  of  unusual  severity,  the  joint  company 
resolved  to  proceed  across  the  country  to  the  Sweetwater,  and  through  the 
South  pass.  On  arriving  at  Plant's  station,  on  the  Sweetwater,  it  was  found 
in  flames,  the  Indians  having  just  made  a  raid  on  the  stations  along  the  whole 
line  of  the  road  between  the  Platte  bridge  and  Green  River.  Here  they  found 
a  notice  that  another  party  of  18  men  had  retreated  to  Platte  bridge  to  wait 
for  reinforcements.  They  accordingly  sent  two  expressmen  to  bring  up  this 
party,  and  by  the  time  they  were  ready  to  go  on,  their  force  was  45  men,  well 
armed  and  able  to  fight  Indians.  Replenishing  their  supplies  at  Salt  Lake, 


618  NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 

rich  placer  on  a  branch  of  Gold  Creek,  which  they 
named  Pike's  Peak  gulch.  Many  others  arrived  by 
steamers  at  Fort  Benton,  some  of  whom  stopped  at 
Gold  Creek.39  Four  boats  from  St  Louis  reached 
Fort  Benton  in  1862.40 

In  the  winter  of  1859  a  petition  had  been  addressed 
to  the  legislature  of  Washington  by  the  settlers  of 
Bitterroot  Valley  and  the  Flathead  agency,  to  have 
a  county  set  off,  to  be  called  Bitterroot  county. 
This  petition  had  seventy-seven  names  attached,  and 
chiefly  those  of  the  Mullan  wagon-road  company,  who 
could  hardly  be  called  settlers,  although  a  few  names 

they  continued  their  journey,  overtaking  at  Box  Elder  a  small  party  with  3 
wagons  loaded  with  the  frame  of  a  ferry-boat  for  Snake  River,  above  Fort 
Hall,  J.  Mix  being  one  of  the  ferry-owners.  From  the  best  information  to  be 
obtained  at  Salt  Lake  or  Snake  River,  they  would  find  their  course  to  be  the 
old  Mormon  settlement  of  Fort  Lemhi,  and  thence  GO  miles  down  the  Salmon 
River  to  the  mines.  But  on  arriving  at  Lcmhi  on  the  10th  of  July,  they 
found  a  company  there  before  them  under  Samuel  McLean,  and  heard  of 
another,  which  had  arrived  still  earlier,  under  Austin,  all  bound  for  Salmon 
River  mines,  and  deceived  as  to  the  distance  and  the  practicability  of  a  road, 
the  former  being  300  miles,  and  the  latter  impassable  for  wagons.  The 
wagons  being  abandoned,  and  the  freight  packed  upon  the  draught  animals, 
nothing  was  left  for  their  owners  but  to  walk.  Thirty-five  men  decided  to 
proceed  in  this  manner  to  the  mines,  most  of  McLean's  party  remaining  be 
hind.  The  3d  night  after  leaving  Lemhi  the  company  encamped  in  Bighole 
prairie,  and  on  the  following  morning  fell  in  with  a  Mr  Chatfield  and  his 
guide,  coming  from  Fort  Owen  to  Fort  Lemhi  to  settle  a  difficulty  arising 
from  the  Lemhi  Indians  having  killed  and  eaten  one  of  McLean's  horses;  but 
learning  from  the  company  just  from  Lemhi  that  the  matter  had  been  ar 
ranged,  Chatfield  turned  back;  and  his  conversation  induced  22  of  the  com 
pany  to  resign  the  idea  of  Salmon  River,  and  turn  their  faces  toward  Deer 
Lodge,  the  remainder  continuing  on  the  trail  to  Elk  City,  from  the  point 
where  it  crossed  the  Bitterroot  River,  near  its  head.  Among  those  who 
stopped  on  the  Montana  side  of  the  Bitterroot  Mountains  were  Henry 
Thrapp,  M.  Haskius,  William  Smith,  Allen  McPhail,  John  Graham,  Warner, 
Thomas  Neild,  Joseph  Mumby,  James  Taylor,  J.  W.  Bozeman,  Thomas 
Woods,  J.  Carnthers,  Andrew  Murray,  Thomas  Donelson,  N.  Davidson, 
James  Patton,  William  Thompson.  Murphy,  and  Dutch  Pete.  Ten  of  the  22 
remained  at  Fort  Owen,  taking  employment  there  at  the  Flathead  reserva 
tion,  of  which  John  Owen  was  agent.  Twelve  went  to  Gold  Creek,  where 
they  arrived  about  the  last  of  July.  Rocky  Mountain  Gazette,  Feb.  25,  1809. 

89  According  to  Mullan,  of  304  immigrants  arriving  at  Fort  Benton  in 
July,  a  large  number  were  destined  to  Walla  Walla,  with  saw  and  grist 
mills,  and  many  to  the  mines.  Mil.  Road  Ue.pt,  34-5.  This  year,  also,  La 
Barge,  Harkness,  &  Co.  established  a  trading-house  near  Fort  Benton,  and 
intended  to  erect  mills  near  the  Deer  Lodge  mines.  Among  those  who  ar 
rived  by  steamer  were  W.  B.  Dance  and  S.  S.  Hauser.  Jerome  S.  Glick, 
David  Gray,  George  Gray,  George  Perkins,  William  Griffith,  Jack  Oliver,  and 
Joseph  Clark  stopped  at  Deer  Lodge  mines. 

MEmilie,  June  17th;  Shretxport,  do.;  Key  West  No.  2,  June  20th;  Spread 
Eagle,  do. 


COUNTIES  AND  HORSE-THIEVES.  619 

of  actual  pioneers  are  to  be  found  among  them.41 
The  petition  does  not  appear  to  have  been  presented 
until  the  session  of  1860-1,  when  two  counties,  called 
Shoshone  and  Missoula,  were  created  out  of  the  region 
east  of  the  later  boundary  of  Washington,  the  11 7th 
meridian. 

No  election  was  held  in  Missoula  county  until  the 
14th  of  July,  1862,  when  James  Stuart  was  elected 
sheriff.  It  was  not  long  before  he  was  called  to  act 
in  his  official  capacity,  and  to  arrest  and  bring  to  trial 
an  aged  Frenchman  who  had  stolen  some  horses  and 
other  property.  He  was  tried  in  a  mass-meeting  of 
the  miners,  who,  compassionating  his  age,  his  sorrow, 
and  poverty,  made  up  a  purse  for  him,  and  sent  him 
out  of  the  county  to  trouble  them  no  more.  The  next 
horse-thieves  fared  worse.  They  were  three  men, 
named  William  Arnett,  C.  W.  Spillman,  and  B.  F. 
Jernagin,  and  arrived  on  American  fork  of  Hellgate 
River  from  the  west,  about  the  middle  of  August, 
having  with  them  half  a  dozen  good  American  horses. 
When  they  had  been  there  a  few  days,  the  owners  of 
the  horses  also  arrived,  and  entering  the  settlement 
at  the  mouth  of  Gold  Creek,  which  was  now  begin 
ning  to  be  called  by  the  urban  appellation  of  Ameri 
can  Fork,  and  where  Worden  &  Co.  had  opened  a 
store,  under  the  cover  of  night,  requested  the  aid  of  the 
sheriff  and  miners  in  capturing  the  trio.  Arnett  and 

"The  list  is  as  follows:  W.  W.  Johnson,  f.  A.  Mullan,  G.  C.  Taliafcrro, 
J.  Sohon,  C.  R.  Howard,  James  S.  Townsend,  Theodore  Kolecki,  W.  W.  Do 
Lacy,  George  II.  Smith,  Cyrus  Spengler,  A.  J.  Horton,  William  Lowery,  A. 
E.  D'Course,  J.  Cashman,  William  Ping,  Charles  J.  Clark,  Daniel  F.  Smith, 
Robert  P.  Booth,  David  Carroll,  James  Conlan,  Isaac  H.  Rocap,  Frederick 
Sheridan,  W.  L.  Wheelock,  John  C.  Davis,  Thomas  Hudson,  W.  Burch,  D. 
Hays,  John  Carr,  George  Ruddock,  Patrick  Graham,  Canhope  Lararcl,  John 
Larard,  Joseph  Tracy,  William  O'Neil,  Patrick  Mihan,  James  N.  Heron, 
Edward  Scully,  M.  McLaughlin,  William  Craig,  William  Hickman,  J.  C. 
Sawyer,  A.  J.  Batchelder,  A.  L.  Riddle,  James  McMahon,  William  Galigher, 
L.  Neis,  Zib.  Tcberlare,  George  Young,  John  Owens,  W.  D.  Perkins,  Richard 
Smith,  Loars  P.  Williams,  William  Henry,  William  Proyery,  C.  E.  Juine, 
D.  M.  Engely,  J.  B.  Rabin,  Thomas  W.  Harris,  Henri  M.  Clarke,  S.  H. 
Martin,  Jefferson  Morse,  James  Gotier,  Angus  MacCloud,  John  De  Placies, 
James  Toland,  P.  Macdonald,  E.  Williamson,  John  Silverthorne,  John  M. 
Jacobs,  John  Pearsalt,  Louis  Claimont,  Louis  G.  Maisou,  Narcisse  Mesher,  A. 
Gird,  Joseph  Lompeny,  Richard  Grant,  Michael  Ogden.  Wash.  Jour.  House. 
1SGO-1,  35-G. 


620  NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  SETTLEMENT. 

Jernagin  were  found  engaged  in  a  monte  game  in  a 
drinking-saloon,  the  former  with  a  pistol  on  his  knees, 
ready  for  emergencies.  When  ordered  to  throw  up 
his  hands,  Arnett  seized  his  pistol  instead,  and  one  of 
the  pursuers  shot  him  dead,  as  he  stood  up  with  the 
weapon  in  one  hand  and  the  cards  in  the  other.  So 
tight  was  his  dying  clutch  upon  the  latter,  that  they 
could  not  be  removed,  and  were  buried  with  him. 
Jernagin  surrendered,  and  on  trial  was  acquitted  and 
sent  out  of  the  country.  Spillman,  who  was  arrested 
in  Worden's  store,  and  who  was  a  finely  built  man  of 
twenty-five  years,  made  no  defence,  and  when  sen 
tenced  to  be  hanged,  preferred  no  request  except  to 
be  allowed  to  write  to  his  father.  He  met  his  death 
firmly,  being  hanged  August  26,  1862,  the  first  of  a 
long  list  of  criminals  who  expiated  their  lawlessness 
in  the  same  manner,  and  on  whom  the  vigilarits  of 
Montana  executed  justice  without  any  legal  circumlo 
cution.  Soon  after  this  affair,  news  of  new  placers  on 
Willard  (called  on  the  maps  Grasshopper)  Creek,  in 
the  Beaverhead  Valley,  drew  away  the  miners  from 
Gold  Creek,  the  Stuarts  among  the  rest;  and  as  the 
affairs  of  the  new  mining  settlements  deserve  a  chap 
ter  to  themselves,  I  will  proceed  to  recount  them. 


CHAPTER  II. 

TOWN-BUILDING  AND  SOCIETY. 
1862-1864. 

EXPLORING  EXPEDITIONS — PIONEERS  OF  MONTANA — PROSPECTING  PARTIES 
— ORGANIZATION  OF  DISTRICTS — STUART  AND  BOZEMAN — DE  LACY — 
BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES  OF  SETTLERS — FREIGHTS  AND  FREIGHT  TRAINS 
— EARLY  SOCIETY  IN  THE  MINES — ROAD-AGENTS  AND  VIGILANCE  COM 
MITTEES — LEGALLY  ORGANIZED  BANDITTI — THE  SHERIFF  HIGHWAYMAN' 
AND  HIS  DEPUTIES — A  TYPICAL  TRIAL — WHOLESALE  ASSASSINATION 
AND  RETRIBUTION. 

AMONG  those  detained  in  Beaverhead  Valley  be 
cause  wagons  could  not  go  through  from  Lemhi  to 
Salmon  River  was  a  party  of  which  John  White  and 
John  McGavin  were  members.  This  company,  about 
the  1st  of  August,  18G2,  discovered  placers  on  Willard 
or  Grasshopper  Creek,  where  Bannack  City  was  built 
in  consequence,  which  yielded  from  five  to  fifteen  dol 
lars  a  day  to  the  hand.  White,  who  is  usually  ac 
credited  with  the  discovery,  having  done  so  much  for 
his  fame,  has  left  us  no  other  knowledge  of  him  or 
his  antecedents,1  save  that  he  was  murdered  in  De 
cember  18G3.2 

*I  learned  of  McGavin  from  A.  K.  Stanton  of  Gallatin  City,  another  of 
the  immigrants  of  1862,  who  mined  first  on  Bighole  River.  Stan  ton  was  born 
in  Pa,  Dec.  1832.  Was  the  son  of  a  farmer,  and  learned  the  joiner's  trade. 
In  1856  he  removed  to  Minnesota,  and  like  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  that 
state  was  much  impressed  with  the  fame  of  the  Idaho  mines.  He  started  for 
Salmon  River  with  a  train  of  which  James  Reed  was  captain.  He  tried  min 
ing  at  Bannack,  but  not  realizing  his  hopes,  resolved  to  take  some  land  in  the 
Gallatin  Valley  and  turn  farmer  and  stock-raiser.  He  secured  440  acres  of 
land,  and  presently  had  80  horned  cattle,  150  horses,  and  17,000  sheep.  In 
1882  he  married  Jeanette  Evenen. 

2  White  and  Rodolph  Dorsett  were  murdered  at  the  milk  rancho  on  the 
road  from  Virginia  City  to  Helena  by  Charles  Kelly.  Dimmlale's  Montana 
Viyilantex.  There  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  for  using  the  Spanish  word  vigi 
lantes  instead  of  its  English  equivalent  '  vigilants '  in  these  northern  countries. 

(621) 


622  TOWN-BUILDING  AND  SOCIETY. 

Almost  at  the  same  time  Joseph  K.  Slack,  born  in 
Vermont  in  1836,  and  who  had  been  seeking  his  for 
tune  in  California  and  Idaho  since  1858,  discovered 
placers  on  the  head  of  Bighole  River  that  yielded 
fifty-seven  dollars  a  day  to  the  man.3  Also  about  the 
same  time  John  W.  Powell  discovered  mines  on  North 
Bowlder  Creek,  in  what  was  later  Jefferson  county. 
These  repeated  discoveries  occasioned  much  excite 
ment,  and  the  Deer  Lodge  mines  were  abandoned  for 
those  east  of  the  Rocky  range. 

In  August  a  train  arrived  from  Minnesota,  under 
James  Reed,  like  the  others,  in  quest  of  Salmon 
River,  but  willingly  tarrying  in  the  Beaverhead  Val 
ley;*  and  several  wreeks  later  a  larger  train  under 
James  L.  Fisk,  which  left  Minnesota  in  July,  by  a 
route  north  of  the  Missouri,  and  was  convoyed  over  the 
plains  by  a  government  escort.  They  were  destined 
to  Washington,  but  the  greater  part  of  the  company 
resolved  to  put  their  fortunes  to  the  test  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains.5 

3  Slack  settled  at  or  near  Helena,  and  raised  stock. 

4  In  this  train  came  John  Potter,  the  Hoyts,  Woostcr  Wyman,  Charles 
Wyman,  Still,    Smith,   Mark  I).   Leadbetter,  French  and  son,  and  VV.  F. 
Bartlett.  S.  H.  D.,  in  Helena  Rocky  Mountain  Gazette,  Feb.  25,  18G9. 

5  The  company  consisted  of  110  men,  and  an  unknown  number  of  women 
and  children.    Their  names,  so  far  as  known,  were  VV.  S.  Arnold,  Mrs  Arnold, 
Hosea  Arnold,  Smith  Ball,  Mrs  Ball,  Dr  Biddle,  Mrs  Biddle,  B.  B.  Burchett, 
Mrs  Burchett,  Miss   Sallie    Burchett,   Miss   Mary  Burchett,  Mrs  Bennett, 
Henry  Buckner,  Mrs  Buckner,  Mrs  Brown,  Thomas  Caldwell,  Mrs  Caldwell, 
J.  M.  Castner,   Mrs  Castner,  Joseph  Carrol,  Mrs  Carrol,  J.   B.  Caven,  Mrs 
Caven,  Mr  Dalton  and  2  sons,  Mrs  Dalton,  Miss  Desdemonia  Dalton,  Miss 
Matilda  Dalton,  Mrs  L.  W.  Davenport,  Miss  Mary  Donnelly,  Mrs  Catherine 
Durgan,  Mrs   Hewins,  James  Harby,  Mrs  Harby,  G.  Kuster,  Mrs  Kuster, 
Frank  Le  Graw,  Mrs  Le  Graw,  Mr  Meredith,   Mrs  Meredith,  Mrs  Susan 
Peabody,  Frank  Ray,  Mrs  Ray,  DrRay,  Ned  Ray,  Mr  and  Mrs  Short,  Mr  and 
Mrs  Tilly,  H.  T.  Tyler,  Mrs  Tyler,  Wilson  Waddams,  Mrs  Waddams,  Miss 
Sarah  Waddams,  Henry  Zoller,  Mrs  Zollcr,  Miss  Emma  Zoller,  N.  P.  Lang- 
ford,   Charles  St  Clair.     Besides  the  above  and  others  already  named,  there 
were  at  Bannack  City  and  that  vicinity  in  the  winter  of  18G2-3,  John  Ault, 
Harry  Arnett  and  brother,  James  M.  Arnoux,  William  Babbett,  Ephraim 
Bostwick  (killed  by  Crows  on  Bighorn  River  1863),  George  S.  Bachelder, 
William  H.  Bell  (died  at  Bannack  Nov.  12,  1802,  the  first  death  in  that  camp), 
Henry  A.  Bell,   Samuel  W.  Bachelder,  Joseph  Bender,  David  A.  Bentley, 
William  Buchanan,  Stewart  Buchanan,    William   Beeken,   Charles  Benson, 
John  Bertwhistle,   R.  M.  Biggs,  Patrick   Bray,  Con.   Bray,  George  Brown, 
Joseph  A.  Browne,  John  Bothwcll,  John  Burnett  (killed  by  Indians  on  Salmon 
River,   March  1SG3),  George  Beatty,    Mr  Buttica,   Henry  B.    Bryan,   Felix 
Burton,  Richard  Tinker  Brown,  Joseph  Brown  (killed  by  Indians  on  Salmon 
River,  March  1863),  Ed.  Brown,  William  Buffington,  N.  W.  Burris  (killed  by 


PIONEER  LISTS. 

About  four  hundred  persons  wintered  on  'Grass 
hopper  Creek,  and  called  the  camp  Bannack  City  after 

Indians  at  the  mouth  of  Maria  River  1865),  William  Butz,  Henry  R.  Brooks, 
Peter  Butler,  Mr.  Boyd,  William  Cook,  John  Campbell,  John  Carrico,  Joseph 
Carrigan  (killed  by  Indians  on  Salmon  River  1863),  J.  M.  Castner,  Albert  G. 
Clarke,  Herman  Clarke,  George  Colburn,  Mr.  Cole,  the  two  doctors  Cox, 
Henry  Crawford,  Robert  Homer  Crawford,  George  M.  Carhart  (killed  byroad- 
agents  in  1S63),  William  Carr,  Peter  Cardwell,  Josiah  Chandler,  Jesse  Crooks, 
Thomas  H.  Clark,  William  Cole,  George  Copley  (killed  in  attempting  to 
arrest  a  road-agent  1864),  H.  Conover,  Thomas  W.  Cover,  E.  Crawford,  J. 
W.  Crow,  F.  E.  Curtis,  Louis  Cossette  (killed  by  road-agent  Reeves  and  others 
1863),  William  Clancy,  George  Cobb,  George  Cobb,  Jr,  Jac.  Cleveland  (killed 
by  road-agent  Plummer  December  1862),  Alexander  Carter,  Theodore  Carrick, 
Clemens,  Cooper,  Nathaniel  J.  Davis,  William  H.  Deriar,  J.  Donnelly,  Elijah 
M.  Dunphy,  Gilbert  Durant,  Tom  Duffcy,  Dobbins,  John  Durgan,  L.  W. 
Davenport,  Charles  M.  Davis,  George  Dewees,  Edwin  D.  Dukes,  Frank  Dun- 
bar,  James  Dyke,  Richard  Duryea,  Baptiste  Dorrica,  George  Edwards  (mur 
dered  by  road-agents  Jan.  1863),  Jason  W.  Eddings,  J.  F.  Emory,  Robert 
Ells,  John  Ellis,  William  H.  Emerick,  Charles  Entwhistle,  John  Falls,  James 
Fergus,  James  S.  Ferster,  Thomas  Foster,  David  E.  Folsom,  Charles  Falen, 
William  Faulds,  Watson  Forst,  Thomas  Fallen  (killed  by  Indians  on  Salmon 
River  March  1863),  Fox  (who  shot  Arnett  in  arresting  him  in  July  1862,  at 
Gold  Creek),  W.  L.  Farlin,  0.  D.  Farlin,  William  Fenton,  Dr  Fossett,  Patrick 
Florida,  J.  M.  Galloway,  H.  T.  Gcey  (killed  by  Crows  on  Bighorn  River  May 
1863),  John  G.  Gill,  William  Goodrich,  Jack  Gunn,  James  Gourley,  Ard  God 
frey,  Philip  Gardner  (called  the  Man  Eater),  James  Gemmell,  Barney  Gilson, 
W.  C.  Gillette,  J.  S.  Glick,  William  Graves  (hanged  by  vigilants  at  Fort 
Owen  1864),  Daniel  Gould,  Charles  Guy  (murdered  on  Rock  Creek  by  persons 
unknown),  Lon  Gillem,  Gwin  (killed  by  Sioux  while  descending  the  Missouri 
in  1863),  Jp.mes  Harby,  Amos  W.  Hall,  Ed.  Hibbard,  Holman,  William  T. 
Hamilton  (known  as  Wild  Cat  Bill),  John  J.  Hall,  S.  T.  Hauser,  Harry 
Heusted,  George  Hillerman  (nicknamed  the  Great  American  Piebiter),  Peter 
Horan,  Hector  Horton,  Frank  and  Dr  Hoyt,  Barney  Hughes,  Edward 
House,  Freeman  House,  George  Hurd,  Rolla  Hurd,  George  Hacker,  Hcister, 
Richard  M.  Harris,  Robert  Holladay,  Daniel  H.  Hunkins,  William  Hunter 
(hanged  by  vigilants  near  Gallatin  City  Feb.  1864),  Hawley,  Henry  C. 
Harrison,  James  Hauxhurst,  John  Higgins,  Charles  Hammond,  David  A. 
Hopkins,  John  Innes,  J.  F.  Irwin,  George  Ives  (hanged  by  vigilants  near 
Nevada  City  Dec.  1863),  John  M.  Jacobs,  David  Jones,  Leander  Johnson, 
Augustus  Jordan,  William  Kiplinger,  Conrad  Kohrs,  John  Knowles,  James 
King,  William  Kinney,  John  Kane,  Dr  A.  Ketchum,  Lawrence  Keeley  (mur 
dered  by  Peter  Horan  in  1863),  R.  C.  Knox,  E.  R.  King,  Thomas  Kirkpatrick, 
JohnKirtz  (killed  by  the  caving  of  the  earth  in  Alder  gulch  in  1864),  G.  Kuster, 
Joshua  Laffin,  Henry  Lansing,  Lear,  E.  P.  Lewis,  .E.  D.  Leavitt,  Philip  Lovell, 
B.  Franklin  Lowe,  Jason  Luce  (shot  in  Salt  Lake  for  the  murder  of  Bill  Button 
in  1863),  Hays  Lyoii  (hanged  at  Virginia  City  by  vigilants,  Jan.  1864),  Samuel 
Livingston,  M.  H.  Lott,  Wilford  Luce,  Andrew  Luzi,  Henry  Lynch,  Frank 
M.  Madison,  H.  M.  Mandeville,  Capt.  0.  H.  Maxwell,  Daniel  McFadden, 
John  S.  Mendenhall,  Saml  Mendenhall,  J^£,>Miller,  H.  H.  Mood,  Moore, 
William  Moore  (a  road-agent),  H.  F.  MorreTI,'Gabriel  Morris,  John  Murphy, 
Elijah  Markham,  Perry  McAdow,  John  Mannheim,  Charles  Murphy, 
George  Manning,  Richard  McCafferty,  George  Mclntyre,  Robt  Menefee, 
John  Merry,  William  Mitchell,  (killed  by  Indians  on  Salmon  River  March 
1863),  David  Morgan,  Harry  Moore,  James  H.  Morley,  Julius  Morley, 
Thomas  Metcalf,  Thomas  McNamara,  Mackey,  James  Marsden,  Andrew 
Murray,  Alfred  L.  Nichols,  Lemuel  Nuckolls,  A.  J.  Oliver,  W.  H.  Orcutt, 
Thomas  O'Couner,  Frank  Parish  (hanged  by  vigilants  in  Virginia  City  Jan. 
1864),  A.  Prairie,  Thomas  D.  Pitt,  C.  W.  Place,  Putnam,  E.  Porter,  George 


624  TOWN-BUILDING  AND  SOCIETY. 

the  aboriginals  of  that  region,  not  knowing  that  in  the 
Boise  basin  another  Bannack  City  was  being  founded 
at  the  same  time  in  the  same  way.6  At  Bighole 
mines  were  a  few  men  who  preferred  wintering 
near  their  claims,7  and  a  few  others  were  scattered 
about  the  forks  of  the  Missouri  on  land  claims.8  At 

Pratt,  Edwin  R.  Purple,  Frederick  Peck,  Alonzo  Pease,  George  Perkins, 
Thomas  Pitcher,  David  Phillips  (murdered  with  Lloyd  Magruder's  party  in 
the  winter  of  1863-4,  as  related  in  the  foregoing  History  of  Idaho),  H.  Porter, 
Henry  Plmntner  (chief  of  the  band  of  road-agents),  S.  Jeff.  Pnrkins,  Harry 
Phleger,  Mark  Post,  William  Parks,  Charles  Reeme,  Charles  Revil,  Charlea 
Rumley,  W.  C.  Rheem,  Thomas  Riley,  Frederick  W.  Root,  John  W.  Russell, 
L.  F.  Richie  (died  from  an  accidental  gunshot  wound  in  1863),  Raymond,  Charles 
Reeves  (road-agent),  William  Rouch,  Harry  Rickards,  John  Rhinehart, 
Orson  J.  Rockwell,  Henry  Rodgers,  James  Roup,  Rowley,  Patrick  Skye, 
Shaw,  William  Stamps,  M.  V.  Sewell,  George  Shears  (hanged  at  Hellgate  by 
vigilaiits  in  1804).  J.  H.  Shepherd,  Joseph  Stark,  John  Scudder,  Asa  Stanley 
and  brother,  Cyrus  Skinner  (hanged  by  vigilanta  at  Hellgate  in  18G4),  0.  J. 
Sharp,  William  Spencer,  John  A.  Smith,  II.  P.  A.  Smith,  Smith  (killed  by 
Indians  on  Salmon  River  in  March  1863),  John  B.  Spencer,  Sweeney,  J.  V. 
Suprenant,  William  Still,  G.  and  Jas  Stuart,  Jerry  T.  Sullivan,  R.  M. 
Spencer,  William  Simpson,  A.  J.  Smith,  Enoch  Smith,  Lew  P.  Smith, 
James  Spence,  George  H.  Smith,  A.  K.  Stan ton,  G.  W.  Stapleton,  E. 
C.  Stickney,  William  Sturgis,  Christopher  Stoker,  Joseph  Swift,  Jr,  F. 
M.  Thompson,  C.  L.  Tisdale,  H.  T.  Tyler,  William  Terwilliger,  William 
Townley,  Benjamin  Townley,  C.  0.  Trask,  Trainer,  Thibodeaux,  John 

C.  Terrill,    Robert    Tingley    and    2    sons,    one    named    Robert),    Drewyer 
Underwood,  John    Vedder,    Vancourt,    John    Vanderbilt,   Woodworth,    J. 
H.  Wildman,   S.  Walton,  N.   Wall,  E.  P.  Waters,  William  Wallace,  Cyrus 

D.  WTatkins,  Frank  Watkins,  Ned.  Williamson,  George  Wing,  P.  C.  Woods, 
William  Wright,  Wilds,  James  Wiggington,  Wendell,  Horace  Wheat,  George 
Wickham,  J.  'R.  Wilson,  Warren  Whitcher,  Frank  II.  Woody,  J.  S.  Willard, 
James  N.  York,  Charles  L.  Young.     John  A.  Smith,  one  of  the  founders  of 
Bannack,  died  April  19,  1872.     In  1854  he  was  interested  in  the  town  site  of 
Florence,  on  the  Missouri  River,  above  Omaha,  and  kept  a  ferry  there.     Af 
terward  he  kept  a  ferry  on  the  Elkhorn  and  Platte  rivers  successively.     He 
was  a  member  of  the  first  Nebraska  legislature.    In  1858  he  went  to  Colorado, 
returning  to  Nebraska  the  same  year,  and  coming  to  Montana  in  1862.  Denver 
New*,  May  18,  1872. 

6  Montana  Scraps,  9;   Walla  Walla  Statesman,  Dec.  6,  1862;  Bonanza  City 
Yankee  Fork  Herald,  Jan.  3,  1880;  Zabriskie's  Land  Laivs,  857-9. 

7  Frederick  H.  Burr,  James  Coulan,  Louis  D.  Ervin,  and  James  M.  Mine- 
singer  spent  the  winter  in  Bighole  V alley. 

8  Among  the  latter  was  F.  J.  Dunbar,  who  was  born  in  Ohio,  April  1837, 
and  removed  to  Wisconsin  at  the  age  of  18  years,  having  first  learned  the 
plasterer's  trade.    From  Wisconsin  he  went  to  Iowa;  then  to  Colorado  in  1859, 
with  the  gold-seekers,  driving  an  ox-team.     While  prospecting  in  Colorado  he 
discovered  the  JMammoth  mine,  which  afterward  sold  for  §80,000,  also  the 
Julia,  and  other  quartz  mines.     But  he  seems  not  to  have  worked  his  .dis 
coveries;  and  after  crossing  the  plains  three  times,  finally  joined  the  immi 
gration  to  Salmon  River,  which  stopped  at  Bannack  in  July.     In  November 
he  went  to  look  at  the  country  at  the  mouth  of  the  Gallatin  River,  and  being 
favorably  impressed  with  it,  removed  his  wife  and  property  in  December  and 
chose  his  future  home,  being  then  recently  married  to  Anna  Campbell.     He 
erected  the  first  house  in  Gallatiu  Valley,  a  log  building  18  by  20  feet.    When 
Gallatin  City  sprung  up  he  kept  a  hotel  for  four  years.     He  became  the  owner 


PIONEER  NAMES.  625 

Fort  Benton  were  thirty  or  forty  persons  of  different 
nationalities,  such  as  attach  themselves  to  fur  com 
panies.9 

At  the  Blackfoot  agency,  established  in  1858  on 
Sun  River,  by  Alfred  J.  Vaughn,  agent  for  that  tribe, 
were  a  few  persons.10  On  the  west  side  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  in  Missoula  county,  Washington,  were 
over  two  hundred  persons,  inclusive  of  the  mining, 
trading,  missionary,  and  other  classes.  Of  these  Deer 
Lodge  Valley  had  about  seventy.11  Already  a  town 

of  500  or  600  acres  of  land.  Another  settler  in  the  Gallatin  Valley  this  year 
was  John  E.  Reese,  born  in  Wales,  Jan.  12,  1819,  who  immigrated  to  New- 
York  in  1856,  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Pa,  where  he  remained  but  2J  years, 
when  he  went  to  Salt  Lake.  In  1862  he  found  himself  in  Bannack;  but  choos 
ing  farming  instead  of  mining,  he  settled  15  miles  north  of  the  present  town 
of  Bozeman,  having  no  neighbor  nearer  than  7  miles.  He  married  Mary 
Davis  in  1840,  who  was  the  first  and  for  some  time  the  only  white  woman  in 
his  section.  He  owns  240  acres  well  cultivated,  and  some  horses  and  cattle. 

Robert  P.  Menefee,  born  in  Mo.,  in  1833,  went  to  Kansas  at  the  age  of  22 
years,  and  was  engaged  in  the  political  struggle  there  from  1855  to  1858,  when, 
he  went  to  Utah,  driving  an  ox-team.  While  in  Salt  Lake  he  was  clerk  for 
Gilbert  Garrison.  In  Oct.  1862  he  went  to  the  mines  at  Bannack.  When 
Virginia  City  arose  he  was  postmaster  from  Aug.  1864  to  Feb.  1865.  He 
then  remained  for  a  few  months  in  Deer  Lodge  Valley,  returning  in  the  au 
tumn.  He  took  some  land  in  Gallatin  Valley  in  1867,  together  with  John  S. 
Mendenhall,  whom  he  bought  out  in  1870.  There  also  resided  on  a  farm  near 
Bozeman,  Riley  Cook,  a  young  man  whose  parents  emigrated  from  the  east  to 
Boise"  Valley  in  1862.  He  was  born  the  following  year,  being  one  of  the  first,  if 
not  the  first  native  of  Idaho  of  white  parentage.  He  lived  there  on  a  farm  un 
til  1881.  James  Redford  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  immigrated  to  America 
in  1851,  at  the  age  of  21  years,  and  located  himself  in  Pa,  where  he  worked  at 
common  labor  until  1855,  when  he  went  to  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and  Colorado 
in  succession.  He  drove  freight  teams  across  the  plains  two  seasons,  then  en 
gaged  in  mining  in  Colorado.  In  1862  he  came  to  Bannack  with  a  mule-team, 
locating  himself  at  Bivens  gulch  and  mining  for  11  or  12  j'ears.  In  1864 
he  married  Julia  Edwards.  They  had  10  children,  and  owned  240  acres  in  the 
head  of  Jefferson  Valley,  where  they  engaged  in  raising  horses  and  cattle. 

9  Andrew  Dawson  was  agent  in  charge;  George  Stull  and  M.  Carroll,  chief 
clerks;  Hunick,  sub-clerk;  Henry  Bostwick  and  Francis  Veiele,  interpreters; 
Benjamin  De  Roche,  Joseph  Spearson,  Charles  Choquette,  Peter  Choquette, 
Michael  Champagne,  and  Henry  Robert,  interpreters  and  traders;  Vincent 
Mercure and  Joseph  Laurion,  carpenters;  John  Nubert,  tailor;  Henry  Martin, 
blacksmith;  George  Weipert,  tinner;  Paul  Longleinc,  overseer  of  workmen; 
Antoine  Burdeau,  Clement  Cournoya,  Charles  Cournoya,  Charles   Cunand, 
Edward  Cunand,  Milton  Foy,  Joseph  Hule,  William  Keiser,  John  Largent, 
Joseph  Lucier,  William  Truesdalc,  Isaiah  Tremblez,  employe's;  Daniel  Cara- 
fcl,  a  free  man;    Philip  Barnes  and  Henry   Mills,  negro  employe's;  James 
Vanlitburg,  negro  cook.   Con.  Hist.  Soc.  Montana,  347-8. 

10  The  agent  at  this  time  was  Henry  W.  Reid.     The  farmer  was  J.  A.  Vail, 
whose  wife  and  sister-in-law,  Miss  O'Brien,  were  the  only  white  women  resi 
dent  in  Montana  previous  to  1862.     Another  person  on  Sun  River  was  James 
M.  Arnoux. 

"Gold  Creek  had  Thomas  Adams,  Reese  Anderson,  A.  Cook,   Stephen 
Fernier,   Joseph   Howard,  Mrs  Hewius,  Peter  Kishner  and  partner,   Linn, 
HIST.  WASH.— 40 


626  TOWN-BUILDING  AND  SOCIETY. 

was  laid  off  on  the  east  side  of  Deer  Lodge  River, 
near  its  junction  with  the  Hellgate,  called  La  Barge 
City,  the  seat  and  centre  of  the  business  and  popula 
tion  of  Indian-trader  antecedents,  where  the  Antoines, 
Louis,  and  Baptistes  were  as  numerous  as  over  the 
border  in  the  provinces.  At  the  mission  of  St 
Ignatius,  at  Fort  Owen,  and  in  the  Hellgate  and  Bit- 
terroot  valleys,  were  the  greater  part  of  the  two 
hundred  inhabitants,12  who  were  not  miners,  but  stock- 
Peter  Martin,  Amelia  Martin,  Robert  Nelson,  Henry  S.  Pond,  Parker, 
R.  A.  Thompson,  and  Job  Townsend.  At  La  Barge  City,  whose  first 
name  gave  place  to  Deer  Lodge  City,  were  Henry  Beauregard,  Anthony 
Cosgrove,  Calvin  Carroll,  Mrs  Carroll,  David  Contoi,  Frank  Cabbau, 
Louis  Demars,  Dionisio,  Louis  Descheneaux,  John  Dayton,  William  Fair- 
weather,  Louis  Grandmaison,  Joseph  Hill,  Homer  Heweins,  Thomas  Lavatta, 
Charles  D.  La  Breche,  Henry  Larrive6,  Francois  La  Montague,  Josef  Martin, 
H.  A.  Milot,  Mack  the  fiddler,  Franpois  Narmondin,  Giles  S.  Olin,  Frank  Olin, 
Mrs  G.  S.  Olin,  George  Orr,  Madame  Rend  Peltier,  Augustus  G.  Peltier,  Mrs 
Peltier,  Miss  Peltier,  Eli  Pellerin,  Joseph  Prudhomme,  Benoni  S.  Peabody, 
Mrs  Susan  Peabody,  Leon  Quesnelle,  Baptiste  Quesnelle,  Joseph  Quesnelle, 
Thomas  Riley,  James  Reed,  Henry  Thomas  (commonly  called  Gold  Tom), 
Francois  Truchot,  and  Young,  besides  most  of  the  traders  already  named  as 
being  in  the  mountains  including  the  Grants,  John  S.  Pemberton,  and  C.  A. 
Broadwater  of  Cottonwood  Creek,  John  Franks,  John  Carr,  and  Edgar 
Henry  of  Dempsey  Creek,  and  George  Ives  and  Charles  S.  Allen  of  Dublin, 
composed  the  suburban  population. 

12  At  St  Ignatius  mission,  on  a  branch  of  Flathead  River,  were  fathers  Joseph 
Carnana,  Caliphonio,  Urbanus  Grassi,  Joseph  Giorda,  Joseph  Menetrey,  Magri, 
Louis  Vercruyssen,  and  Aloysius  Vanzini;  also  the  following  persons:  Frank 
Bison,  William  Claessens,  Joseph  Coture,  Louis  Corville,  Peter  Irvine,  Louis 
Pelon,  Charles  Reidt,  Joseph  Specht,  and  Charles  Schafft.  At  Frenchtown, 
on  the  Missoula  River,  Joseph  Asline,  Louis  Brown,  George  Beaupre",  Philip 
Carr,  Baptiste  Dusharme,  Adolph  Dubreuil  (called  Tin-cup  Joe),  David  Kit- 
son,  Edward  Lambert,  Damien  Ledoux,  Joseph  Larose,  Henry  W.  Miller, 
Caroline  Miller,  Lucretia  Miller  (later  Mrs  Worden),  Mary  C.  Miller  (later 
Mrs  Lent),  Eustache  Neron,  Joseph  Poutre",  Moise  Reeves,  Luther  Richards, 
M.  T.  Tipton,  Emil  Tulcau,  Thompson,  and  George  Young.  At  the  Flat- 
head  agency  on  the  Jocko  River  were  Charles  Hutchins  (agent),  0.  S. 
Barnes,  William  Badger,  John  Dillingham  (killed  in  July  1803  at  Alder 
gulch,  by  Haze  Lyons,  Buck  Stinson,  and  Charles  Fubbs),  Charles  Frush, 
William  Holmes,  A.  B.  Henderson,  Michael  Larkin,  Frederick  Sherwood, 
James  Sinnett,  Daniel  Sullivan,  and  Dr  Terry.  At  Fort  Owen,  John  Owen, 
L.  L.  Blake,  W.  W.  De  Lacy,  George  W.  Dobbins,  Louisa  Dobbins,  Mrs 
William  Goodrich,  C.  E.  Irvine,  and  Cyrus  McWhirk.  In  the  Bitterroot 
Valley,  Joseph  Blodgett,  Edward  Burk,  William  H.  Babcock,  William  Bantee, 
Mrs  Bantee,  Louis  Clairmont,  Edward  Carron,  John  Chatfield,  Henry  M. 
Cone  and  Elva  Cone  (the  first  white  man  and  woman  married  in  Bitterroot 
Valley),  Benjamin  Crandall,  Napoleon  Dumontie,  Thomas  Frewen,  A.  K. 
Gird,  Thomas  W.  Harris,  George  Hurst,  E.  B.  Johnson  and  children,  P.  M.  La- 
fontain,  Joseph  Lompr£,  William  Meredith,  Mrs  Meredith,  Antoine  Marti- 
neau,  C.  J.  Parker,  John  Peters,  Mrs  Peters,  John  Slack,  John  Silverthorne, 
W.  A.  Tallman,  and  George  M.  Windes.  At  Hellgate  Rond,  Peter  J.  Botte, 
Albert  Batchelder,  Daniel  S.  Calkins,  Marcus  Doan,  John  Frazier,  Mrs  Helen 
Grant,  Julia  P.  Grant,  Adeline  Grant,  C.  P.  Higgins,  W.  B.  S.  Higgins, 
George  Holman,  John  Lowre,  Thomas  Mmeinger,  Peter  McDonald,  Robert  A. 


THE  FIRST  WINTER.  627 

raisers  and  farmers,  or  settled  in  some  regular  occu 
pation.  How  these  six  or  eight  hundred  people  passed 
the  winter,  midway  between  the  Missouri  River  at 
Omaha  and  the  lower  Columbia,  after  the  knowledge 
we  have  acquired  of  the  American  pioneer,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  imagine.  Building  went  on  briskly,  with 
such  material  as  was  at  hand.  Few  were  idle,  and 
they  were  men  with  whom  the  vigilants  came  in  time 
to  deal  peremptorily.  On  the  road  to  Salt  Lake 
teamsters  kept  their  heavy  wagons  going  until  the 
snow  in  the  passes  closed  them  out.13 

As  soon  as  spring  opened,  parties  began  to  be  made 
up  for  prospecting,  not  for  mines  only,  but  for  eligible 
situations  for  town  sites,  it  being  already  settled  in 
the  minds  of  the  first  comers  that  a  large  population 
was  to  follow  in  their  wake.  Such  a  company,  under 
James  Stuart,  left  Bannack  April  9th  for  the  mouth 

Pelky,  Adeline  Pelky,  Jefferson  Henry  Pelky  (son  of  Robert  A.  and  Adeline, 
Mas  born  at  Grass  Valley  3  miles  below  Hellgate,  Jan.  13,  1862,  being  the  first 
white  child  born  within  the  present  limits  of  Montana),  Joseph  Pion,  David 
Patter,  H.  E.  Rouse,  Mrs  Rouse,  William  Sinclair,  Jeremiah  L.  Sinclair,  James 
Sinclair,  Mary  Sivclair,  Colin  Sinclair,  I.  N.  Stinson  (hanged  at  Bannack  by  the 
vigilants  in  Jan,  1864),  James  Sellers,  Susan  Sellers,  William  Scott,  Richard 
Smith,  George  P.  White,  Josephine  White  (first  white  couple  married  any 
where  in  Montana,  the  ceremony  being  performed  at  Hellgate  March  5,  1862, 
probably  by  the  first  justice  of  the  peace,  Henry  R.  Brooks),  Henry  Williams, 
and  Frank  L.  Worden.  At  Grass  Valley  were  Henry  R.  Brooks  (appointed 
justice  of  the  peace  by  the  Wash,  legislature  of  1861-2,  the  first  court  held 
being  in  the  spring  of  1862,  and  first  cause  Tin-cup  Joe  vs  O'Keefe),  Worth- 
ington  Bills  (formerly  of  Oregon  and  Washington),  and  Hezekiah  Van  Dorn. 
At  Two  Creeks,  David  M.  Brooks,  J.  P.  Lavallie,  John  Little,  Daniel  P. 
Nichols,  James  Nolan,  and  Amos  Overlander.  At  Flathead  House,  or  Hud 
son's  Bay  post,  James  Mclver,  Angus  McLeod,  Lochlin  McLaurin,  and  Mont 
gomery.  At  Missoula  Ferry,  John  S.  Caldwell.  At  Koriaken  Defile,  C.  C. 
O'Keefe  (called  Baron  O'Keefe  of  Castle  O'Keefe)  and  D.  C.  O'Keefe.  Mail- 
carrier  to  Walla  Walla,  W.  W.  Johnson.  This  completes  the  list  of  white 
inhabitants  of  Montana  in  the  winter  of  1862,  as  given  in  the  archives  of  the 
Historical  Society  of  Montana,  with  additions  from  other  authorities;  and 
though  not  a  perfect  roll,  it  contains  over  two  thirds  of  all  the  population, 
according  to  the  best  accounts. 

13  The  pass  by  Fort  Lemhi,  according  to  Granville  Stuart,  is  the  second 
lowest  in  the  Rocky  range.  The  lowest  is  that  which  leads  from  Beaverhead 
Valley  to  Deer  Lodge  Valley,  and  the  only  one  that  never  becomes  impassable 
with  snow,  which  seldom  falls  to  a  depth  of  more  than  2  feet,  while  in  the 
Dry  Creek  pass,  as  it  is  called,  which  M'as  adopted  for  the  Salt  Lake  route  in 
1863,  it  is  sometimes  10  feet  deep.  Montana  a*  It  Is,  79-80.  This  little  book 
of  Stuart's  contains  a  great  variety  of  information  concerning  the  topography, 
climate,  resources,  nomenclature,  routes,  distances,  etc.,  of  Montana,  and  is 
an  easy  reference  on  all  these  subjects. 


628  TOWN-BUILDING  AND  SOCIETY. 

of  the  Stinkingwater  River,  where  it  was  expected 
another  division  would  join  them.1*  This  party,  how 
ever,  did  not  arrive  in  time,  and  were  left  to  follow 
when  they  should  strike  the  trail,  Stuart  continuing 
on  with  the  advance  to  the  Yellowstone  country, 
which  it  was  the  design  of  the  expedition  to  explore. 
The  men  remaining  were  only  six  in  number;  namely, 
Louis  Simmons,  George  Orr,  Thomas  Cover,  Barney 
Hughes,  Henry  Edgar,  William  Fairweather.  They 
followed  the  trail  of  Stuart's  party  for  some  distance, 
but  before  overtaking  them,  were  met  by  Crows,  who, 
after  robbing  them,  placed  them  on  their  own  miser 
able  sore-backed  ponies,  and  ordered  them  to  return 
whence  they  came.  This  treatment,  which  called 
out  nothing  but  curses  from  the  disappointed  pros 
pectors,  eventuated  in  their  highest  good  fortune. 
On  their  disconsolate  journey  back  to  Bannack  they 
made  a  detour  of  a  day's  journey  up  Madison  River 
above  their  crossing,  and  passing  through  a  gap  to 
the  south-west,  encamped  on  a  small  creek,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  cook  such  scanty  food  as  the  Indians  had 
left  them,  while  Fairweather  occupied  his  time  in 
panning  out  some  dirt  in  a  gulch  where  he  observed 
a  point  of  bed-rock  projecting  from  the  hillside.  To 
his  surprise  he  found  thirty  cents  in  coarse  gold  in 
the  first  panful  of  dirt,  and  upon  a  few  more  trials, 
$1.75  to  the  pan.  After  this  discovery  the  explorers 
needed  no  sauce  to  their  dinner.  The  stream  was 
called  Alder  Creek,  from  its  fringe  of  alder-trees,  and 
the  place  of  discovery  Fairweather  gulch.  It  was 
sixty-five  miles  nearly  due  east  from  Bannack. 

Claims  were  immediately  staked  off,  and  Hughes 
returned  alone  to  Bannack  to  procure  supplies,  and 
inform  such  friends  as  the  party  desired  to  have  share 
the  benefits  of  the  discovery.  But  a  prospector  is 

14  James  Stuart  was  chosen  captain  by  those  who  presented  themselves  at 
the  rendezvous.  They  were  Cyrus  D.  Watkins,  John  Vanderbilt,  James  N. 
York,  Richard  McCafferty,  James  Hauxhurst,  Drewyer  Underwood,  Samuel 
T.  Hauser,  Henry  A.  Bell,  William  Roach,  A.  Sterne  Blake,  George  H. 
Smith,  Henry  T.  Geery,  Ephriam  Bostwick,  and  George  Ives.  Con.  Hist.  Soc. 
Montana,  150. 


FAIRWEATHER  AND  ALDER  CREEK.  629 

sharply  watched,  and  when  Hughes  returned  to  Alder 
Creek,  which  proved  to  be  one  of  the  heads  of  Stink- 
ingwater,15  he  was  followed  by  two  hundred  men. 
Unable  to  prevent  them,  Hughes  encamped  a  few 
hours'  ride  from  the  mines.  Having  informed  his 
friends,  he  stole  away  in  the  night  with  them,  and 
so  gave  them  time  to  make  their  locations  before  the 
others  left  camp. 

When  the  two  hundred  arrived,  a  mining  district 
was  formed,  named  after  Fairweather,  with  Dr  Steele 
president  and  James  Fergus  recorder.  This  was  on 
the  6th  of  June,  1863.  Eisdit  months  afterward  there 

7  O 

were  five  hundred  dwellings  and  stores  on  Alder 
Creek ;  and  Virginia  City  when  a  year  old  had  a  pop 
ulation  of  four  thousand.16  Like  many  other  mining 
towns,  it  had  a  dual  existence,  consisting  of  two  towns 
joining  each  other,  the  second  one  being  called  Ne 
vada.17  Together  they  made  one  long  street,  with 
side  streets  branching  off  at  right  angles.  The  joint 
city  was  twenty  miles  from  the  junction  of  Stinking- 
water  with  the  Jefferson  fork,  in  latitude  a  little  north 
of  45°  and  longitude  111^°  west.  It  was  400  miles 
from  Salt  Lake,  1,400  from  Omaha,  1,000  from  Port 
land,  600  from  navigation  on  the  Columbia,  and  500 
from  practicable  navigation  on  the  Missouri,  except 
once,  or  perhaps  twice,  a  year  in  good  seasons,  when 
steamboats  could  come  to  Fort  Benton,  200  miles 
north.  What  did  that  matter?  Gold  smooths  away 
all  difficulties,  and  out  of  Alder  Creek  gulches,  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Virginia  City,  were  taken,18  in 

15  So  called  by  the  Indians,  from  the  sulphur  springs  which  run  into  it. 

16  The  town  was  first  called  Varina,  after  the  wife  of  Jefferson  Davis,  but 
soon  changed  to  Virginia.  W.  \V.  De  Lacy,  in  Con.  Hist.  Soc.  Montana,  113. 
G.  G.  Bissell,  while  acting  as  judge  in  the  trial  of  Forbes,  a  road-agent,  re 
fused  to  write  Varina  at  the  head  of  a  legal  document,  and  wrote  Virginia  in 
stead,  which  settled  the  matter.  McGlure's  Three  Thousand  Miles,  229. 

17  Central  and  Summit  cities  have  since  been  added  to  the  suburbs  of  Vir 
ginia. 

lsAvx  Mining  in  Colorado  and  Montana,  MS.,  7-9;  Ross  Browne's  Rcpt; 
Frye's  Travellers'1  Guide,  41;  E.  B.  Neally,  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  Aug.  1806, 
239.  J.  M.  Carlton,  born  in  Alderbaugh,  Maine,  in  1815,  was  a  hotel-keeper 
at  Virginia  City.  He  located  himself  in  Bannack  in  18G2,  but  removed  to 
Virginia,  of  which  he  was  mayor  for  several  terms.  He  died  April  22,  1376, 


630 


TOWN-BUILDING  AND  SOCIETY. 


the  first  three  years,  $30,000,000.  Five  other  dis 
tricts  were  organized  on  Alder  Creek — Highland, 
Pine  Grove,  and  Summit  up  the  stream,  and  Nevada 
and  Junction  below.  About  a  thousand  claims  were 
located,  which  yielded  well  enough  to  pay  a  good  profit 
when  wages  were  from  $10  to  $14  a  day. 

But  Alder  Creek  was  not  the  only  rich  mining  lo 
cality.  A  spur  of  the  mountains  which  runs  down 
between  the  Stinkingwater  and  Madison  rivers  con 
tained  highly  productive  mines.  Wisconsin  gulch,  so 
named  because  a  Wisconsin  company  first  worked  it, 


GULCHES  AND  LODES  IN  1865. 

Bivens'  gulch,  named  after  its  discoverer,  celebrated 
for  coarse  gold  and  nuggets  weighing  over  three  hun 
dred  dollars,  Harris  and  California  gulches,  all  paid 
largely.  In  this  same  spur  of  the  mountains  were  a 
number  of  quartz  veins  bearing  gold  and  silver,  the 
value  of  which  could  only  be  guessed  at  from  the 
richness  of  the  placers. 

We  will  now  look  after  the  party  of  James  Stuart, 
which  narrowly  missed  discovering  the  Alder  Creek 
mines  by  hurrying  on  to  the  Yellowstone  country  in 
stead  of  stopping  to  prospect  where  they  found  indi- 

leaving  a  wife  and  daughter.  He  had  been  one  of  the  founders  of  St  Paul, 
Minnesota.  Bozeman  Avant-Courier,  April  28,  1876. 


STUART'S  PROSPECTORS. 


631 


cations.19  Keeping  a  generally  north-east  course,  they 
crossed  Madison  River,  finding  plenty  of  burnt  quartz, 
and  'raising  the  color'  when  prospecting;  crossed 
the  Gallatin  Valley  where  it  was  watered  by  two 
forks,  and  found  it  superior  to  Deer  Lodge;  crossed 
the  divide  between  the  Missouri  and  the  Yellowstone, 
reaching  that  river  on  the  25th,  keeping  down  the 
south  bank  two  days  beyond  Big  Bowlder  Creek, 
when  they  fell  in  with  a  band  of  Crows,  from  which 
they  narrowly  escaped  through  the  intrepid  behavior 


BIGHORN  CITY. 

of  Stuart.  It  became  an  almost  daily  occurrence 
to  meet  thieving  Crows.  They  pursued  their  way 
down  the  Yellowstone,  reaching  Pompey's  Pillar  on 
the  3d  of  May.20  On  the  5th  they  arrived  at  Big 
horn  River,  where  they  found  "from  ten  to  fifty  very 

19 Says  James  Stuart,  in  his  journal  of  the  Yellowstone  expedition:  'To 
day  \ve  crossed  two  small  creeks  and  camped  on  the  third  one,  near  the  divide 
between  the  Stinkingwater  and  Madison  rivers .  . .  The  country  from  the 
Stinkingwater  to  the  divide  is  very  broken,  with  deep  ravines,  with  plenty 
of  lodes  of  white  quartz  from  1  to  10  feet  wide.  In  this  camp  Geery  and  Mc- 
Cafferty  got  a  splendid  prospect  on  a  high  bar,  but  we  did  not  tell  the  rest  of 
the  party  for  fear  of  breaking  up  the  expedition.'  This  prospect  was  on  a 
fork  of  Alder  called  Granite  Creek.  When  the  party  returned  they  found 
these  gulches  full  of  miners.  Con.  Hist.  Soc.  Montana,  152-3. 

29  On  this  rock,  named  by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  Stuart  found  carved  the 
Barnes  of  Clarke  and  two  of  his  men,  with  the  date,  July  25,  1806.  Also  the 
names  of  Derick  and  Vancourt,  dated  May  23,  1834. 


632  TOWN-BUILDING  AND  SOCIETY. 

fine  colors  of  gold  in  every  pan"  taken  from  loose 
gravel  on  a  bar  near  the  mouth.  On  the  6th  five 
men  were  detailed  to  lay  out  a  town  on  the  east  side 
of  this  river,  which  they  accordingly  did,  surveying 
320  acres  for  the  town  site,  and  lots  of  160  acres  each 
surrounding  it  for  the  suburban  possessions  of  the 
company.  The  stakes  may  be  there  still,  but  the 
town  has  not  been  peopled  to  this  day. 

On  the  llth,  as  the  party  were  travelling  up  the 
Bighorn,  they  discovered  three  white  persons  riding 
and  leading  pack-animals,  whom  they  endeavored  to 
intercept;  but  the  strangers,  taking  them  for  road- 
agents,  escaped.21 

On  the  night  of  the  12th  of  May,  Stuart's  camp 
was  attacked,  and  Watkins,  Bostwick,  and  Geery 
left  dead  in  the  Crow  country.  The  survivors,  on  the 
28th,  after  a  toilsome  journey,  arrived  at  the  Sweet- 
water,  sixteen  miles  below  Rocky  Ridge,  where  they 
found  good  prospects  in  the  loose  gravel.  On  the  22d 
of  June  the  company  arrived  at  Bannack  City,  having 
travelled  sixteen  hundred  miles  since  leaving  it  in 
April,  and  without  having  done  more  than  learn  the 
inhospitable  nature  of  a  large  part  of  the  country 
explored. 

In  August  a  company  of  forty-two  men,  most  of 
them  new  arrivals,  left  Virginia  City  to  explore  the 
head  waters  of  the  south  fork  of  Snake  River.22  They 

21  They  proved  to  be  J.  M.  Bozeman,  accompanied  by  the  trader  John  M. 
Jacobs  and  his  young  daughter.     They  were  looking  for  a  wagon  route  from 
the  three  forks  of  the  Missouri  to  Red  Buttes  on  the  North  Platte,  which 
they  succeeded  in  finding,  and  which  became  known  as  the  Bozeman  cut-off. 
Bozeman  laid  out  the  town  of  that  name  in  the  Gallatin  Valley,  and  was  a 
man  much  respected  for  the  qualities  which  distinguish  the  actual  pioneer. 
He  met  the  fate  which  has  overtaken  so  many,  being  killed  by  Indians  on  the 
Yellowstone,  near  the  mouth  of  Shield  River,  April  20,  1807. 

22  Their  names  were  W.  W.  Do  Lacy,  J.  Bryant,  S.  Brown,  A.  R.  Burr, 
David  Burns,  Lewis  Casten,  J.  C.  Davis,  F.  A.  Dodge,  John  Ferril,  J.  H. 
Ferguson,  George  Forman,  T.  J.  Farmerlee,  Aaron  Fiekel,  S.  R.  Hillerman, 
Charles  Heineman,  H.  H.  Johnson,  James  Kelly,  D.  H.  Montgomery,  H.  C. 
Mewhorter,  A.  H.  Myers,  J.  B.  Moore,  John  Morgan,  W.  H.  Orcutt,  J.  J. 
Rich,  Joseph  W.  Ray,  H.  Schall,  W.  Thompson,  Major  Brookie,  E.  P.  Lewis, 
John  Bigler,  J.  Stroup,  Richard  Tod,  Jack  Cummings,  D.  W.  Brown,  Charles 
Lamb,  E.  Whitcomb,  A.  Comstock,  C.  Failor,  Charles  Ream,  J.  Gallagher 
(hanged  by  vigilants),  Smith,  Dickie,  J.  H.  Lawrence,  E.  Sheldon.  De  Lacy, 
in  Con.  Ilist.  Soc.  Montana,  140. 


DE  LACY'S  EXPEDITION. 


633 


were  out  51  days,  and  travelled  500  miles,  discover 
ing  much  new  country,  but  finding  no  rich  deposits  of 
gold.23 


DE  LACY'S  EXPEDITION. 

13  De  Lacy  was  employed  by  the  first  legislature  of  Montana  to  make  a 
map  of  the  country  to  assist  in  laying  off  counties,  and  in  this  map  was  em 
bodied  the  knowledge  acquired  by  his  personal  observations.  It  was  litho 
graphed  and  published,  as  also  another  in  1870.  He  also  draughted  a  map  of 
Montana  in  1807  for  the  surveyor-general's  office.  In  1868  he  wrote  a  letter 
on  the  railroad  facilities  of  Montana,  which  was  published  in  Raymond's  re 
port  of  the  Mines  of  the  West  the  following  year.  In  this  letter  he  states  his 
discoveries  of  Shoshone  Lake,  which  he  had  called  after  himself,  and  the 
Madison  Geysers.  In  1872  Prof.  Hayden  visited  these  places,  and  failed  to 
give  the  proper  credit;  even  after  being  reminded  of  it  he  neglected  to  do  so, 
wishing,  of  course,  to  appear  as  the  discoverer  of  the  lake,  the  true  source  of 
Snake  River,  and  the  wonderful  geyser  basin  at  the  head  of  the  Madison. 


634  TOWN-BUILDING  AND  SOCIETY. 

Another  expedition  of  this  year  was  that  of  a  large 
company  of  immigrants  which  started  from  St  Cloud, 
Minnesota,  under  the  escort  of  James  L.  Fisk,  who 
conducted  the  Minnesota  train  of  the  year  previous.24 
On  both  occasions  he  pursued  the  northern  route; 
in  1863  via  Fort  Ripley,  the  Crow  Wing  Indian 
agency,  Otter  Tail  City,  Dayton,  Fort  Abercrombie, 
Thayen  Oju  River,  lakes  Lydia,  Jessie,  and  White- 
wood,  the  head  of  Mouse  River,  and  the  Coteau  du 
Missouri,  crossing  the  White  Earth,  Porcupine,  Milk, 
and  Maria  rivers,  reaching  Fort  Benton  on  the  6th  of 
September.  In  his  report,  Fisk  mentions  that  the 
farm  at  the  Blackfoot  agency  was  in  charge  of  a  Mr 
Clark,  Vail  having  gone  to  the  Bannack  gold-field. 
Wheat,  oats,  and  all  kinds  of  vegetables  were  raised 
at  the  agency,  and  the  catholics  had  established  a 
mission,  St  Peter's,  within  fifteen  miles  of  the  place. 
The  only  farm  in  Prickly  Pear  Valley  belonged  to 
Morgan,  who  was  erecting  a  large  log  house  and  out 
buildings,  covering  a  considerable  area,  the  whole  sur- 

•  , 

rounded  by  a  stockade  ten  feet  in  height.  The  popu 
lation  of  Bannack  and  Virginia  City  together,  he  tells 
us,  was  twelve  thousand  in  the  early  summer.25 

24Fisk's  report  is  contained  in  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  45,  38th  cong.  1st  sess., 
and  is  extremely  good  in  a  descriptive  and  also  in  a  historical  sense. 

25  Among  other  immigrants  of  1863  who  settled  in  Beaverhead  county 
•were:  Wjjliam  B,  Carter,  born  in  Ohio  April  23,  1840.  At  the  age  of  23 
years  he  came  to  Montana  with  a  horse-team,  and  established  himself  on 
Alder  Creek,  freighting  goods  from  Salt  Lake  for  4  or  5  years,  in  company 
with  E.  C.  Bennett,  who  came  with  him  from  Ohio.  Bennett  died.  Carter 
married  Anna  B.  Selway  in  1868,  and  settled  at  Dillon.  Frederick  Temple, 
born  in  Germany  Aug.  14,  1840,  came  to  America  an  infant  and  lived  in 
Ohio  and  Missouri  until  20  years  of  age,  then  went  to  Colorado,  following  the 
rush  to  Montana  in  1863.  Mined  in  Alder  gulch  and  Prickly  Pear  Valley  until 
1866,  when  he  went  to  Indian  Creek.  In  1867  he  took  a  farm  near  Raders- 
burg,  and  married  Sorate  Eichards  in  1874.  Archie  Macumber,  born  in  New 
York  Dec.  1,  1838,  removed  to  Mich,  when  a  boy,  and  resided  there  till 
1859.  Went  from  Colorado  to  New  Mexico,  and_  returning,  went  to  the 
Salmon  River  mines.  Made  some  valuable  discoveries,  and  spent  the  winter 
of  1862  in  Salt  Lake,  returning  to  Virginia  City  in  1863,  and  going  into 
freighting  for  two  years,  then  selling  groceries.  Went  to  the  Lemhi  mines 
when  they  were  discovered,  and  finally  settled  at  merchandising,  but  sold  out 
and  secured  a  farm  of  320  acres  near  Piadersburg.  In  1870  he  married  Mrs 
Martha  Kennon.  John  Brady,  Bowlder  Valley,  born  in  Ireland  Aug.  5, 
1825,  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1856,  settled  in  Missouri,  where  he  remained  un 
til  1860,  and  then  went  to  Colorado,  and  to  the  Montana  mines  in  the  spring 
of  1863.  On  the  discovery  of  Alder  Creek  placers  he  went  there  and  fol- 


NAMES  OF  SETTLERS.  635 

He  sold  the  horses,  cattle,  and  wagons  belonging  to 
the  government  at  Virginia  and  Bannack  cities,  and 

lowed  mining  for  5  years,  after  which  he  removed  to  Bowlder  Valley,  where 
he  soon  had  480  acres  of  land,  400  or  500  head  of  cattle,  and  some  other 
stock.  He  married,  in  1861,  Anna  Magillie.  William  Rogers,  Bowlder  Val 
ley,  born  in  Ireland  Feb.  17,  1837,  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1856,  remaining  in 
New  York  one  year,  going  thence  to  St  Louis,  to  Colorado,  and  to  Virginia 
City  in  1863,  then  to  Diamond  City,  where  he  mined  for  three  years.  He 
then  settled  in  Jefferson  county,  where  he  farmed  with  600  or  700  acres  of 
land,  raising  horses  and  cattle.  He  married,  in  1860,  Anna  McEntre.  They 
were  among  the  first  settlers  in  North  Bowlder  Valley.  John  Cull,  Bedford, 
was  born  in  England  July  7,  1832,  immigrated  to  America  in  1856,  and  to 
the  Colorado  mines  in  1861,  driving  an  ox-team.  In  September  1863  he  fol 
lowed  the  rush  to  Alder  Creek,  mining  on  the  small  gulch  12  miles  from, 
Virginia  City  for  a  year,  and  afterward  on  the  Blackfoot  River.  He  then 
tried  prospecting  for  new  mines,  and  with  George  Detwiller  discovered  Basin 
Creek  mines,  and  subsequently  Indian  Creek  mines,  in  1865.  In  1869  he 
went  to  the  Cceur  d'Alene  mining  region,  and  from  there  to  California,  re 
turning  to  Indian  Creek  and  mining  there  until  1876,  when  he  went  to  the 
Black  Hills,  and  from  the  Black  Hills  to  Bear  Paw  Mountain  in  1878,  and 
back  again  to  the  Black  Hills,  to  Leadville,  to  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  and 
finally,  after  stopping  again  at  Leadville,  to  Indian  Creek.  William  Vaughn, 
born  in  Virginia  Aug.  5,  1825,  removed  at  the  age  of  18  years  to  Missouri,  and 
in  1850  to  California,  returning  in  1853  to  Missouri.  In  1859  he  went  to 
Colorado,  and  thence  to  Virginia  City  mines,  where  he  remained  a  year,  after 
which  he  mined  on  Indian  Creek,  Confederate  gulch,  Grizzly  gulch,  and 
Tucker  gulch,  returning  at  last  to  Indian  Creek,  where  he  located  50  acres  of 
placer  ground,  which  he  mined  by  hydraulic  apparatus,  and  had  500  feet  of 
flume.  H.  J.  Marsh  was  born  in  Ohio  April  2,  1838,  and  raised  on  a  farm.  Re 
moved  to  Illinois  in  1863,  and  thence  to  Montana  the  same  year  by  overland 
coach.  He  took  a  farm  of  320  acres  on  White  Tail  Deer  Creek  and  met  with 
good  success  raising  horses. 

Settlers  in  Madison  county:  John  Willhard,  born  in  Germany  Sept.  28, 
1838,  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1854,  and  crossed  the  plains  with  a  mule-team  in 
1860,  to  Colorado,  where  he  mined  and  farmed  until  May  1863,  when  he  fol 
lowed  the  immigration  to  Montana.  After  mining  one  season  at  Virginia 
City  he  took  a  farm  of  640  acres  in  the  Beaverhead  Valley,  a  mile  below 
Twin  Bridges.  In  company  with  Lester  Harding  he  discovered  Carpenter's 
Bar.  Carl  Rahmig,  born  in  Germany  Oct.  3,  1837,  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1858, 
locating  in  Iowa,  where  he  remained  until  1862,  when  he  went  to  Nevada 
with  a  horse-team.  After  a  short  stay  there  and  in  Cal.  he  went  to  Idaho, 
and  thence  to  Montana.  His  first  residence  was  in  the  Prickly  Pear  Valley. 
After  prospecting  and  mining  until  1870  he  settled  on  a  farm  in  the  valley  of 
Willow  Creek,  between  the  Madison  and  Beaverhead  rivers,  and  raised  stock. 
O.  W.  Jay,  born  in  New  York  May  2,  1844,  removed  with  his  parents  to 
Wisconsin  and  Illinois,  being  raised  a  farmer.  At  the  age  of  17  years  went 
to  Colorado,  returning  the  same  season  to  Illinois.  In  1863  went  again  to 
Colorado,  and  the  same  year  to  Virginia  City,  where  he  mined  until  1870, 
when  he  secured  a  farm  of  1,100  acres.  He  married  Ella  J.  Wilcox  in  1874. 
Wilson  Butt,  Fish  Creek,  born  in  Indiana  March  7,  1827,  removed  to  Cal. 
overland  in  1849,  where  he  mined  for  five  years,  returning  to  Missouri 
in  1S54.  In  1862  went  to  Colorado,  where  he  remained  until  the  following 
year,  when  he  went  to  Alder  gulch,  and  in  1865  to  Helena.  In  1870  he 
settled  in  Jefferson  Valley,  farming  280  acres,  and  raising  grain  and  stock. 
Sanders  E.  Word,  Ennis,  born  in  Ky  Dec.  16,  1846,  removed  in  1854  to 
Missouri.  At  the  age  of  17  years  began  driving  freight  teams  across  the 
plains,  which  business  he  followed  several  years.  He  settled  on  the  upper 
Madison  River,  devoting  himself  to  farming  and  stock-raising.  Joseph  Eveana, 


636  TOWN-BUILDING  AND  SOCIETY. 

returned  via  Salt  Lake,  travelling  to  that  place  by 
the  Bannack  City  express,  which  was  a  covered 

Ennis,  born  in  Indiana  Jan.  30,  1836,  went  to  Colorado  at  the  age  of  25 
years,  driving  a  mule-team;  mined  for  three  years  in  that  country,  and  then 
went  to  Virginia  City,  but  soon  settled  on  a  farm  on  the  Madison  River. 
William  Fletcher,  Ennis,  born  in  New  York  March  24,  1829,  was  raised  a 
farmer,  and  resided  in  his  native  state  until  1856,  when  he  emigrated  to 
Nebraska,  and  to  Montana  in  1863,  driving  a  horse-team.  Remained  a  year 
at  Bannack,  when  he  went  to  Virginia  City  and  engaged  in  the  business  of 
supplying  the  market  with  beef.  He  married  Zilphia  Waken" eld  in  1866. 
Christopher  Richter,  born  in  Germany  June  8,  1834,  came  to  the  U.  S.  in 
1856,  and  engaged  as  a  coal-miner  in  Pa,  although  a  cooper  and  brewer  by 
trade,  but  soon  went  to  St  Louis,  and  then  to  St  Charles,  Missouri,  working 
at  his  trade  of  coopering  until  1860,  when  he  went  to  Colorado  for  a  year, 
and  from  thence  to  New  Mexico,  returning  and  going  to  Montana  in  1863.  He 
went  into  brewing  beer  in  1864,  with  Henry  Gilbert,  at  Virginia  City,  in 
which  business  he  continued  for  8  years,  then  went  to  farming  on  the  Tipper 
Madison,  where  he  raised  stock.  He  also  owned  a  quartz  mine  called  the 
Germantown,  half  a  mile  from  Spaulding,  which  assayed  62  ounces  of  silver 
and  58  ounces  of  gold  per  ton.  He  married  Anna  Ackler  in  1862. 

Settlers  of  Gallatin  county:  George  E.  McKinsey,  born  in  Indiana  Aug. 
22,  1822.  In  1854  he  removed  to  Nebraska,  remaining  there  until  1863, 
when  he  went  to  Montana  with  an  ox-team,  and  mined  for  three  years  at  Alder 
gulch.  In  1866  he  removed  to  Madison  Valley,  and  established  a  ferry,  but 
went  back  to  mining  the  following  year,  and  in  1869  returned  to  Middle 
Creek,  settling  fina'ly  near  Bozeman  in  1871.  He  married  Sarah  Anna  Wil 
son  in  1850.  Andrew  Cowan,  Hillsdale,  born  in  Ky  March  1834,  and  raised 
on  a  farm.  Went  to  Salt  Lake  from  Missouri  by  stage  in  1863,  and  from  there 
to  Virginia  City.  Engaged  in  freighting  for  one  year,  after  which  took  a 
farm  of  480  acres  in  the  Gallatin  Valley,  and  raised  cattle  and  horses. 
He  married  Rachel  C.  Tribble  in  1872.  Henry  Heebe,  Central  Park,  born 
in  Pa  Nov.  17,  1840,  was  bred  a  farmer.  In  1856  went  to  Kansas,  where  he 
resided  until  1863,  when  he  proceeded  to  Montana.  In  1864,  together  with 
William  Coly,  .William  Riley,  and  Clarke,  he  discovered  the  celebrated  Pony 
mine,  and  the  McDonald  and  Strawberry  mines.  Heebe  sold  his  inter 
est  in  the  Pony  for  a  trifle,  and  settled  on  a  farm  on  the  Gallatin  River. 
C.  Etherington  was  born  in  England  June  25,  1831,  and  emigrated  to 
the  U.  S.  in  1854.  After  3  years  spent  in  Pennsylvania,  went  to  Kansas, 
and  thence  to  Colorado  in  1859.  Returned  to  Kansas,  and  again  to  Colorado 
in  1862,  whence  he  went  to  Virginia  City  and  Bannack  in  the  following  year, 
and  settled  in  1864  in  the  Gallatin  Valley,  12  miles  south-west  of  Bozeman, 
being  the  oldest  resident  of  his  section  of  the  valley,  and  delighting  to  be 
called  Kit  Carson  by  his  neighbors. 

Settlers  in  Lewis  and  Clarke  county:  Nicholas  Kessler,  Helena,  born  in 
Germany,  May  26,  1833,  immigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1854,  going  first  to  Ohio 
and  then  to  111.,  where  he  was  in  the  grain,  flour,  and  general  produce  busi 
ness.  In  1860  he  went  to  Pike's  Peak,  Colorado,  where  he  mined  in  different 
localities  until  1863,  when  he  went  to  Virginia  City,  where  he  kept  a  bakery 
and  a  drinking-saloon  for  a  few  months.  In  1864  went  home  to  Germany,  re 
turning  to  Montana  in  1864  and  establishing  a  brewery  within  two  miles  of 
Helena,  He  also  made  brick  at  the  rate  of  2,000,000  or  3,000,000  yearly, 
with  old-fashioned  hand-moulds,  employing  in  brewery  and  brick-yard  45  men, 
at  wages  varying  from  $40  to  $210  per  month,  with  board  and  rooms.  Used 
9,000  bushels  of  barley  in  1883,  most  of  it  raised  in  Montana,  some  coming 
from  Cal.  Made  2,852  barrels  of  whiskey.  There  being  no  facilities  for  edu 
cation,  his  school  district  being  poor,  Kessler  erected  a  brick  school-house  at 
a  cost  of  $700,  and  employed  a  teacher  at  $65  per  month.  William  James 
English,  Prickly  Pear  Valley,  was  born  in  Ireland,  in  August  1834,  and 


FREIGHT  TRAINS  AND  IMMORALITY.  637 

wagon,  leaving  Bannack  once  a  week  with  passengers.28 
At  the  ferry  on  Snake  River,  which  was  guarded  by 
soldiers  from  General  Connor's  army,27  he  found  150 
wagons  from  Denver  bound  to  the  mines  on  the  east 
slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  farther  on  400 
more  wagons,  all  with  the  same  destination. 

Almost  in  the  light  of  expeditions  must  be  consid 
ered  the  long  journeys  by  freight  trains.  Usually  a 
company  was  formed  of  several  teams;  but  considering 
the  small  number  of  men  who  must  guard  a  large 
amount  of  property  on  these  journeys  to  and  from 
Salt  Lake  and  the  Missouri  River,  the  service  was 
one  requiring  at  times  more  than  ordinary  nerve. 
Twenty-five  or  thirty  cents  per  pound  was  some 
times  added  to  the  river  freights  for  the  land  trans 
portation. 

The  condition  of  carry  society  east  of  the  moun 
tains  was  not  very  different  from  that  which  we 
have  seen  in  Idaho.  If  vice  is  hardly  forced  by 
the  law's  awful  presence  to  conceal  itself  under  a 
cloaking  of  decency,  how  free  is  it  to  flaunt  its  filth- 
mess  where  there  is  no  law ;  and  how  apt  are  men, 
who  under  other  circumstances  would  have  avoided 
the  exhibition  of  it,  to  indulge  a  prurient  liber 
tinism  here.  In  the  mines  even  the  most  reverend 

emigrated  to  Canada  at  the  age  of  9  years,  removing  to  Nebraska  3  years 
afterward.  From  Nebraska  he  went  to  Colorado  by  mule-team,  and  thence 
to  Virginia  City  in  1803.  Was  employed  mining  at  wages,  which  were  from 
$6  to  §11  per  day,  according  to  the  work.  He  owned  the  first  cooking-stove 
brought  to  Alder  gulch.  In  1868  he  settled  on  a  farm  of  160  acres  near 
Helena.  He  married  Margaret  Neiiman  in  1S63.  I  find  mention  of  Peter 
Daly,  wife,  and  2  step-daughters  of  this  year's  immigration,  with  no  infor 
mation  concerning  them. 

26  The  expresses  from  the  two  Bannack  cities,  both  in  Idaho,  in  1863,  came 
together  at  the  Snake  River  Ferry  and  made  great  confusion  in  distributing 
mail  matter,  the  letters  for  Bannack  or  Idaho  City  often  going  to  Bannack  in 
Beavcrhead  Valley,  and  vice  versa.  Bowe  New*,  Sept.  29,  1863. 

27  Colonel  P.  Edward  Connor  of  the  2d  U.  S.  cavalry  of  Cal. ,  known  as 
the  fighting  second,  in  a  battle  on   Bear  River,  Jan.  29,   1863,  killed  278 
Indians  on  the  field  and  25  in  escaping  across  the  river,  not  to  mention  3  Ind 
ian  women  and  2  children  butchered,  and  capturing  all  their  property.     This 
battle  put  an  end  to  the  killing  of  immigrants  on  that  section  of  the  road  for 
several  years.     Connor  was  brevetted  major-general.     He  lost  26  killed,  49 
wounded,  and  69  who  suffered  amputation  of  fingers  and  toes  from  freezing. 
Virginia  Montana  Post,  Feb.  9,  1867. 


638  TOWN-BUILDING  AND  SOCIETY. 

may  study  social  problems  from  the  life.  Here,  too, 
crime  assumes  gigantic  proportions,  and  organizes  for 
a  war  upon  industry  and  thrift. 

For  a  much  more  complete  history  of  the  road- 
agents  and  vigilance  committees  of  Montana  than  I 
have  space  for,  I  refer  the  reader  to  my  Popular  Tri 
bunals,  this  series.  The  name  of  this  extensive  class, 
'road-agents/  which  sprang  up  so  quickly  and  disap 
peared  so  suddenly,  became  a  mocking  allusion  to  their 
agency  in  relieving  travellers  of  whatever  gold-dust 
or  other  valuables  they  might  be  carrying,  and  was 
preferred  by  these  gentry  to  the  more  literal  one  of 
highway  robbers.  It  is  said,  however,  that  the  origin 
of  the  word  came  from  the  practice  of  the  robbers  of 
visiting  overland  stage  stations,  and,  under  the  pre 
tence  of  being  agents  of  the  mail  line,  changing  their 
poor  horses  for  better  ones.  The  accoutrements  of  a 
road-agent  were  a  pair  of  revolvers,  a  double-barrelled 
shot-gun  of  large  bore,  with  the  barrels  cut  down  short, 
and  a  knife.  Mounted  on  a  fleet  and  well-trained  horse, 
disguised  with  mask  and  blankets,  he  lay  in  wait  for 
his  prey.  When  the  victim  approached  near  enough, 
out  he  sprang,  on  a  run,  with  levelled  gun,  and  the 
order,  "Halt!  throw  up  your  hands!"  Should  the 
command  be  obeyed,  the  victim  escaped  with  the  loss 
of  his  valuables,  the  robber  riding  away,  leaving  the 
discomfited  traveller  to  curse  at  his  leisure.  But  if 
the  traveller  hesitated,  or  tried  to  escape,  he  was  shot. 

Chief  among  this  class  and  head  of  a  large  crimi 
nal  association  was  Henry  Plummer,  gentleman, 
baker,  legislator,  sheriff,  and  author  of  many  murders 
and  robberies.  Villany  was  organized  in  strict  ac 
cordance  with  law.  When  Plummer  wras  sheriff  of 
Bannack  in  1863  his  chief  associates  in  crime  were 
sworn  in  as  deputies. 

In  October  the  coach  of  Peabody  and  Caldwell 
which  ran  between  Virginia  City  and  Bannack  was 
halted  in  a  ravine  by  two  road-agents  and  the  pas 
sengers  robbed  of  $2,800.  In  November  Oliver's  Salt 


THE  ROAD-AGENTS.  G39 

Lake  coach  left  Virginia  City  and  was  robbed  before 
reaching  Bannack.  One  of  the  fraternity  named  Ives 
shot  a  man  who  threatened  to  give  information.  To 
rid  themselves  of  Dillingham,  first  deputy  sheriff  at 
Virginia  City — a  good  man  who  would  not  join  the  gang 
— three  of  them  shot  him.  They,  as  well  as  Ives,  were 
arrested.  In  the  matter  of  the  murderers  of  Dilling 
ham,  some  were  in  favor  of  a  trial  by  a  jury  of  twelve 
men,  others  opposed  it  on  the  ground  that  Sheriff 
Plummer  would  pack  the  jury.  It  was  at  length 
agreed  to  put  the  matter  to  vote,  and  it  was  decided 
in  mass-meeting  that  the  whole  body  of  the  people 
should  act  as  jurors.  Judge  G.  G.  Bissell  was  ap 
pointed  president  of  the  court,  with  Steel  and  Rutar 
as  associates.  E.  R.  Cutler,  a  blacksmith,  was  ap 
pointed  public  prosecutor,  and  James  Brown  assistant, 
while  H.  P.  A.  Smith  was  attorney  for  the  defence. 
Indictments  were  found  against  Stinson,  one  of  the 
deputy  sheriffs,  and  against  Haze  Lyons  and  Charles 
Forbes.  In  the  cases  of  Stinson  and  Lyons  a  verdict 
of  guilty  was  returned  by  the  people.  A  vote  being 
taken  on  the  method  of  punishment,  a  chorus  of 
"Hang  them !"  was  returned,  and  men  were  set  to  erect 
a  scaffold  and  dig  graves.  While  these  preparations 
were  in  progress  Forbes  was  being  tried.  But  the 
popular  nerve  had  already  begun  to  weaken,  and  be 
sides,  this  murderer  was  a  handsome  fellow,  tall, 
straight,  agile,  brave,  and  young,  and  the  popular 
heart  softened  toward  him.  The  same  jury  that  con 
demned  the  others  acquitted  him  on  the  false  evidence 
of  an  accomplice  and  Forbes'  eloquent  speech  in  his  own 
behalf,  by  a  nearly  unanimous  vote.  His  attorney  even 
fell  upon  his  neck  and  wept  and  kissed  him.  How  could 
the  crowd  hang  the  other  wretches  after  this  turn  of  af 
fairs?  The  prisoners  themselves  saw  their  advantage, 
and  pleaded  eloquently  for  their  lives,  and  some  women 
who  were  present  joined  their  prayers  to  those  of  the 
doomed  men.  The  farce  concluded  by  another  vote 
being  taken  on  a  commutation  of  sentence ;  they  were 


640  TOWN-BUILDING  AND  SOCIETY. 

simply  banished,  and  hurriedly  left  the  scene  of  popu 
lar  justice.  All  this  while  poor  Dillingham  yet  lay 
unburied,  on  a  gambling-table  in  a  brush  wickiup.23 
Thus  ended  the  first  murder  trial  at  Virginia  City. 

Ives,  like  Plummer  and  Forbes,  was  a  gentlemanly 
rascal,29  and  many  persons  refused  to  believe  him  a 
common  murderer.  A  large  number  of  persons  col 
lected  from  the  mines  about  to  witness  his  trial.  The 
counsel  for  the  accused  were  H.  P.  A.  Smith,  L.  F. 
Richie,  "Wood  J.  Thurmond,  and  Alexander  Davis. 
W.  F.  Sanders  conducted  the  prosecution,  assisted  by 
Charles  S.  Bagg.  Wilson  was  the  judge.  Sanders30 
mounted  a  wagon  and  made  a  motion  that  "George 
Ives  be  forthwith  hanged  by  the  neck  until  he  is 
dead,"  which  resolution  was  at  once  adopted.  He 
was  hanged  a  few  feet  from  the  place  of  his  trial. 

Having  dared  to  execute  one  murderer,  the  people 
breathed  a  little  more  freely.  But  it  was  plain  that 
the  whole  community  could  not  go  on  holding  court 
to  try  all  the  desperadoes  in  the  country,  hundreds 
of  whom  deserved  hanging.  It  was  out  of  this 
necessity,  to  protect  society  without  turning  it  into  a 
standing  army,  that  the  first  movement  arose  to  form 
a  vigilance  committee.  Soon  after  the  execution  of 
Ives,  five  citizens  of  Virginia  City  and  one  of  Ne 
vada  City  found  each  other  taking  steps  in  the  direc 
tion  of  such  a  committee.  In  a  few  days  the  league 
extended  to  every  part  of  what  is  now  Montana,  and 
two  men  were  hanged  on  the  4th  of  January  in 
Stinkingwater  Valley. 

28  A  wickiup  was  a  brush  or  willow  tent,  or  shanty.     They  were  made  by 
laying  cross-poles  011  four  upright  posts  and  covering  them  with  bushes.    Some 
made  by  the  Indians  were  not  over  6  feet  square.     In  Montana  the  conical 
skin  tent  used  by  the  mountain  tribes  was  called  a  tepee. 

29  George  Ives  was  from  Ives  Grove,  Racine  county,  Wis.,  and  a  member 
of  a  highly  respectable  family.     He  caused  an  account  of  his  death  at  the 
hands  of  Indians  to  be  sent  to  his  mother,  to  conceal  from  her  his  actual  fate. 
Dimsdale's  Vig.  of  Montana,  223. 

30  Sanders  was  a  nephew  of  Judge  Edgerton,  first  governor  of  Montana, 
and  sole  authorized  power  in  the  territory  for  some  months.     The  vigilants 
gave  Edgerton  their  support,  which  also  gave  moral  support  to  Sanders. 
The  legislature  subsequently  confirmed  some  of  the  governor's  acts,  and  re 
fused  to  confirm  others.     Undoubtedly  his  influence  and  that  of  his  nephew 
was  exerted  for  the  public  welfare. 


PLUMMER  HANGED.  641 

Meanwhile  evidence  was  accumulating  against  the 
chief  of  the  road-agents  and  his  principal  aids.  Feel 
ing  sure  of  this,  Plummer,  Stinson,  and  Ray  deter 
mined  to  lose  no  time  in  leaving  the  scene  of  their 
many  crimes.  But  just  as  their  preparations  were 
about  completed  they  were  quietly  arrested,  taken  to 
a  gallows  in  waiting,  and  hanged.31 

During  the  month  of  January  1864  there  were 
twenty-two  executions  in  different  parts  of  Montana. 
Smith  and  Thurmond,  who  defended  Ives,  were  ban 
ished  along  with  some  spurious  gold-dust  manufac 
turers. 

81  Dimsdale1  a  Vig.  of  Montana,  128.  The  author  of  this  pamphlet  was 
born  under  the  flag  of  Great  Britain,  and  was  very  English  in  sentiment,  yet 
he  fully  justifies  the  first  committee  of  safety  in  their  executions.  Dimsdale 
was  a  contributor  to  the  Virginia  and  Helena  Post,  and  became  its  editor. 
He  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Edgerton  superintendent  of  public  instruction  of 
Montana,  vv  as  orator  of  the  grand  lodge  of  masons,  and  possessed  a  large  fund 
of  general  knowledge,  with  great  versatility  of  talent.  He  prepared  his  book 
on  the  vigilants  only  two  weeks  before  his  death,  which  occurred  Sept.  22, 
1866,  at  the  age  of  35  years.  He  was  pronounced  'genial,  generous,  and 
gcod.'  Virginia  and  Helena  Pott,  Sept.  29,  1866;  Salt  Lake  Vidette,  Oct.  11, 
1866. 

Dimsdale  says  that  the  Magruder  party  were  murdered  by  order  of  Plum 
mer,  and  quotes  the  confession  of  Erastus  Yager  (who  was  nicknamed  Red). 
Yager  stated  that  of  the  band  in  Bannack  and  Virginia  Plummer  was  chief, 
William  Bunton  second  in  command  and  stool-pigeon,  Samuel  Btinton  road 
ster  (sent  away  by  the  band  for  being  a  drunkard),  Cyrus  Skinner  roadster, 
fence,  and  spy.  At  Virginia  City  George  Ives,  Steven  Marshland,  John 
Wagner,  Aleck  Carter,  William  Graves,  Buck  Stinson,  John  Cooper,  Mexi 
can  Frank,  Bob  Zachary,  Boone  Helm,  George  Lane,  G.  W.  Brown,  George 
Lowry,  William  Page,  Doc.  Howard,  James  Romaine  (the  last  four  were 
the  murderers  of  the  Magruder  party),  William  Terwilliger,  and  G.  Moore  were 
roadsters.  Frank  Parrish  and  George  Shears  were  roadsters  and  horse- 
thieves.  Ned  Ray  was  council-room  keeper.  The  password  was  'Innocent.' 
They  wore  their  neckties  in  a  sailor-knot,  and  shaved  their  beard  down  to 
moustache  and  chin  whiskers.  All  the  above  were  hanged;  and  afterward 
Jack  Gallagher,  Joseph  Pizanthia,  James  Daniels,  Jake  Silvie  (who  had 
killed  12  men),  John  Keene,  R.  C.  Rawley,  John  Dolan,  James  Kelly,  James 
Brady,  and  William  Hunter.  For  a  multitude  of  other  murders  and  hang 
ings  in  Montana,  see  Popular  Tribunals,  this  series. 
HIST.  WASH.— 41 


CHAPTER    III. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  TERRITORY — BOUNDARIES  ESTABLISHED — GOVERNOR 
EDGERTON — JUDGES  APPOINTED — FIRST  LEGISLATURE— SEAT  OF  GOV 
ERNMENT — SEAL — MAP — MEAGHER,  ACTING  GOVERNOR — PARTY  ISSUES 
— CONVENTION — ELECTION — EARLY  NEWSPAPERS — VIGILANCE  COMMIT 
TEE  INFLUENCE — EASTERN  SOLONS — DIFFICULTIES  ENCOUNTERED  BY  THE 
EARLY  JUDGES  —  BEIDLER — MORE  LEGISLATION  —  GOVERNOR  SMITH  — 
EDUCATION — ASSAY  OFFICE — SURVEYOR-GENERAL — KEMOVAL  OF  CAPITAL. 

UP  to  this  time  the  territory  later  called  Montana 
was  still  within  the  limits  of  Idaho,  which  embraced 
the  mining  country  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
On  the  26th  of  May,  1864,  congress  passed  an  act 
providing  a  temporary  government  for  a  new  territory 
to  be  called  Montana,  the  boundaries  of  which  em 
braced  143,776  square  miles,  or  92,016,640  acres;1 
commencing  at  a  point  formed  by  the  intersection  of 
the  27th  degree  of  longitude  west  from  Washington 
with  latitude  45°,  thence  due  west  to  longitude  34°, 
thence  to  latitude  44°  30',  thence  west  along  that  line  to 
the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  along  their 
crest  to  its  intersection  with  the  Bitterroot  Moun 
tains,  thence  along  the  summit  of  the  Bitterroot 
Mountains  to  its  intersection  with  longitude  39°, 
thence  along  that  degree  to  latitude  49°,  thence  east 
along  that  line  to  longitude  27°,  and  thence  southward 
on  that  degree  to  the  place  of  beginning.2  It  com- 

1  Zabriskie's  Land  Laivs,  857. 

2/cZ.,  860-71;  U.  S.  Acts,  91-7,  38th  cong.  Istsess.j  Camp's  Amer.  Year- 
Book,  1869,  497-500:  Como  Sentinel.  Aug.  13,  1864. 

(642) 


TERRITORIAL  ORGANIZATION.  643 

prised  the  north-east  part  of  Idaho,  the  south-east 
part  being  reattached  to  Dakota,  from  which  it  was 
taken  when  Idaho  was  first  organized. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  1863  Sidney  Edger- 
ton,  formerly  of  Ohio,  was  appointed  chief  justice  of 
Idaho,  but  that  Governor  Wallace  of  that  territory, 
in  laying  out  the  judicial  districts,  assigned  him  to 
the  district  east  of  the  mountains,  in  order  to  exhibit 
his  dislike  of  imported  judges.  As  the  territory  was 
not  organized  until  September,  and  the  Idaho  legis 
lature  did  not  meet  to  lay  out  districts  until  Decem 
ber,  there  was  little  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of 
judicial  functions  in  Edgerton's  district  before  Montana 
became  a  separate  territory,  and  the  former  chief 
justice  of  Idaho  was  appointed  governor  of  Montana. 
He  was  commissioned  June  22,  1864,  and  the  terri 
torial  secretary,  Thomas  Francis  Meagher,  on  the 
4th  of  August,  1865.3  The  judges  appointed  were 
Hezekiah  L.  Hosmer  chief  justice,  and  Lorenzo  P. 

3 Two  other  men  had  been  previously  appointed  who  declined:  Henry  P. 
Torsey,  June  22,  1864,  and  John  Coburn,  March  3,  1865.  Edgerton  was 
without  a  secretary  for  the  hrst  year  he  was  governor.  Sidney  Edgerton  was 
born  in  Cazenovia,  Madison  co.,  N.  Y.  His  father  was  Amos  Edgerton,  who 
married  Zevirah  Graham,  both  educated  in  the  best  schools  of  their  times. 
The  father  dying,  the  mother  was  left,  while  Sidney  was  but  6  years  of  age, 
to  support  and  educate  the  family  of  6  children,  with  whom  she  removed  to 
Ontario  co. ,  N.  Y.,  where  Sidney  grew  to  man's  estate,  alternately  following 
the  avocation  of  a  builder  and  attending  the  higher  schools,  or  teaching 
village  schools.  For  2  years  he  was  principal  of  the  Genesee  Wesleyan  semi 
nary  at  Lima,  Livingston  co.  In  1840  he  went  to  Akron,  Ohio,  to  read  law 
with  the  famous  Rufus  P.  Spaulding.  In  1842  he  entered  the  Cincinnati 
law  school,  then  under  the  charge  of  Timothy  Walker,  author  of  American 
Law,  from  which  institution  he  graduated  in  1844,  returning  to  Akron  to  prac 
tise,  forming  a  partnership  with  Van  R.  Humphrey  and  William  H.  Upson. 
Edgerton  was  strongly  anti-slavery  in  his  convictions,  and  a  leader  of  that 
unpopular  party,  finding  no  national  organization  to  adhere  to  before  the  birth 
of  the  republican  party  in  1855.  In  1858  he  was  elected  a  member  of  congress, 
and  again  in  I860.  His  appointment  to  the  chief  justiceship  of  Idaho,  in 
1863,  followed,  and  on  arriving  at  Bannack,  then  a  part  of  that  territory,  and 
finding  a  large  population  there  without  law  or  officers,  he  reported  to  Gov. 
Wallace  and  awaited  the  designation  of  the  courts,  but  no  court  was  ap 
pointed  within  the  district  to  which  he  was  assigned,  nor  was  there  any  officer 
there  to  administer  the  oath  of  office.  He  was  selected  by  the  people  to  go 
to  Washington  to  endeavor  to  have  the  territory  of  Montana  organized,  in 
which  business  he  was  successful,  and  was  appointed  governor.  At  the  ex 
piration  of  his  term  he  returned  to  Akron,  Ohio,  where  he  continued  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  Owing  to  the  turbulence  of  the  times,  Gov.  Edger 
ton  did  not  receive  the  just  meed  of  his  qualities  and  services  in  Montana. 
Sanders'  JYbto,  MS.,  1-11. 


644  POLITICAL  AND  JUDICIAL. 

Williston  and  Lyman  E.  Munson  associates.4  Ed 
ward  B.  Neally  was  commissioned  United  States 
district  attorney,5  and  George  M.  Pinney  marshal.0 
Internal  revenue  officers  appointed  were  Nathaniel 
P.  Langford  collector,  and  Truman  E.  Evarts  asses 
sor.  None  of  the  district  judges  were  on  the  ground 
before  late  autumn.  The  first  election  was  held  on 
the  24th  day  of  October,  for  the  choice  of  a  legis 
lature7  and  a  delegate  to  congress.  Samuel  McLean 
was  chosen  delegate  by  a  majority  of  thirteen  hun 
dred  votes.8  The  legislature  met  December  12th  at 
Bannack,  was  sworn  in  by  Judge  Williston,  and  pro 
ceeded  harmoniously  to  business.9 

The  condition  of  politics  in  Montana  was  a  repeti 
tion,  to  a  considerable  extent,  of  the  anti-administra 
tion  sentiment  of  Idaho,  and  for  the  same  reason,  that 
it  was  overrun  by  southern  men,  escaping  from  draft 
into  the  confederate  army.  But  otherwise  there  was 
this  difference  between  Idaho  and  Montana,  that  the 
former  was  founded  by  western  men  from  Oregon, 

*  Ammi  Giddings  was  the  first  associate  judge  appointed,  but  declined. 

5  0.  F.  Strickland  was  appointed  A.  A.  atty-gen.  in  1865,  and  William  M. 
Stafford  in  1806. 

6  Cornelius  F.  Buck  was  the  first  appointed,  but  declined. 

7  The  legislature  consisted  of  20  members,  7  in  the  council  and  13  in  the 
lower  house.     The  council  was  composed  as  follows:   Beaverhead   county, 
Frank  M.  Thompson  and  Ebenezer  L>.  Leavitt;  Madison  county,  Charles  S. 
Bagg,  Anson  S.  Potter,  and  Robert  Lawrence;  Jefferson  county,  Nathaniel 
Merriman;  Choteau,  Deer  Lodge,  and  Missoula,  Frank  L.  Worden.     Law 
rence  was  chosen   president.     Appointed   by  the  council:    George   Heynes 
secretary;  Frank  H.  Angevine  assistant  secretary;  Robert  Hereford  engross 
ing  clerk;  John  C.  Ryan  enrolling  clerk;  Harrison  G.  Otis  sergeant-at-arms; 
Harris  Gilman  door-keeper;  W.  P.  Edgerton  page.   Mont.  Jour.  Council,  1864, 
1,  G.     The  members  of  the  house  of  representatives  were:  Beaverhead  county, 
J.  C.  Faul,  A.  J.  Smith;  Deer  Lodge,  James  Stuart;  Jefferson,  George  Det- 
willer  speaker,  J.  N.  Buck,  Milo  Cartwright;  Madison,  Francis  Bell,  Wiley 
Huffaker,  Alexander  E.  May  hew;  Washington,  J.  McCormick,  J.  H.  Rogers, 
Patrick  Ryan,  John  Owen  (elected  but  not  seated),  E.  B.  Johnson. 

8W.  F.  Sanders  was  put  forward  as  a  candidate  by  the  loyal  population. 
James  Tufts,  who  had  been  speaker  of  the  Idaho  legislature,  also  had  aspira 
tions.  Portland  Oregonian,  Sept.  14,  1864. 

'According  to  J.  N.  Bond,  who  has  furnished  me  with  a  manuscript 
narrative  of  the  early  History  of  Colorado,  Idaho,  and  Montana,  in  each  of 
which  territories  he  has  borne  a  pioneer's  part,  not  one  of  the  members  of  the 
first  legislature  of  Montana  had  ever  served  before  in  the  capacity  of  law 
maker,  and  the  governor  himself  was  ignorant  of  parliamentary  rules,  p.  61 
of  Bond's  MS.  It  would  seem,  however,  that  this  statement  should  betaken 
with  allowance,  particularly  in  regard  to  the  governor,  who  was  a  graduate 
of  a  law  school,  and  had  been  a  member  of  congress. 


NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


G45 


Washington,  and  northern  California,  who  were 
chiefly  descendants  of  men  bred  in  the  south-western 
and  southern  states,  while  Montana  had  a  large  per 
centage  of  her  first  population  from  the  northern 
states.10  That  portion  of  the  governor's  message 
which  related  to  the  existing  war,  being  referred  to  a 
committee  of  Bagg,  Thompson,  and  Leavitt  in  the 
council,  Bagg  reported,  as  chairman,  in  language 
strongly  anti-administration,  wrhile  refraining  from 
uttering  sentiments  openly  disloyal.  Leavitt,  not 
being  willing  to  indorse  such  a  report,  a  few  days 
afterward  offered  a  resolution  strongly  loyal,  which 
was  adopted  by  a  majority  of  the  council,  the  whole 


SEAL. 

being  done  without  any  discourteous  exhibition  of 
political  hostility.  According  to  the  requirements  of 
the  organic  act,  the  legislature  proceeded  to  locate  the 
seat  of  government,  which  was  fixed  at  Virginia  City. 
A  seal  for  the  territory  was  adopted,  which  had  as  a 
central  group  a  plough  and  a  miner's  pick  and  shovel; 

10  There  was  strong  political  feeling  in  the  first  canvass.  The  leaders  of 
the  dominant  party  were  Sample  Orr,  W.  L.  Ewing,  Warren  Toole,  Alex 
ander  Davis,  H.  Y.  Pemberton  and  Thomas  Thoroughman  of  Missouri,  W.  B. 
Dance  of  Montana,  W.  L.  McMath,  N.  J.  Bond,  and  Samuel  McLane  of  Colo 
rado,  and  Ansell  Briggs,  whilom  governor  of  Iowa,  who  was  president  of  the 
first  democratic  convention  of  Montana  in  the  autumn  of  1804.  The  leader 
of  the  republican  element  was  W.  F.  Sanders.  Bond's  Hist.  Col.,  Idaho,  and 
Montana,  MS.,  58. 


046  POLITICAL  AND  JUDICIAL. 

on  the  right  the  falls  of  the  Missouri;  on  the  left 
mountains;  underneath  the  motto,  Oro  y  Plata. 
Upon  the  margin  surrounding  the  whole  were  the 
words,  The  Seal  of  Montana  Territory. 

There  being  no  map  of  the  territory  by  which  the 
legislature  could  define  the  district  boundaries,  W. 
W.  De  Lacy  was  employed  to  make  one  for  the  pur 
pose,  to  be  further  completed  when  the  districts  were 
laid  off.  Among  the  earliest  acts  was  one  incorpo 
rating  the  Historical  Society  of  Montana.  Acts  were 
passed  repealing  the  statutes  of  Idaho,  adopting  com 
mon  law,  and  providing  for  the  codification  of  the  ter 
ritorial  laws.11  A  common-school  system  was  adopted, 
and  an  act  passed  to  prevent  carrying  concealed  arms.12 
Acts  were  passed  incorporating  Virginia  City,  and 
the  towns  of  Montana  (the  name  being  changed  to 
Prickly  Pear),  Missoula,  Marysville,  Willow  Creek, 
Ophir,  North  Ophir,  Junction  City,  Jefferson,  Gal- 
latin,  East  Gallatin,  Brandon,  Beaver,  and  Alki. 
Several  of  these  had  only  an  ephemeral  existence,  and 
were  soon  not  to  be  found  on  the  maps.  A  large 
number  of  mining,  road,  bridge,  and  ferry  companies 
were  incorporated,  showing  the  activity  of  the  popu 
lation  in  seizing  upon  business  opportunities. 

But  an  error  was  committed  by  the  first  legislature, 
which  practically  disorganized  the  territory  for  two 
succeeding  years.  According  to  the  organic  act,  the 
first  legislature  was  to  be  apportioned  by  the  gov 
ernor;  but  thereafter  the  time,  place,  and  manner  of 
holding  elections,  and  the  apportioning  of  the  repre 
sentation  in  the  several  counties,  were  to  be  prescribed 
by  law,  as  well  as  the  day  of  commencing  the  regular 
sessions  of  the  legislative  assembly.  The  law-makers, 
instead  of  keeping  within  their  privileges  as  granted 
by  the  organic  act,  of  gradually  increasing  their  num 
bers  to  thirteen  councilmen  and  twenty-six  represent- 

11  The  code  commissioners  were  William  H.  Miller,  George  W.  Stapleton, 
and  W.  F.  Sanders.  Helena  Montana  Post,  Dec.  4,  18G8. 

ia  Where  the  majority  were  openly  armed,  such  a  law  could  effect  little 
reform  in  the  practice  of  shooting  a  man  at  sight. 


THE  LEGISLATURE.  647 

atives,  passed  a  bill  defining  the  districts  in  the  ter 
ritory,  apportioning  the  legislators  among  them,  and 
included  in  the  bill  the  substance  of  another,  to  in 
crease  the  number  of  councilmen  at  once  to  thirteen, 
and  the  assemblymen  to  twenty-six.  The  governor 
returned  the  bill  with  his  veto,  and  his  reasons  there 
for.  But  the  temper  of  the  legislature  being  adverse 
to  correction,  it  adjourned  without  passing  any  ap 
portionment  bill.  The  effect  was  to  prevent  an  elec 
tion  of  representatives  in  1865.  In  the  latter  part  of 
summer  Edgerton  returned  to  the  east,  and  Meagher, 
the  territorial  secretary,  arrived,  on  whom  devolved 
the  functions  of  executive.  There  was  a  strong  desire 
on  the  part  of  the  democratic  portion  of  the  inhabit 
ants  of  Montana  to  form  a  state  constitution,  which 
they  affected  to  believe,  from  the  population  flowing 
in  at  this  period,  they  would  be  justified  in  doing. 
In  their  extremity  of  doubt,  they  called  upon  Meagher 
to  settle  the  question  of  his  own  authority  to  order  a 
new  election  for  the  specific  purpose  of  organizing  a 
state  convention.13 

Meagher  replied  in  a  clear  and  logically  written 
letter,  that  only  an  enabling  act  of  congress  could  re 
store  to  the  territory  the  right  to  elect  a  legislative 
body,  and  advised  them  to  appeal  to  congress  for  such 
relief.  His  views,  however,  underwent  a  change  a 
few  weeks  later,  when  he  published  a  proclamation 
recalling  his  first  decision,  declaring  his  authority  to 
convene  the  legislature,  and  summoning  the  members 
of  the  council  elected  on  the  4th  of  October,  1864,  and 
the  members  of  the  house  of  representatives  elected 
on  the  4th  of  September,  1865,  to  meet  at  Virginia 
City  on  Monday  the  5th  of  March,  "for  the  transac 
tion  of  business,  as  well  as  to  give  legislative  sanction 
and  validity  to  the  convention,"  which  had  been  called 
by  another  proclamation  to  assemble  at  Helena  the 

"  The  inquirers  were  Thomas  E.  Tutt,  R.  W.  Donnell,  James  T.  Hodge, 
Mark  A.  Moore,  Peter  H.  Rea,  J.  H.  Shober,  W.  K.  Roberts,  Alexander  W. 
Woolfolk,  E.  C.  Moore,  R.  C.  Ewing,  and  others.  Montana  Scraps,  20-1. 


G48  POLITICAL  AND  JUDICIAL. 

26th  of  March.  Meagher's  change  of  opinion  was  of 
so  radical  a  nature  that  he  declared  in  a  public  address 
his  intention  to  have  the  laws  so  framed  by  the  legis 
lature  he  had  convoked  that  "no  judge,  whatever  his 
powers  or  consequence,  should  dispute  or  disobey 
them;"  and  further,  that  he  would  enforce  those  laws 
"with  the  whole  power  of  the  county  of  Madison, 
and  if  need  be,  with  the  whole  power  of  the  territory." 
He  said  a  good  deal  also  about  glorying  in  his  de 
mocracy,  and  having  been  deceived  as  to  his  true  pre 
rogatives  by  republican  rascals.  In  short,  he  made  it 
plain  to  the  anti-administrationists  that  he  should  be 
upon  their  side  in  any  political  contests.  He  set  at 
liberty  a  criminal  under  sentence  of  three  years  incar 
ceration  for  manslaughter.  Judge  Munson  requested 
him  to  annul  the  pardon,  but  he  refused.  The  lib 
erated  desperado  made  use  of  his  freedom  by  going  to 
Helena  with  threats  to  take  the  lives  of  some  of  the 
witnesses  against  him,  and  while  there  was  taken  and 
hanged  by  vigilants.u  In  these  various  ways  the  act 
ing  governor  gave  offence  to  the  best  sense  of  the 
community,  which  otherwise  would  cheerfully  have 
acknowledged  the  talents  and  bravery  of  'the  Irish 
patriot.' 

The  first  legislature,  recognizing  the  insufficiency 
of  the  salaries  of  the  territorial  officers,  had  increased 
the  pay  of  the  governor  and  judges  from  §2,500  a 
year  to  $5,000/5  the  deficiency  to  be  made  up  by  the 
territory,  and  at  the  same  time  increased  their  own 
per  diem  to  twelve  dollars. 

The  legislature  summoned  by  the  secretary  repealed 
the  law.  So  far  as  the  chief  justice  and  Williston 
were  concerned,  there  was  some  appearance  of  pro 
priety  in  refusing  to  give  them  double  pay,  inasmuch 
as  they  had,  after  the  usual  manner  of  territorial 
judges,  absented  themselves  from  the  territory,  leav- 

14  The  Virginia  Montana  Post,  March  31,  18G6,  upheld  the  vigilants,  say 
ing  they  had  hanged  Daniels  because  of  his  crimes,  and  not  because  he  had 
been  pardoned,  as  the  governor's  party  chose  to  construe  it. 

uAlont.  Jour.  Council,  18G4,  101. 


STATE  CONVENTION.  649 

ing  Judge  Munson  to  perform  the  duties  of  all  the 
three  districts.  A  resolution  was  passed  by  the 
Helena  bar,  that  in  their  opinion  justice  required  that 
Judge  Munson  should  be  reimbursed  the  expense 
incurred  by  him  in  discharging  the  duties  of  the 
absent  judges,  in  a  sum  at  least  equivalent  to  the  com 
pensation  repealed.16  The  resolution  was  treated  with 
contempt,  and  the  war  upon  a  Connecticut  judge  by 
southern  democrats  continued  unabated,  resulting  in 
the  organization  of  the  union  party  of  Montana,  at 
Virginia  City,  March  29,  1866.17  Meantime  the  legis 
lature  18  legalized  the  existence  of  a  state  convention, 
and  that  body  assembled  on  the  9th  of  April,  at 
Helena.  It  was  rather  a  meagre  affair,  Choteau  and 
Beaverhead  counties  being  unrepresented,  and  so  many 
delegates  being  absent  that  a  quorum  could  not  be 
made  out,  and  the  convention  resorted  to  the  expedient 
of  voting  for  the  absent  members!  A  memorial  to 
congress  was  prepared,  avowing  the  loyalty  of  the 
people  of  Montana,  setting  forth  the  resources  of  the 
territory,  and  asking  for  such  congressional  legislation 
as  would  be  for  the  best  interests  of  a  mining  com- 

o 

munity,  and  also  would  prevent  a  reannexation  to 
Idaho  of  that  portion  of  Montana  lying  between  the 
Bitterroot  and  Rocky  mountains,  which  the  former 
territory  was  then  endeavoring  to  recover,  in  order  to 

16  Virginia  Montana  Post,  March  31,  18C6. 

17  At  the  preliminary  meeting,  T.  C.  Everts  was  called  to  the  chair,  F. 
C.  Deimliug  being  appointed  secretary.     The  committee  appointed  to  report 
at   the  regular  meeting  March  31st  was  composed  of  Phclps,   Strickland, 
Merriman,  and  A.  J.  Davis.     The  central  committee  was  composed  of,  Madi 
son  county,  F.  C.  Deimling,  A.  J.  Davis,  R.  H.  Robinson;  Edgerton  county,  R. 
P.  Seely,  E.  W.  Carpenter;  Jefferson  county,  N.  Merriman,  Jacob  Wettleson; 
Missoula  county,  F.  C.  Worden,  Thomas  Roop;  Deer  Lodge  county,  O.  G. 
Darwin,  B.  P.  Johnson;  Choteau  county,  H.  D.  Upham,  G.  E.  Upson;  Gal- 
latin  county,  R.  C.  Clark,  R.  C.  Knox;  Beaverhead  county,  E.  D.  Leavitt, 

A.  J.  Smith.     President  of  committee,  F.  C.  Deimling;  vice-president,  J.  S. 
Lott;  secretaries,  0.  F.  Strickland,   W.  M.  Stafford;  treasurer,  J.  J.  Hull. 

18  The  members  of  the  council  for  the  2d  term  were  Anson  S.   Porter, 
Charles  S.  Bagg,  E.  D.  Leavitt,  W.  J.  McCormick,  Nathaniel  Merriman,  E. 
F.  Phelps,  J.  G.  Spratt.     Potter  president.     Officers,  R.  J.  Mitchell  secretary, 
E.  S.  Calhoun  assist  secretary,  William  D.  Leech  and  A.  H.  Barrett  clerks, 
John  Bigler  sergeant-at-arms,  George  Reid  door-keeper.      Members  of  the 
house,  A.  J.  Smith,  H.  D.  Herd,  A.  V.  Corry,  G.  H.  Hanna,  L.  Daems,  J.  N. 
Rice,  J.  S.  McCollough,  James  McElroy,  A.  E.  Mayhew,  J.  La  Fontaine,  R, 

B.  Parrott,  A.  S.  Maxwell,  R.  W.  Minims. 


650 

divide  southern  from  northern  Idaho,  as  I  have  else 
where  mentioned,  with  other  matters  of  general 
interest;  calling  the  attention  of  congress  to  the 
necessity  of  an  early  appropriation  for  public  build 
ings,  to  the  desire  of  the  memorialists  for  a  branch 
mint,  and  to  the  discovery  only  just  being  made  that 
cereals  of  all  kinds,  as  well  as  gold  and  silver,  might 
be  reckoned  among  the  productions  of  the  country;  but 
nothing  was  said  of  a  state  organization,19  which  in 
deed  was  not  justified  by  the  condition  of  the  ter 
ritory  in  point  of  finance  or  population.20 

A  feeling  of  insecurity  prevailed  concerning  the 
legality  of  the  acts  of  the  legislature,  which  soon 
forced  that  question  into  court.  An  attachment  suit 
being  brought  in  the  third  judicial  district,  the  defend 
ant  set  up  in  his  defence  the,  invalidity  of  the 
laws  passed  at  the  March  session,  and  was  sustained 
by  the  decision  of  Judge  Munson,  whose  opinion  was 
published  at  length  for  the  benefit  and  at  the  request 
of  the  bar  of  Helena.21  An  appeal  was  taken  to  the 
supreme  court;  but  before  that  convened  the  comp 
troller  of  the  treasury  had  refused  to  honor  drafts  for 
money  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  legislature,  and  it 
became  understood  that  congress  would  not  recognize 
its  acts.  This  gave  the  anti-administration  party 
cause  for  indignant  protests  against  the  tyranny  of 
congress  and  the  administration.  Open-air  meetings 
to  denounce  Judge  Munson  and  the  government  be- 

19  The  members  of  the  convention  which  failed  so  signally  in  its  purpose 
were:  From  Edgerton  county,  R.  C.  Ewing,  J.  A.  Johnson,  W.  J.  Pember- 
ton,  0.  F.  Hart,  W.  L.  Steel,  R.  B.  Parrott,  A.  S.  Maxwell,  E.  B.  Waterbury, 
A.  M.  Wooli'olk,  Thomas  E.  Tutt.     From  Madison  county,  Thomas  Thorough- 
man,  W.  B.  Napton,  Geo.  W.  Hill,  William  N.  Couch,  J.  T.  Rticker,  George 
Wilhelm,   P.   C.   Evans,   John  P.    Rogers.     From  Jefferson  county,  T.    F. 
Boler,  W.   G.  Barclay,  J.  C.   Gillman,  J.  H.   Shober,  W.   F.  Evans.     From 
Gallatin  county,   A.  Metcalf,  W.  B.  Morris,  J.  D.  Davidson,  A.  J.  Hunter, 
H.  P.  Downs.     From  Missoula  county,  John  Pomeroy,  C.  E.  Irwin.     From 
Deer  Lodge  county,  W.   B.  Irwin,  A.  E.  Mayhew,  James  Stuart,   Michael 
Holland,  D.    L.   Irvine,  W.   J.  McCormick,    T.  H.    Buir,  Reuben   Borden, 
Blakely. 

20  There  had  really  been  no  census  taken  when  the  first  apportionment 
was  made;  only  an  estimate  by  the  United  States  marshal;  nor  had  any  yet 
been  taken. 

21  Virginia  Montana  Post,  June  9,  1863. 


INDIGNANT  PROTESTS.  651 

came  the  fashion  with  the  democracy,  at  the  head 
of  whom  was  Acting  Governor  Meagher,  reiterating 
his  determination  to  enforce  the  laws  enacted  by  the 
legislature  he  had  called  into  being.  Twenty-four 
hours  later,  in  the  same  place,  union  orators  denounced 
the  course  of  the  delegate  in  congress  as  a  "wanton 
disregard  of  the  interests  of  the  territory,"  and  the 
conduct  of  the  executive  for  failing  to  file  his  official 
bond  for  a  long  period,  thereby  preventing  the  con 
gressional  appropriations  from  being  made  available; 
for  illegal  and  extravagant  use  of  the  public  money; 
for  neglect  to  settle  with  the  accounting  officers;  for 
impudent  denial  of  the  powers  and  rights  of  lawyers, 
courts,  and  citizens  to  call  in  question  the  legality  of 
his  legislative  bantling;  "for  his  scandalous  disregard 
of  the  common  decencies  of  life;  and  above  all,  his  in 
fidelity  to  the  institutions  of  liberty,  and  his  wanton 
abuse  of  the  American  people,  who  have  furnished 
him  an  asylum  from  the  officers  of  the  laws  of  his 
native  land." 

There  was  just  ground  for  this  outpouring  of  the 
vials  of  wrath  and  sarcasm  on  the  heads  of  Montana's 
delegate  and  governor.  McLean,  in  a  speech  on  a 
bill  before  congress  to  amend  the  organic  act  of  Mon 
tana,  which  disallowed  the  powers  of  the  late  legis 
lature,  stupidly  threatened  that  body  with  taking 
Montana  over  the  line  into  British  Columbia.  "Do 
not,"  said  this  Solon,  "  by  unwise  and  oppressive  legis 
lation,  drive  us  over  the  border,  while  our  love  of 
country  would  actuate  us  to  stand  upon  its  outer  edge, 
a  living  wall  of  strength  in  the  defence  of  the  land." 
As  for  Meagher,  he  could  be  eloquent,  but  he  could 
not  be  honest. 

On  the  1st  of  August  he  issued  a  proclamation 
based  upon  the  election  act  of  the  legislature  of  1864, 
which  called  for  a  general  election  on  the  first  Monday 
of  September  of  each  year,  and  also  upon  the  appor 
tionment  act  of  the  March  session  of  1866,  notifying 
all  county  officers  whose  duty  it  was  to  appoint  officers 


632  POLITICAL  AND  JUDICIAL. 

of  election  and  to  give  notice  in  their  several  counties 
that  a  general  election  would  be  held  on  the  3d  of 
September,  1866,  for  the  choice  of  thirteen  council- 
men  and  twenty-six  representatives.  Seeing  that 
Meagher  and  his  adherents  were  determined  in  their 
course,  the  union  party  put  forth  a  ticket  of  'anti- 
state  and  legislative'  candidates,  and  the  party  jour 
nals22  took  up  their  arms  for  a  campaign. 

22  A  history  of  the  pioneer  newspapers  will  not  be  out  of  place  here.  The 
Montana  Post  was  the  first  journal  started  in  the  territory.  In  1864  John 
Buchanan  brought  a  press  and  material  from  St  Louis  to  Fort  Benton,  with  a 
view  to  locating  at  some  point  in  the  new  commonwealth.  He  fixed  upon 
Virginia  City,  where  the  first  number  of  the  Post  was  issued  August  27,  1864. 
After  printing  two  numbers  Buchanan  sold  to  D.  W.  Tilton  and  Benjamin 
R.  Dittes.  Dittos  was  a  native  of  Leipsic,  Saxony,  born  in  1833.  He  was 
for  a  number  of  years  on  the  upper  Missouri  at  the  various  trading  posts,  and 
in  Colorado  in  1863,  when  Alder  gulch  was  discovered,  to  which  he  removed 
that  year,  building  one  of  the  first  houses  in  Virginia  City.  The  firm  of  D. 
\V.  Tilton  &  Co.  continued  to  publish  the  Post  at  Virginia  City  until  the 
winter  of  1S67-8,  when  Dittes  purchased  Tilton 's  interest,  and  in  conjunction 
with  Mr  Pinney,  removed  it  to  Helena.  The  change  was  not  favorable,  and 
Dittos  withdrew,  the  paper  being  suspended  in  the  spring  of  1869.  Dittes 
died  Nov.  6,  1879.  JIele.na  Herald,  Nov.  6,  1879. 

Another  paper  published  by  Tilton  and  Dittes  was  the  Trl-  Weekly  Repub 
lican,  which  was  started  the  7th  of  July,  1860,  at  Helena,  and  after  printing 
32  numbers  was  removed  to  Virginia  City  and  published  there  as  the  Tri- 
Weeldy  Post.  After  the  removal  of  the  office  of  the  Montana  Post  to  Helena, 
a  daily  was  issued,  the  first  number  appearing  April  20,  1868. 

The  second  newspaper  in  Montana  in  point  of  time  was  the  Montana  Dem 
ocrat.  Kirk  Anderson,  a  reporter  and  correspondent  of  the  St  Louis  Repub 
lican,  about  1 857 .established  a  'gentile'  newspaper  in  Salt  Lake  City,  called 
T/ie  VaW-y  Tan,  which  ran  for  a  year  and  a  half,  or  thereabouts,  when  An 
derson  returned  to  St  Louis,  and  going  south  on  the  breaking-out  of  the  war, 
died.  The  material  of  this  first  gentile  journal  in  Utah  was  purchased  in 
1865  by  John  P.  Bruce  to  start  the  Democrat  in  Virginia  City.  It  sustained 
the  action  of  the  acting  governor  and  the  democratic  party  generally.  It  be 
came  a  daily  in  March  1868. 

In  March  1866  T.  J.  Favorite  removed  the  press  and  material  of  the  Radi 
ator  from  Lewiston,  Idaho,  to  Helena,  Montana,  where  it  became  the  Mon 
tana  Radiator.  In  November  of  the  same  year  it  was  sold  to  Posnainsky  and 
House,  who  changed  the  name  to  Helena  Herald,  and  employed  R.  Emmet 
Fisk  to  edit  it.  The  Fisk  brothers  afterward  purchased  it.  It  was  republi 
can  in  politics,  and  became  a  daily  in  1867. 

The  Rocky  Mountain  Gazette,  a  democratic  paper,  was  started  at  Helena 
about  the  last  of  August  1866,  by  Wilkinson,  Muguire,  and  Ronan.  It  was 
destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  1S7'2.  The  Beaverhcad  News,  republican,  began 
to  be  published  at  Bannack  about  the  same  time,  by  J.  A.  Hosmer,  son  of  the 
chief  justice. 

The  next  newspaper  established  was  the  Independent,  at  Deer  Lodge  City, 
by  Frank  Kenyon,  in  October  1867.  A  half-interest  was  sold  to  John  H. 
Rogers  in  May  1868,  who  assumed  charge  of  the  editorial  department.  In 
January  1869  Rogers  purchased  the  entire  interest,  and,  notwithstanding  the 
name,  ran  it  in  the  interest  of  the  democratic  party.  In  1874  it  was  removed 
from  Deer  Lodge  to  Helena  by  L.  F.  La  Croix,  formerly  of  the  Gazette,  who 
purchased  the  material  and  good- will  of  the  paper  in  company  with  McQuaid 


CHIEF  JUSTICE  HOSMER.  653 

In  the  mean  time  Chief  Justice  Hosmer  returned  to 
Montana,  in  the  district  to  which  he  was  assigned  by 
Governor  Edgerton,  and  his  duties  were  resumed  in 
August.  In  his  charge  to  the  grand  jury  he  reviewed 
the  history  of  the  vigilance  committee,  the  necessity 
in  which  it  originated,  and  the  good  which  had  re 
sulted  from  it,  but  warned  them  that  to  continue  their 
operations  in  the  presence  of  an  organized  judicial 
system  would  prove  detrimental  to  the  best  interests 
of  society,  and  besought  them  to  convince  the  people, 
by  their  thoroughness  in  searching  out  and  punishing 
offenders,  that  the  laws  were  sufficient  for  the  pur 
poses  of  justice.23  The  judge  soon  had  occasion  to 
reprove  the  citizens  of  Virginia  City  for  a  laxity  as 
great  as  the  sternness  of  the  vigilants  had  been  strong. 
John  Gibson  having  been  indicted,  tried,  convicted, 
and  sentenced  to  three  years'  imprisonment  and  a 
heavy  fine,  for  an  assault  with  attempt  to  kill,  thirty- 
three  names  were  appended  to  a  petition  to  have  his 
punishment  reduced  to  a  mere  fine  for  assault,  com 
pelling  the  man  to  pay  fifty  dollars  for  the  privilege 
of  attacking  another  behind  his  back  and  striking  him 
senseless  to  the  ground,  from  which  injury  his  victim 
was  a  long  time  in  recovering.  The  reason  given  by 
the  petitioners  for  their  request  was  that  it  would  be 
very  expensive  to  the  people  to  keep  Gibson  in  prison, 
and  the  inability  of  the  criminal  to  pay  a  heavy  fine. 
It  was  a  mere  matter  of  dollars  and  cents,  and  not  of 
justice  or  order,  for  which  the  chief  justice  very  prop 
erly  censured  the  petitioners,  while  refusing  to  com 
mute  Gibson's  sentence.24 

and  Kerley.  A  daily  was  issued  in  the  same  year.  J.  E.  Kerley  was  born 
Aug.  12,  1840,  and  came  to  Cal.  in  1853  by  the  ocean  route.  Learned  the 
newspaper  business,  and  worked  in  the  offices  of  the  Trinity  Journal  and  the 
Mountain  Democrat  5  years.  In  1865  he  went  to  Helena,  Montana,  and 
mined  subsequently  at  Canon  ferry,  and  was  in  the  grocery  business.  Finally 
he  settled  in  Deer  Lodge,  became  proprietor  of  the  Independent,  as  above, 
and  opposed  hanging  by  the  vigilants  without  trial.  He  served  several  terms 
in  the  legislature. 

23  Virginia  Montana  Post,  Aug.  11,  1866. 

24  There  is  a  pleasant  book,  written  by  A.  K.  McClure  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  published   in  1869,  entitled   Three  Thousand  Miles  through  the  fiocky 
Mountains,  in  which  there  is  a  good  deal  said  about  the  administration  of  the 


654  POLITICAL  AND  JUDICIAL. 

Indeed,  the  absence  of  a  penitentiary  had  been  one, 
if  not  the  principal,  reason  for  the  prompt  executions 
of  the  vigilance  committee.  Now,  persons  convicted 
of  offences  for  which  they  were  sentenced  to  a  period 
of  incarceration  not  exceeding  three  years  were  con 
fined  in  the  county  jail,  those  sentenced  to  a  longer 
term  being  taken  to  Detroit  and  confined  in  the 
Michigan  penitentiary  by  order  of  the  government. 
The  expense  attending  the  journey  of  the  United 
States  marshal,  and  the  opportunities  for  escape  which 
were  offered,  made  this  method  of  disposing  of  crimi 
nals  anything  but  economical  or  satisfactory.  These 
were  some  of  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  smooth 
working  of  the  judicial  machinery.  No  capital  offence 
was  tried  in  the  United  States  courts  until  in  Au 
gust  1866,  when  James  H.  Foster  was  tried  for  the 
murder  of  Philip  Mallory,  in  Judge  Munson's  court 
at  Helena,  pronounced  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  be 
hanged  on  the  5th  of  October.  Foster's  attorneys, 
however,  managed  to  secure  for  him  a  new  trial,  on 
the  ground  of  a  defective  indictment,  but  the  grand 
jury  again  found  a  true  bill  for  murder. 

Montana  was  more  fortunate  than  many  other  of  the 
Pacific  territories,  in  having  for  her  early  judges  men 
of  ability  and  integrity.  Nor  was  it  the  fault  of  the 
people  that  crime  sometimes  assumed  such  magnificent 
proportions,  but  rather  the  lack  of  law-compelling 

vigilants  and  the  courts  in  Montana.  The  author  remarks  of  Hosmer,  that  he 
'  started  wrong  in  the  outset — like  a  timid  driver  failing  to  wield  the  reins 
with  vim  in  his  h'rst  drive  of  a  vicious  team;  and  the  team  has  measurably 
driven  the  driver  ever  since.  Stern  in  his  integrity,  and  well  versed  in  the 
law,  he  does  his  part  creditably  in  all  things,  save  in  exercising  with  a  firm 
purpose  the  high  prerogatives  of  a  court  of  justice.'  I  have  not  found  the 
timidity  imputed  to  Judge  Hosmer  by  McClure — at  least  not  in  any  impor 
tant  matters.  The  same  author  finds  Judge  Munson  too  lax  in  his  jurisdic 
tion — yet  Munson,  single-handed,  steered  the  judicial  craft  through  the 
breakers  of  southern-democratic  disorganization  for  a  year,  without  losing  his 
position  or  the  respect  of  the  people,  who  presented  him  with  a  gold  watch 
as  a  testimonial  in  October  18GG.  Williston,  McClure  describes  as  a  martinet, 
'  who  learned  the  duties  and  prerogatives  of  courts  from  his  father,  one  of 
Pennsylvania's  best  judges  in  the  best  days  of  her  legal  tribunals;'  and  calls 
him  'fastidious,  foppish,  and  genial.'  This  species  of  criticism,  in  which  the 
wise  men  of  the  east  love  to  indulge,  howsoever  it  may  satisfy  a  certain  class 
of  readers,  only  tends  to  render  the  writers  contemptible  in  the  eyes  of  those 
who  know  something  of  what  they  are  talking  about. 


. 

ADMINISTRATION  OF  JUSTICE. 

machinery;  for  when  the  good  men  of  Montana  saw 
that  the  courts  were  unable  to  cope  with  crime,  they 
arose  as  one  man  and  cleansed  the  community  of  its 
wickedness. 

Montana  judges  had  to  deal  with  many  difficulties — 
with  a  large  amount  of  perplexing  business  involving 
novel  questions  for  which  there  was  no  law  and  no 
precedent,  yet  which  made  or  unmade  the  fortunes  of 
the  litigants.25  They  had  to  deal  with  crime  much  in 
excess  of  the  usual  average  in  organized  communities, 

o  c_> 

and  to  endeavor  to  suppress  lawless  hanging  by  the 
administration  of  legal  justice,  when  they  were  per 
fectly  aware  that  the  rule  of  law,  on  account  of  the 
embarrassments26  under  which  they  labored,  was  not 

25  Chief  Justice  Hosmer  in  his  last  charge  to  the  grand  jury  gives  a  hu 
morous  picture  of  his  court,  which  as  a  bit  of  history  is  valuable  also.     He 
says  that  he  first  organized  a  court  in  his  district  in  December  1864.     'Most 
of  the  suits  had  been  commenced  when  Montana  formed  a  part  of  Idaho,  and 
a  nearly  worn-out  copy  of  an  original  house  bill  of  the  civil  practice  act  of 
Idaho,  with  written  interlineations  and  corrections,  was  the  sole  guide  to  the 
attorneys  in  making  up  a  calendar  of  80  cases.     This  worn  and  dilapidated 
pamphlet,  dirty  from  constant  use,  and  covered  with  paper  so  scribbled  over 
that  its  original  color  was  hardly  discernible,  was  the  vade  mecum  of  bench 
and  bar  in  all  the  early  practice  of  the  territory.'     It  was  always  being  bor 
rowed  and  getting  lost.     'Anxious  clients  and  eager  lawyers  attributed  the 
law's  delays  more  frequently  to  the  absence  of  this  peripatetic  monitor  than  to 
any  other  cause...  The  question  arose  concerning  the  integrity  of  this  old 
book.     Montana  of  herself  had  no  laws.     Should  the  laws  of  Idaho  prevail  ? 
or  should  we  fall  back  upon  the  common  law  ?    The  evenings  of  a  week  were 
spent  in  the  various  arguments  of  the  lawyers,  and  the  question  was  at  length 
decided.     Close  upon  the  heels  of  this  discussion  followed  another  of  equal 
duration  on  the  gold  and  greenback  question ;  then  another  as  to  the  legality 
of  instruments  in  action  which  had  not  been  stamped  simply  because  there 
were  no  stamps  in  the  territory. .  .Our  first  court-room,  the  dining-hall  of  the 
Planters'  House,  was  a  model  of  rustic  judicial  architecture.     Upon  a  long 
table,  whose  tottering  legs  threatened  any  one  having  the  termerity  to  climb 
upon  it  with  instant  demolition,  behind  another  table  of  smaller  dimensions, 

. .  .on  one  of  the  stools  which  had  served  apprenticeship  at  the  dinner-table, 
sat  the  judge,  in  the  language  of  Milton,  "he  above  the  rest  proudly  eminent." 

. .  .In  the  arena  below,  the  jurors,  the  bar,  the  suitors,  spectators,  prisoners, 
even  the  dogs,  mingled  together  in  incongruous  confusion.  Under  all  these 
seeming  embarrassments,  the  course  of  justice  was  slowly  onward. .  .An  im 
portation  of  Idaho  laws  superseded  the  worn-out  house  bill,  and  in  a  week's 
time  a  hall  of  ampler  dimensions,  suitably  arranged,  was  provided  for  the 
court.'  Virginia  Montana  Democrat,  April  11,  18G8. 

26  Wilbur  F.  Sanders,  in  a  chapter  on  the  early  judiciary  of  Montana,  con 
tained  in  his  Notes,  MS.,  says:  'Justice  has  not  been  done  to  the  courage 
which  enabled  these  early  judicial  pioneers  to  step  into  such  a  community 
and  so  act  as  to  practically  drive  the  vigilance  committee  out  of  existence  in 
a  short  period  of  time.'     I  would  here  make  my  acknowledgments  for  many 
favors  received  from  time  to  time  from  the  very  able  and  public-spirited 
author  ol  these  manuscript  Notes,  who  also  contributes  ill  effect  the  following 
remarks  on  Montana  tribunals. 


G56  POLITICAL  AND  JUDICIAL. 

so  effectual  in  preserving  the  lives  and  property  of 
the  public  as  the  action  of  the  vigilance  committee 

From  the  time  of  the  first  settlement  in  Montana  to  May  1864  there  was 
not  an  officer  authorized  to  administer  oaths  or  the  laws  in  the  territory,  and 
110  organization,  if  we  except  a  partial  organization  of  the  county  of  Mis- 
soula  by  the  legislature  of  Washington,  where  there  was  a  single  justice  of 
the  peace.  Yet  for  two  years  there  had  been  a  number  of  considerable  set 
tlements  in  the  territory,  and  property,  real  and  personal,  of  great  value, 
owned,  titles  created  and  conveyed,  crimes  punished,  and  other  forms  of 
redress  resorted  to  known  to  the  judicial  tribunals.  And  this  was  a  neces 
sity.  Thrifty  and  active  communities  were  engaged  in  mining  and  commer 
cial  transactions  of  large  moment  and  amounts;  cargoes  of  goods  were  arriving 
and  boing  sold  and  transported,  calling  into  being  all  the  processes  by  which 
civilized  communities  assume  to  regulate  affairs  between  men  and  enforce 
justice.  The  story  of  those  days  furnishes  a  remarkable  example  of  the 
force  of  habit  in  such  matters  which  characterizes  the  American  people,  and 
demonstrates  that  they  readily  follow  the  forms  of  law,  and  abide  by  the 
consequences  when  their  acts  lack  legal  sanction. 

The  primary  tribunal,  constituting  what  I  would  call  the  first  period  of 
judicial  proceedings  in  Montana,  was  known  as  the  miners'  court,  and  regu 
lated  all  rights,  legal,  equitable,  and  admiralty.  Prior  to  March  1 803,  when 
the  territory  of  Idaho  was  created,  comprehending  what  is  now  Montana  and 
a  part  of  Wyoming,  within  the  limits  of  these  latter  there  was  not  a  volume 
of  the  statutes  of  Washington,  out  of  which  Idaho  had  been  carved,  nor  had 
the  legislature  of  Idaho  met  or  enacted  any  laws.  No  man  was  authorized  to 
administer  an  oath,  acknowledge  a  deed,  certify  a  contract,  or  determine  any 
controversy.  Hence  the  necessity  of  some  regulations  to  which  the  people 
consented.  The  occupied  mineral  regions  were  divided  into  districts  of  con 
venient  size.  Public  meetings  were  called,  usually  upon  Sundays,  when  the 
people  had  leisure,  and  some  citizens  were  elected  president  of  the  district, 
miners'  judge,  sheriff,  and  coroner,  their  duties  being  undefined  except  by 
name,  and  the  admonition  that  they  should  discharge  the  functions  which 
usually  devolved  upon  such  officers.  In  a  community  where  the  criminal 
class  possessed  great  strength,  a  prosecuting  attorney  was  added  to  the  list 
of  officers.  The  Entire  strength  of  these  districts  was  wielded  by  these  offi 
cials  in  repressing  and  punishing  crime,  and  for  the  vindication  of  pecuniary 
rights  or  the  redress  of  financial  wrongs.  These  courts  without  hesitation 
granted  divorces,  and  the  judges  performed  marriage  services  without  ques 
tion.  They  summoned  any  party  complained  of  into  their  courts,  brought 
in  juries  of  six  citizens  whenever  demanded,  listened  to  lawyers  with  the  cus 
tomary  impatience,  declared  the  law  dogmatically  without  question,  in 
structed  juries  as  to  their  duties,  received  their  verdicts  and  entered 
judgment  upon  them,  or  set  them  aside  with  the  same  degree  of  regularity 
and  sobriety  which  characterizes  similiar  tribunals  now.  If  the  courts  did 
not  hold  quite  so  strong  the  principles  of  law  over  the  juries,  or  direct  and 
control  them  as  is  customary  in  more  stable  communities,  the  fault  was  not 
confined  to  miners'  courts.  Probably  there  were  more  disagreeing  juries  then 
than  now,  although  this  is  still  a  chronic  disorder  in  Montana.  Not  infre 
quently  cases  were  tried  half  a  dozen  times  before  a  jury  agreed.  Their 
fluctuations  were  remarkable,  there  being  generally  five  obstinate  men  on  one 
side,  and  at  the  next  as  many  on  the  other  side.  It  was  a  frequent  occur 
rence  that  the  judge  arrested  proceedings,  and  ordered  the  sheriff  to  obtain 
for  the  court  and  jury  and  members  of  the  bar  refreshments  from  the  nearest 
saloon.  The  costs  of  a  suit  were  fixed  somewhat  arbitrarily  by  the  judge,  gen 
erally  upon  a  scale  of  prices  arranged  by  him;  but  if  the  trial  was  important 
and  exciting,  and  the  parties  making  money  fast  in  the  mines,  he  discrimi 
nated  against  wealth.  The  lawyers  got  paid  very  well.  The  sheriff  was  an 
important  figure  in  the  mines.  He  usually  selected  the  juries  upon  an  open 


ADOPTION  OF  CODES.  657 

had  been.  The  first  legislature  adopted  codes,  civil 
and  criminal,  but  owing  to  the  delay  in  printing  them, 
the  courts  were  thrown  back  upon  manuscript  bills  of 
that  session  for  guidance.  Under  this  practice,  in  the 
first  three  years,  in  the  first  district  alone,  six  hundred 

venire,  and  if  he  had  particular  friends  engaged  in  litigation,  would  take  care 
of  them  in  the  selection.  Changes  of  venue  and  nonsuits  were  practically 
unknown.  There  was  generally  provided  by  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the 
district  an  opportunity  for  the  defeated  party  to  appeal  to  a  '  miners'  meet 
ing,'  which  he  was  permitted  to  do  without  giving  bonds,  and  simply  upon 
serving  a  notice  on  the  party  and  judge  of  his  appeal  to  the  president  of  the 
district;  the  miners,  as  jurors,  being  supreme  over  the  judge  and  the  parties 
to  the  contention.  These  miners'  meetings  were  most  often  held  in  the  open 
air,  and  if  the  weather  was  cold,  or  some  incident  of  the  saloons  attracted 
them,  they  absented  themselves  until  one  of  the  parties  to  the  suit  rallied 
them  by  signifying  that  a  question  of  supreme  importance  was  about  to  be 
decided,  when  they  returned  and  voted  for  their  favorite.  At  these  miners' 
meetings  the  appellate  judge  usually  occupied  a  wagon,  and  the  lawyers  and 
witnesses  spoke  and  testified  from  the  same  eminence.  The  witnesses  might 
be  interrogated  by  any  one  who  wished  to  know  further  about  the  case,  ex 
hibit  his  learning,  or  make  a  display  of  his  feigned  impartiality.  These 
tribunals  were  sometimes  swayed  by  the  politics  of  their  clients  or  their 
counsel,  and  sometimes  influenced  by  the  liquid  refreshments  furnished  by 
one  side,  or  occasionally  by  a  sordid  motive;  but  whatever  consideration  de 
termined  the  result,  it  was  manifested  by  a  viva  voce  vote  of  all  present, 
except  the  litigants  and  their  counsel,  and  was  final.  If  there  was  any  doubt 
about  the  vote,  there  was  a  division  and  a  count,  the  opposing  voters  stand 
ing  on  either  side  of  a  line,  while  the  sheriff  or  president  ascertained  the 
exact  number  of  each.  Once  definitely  settled,  there  was  no  further  appeal. 
Property  worth  many  thousands  of  dollars  was  involved  in  these  suits,  and 
titles  were  passed  which  stand  to  this  day  as  firmly  as  any  established  by 
any  courts.  There  was  a  lofty  scorn  of  technicalities  about  these  courts, 
which  treated  with  contempt  a  lawyer's  suggestion  of  the  illegality  of  a 
written  contract  which  had  less  than  the  required  number  of  United  States 
revenue  stamps  upon  it. 

Thoughtful  men  were  troubled  as  to  what  was  to  follow,  and  many  be 
lieved  that  these  determinations  were  of  such  consequence  that  they  would 
l)e  confirmed  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  when  it  should  convene,  as  probably 
would  have  been  the  case  but  for  the  restrictive  laws  of  congress.  As  it  was, 
they  remained  practically  the  determination  of  all  controversies.  These 
tribunals  continued  to  exercise  some  jurisdiction  until  the  arrival  in  the  ter 
ritory  of  the  justices  of  the  supreme  court  in  October  1864;  but  in  the  spring 
of  that  year  commissions  had  arrived  from  Lewiston  for  justices  of  the  peace 
and  probate  judges,  and  the  statutes  of  the  first  session  of  the  territory  of 
Idado  were  also  received.  It  was  found  that  certain  jurisdiction  had  been 
conferred  upon  these  officers,  limited  indeed,  and  comprehending  but  a  small 
portion  of  the  jurisdiction  necessary  to  be  exercised  by  judicial  tribunals, 
and  therefore  the  miners'  courts  were  continued,  presenting  the  spectacle  of 
the  courts  authorized  by  law  exercising  a  limited  authority,  while  the  larger 
contentions  were  determined  by  an  unauthorized  and  volunteer  tribunal. 
The  two,  however,  never  came  in  collision,  but  worked  together  harmoni 
ously  until  the  supreme  court  was  organized.  This  constituted  the  second 
period  of  judicial  history.  During  the  last  ten  months  of  the  latter  period, 
the  vigilance  committee  divided  jurisdiction  with  the  courts,  but  took  cog 
nizance  only  of  the  more  flagrant  offenses.  The  third  period  has  been  treated 
of  above. 

HIST.  WASH.— 42 


658  POLITICAL  AND  JUDICIAL. 

and  fifty  cases  were  disposed  of,  six  being  criminal 
trials.  Few  cases  were  ever  appealed  to  the  supreme 
court,  and  but  one  of  those  few  was  reversed.  At  the 
session%of  the  legislature  of  December  1867,  the  civil 
code  of  California  was  adopted,  because  it  originated 
in  a  state  whose  interests  were,  at  the  time  when  it 
was  framed,  similar  to  those  of  Montana  at  this  time, 
and  which  had  dealt  with  the  knotty  questions  of 
quartz-mining,  water  rights,  placer  claims,  and  their 
congeners.  This  greatly  simplified  the  business  of  the 
courts.  But  the  criminal  code  remained  unimproved. 
Under  it  nearly  half  of  all  the  complaints  tried  re 
sulted  in  acquittal,  owing  greatly  to  the  ambiguity  of 
the  language  in  which  a  crime  was  defined  by  the 
legislators.  Of  the  four  capital  cases  tried  in  Judge 
Hosmer's  court  all  failed  of  conviction,  not  because 
the  indictment  was  faulty  or  the  jury  were  not  prop 
erly  charged,  but  because  they  disagreed  on  the 
interpretation  of  the  law  and  the  charge  of  the  judge. 
More  than  twenty  persons  tried  for  murder  during 
the  term  of  the  first  set  of  district  judges  were  ac 
quitted,  the  juries  being  drawn  from  the  same  people 
who  had  sustained  the  vigilance  committee.  It  can 
not  much  be  wondered  at  that  there  existed  dissat 
isfaction  with  the  courts,  though  they  were  not 
responsible  for  defective  statutes,  or  that  lynch-law 
so  often  hastened  to  remove  criminals  from  their  juris 
diction.  The  cause  lay  even  deeper  than  I  have 
intimated,  in  the  great  infusion  of  a  reckless  element, 
which  was  strengthened  by  still  larger  numbers  of 
careless  and  tolerant  persons,  whose  experience  of  the 
freedom  of  the  frontier  had  made  them  callous  to  the 
horrors  of  violated  law,  even  when  it  brought  them 
face  to  face  with  sudden  death.27  A  shooting  scrape 
was  a  common  occurrence,  and  had  so  many  sides  to 
it — besides  the  danger  that  any  man  might  want  to 
shoot  another  some  time,  and  to  establish  a  precedent 

27  Dimsdale,   Vig.  Montana,  says  that  the  shooting  of  a  man  in  a  barber's 
saloon  did  not  interrupt  the  business  of  shaving. 


THE  CURRENCY  QUESTION.  659 

might  be  troublesome — that  it  was  difficult  to  arouse 
a  sense  of  outrage  in  the  minds  of  the  majority, 
except  where  the  murder  had  been  perpetrated  for 
robbery  in  a  treacherous  and  brutal  manner.  Even 
this,  as  we  have  seen,  they  failed  to  punish.  Such 
was  the  condition  of  society  in  Montana  in  its  earlier 
period,  and  such  to  a  great  degree  it  remained  for  a 
score  of  years,  although  on  the  statute-books  there 
existed  a  law  against  drawing  a  weapon  in  anger. 2S 
All  this  tends  to  prove  the  absurdity  and  futility 
of  the  jury  system,  a  relic  of  past  ages  which  has 
outlived  its  usefulness. 

A  question  discussed  at  this  period  was  one  which 
deeply  touched  the  foundations  of  society  and  its 
good  order,  and  which  disturbed  particularly  the  first 
judicial  district.  Montana  having  been  organized  out 
of  the  territories  of  Idaho  and  Dakota,  for  the  first 
six  months  every  commercial  transaction  had  been 
conducted  in  tacit,  if  not  expressed,  recognition  of  the 
fact  that  placer  gold  was  the  exclusive  currency  of 

28  In  the  earlier  period  John  X.  Beidler  was  deputy  U.  S.  marshal,  as  well 
as  collector  of  customs  for  the  district  of  Montana  and  Idaho,  and  colonel  in 
the  territorial  militia.  He  was  from  Chambersburg,  where  he  was  known  as 
an  'excellent  maker  of  brooms,  cocktails,  and  juleps,  and  a  fellow  of  infinite 
jest.'  In  Montana  he  wore  a  white  slouched  hat  with  an  immense  brim,  loose 
frock-coat  with  ponderous  pockets,  pants  and  vest  of  the  same  cloth,  loosely 
cut,  high -topped  boots,  the  inevitable  woolen  shirt,  a  brace  of  faithful  pis 
tols  in  his  belt,  and  a  huge  '  Arkansas  toothpick,'  or  bowie-knife,  in  a  leather 
sheath.  This  was  his  travelling  costume.  At  other  times  he  could  be  quite  fop 
pish;  and  at  all  times  he  was  a  general  favorite,  except  with  the  law-breakers. 
Like  most  favorites,  he  had  a  pet  name,  which  was  simply  X.  The  local  news 
papers  noticed  his  movements  as  X,  and  so  frequently  in  connection  with  the 
arrest  of  some  criminal  that  the  journals  of  other  localities  took  it  for  granted 
that  X  was  a  cabalistic  sign  for  vigilance  committee.  But  although  he  was 
undoubtedly  on  that  committee's  service  at  times,  he  was  an  officer  of  the 
regular  courts,  whose  activity,  endurance,  sagacity,  and  readiness  in  drawing 
and  firing  made  him  the  terror  of  evil-doers,  and  which  procured  him  the 
thanks  of  the  legislature  in  1883.  McL'lure  says:  'When  he  goes  for  a  des 
perado  he  generally  takes  him  without  papers,  as  he  terms  it;  and  when  he 
commands,  no  one  has  yet  been  reckless  enough  to  question  his  authority  or 
dispute  his  power.  He  has  hung  some  30  of  the  most  lawless  men  the  conti 
nent  could  produce,  and  has  arrested  hundreds,  often  in  distant  regions  and 
without  assistance,  and  has  never  been  repulsed.  Many  have  tried  to  get 
the  drop  on  him,  but  in  vain. '  Three  Thousand  Miles,  376-8. 

The  first  U.  S.  marshal  commissioned  was  Cornelius  F.  Buck,  June  22,  1864, 
who  declined.  The  second,  commissioned  Feb.  2,  1865,  was  (jeorge  M. 
Pinney.  The  third,  commissioned  March  18,  1867,  was  Neil  Howie.  The 
fourth,  commissioned  May  15,  1869,  was  William  F.  Wheeler,  who  was 
recommissioiied  in  1873.  J.  J.  Hall  was  deputy  marshal  after  Beidler. 


660  POLITICAL  AND  JUDICIAL. 

the  country,  and  that  United  States  treasury  notes 
Were  worth  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar  of  the  former 
currency.  The  custom  of  conducting  business  on  this 
basis  was  so  well  established  that  it  had  never  been 
thought  necessary  to  specify  in  writing  in  what  cur 
rency  given  sums  of  money  should  be  paid.  Two 
questions  which  presented  themselves  were  therefore 
of  the  greatest  significance.  First,  was  Montana  with 
out  statutory  enactments,  or  were  all  those  laws  of 
a  general  nature  passed  by  the  legislature  of  Wash 
ington,  not  inapplicable  in  their  form  and  nature  to 
the  western  counties  of  Montana,  in  force  in  that  por 
tion  of  Montana  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and 
such  general  laws  passed  by  the  legislature  of  Dakota 
in  force  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains;  and  were  the 
laws  of  Idaho  passed  at  its  first  legislative  session,  in 
the  winter  of  1863-4,  of  like  nature  and  force  after 
their  passage  throughout  the  territory,  or  did  the  or 
ganization  of  a  new  territory  out  of  Idaho  itself  oper 
ate  to  repeal  all  the  statute  law  then  in  force?  Second, 
what  should  be  the  measure  of  damages  upon  con 
tracts  made  in  the  territory  to  pay  a  given  number 
of  dollars,  not  expressed  to  be  in  gold-dust,  but  un 
questionably  so  intended  by  the  contracting  parties? 

Judge  Hosmer,  when  he  opened  his  court,  made 
first  his  impressive  charge  to  the  grand  jury,  as  before 
mentioned,  and  then,  deferring  all  other  business,  in 
vited  the  opinions  and  arguments  of  the  bar  on  these 
vexed  questions.  As  we  know  already,  a  majority  of 
the  population  of  the  territories  of  Idaho  and  Mon 
tana  at  this  period  were  in  sympathy  with  disunion, 
and  a  political  bias  was  likely  to  be  given  even  to 
questions  of  abstract  law.  A  majority  of  the  bar 
therefore  argued  that  the  organic  act  of  the  territory 
wrested  all  its  geographical  area  from  the  force  and 
operation  of  the  statutes  of  the  other  territories  which 
had  once  had  jurisdiction.  In  the  absence  of  au 
thorities  or  precedents,  a  single  letter  of  secretary 
Buchanan  to  General  Kearney  in  California,  in  which 


RESIGNATION  OF  JUDGES.  661 

it  was  stated  that  the  Mexican  laws  not  inconsistent 
with  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  applicable  to 
the  existing  state  of  affairs,  would  remain  in  force, 
was  the  only  authority  for  the  opposite  side  of  the 
argument.  It  was  Judge  Hosmer's  opinion  that  the 
former  laws  remained  in  force  until  a  Montana  legis 
lature  enacted  others,  which  should  also  be  consistent 
with  the  constitution  of  the  United  States. 

On  the  question  of  contracts,  a  large  majority  were 
of  the  opinion  that  contracts  made  while  gold-dust 
was  currency,  for  the  payment  of  a  given  number  of 
dollars,  could  only  be  liquidated  by  dollars  of  market 
value  as  measured  by  gold-dust.  A  few  members  of 
the  bar,  however,  maintained  that  a  promise  within 
the  United  States  to  pay  any  number  of  dollars  could 
always  be  liquidated  by  whatever  the  United  States 
had  declared  to  be  the  legal  tender  for  the  payment 
of  debts.  It  does  not  appear  that  Judge  Hosmer  de 
cided  this  question,  but  wisely  left  it  to  the  legisla 
ture,  which  held  its  first  session  before  his  court 
adjourned;  and  it  soon  ceased  to  be  a  disturbing- 
question,  popular  sentiment  in  the  mines  being  a  unit 
in  favor  of  gold. 

Notwithstanding  no  ground  of  complaint  could  be 
found  against  the  United  States  judges,  except  that 
they  exercised  their  right  to  hold  opinions  in  conso 
nance  with  their  convictions,  shortly  before  the  expi 
ration  of  their  terms  judges  Hosmer  and  Munson 
were  warned  by  the  anti-administration  journals,  and 
requested  by  the  legislature,  which  had  assigned  them 
to  the  uninhabited  counties  of  Bighorn  and  Choteau, 
to  resign,  and  did  resign,  their  places  being  filled  by 
the  appointment  of  Henry  L.  Warren,  chief  justice, 
and  Hiram  Knowles29  associate.  Williston  remained 

29  Knowles  was  threatened  because  in  a  case  which  concerned  the  adminis 
tration  of  the  estate  of  George  Carhart,  killed  by  Plummer's  band  at  Plum- 
mer's  bidding,  Plnmmer  pretending  to  take  out  administration  papers  in  a 
miners'  court  and  selling  Carhart's  interest  in  the  Dakota  mine  to  the  Mon 
tana  Mineral  Land  and  Mining  company,  the  judge  decided  against  the  com 
pany,  and  in  favor  of  the  proper  heirs.  Deer  Lodye  New  Nort/nvext,  May  25, 
1870.  Knowles  was  from  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  had  resided  in  Nevada.  He 
was  appointed  from  Deer  Lodge  county,  Montana,  at  the  request  of  the  bar. 
Virginia  Montana  Post,  July  26,  1868. 


662  POLITICAL  AND  JUDICIAL. 

until   1869,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  George  G. 
Symes.30 

To  return  to  the  proceedings  of  the  governor  and 
legislature.  Meagher  was  fond  of  proclamations,  and 
considering  that  he  was  only,  at  the  most,  acting  gov 
ernor,  drew  upon  himself  the  ridicule  of  the  opposite 
party,  who  dubbed  him,  in  a  kind  of  merry  contempt, 
the  Acting  One.  He  had  called  a  third  session  of 
the  legislature  before  the  governor  appointed  to  suc 
ceed  Edgerton  arrived,  October  3,  1866.  This  was 
Green  Clay  Smith  of  Kentucky,  whose  coming  was 
without  noise,  and  who  assumed  the  executive  office 
quietly  and  gracefully.  The  legislature  which  had  been 
elected  under  the  apportionment  of  the  previous  one, 
consisting  of  the  maximum  allowed  by  the  organic 
act,  namely,  thirteen  in  the  council  and  twenty-six  in 
the  lower  house,31  met  November  5th,  and  proceeded 
to  enact  laws.  Governor  Smith,  in  his  message,  rec 
ommended  some  legislation  looking  to  the  establish 
ment  of  a  permanent  and  healthy  system  of  education, 
and  made  some  suggestions  concerning  such  a  system. 
He  called  attention  to  the  debt  of  the  territory, 
already  amounting  to  $54,000,  and  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  assessments  and  collections  were  made. 
While  the  assessment  roll  showed  $4,957,274.53  of 

M  Decius  S.  Wade  was  commissioned  chief  justice  after  Warren  in  1871, 
and  again  in  1875.  Knowles  was  retained  two  terms.  John  L.  Murphy, 
commissioned  Jan.  27,  1871,  Francis  G.  Servis  Sept.  21,  1872,  and  Henry  N. 
Blake  July  30,  1875,  were  the  associate  justices  down  to  a  comparatively 
recent  period.  Con.  Hist.  Soc.  Montana,  326-7. 

31  In  the  council,  Charles  S.  Bagg,  A.  A.  Brown,  William  H.  Chiles,  J.  E. 
Galloway,  T.  J.  Lowry,  Mark  A.  Moore,  Sample  Orr,  E.  F.  Phelps,  J.  G. 
Spratt,  David  Tuttle,  E.  B.  Waterbury,  E.  S.  Wilkinson,  G.  G.  Wilson.  Bagg 
president.  William  Y.  Lovell,  F.  W.  A.  Cunningham,  C.  V.  D.  Lovejoy, 
C.  C.  Menaugh,  clerks.  J.  B.  Caven  sergeant-at-arms;  Henry  Catlett  door 
keeper.  Mont.  Jour.  Council,  3d  sess.,  4.  In  the  house,  A.  E.  Mayhew,  Ray 
W.  Andrews,  C.  P.  Blakely,  I.  N.  Buck,  M.  Carroll,  T.  D.  Clanton,  John 
Donegan,  A.  M.  Esler,  J.  Gallaher,  T.  L.  Gorham,  H.  Jordan,  W.  W.  John 
son,  A.  S.  Maxwell,  J.  L.  McCullough,  Peter  McMannus,  Louis  McMurtry, 
R.  W.  Mimms,  John  Owen,  J.  W.  Rhodes,  M.  Roach,  J.  H.  Rogers,  A.  J. 
Smith,  H.  F.  Snelling,  J.  B.  Van  Hagan,  J.  W.  Welch,  J.  B.  Wyle.  May- 
hew  speaker.  A.  H.  Barrett,  James  K.  Duke,  Hedges,  McCaleb,  clerks. 
0.  P.  Thomas  sergeant-at-arms.  William  Deascey  door-keeper.  Mont.  Jour. 
House,  3d  sess.,  4.  Mcivlannus  killed  a  man  in  1867,  and  was  soon  himself 
killed.  Boise  Statesman,  Aug.  3  and  17,  ^867. 


LEGISLATIVE  TROUBLE.  663 

taxable  property,  the  treasurer's  report  showed  only 
$20,316.95  paid  in  taxes  from  eight  counties.  The 
county  of  Choteau  paid  no  tax,  and  refused  to  organ 
ize  or  conform  to  the  laws.  The  governor  recom 
mended  the  repeal  of  the  law  creating  the  county, 
thereby  throwing  it  back  into  Edgerton  county,  whose 
officers  would  do  their  duty.  But  the  treasurer  of 
Edgerton  county  had32  neglected  to  collect  taxes,  and 
left  it  in  debt,  when  it  was  amply  able  to  appear 
solvent.  Two  other  counties,  Meagher  and  Beaver- 
head,  also  failed  to  make  any  returns,  for  which 
evil  the  legislature  was  directed  to  find  a  remedy. 
Indeed,  with  all  the  legislating  that  had  been  done, 
the  affairs  of  the  young  commonwealth  were  in  a  sad 
way,  and  not  likely  soon  to  be  amended,  under  the 
existing  practices  of  the  legislature,  which,  while  it 
affected  economy  in  cutting  down  the  salaries  of  federal 
officers,  doubled  the  number  of  territorial  officers,  and 
paid  them  well  for  doing  their  duty  ill.33  Indeed,  they 
did  not  think  twelve  dollars  a  day  high  pay  for  mak 
ing  laws  which  congress  might  repudiate,  but  for 
which  the  territory  had  to  pay.34  In  addition  to  the 
debt,  apparent  and  acknowledged,  there  was  a  large 
amount  of  scrip  outstanding,  of  which  there  was  no 
official  record.  The  o-overnor  recommended  the  leons- 

O  O 

lature  to  inquire  into  this  matter,  and  the  request 
was  complied  with,  the  inquiry  resulting  in  finding 
the  debt  of  the  young  commonwealth  to  be  over 
$80,000.  The  $20,000  in  the  treasury  was  supposed 
to  be  applied  to  liquidation,  as  far  as  it  went,  and  the 
remaining  $60,000  was  funded  at  a  high  rate  of  in- 

32  This  was  P.  H.  Read.     His  excuse  was  that  he  had  no  time  to  attend 
to  his  official  duties,  being  ftmployed  in  a  mercantile  house  !    Virginia  and 
Helena  Post,  Sept.  29,  I860. 

33  The  sheriff  of  Madison  county,  A.  J.  Snyder.  was  indicted  for  forgery. 
According  to  the  Helena  Republican  of  Sept.  '20,  1866,  he  was  able  to  escape 
the  consequences  of  his  crime  by  a  free  use  of  money  among  lawyers.     The 
same  paper  says,  '  We  have  a  police  magistrate,  McCullough,  said  to  have 
belonged  to  a  band  of  guerillas.'    The  'left  wing  of  Price's  army'  was  not  all 
in  Idaho,  although  Montana  early  officials  were  not  so  notoriously  corrupt  aa 
in  the  sister  territory. 

34  The  pay  of  a  legislator,  under  the  organic  act,  was  $4  per  day.  Zabriskie'a 
Land  Laws,  868. 


664  POLITICAL  AND  JUDICIAL. 

terest  for  the  tax-payers  of  the  future  to  pay.  Even 
this  was  not  all,  there  being  over  $28,000  due  the 
members  of  the  second  and  third  legislatures,  which 
they  had  voted  themselves. 

Governor  Smith  recommended  that  instead  of  ask 
ing  for  a  mint,  as  was  talked  of,  congress  should  be 
petitioned  for  an  assay  office.  A  surveyor-general 
was  very  much  more  needed 35  than  a  mint,  if  county 
boundaries  and  private  land  claims  were  to  be  cor 
rectly  established.  Another  good  suggestion  of 
Smith's  was  the  adoption  of  the  civil  code  of  Califor 
nia,  by  which  the  bar  and  courts  of  Montana  would 
have  the  experience  of  many  years  of  legislation 
under  similar  circumstances,  and  the  opinions  of  the 
supreme  court  of  the  United  States  on  questions 
likely  to  arise.  As  I  have  before  said,  this  sugges 
tion  was  carried  out,  although  not  by  this  legislature. 
Public  buildings  being  still  wanting,  he  recommended 
that  congress  be  asked  for  means  to  erect  those  abso 
lutely  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the  public 
archives,  and  auditor's  and  treasurer's  books,  and  the 
safe-keeping  of  convicted  felons.36  They  were  also 
advised  to  labor  in  behalf  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
railroad,  to  convince  the  national  legislature  of  the 
great  benefit  of  such  a  highway  to  the  whole  north 
west  territory,  and  especially  to  Montana. 

*5  Solomon  Meredith  was  commissioned  surveyor-general  of  Montana 
April  18,  1867.  He  was  instructed  to  make  the  initial  point  of  the  surveys 
at  Beaverhead  rock,  named  by  Lewis  and  Clarke.  Lewis  and  Clarke's  Journal, 
257.  But  this  not  being  convenient,  the  starting-point  was  fixed  at  a  lime 
stone  hill  800  feet  high,  near  the  mouth  of  Willow  creek,  between  that 
stream  and  Jefferson  river,  12  miles  from  the  three  forks  of  the  Missouri. 
The  base  line  was  run  30  miles  east  and  34  miles  west  from  this  point,  and 
the  standard  meridian  42  south  and  60  miles  north  from  it  in  1867.  De  Lacy, 
being  draughtsman  in  the  office  of  the  sur.-gen.,  corrected  his  map  by  the 
survey.  Tri-  Weekly  Mont.  Post,  Nov.  16,  1867.  Orville  B.  O'Bannon  was 
appointed  register,  and  George  McLean  receiver,  of  the  land-office.  M  eredith 
was  succeeded  in  1869  by  Henry  D.  Washburn.  who  was  followed  in  1871  by 
John  E.  Blaine,  who  gave  place  in  1874  to  Andrew  J.  Smith.  The  regis 
ters  following  O'Bannon  were  Lorenzo  B.  Lyman,  Addison  H.  Sanders,  Wil 
liam  C.  Child,  and  James  H.  Moe.  The  receivers  after  McLean  were  Richard 
F.  May,  Solomon  Star,  and  H.  M.  Keyser,  down  to  1875. 

86  Congress  appropriated  in  1866,  for  a  paiiitentiary,  $40,000  out  of  the 
internal  revenue,  to  be  collected  annually  for  three  years;  this  being  the  first 
appropriation  for  territorial  buildings  in  Montana.  Cong.  Globe,  1866-7,  app. 
180;  Virginia  Montana  Post,  Feb.  23,  1867. 


SEAT  OF  GOVERNMENT.  665 

The  scat  of  government,  located  at  Virginia  City 
when  that  was  the  centre  of  the  mining  population, 
was  already  coveted  by  other  towns,  centres  of  other 
rich  mineral  districts,  and  by  the  inhabitants  of 
counties  centrally  located  with  reference  to  the  whole 
territory.  The  legislature  of  November  1866  settled 
the  question,  so  far  as  they  were  concerned,  by  re 
moving  the  capital  to  Helena.37  The  organic  act 
required  a  vote  of  the  people  upon  the  final  location 
of  the  seat  of  government,  and  other  events  were  to 
occur  which  would  nullify  their  action. 

31  Montana  Jour.  House,  3d  sess.,  165,  176,  271,  319. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

POLITICAL   HISTORY. 

1866-1886. 

SPECIAL  LEGISLATION — ALL  MADE  NULL  BY  CONGRESS — USEFUL  LAWS — THE 
CAPITAL  QUESTION — PARTY  ISSUES — THE  SEVERAL  LEGISLATURES — 
GOVERNOR  ASHLEY — GOVERNOR  POTTS — NEWSPAPERS — RAILWAY  LEGIS 
LATION — THE  RIGHT-OF-WAY  QUESTION — TERRITORIAL  EXTRAVAGANCE 
— NORTHERN  PACIFIC  RAILWAY — LOCAL  ISSUES — RETRENCHMENT  AND 
REFORM. 

HAVING  discharged  the  onerous  duties  of  his  office 
for  a  few  months,  Governor  Smith  returned  to  the 
states,  and  Meagher  again  came  to  the  front.  Once 
more  he  proclaimed  a  special  session  of  the  legislature, 
the  motive  of  which  was  that  a  law  had  just  been 
passed  by  congress  and  approved  by  the  president 
convening  the  40th  congress  on  the  4th  of  March, 
whereas  the  election  law  of  Montana,  which  fixed  the 
day  of  general  election  on  the  first  Monday  of  Sep 
tember,  would  leave  the  territory  without  a  delegate 
from  March  until  September.  Not  that  a  delegate 
had  ever  been  of  much  service  to  the  country,  but  that 
it  was  imperative  the  office  should  be  filled.  The  proc 
lamation  therefore  called  upon  the  legislature  to  con 
vene  at  Virginia  City  on  the  25th  of  February,  1867, 
for  the  purpose  of  altering  the  election  law  so  as  to 
provide  for  the  election  of  a  delegate  without  loss  of 
time,  "as  well  as  for  the  adoption  of  such  other  alter 
ations  and  amendments  as,  under  the  present  circum 
stances  of  the  territory  and  the  nation  at  large,  it  may 
appear  expedient  to  enact."1 

1  Virginia  Montana  Post,  Feb.  23,  1867.  (666) 


INVALID  LEGISLATION.  667 

There  was  another  motive  for  a  special  session, 
which  was  the  passage  of  a  number  of  toll-road  char 
ters,  a  favorite  method  of  taxing  immigration  and  the 
travelling  public  generally.  It  was  the  same  greed 
that  had  cursed  eastern  Oregon  and  Idaho.  A  few 
hundred  dollars  expended  in  grading  odd  bits  of  a 
natural  roadway,  and  an  exorbitant  toll  exacted  for 
every  man  and  animal  that  passed  over  it;  or  a  few 
losfs  thrown  across  a  stream,  and  another  toll  to  be 

o 

paid  for  that;  after  which,  there  was  the  ferry  just 
beyond,  for  which  a  higher  charge  than  either  had  to 
be  paid.  And  these  latter  were  also  monopolies,  their 
charters  prohibiting  any  other  bridge  or  ferry  within 
a  certain  number  of  miles.  Fifty-eight  charters, 
chiefly  of  this  sort,  were  granted  at  the  November 
session,  and  a  new  batch  was  now  to  be  allowed,  if 
the  legislature  came  together  once  more.2  In  vain 
the  press,  which  had  the  interest  of  the  country  at 
heart,  opposed  itself  to  these  abuses ;  they  had  taJiave 
their  day. 

The  legislature  met  on  the  25th,  and  continued  in 
session  until  the  6th  of  March.  A  number  of  local 
laws  were  enacted,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  amend 
the  election  law  so  as  to  hold  an  election  for  delegate 
and  county  officers  in  April,  and  secure  these  places 
to  their  own  party.  But  the  measure  failed,  the  legis 
lature  foreseeing  that  to  tamper  with  so  important 
a  law,  in  the  absence,  too,  of  a  number  of  the  legisla 
tors,  would  be  to  invoke  the  displeasure  of  congress. 
Scarcely  had  they  adjourned  finally  when  the  tele 
graph  announced  that  all  their  law-making,  from  the 
time  when  the  first  legislative  body  had  failed  to  carry 
out  the  provisions  of  the  organic  act  by  passing  an 
apportionment  bill,  had  been  declared  invalid  by  con 
gress,  together  with  their  numerous  oppressive  char 
ters,3  except  such  as  could  be  sustained  in  the  courts. 

2  It  cost  $37.50  for  each  wagon  from  Salt  Lake  to  Helena,  and  as  much 
from  Helena  to  Bighorn  River. 

3  'The  legislative  assemblies  of  the  several  territories  of  the  United  States 
shall  not,  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  grant  private  charters  or  special  priv- 


668  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

The  power  they  had  abused  was  taken  away  from 
them.  The  salaries  of  the  chief  and  associate  justices 
were  raised  to  $3,500  annually,  and  the  pay  of  legis 
lators  left  where  it  had  been  first  fixed.  The  judges 
were  authorized  to  define  the  judicial  districts,  assign 
themselves  by  agreement,  and  fix  the  times  and  places 
of  holding  court,  not  less  than  two  terms  yearly  at 
each  place.  The  governor  was  authorized  to  divide 
the  territory  into  election  districts,  the  election  to 
be  held  at  the  time  and  place  prescribed  by  the  legis 
latures  of  1864  and  1865,  and  the  qualification  of 
voters  to  be  the  same  as  in  the  original  act,  save  re 
strictions  by  reason  of  race  or  color.4  There  were  two 
years  and  a  half  of  legislative  existence  blotted  out, 
and  everything  had  to  be  begun  over  at  the  point 
where  the  first  legislature  left  off  in  a  fit  of  peevish 
ness  because  the  governor  endeavored  to  check  their 
extravagance  and  love  of  power.  Nevertheless  the 
legislative  assembly  was  authorized  to  reenact,  one 
by  one,  such  acts  of  the  bogus  legislatures  as  they 
deemed  beneficent.6 

The  situation  was  unique  for  a  territory  which  had 
contributed,  in  its  brief  existence  of  three  years,  thirty 
millions  in  gold  to  the  world's  treasure.  But  it  was 
this  prodigality  of  wealth  which  drew  to  it  the  cor 
morants  of  avarice  and  crime.  The  republicans  nomi 
nated  for  delegate  W.  F.  Sanders,  who  received,  out 
of  10,901  votes  cast,  4,896.  Cavanaugh  was  returned 
by  a  majority  of  1,108.6  As  to  the  legislature,  Madi- 

ileges,  but  they  may,  by  general  incorporation  acts,  permit  persons  to  associ 
ate  themselves  together  as  bodies  corporate  for  mining,  manufacturing,  and 
other  industrial  pursuits.'  Zabriskie's  Land  Laws,  871. 

*The  organic  act  of  Montana,  in  respect  of  qualification  of  voters,  was  the 
same  as  in  the  organic  act  of  Idaho,  which  permitted  'every  free  white  male 
inhabitant  above  the  age  of  21  years,'  an  actual  resident,  etc.,  to  vote  at  the 
first  election.  The  amendment  to  the  organic  act  of  Montana  above  quoted, 
'saving  the  distinction  therein  made  on  account  of  race  or  color,'  was  an  in 
troduction  of  the  15th  amendment  to  the  U.  S.  constitution  before  that 
amendment  had  been  adopted  by  congress. 

5 The  telegram  from  Washington  read  as  follows:  'Congress  has  annihi 
lated  the  bogus  legislature  of  Montana  and  annulled  its  laws.  The  election 
is  fixed  for  September.  U.  S.  judges'  salaries  fixed  at  §3,500.  Montanians 
celebrate  here  to-night." 

6  Helena  Herald,  Dec.  7, 1876;  Virginia-Montana  Post,  Oct.  5,  1867.     Cava- 


CHOICE  OF  CAPITAL.  609 

son  county  elected  one  republican,  the  only  one 
elected  in  the  territory,  and  he  was  ruled  out,  not  be 
cause  he  was  not  elected  by  a  majority,  but  because 
he  was  not  wanted  in  that  body,  where,  indeed,  he 
would  have  been  of  little  use.7 

Many  useful  statutes  were  now  placed  upon  record. 
One,  an  act  to  amend  an  act  to  locate  the  seat  of 
government,  which  removed  the  capital  to  Helena, 
subject  to  the  vote  of  the  people,  failed.  The  gov 
ernor,  who  had  once  approved  the  measure,  now 
thought  fit  to  veto  it,  for  the  bill  called  for  votes  on 
two  places  only,  he  said;  there  might  be  another 
more  suitable.  The  surveyor-general's  report  showed 
that  when  the  county  lines  came  to  be  adjusted, 
Helena  might  fall  in  Jefferson  county,  and  Virginia 
City  in  Beaverhead.  The  Northern  Pacific  rail 
road,  which  all  expected  to  be  built  in  a  few  years, 
would  naturally  be  an  important  factor  in  the  loca 
tion  of  the  seat  of  government.  For  these  and  other 
reasons  he  advised  them  to  let  this  matter  rest  for  a 
lew  sessions,  or  until  the  affairs  of  the  territory  should 
shape  themselves  more  definitely.8  Not  satisfied,  the 
legislature  passed  another  bill  naming  three  localities 
to  be  presented  to  the  vote  of  the  people,  which  re 
ceived  the  governor's  veto  for  the  same  reasons,  and 
other  technical  objections.  It  was  reconsidered  and 
lost,  yet  it  continued  to  crop  up  at  succeeding  legis- 

naugh  is  described  as  a  man  of  good  abilities,  but  he  did  not  seem  to  have 
used  them  for  Montana.  He  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  and  was  the  first 
delegate  from  Minnesota.  In  I860  he  came  to  Colorado,  residing  at  Central 
City  until  he  went  to  Montana.  After  his  delegatcship  he  resided  in  New 
York  City.  In  1879  he  returned  to  Colorado,  settling  in  Leadville,  but  died 
soon  after  arriving.  Denver  Tribune,  Oct.  31,  1879. 

7  The  council  consisted  of  Charles  S.  Bagg,  president,  John  W.  Corum, 
W.  E.  Cullen,  Alexander  Davis,  Sample  Orr,  Jasper  Rand,  Thomas  Watson; 
Bee.,  Thomas  B.  Wade;  asstsec.,  C.  C.  Menaugh;  clerks,  H.  H.  Showers,  D.  B. 
Jenkins;  sergeant-at-arms,  Stephen  R.  El  well;  door-keeper,  John  Thompson. 
The  members  of  the  lower  house  were  Wellington  Stewart,  speaker,  J.  M.  An 
derson,  N.  C.  Boswell,  H.  It.  Comly,  W.  H.  Edwards,  James  Gallaher,  H.  A. 
Kennedy,  F.  E.  W.  Patton,  J.  W.  Rhodes,  John  A.   Simms,  W.  Tennant, 
J.  R.  Weston,  Samuel  Word;  clerks,  H.   A.  Barrett,  F.  A.  Shields,   J.  G. 
McLain,  William  Butts;  sergeant-at-arms,  0.  P.  Thomas;    door-keeper,  H. 
J.  Hill.  Mont.  Jour.  Council,  4th  sess.,  4. 

8  Mont.  Jour.  House,  4th  sess.,  84-88;  Deer  Lodge  Independent,  Nov.  30, 
1867. 


670  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

latures  until  1874,  when  the  capital  was  permanently 
located  at  Helena.9  The  penitentiary,  however,  was 
located  at  Deer  Lodge  City,  by  act  of  this  legisla 
ture,  and  without  active  opposition.10 

9An  act  was  before  the  legislature  in  1868  to  remove  the  capital  to  Deer 
Lodge  City.  The  majority  of  the  committee  to  which  it  was  referred — H.  W. 
English,  T.  B.  Edwards,  and  Sample  Orr — reported  against  it;  and  the 
minority — Jasper  Rand  and  Thomas  Watson — in  its  favor.  Mont.  Council 
Jour.,  5th  sess. .  90.  The  minority  report  prevailed,  and  the  bill  was  finally 
approved,  on  being  amended  to  read  Helena  instead  of  Deer  Lodge.  The 
majority  of  votes  was  claimed  for  Virginia  City,  Madison  county,  in  order  to 
make  sure  of  the  result,  casting  between  1,800  and  1,900  votes,  instead  of 
her  usual  1,200  or  1,300.  Choteau  county  was  thrown  out  altogether,  on  ac 
count  of  alleged  irregularities.  Owing  to  a  change  in  the  periods  of  the  legis 
lature,  which  became  biennial  by  act  of  congress  in  1  8G9,  the  capital  question 
was  not  voted  upon  again  until  1872,  when  Helena,  Deer  Lodge,  and  Glallatin 
contended  for  the  boon,  and  Virginia  City  still  managed  to  hold  it.  In  1874 
a  vote  was  again  taken  for  the  removal  to  Helena.  The  history  of  the  strug 
gle  of  Virginia  City  to  retain  the  capital  is  one  of  dishonor.  Forged  election 
returns  from  Meagher  county  were  substituted  for  the  actual  abstract.  The 
canvass  was  made  in  the  presence  of  the  governor,  Potts,  the  secretary,  Cal- 
loway,  and  the  U.  S.  marshal,  Wheeler.  It  was  said  that  the  governor  knew 
the  returns  to  be  fraudulent.  However  inconsistent  that  may  be  with  his 
usual  fair  course,  he  made  no  effort  to  secure  a  fair  recount  when  it  was  made 
apparent  that  there  had  been  a  forgery  committed.  The  secretary  is  said  to 
have  planned  the  fraud,  or  to  have  been  a  party  to  it.  He  issued  a  circular 
requesting  the  returns  to  be  sent  through  the  express  office,  and  allowed  them 
to  remain  there  18  days,  during  which  time  the  false  abstract  was  made.  The 
governor  refused  to  offer  a  reward  for  the  discovery  of  the  criminal.  A  large 
reward  was  offered  by  others,  but  failed  of  its  object.  There  was  an  effort 
made  by  Potts  and  Galloway  to  unseat  Knowles,  by  whose  judgment  in  the 
courts  the  electoral  count  was  declared  a  fraud.  The  case  was  taken  before  the 
supreme  court,  and  a  recanvass  ordered,  which  resulted  in  a  majority  of  437 
for  Helena.  This' ended  a  long  struggle,  in  which  all  the  dishonest  practices 
of  unscrupulous  politicians  were  exhausted  to  defeat  the  choice  of  the  peo 
ple.  Deer  Lodi/e  Independent,  Sept.  21  and  Oct.  2,  1874,  Jan.  15  and  22, 
1875;  Helena  Herald,  Feb.  19,  1874;  Deer  Lodge  New  Northwest,  May  9  and 
Aug.  8,  1874. 

10  The  corner-stone  of  the  penitentiary  was  laid  June  2,  1870,  A.  H. 
Mitchell  being  commissioner.  The  plan  of  the  building  was  a  central  main 
structure  36  by  30  feet,  with  two  wings  70  by  44  feet.  It  was  built  of  brick, 
and  one  wing  completed  in  October.  Gov.  Potts  appointed  Conrad  Kohrs, 
Granville  Stuart,  and  John  Kinna  prison  commissioners,  and  James  Gilchrist 
warden.  The  penitentiary  cost,  when  occupied,  in  1871,  §49,300.  It  was 
placed  by  law  under  the  charge  of  the  U.  S.  marshal,  William  F.  Wheeler, 
and  opened  for  the  reception  of  12  prisoners  on  the  2d  of  July  of  that  year. 
The  expenses  of  the  prison,  including  salaries  of  officers,  were  paid  by  the 
general  government,  until  May  15,  1873,  when  the  territory  assumed  the  ex 
penses,  and  the  government  paid  §1  per  day  for  keeping  its  convicts.  In  Au 
gust  1874  this  rule  was  reversed,  the  government  again  assuming  charge,  and 
the  territory  paying  §1  per  day  for  its  convicts.  The  actual  cost  of  keeping 
prisoners  was  from  §1.86  to  $2.03  per  day,  in  the  first  few  years.  It  has  grad 
ually  been  reduced  to  $1.36.  These  statements  are  taken  from  a  written 
account  of  the  penitentiary  by  Marshal  Wheeler,  except  the  plan  of  the  build 
ing,  which  is  copied  from  the  printed  documents  of  the  period.  The  prisoners 
had  no  regular  employment,  although  they  had  made  many  improvements  in 
the  prison,  and  manufactured  their  clothing,  or  performed  any  labor  required. 


MONEY  WANTED.  671 

That  part  of  the  amendment  to  the  organic  act 
which  required  the  election  law  to  conform  to  the  new 
condition  of  the  country  with  regard  to  race  and  color 
failed  to  receive  that  attention  demanded  by  the  man 
date  of  congress,  and  while  the  Montana,  legislators 
amended  the  election  act  of  1864-5,  they  left  upon  the 
statute  the  interdicted  phrase,  "white  male  citizen," 
which  contempt,  when  it  came  to  the  ears  of  the  gov 
ernment,  came  near  causing  the  annulment  of  all  the 
laws  of  this  session,  a  repeal  of  the  organic  act  of  Mon 
tana  being  threatened,11  whereupon  the  discriminating 
phrase  was  expunged.  Another  way  of  emphasizing 
their  anti-union  tendencies  was  shown  in  the  apportion 
ment  act,  which  was  still  made  to  call  for  the  maxi 
mum  number  of  legislators,  less  two  in  the  house  of  rep 
resentatives,12  leaving  nothing  for  the  future  expansion 
of  the  population  to  build  upon.  They  memorialized 
congress  for  permission  to  form  a  state  constitution 
while  the  territory  was  still  deeply  in  debt,13  and  at 
the  same  time,  for  more  than  a  million  dollars  to  pay 
the  Indian-war  debt.  A  good  deal  of  this  money 
would  come  into  the  itching  palms  of  the  politicians 
and  all  the  state  officers,  if  they  succeeded  in  getting 
an  enabling  act  passed.  To  give  increased  flavor  to 
the  proceedings,  the  chief  justice  of  the  territory  and 
Judge  Munson  were  asked,  by  resolution,  to  resign, 
as  I  have  before  mentioned.  By  this  time  the  legal 
forty  days'  term  was  exhausted,  but  an  extra  session 
was  called,  which  met  on  the  14th  of  December  and 
sat  for  ten  days.  Then  congress  enacted  that 

In  1877  there  were  83  prisoners  in  the  penitentiary.    Wheeler's  Montana  Peni 
tentiary,  MS.,  1-10. 

11  Virginia  Tri-  Weekly  Post,  Dec.  7,  1867;   Virginia  Montana  Post,  Feb.  29, 
1868^. 

12  The  number  at  the  6th  session  was  1 1  councilmen  and  20  representa 
tives.     The  council  was  increased  to  13  at  the  7th  session,  and  the  assembly 
men  to  26  at  the  8th.     At  the  9th  session  there  were  14  members  of  the 
council.     No  two  legislatures  for  a  series  of  years  were  constituted  of  exactly 
the  same  number  of  members,  the  reason  lying  probably  in  the  election  or 
non-election  of  certain  districts. 

13  There  was  a  bill  introduced  in  the  senate,  by  Morton  of  Indiana,  early 
in  18G9,  to  enable  the  people  of  Montana  to  form  a  constitution  and  state 
government,  which  failed. 


672  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

the  territories  should  hold  their  legislative  sessions 
biennially  after  July  1,  18G9.  This  change,  as  usual, 
gave  rise  to  fresh  opportunities.  The  legislature  of 
1868  enacted  that  the  next  session  should  convene 
on  the  first  Monday  in  November  1870,  under  the 
impression  that  the  law  was  in  conformity  with  the 
act  of  congress,  which  decreed  that  the  representa 
tives  of  Montana  should  be  elected  for  two  years,  and 
that  the  legislature  at  its  first  session  after  the  pas 
sage  of  the  act  should  provide  for  carrying  into  effect 
the  provisions  of  the  statute.  But  the  Montana  law 
was  passed  on  the  15th  of  January,  in  anticipation  of 
the  act  of  congress,  which  was  approved  in  March 
following,  and  made  no  change  in  the  term  of  the 
election  of  legislators.  A  legal  question  was  involved, 
but  they  would  hold  the  session,  and  settle  the  ques 
tion  at  law  afterward.  To  the  legislature  of  1868 
was  elected  one  republican,  from  Gallatin  county, 
namely  L.  S.  Wilson.14  In  1869  the  democracy  in 
Deer  Lodge  county  bolted,  and  the  best  men  of  the 
party  inviting  the  best  men  of  the  republican  party 
to  join  them,  formed  a  people's  party,  to  correct 
abuses,  and  succeeded  in  sending  three  members  to 
the  legislature.15  A  few  republicans  were  elected  to 

14  The  members  of  the  5th  legislature  were,  in  the  council,  S.  Russell, 
president,  Charles  S.  Bagg,  J.   W.   Corum,   W.   E.   Cullen,   W.  B.  Dance, 
Alexander  Davis,  Thomas  B.  Edwards,  H.  W.  English,  A.  G.  P.  George,  A. 
H.  Mitchell,   Sample  Orr,  Jasper  Rand,   Thomas  Watson;  sec.,  C.  C.  Me- 
naugh;  asst  sec.,  W.  F.  Kirkwood;  clerks,  H.  H.  Showers,  R.  P.  Vivian;  ser- 
geant-at-arms,  Stephen  R.  Elwell;  door-keeper,  John  Thompson.     House  of 
representatives,  A.  E.  Mayhew,  speaker,  R.  D.  Alexander,  J.  P.  Barnes,  A. 
W.  Brison,  H.  R.  Comly,   Andrew   Cooper,  John  Donnegan,   J.  M.  Ellis, 
Simeon  Estis,  R.  K.  Findlay,  J.  H.  Hicks,  C.  W.  Higley,  J.  C.  Kerley,  M. 
P.  Lowry,  John  McLaughlin,  W.  F.  Powers,  John  W.  Rhodes,  D.  L.  Shafer, 
G.  W.  Stapleton,  W.  Stewart,  Otis  Strickland,  J.  M.  Sweeney,  G.  W.  Went- 
worth,  L.  S.  Wilson;  clerks,  R.   E.  Arick,  A.  H.  Barrett,  T.  E.  Rounds, 
WTilliam  Butz;  sergeant-at-arms,  0.   P.  Thomas;   door-keeper,  L.   0.    Holt. 
Mont.  Jour.  House,  5th  sess.,  4. 

15  The  Montana  Democrat  of  June  12,  1869,  gives  the  people's  platform, 
in  which  it  is  said:  'The   continual   increase   of   the   county   indebtedness, 
burdensome  taxation  for  worthless  services,  a  reign  of  violence  and  disorder 
resulting  from  the  non-enforcement  of  the  criminal  laws  and  the  non-punish 
ment  of  convicted  offenders,  and  the  building-up  of  a  faction  dangerous  to 
the  welfare  of  the  country,  and  which  aims  at  control  of  all  county  affairs,' 
are  reasons  for  uniting  to  overthrow  this  power.     It  declared  that  an  emer 
gency  had  arisen  in  which  it  was  the  duty  of  all  good  citizens  to  lay  aside 


GOVERNOR  ASHLEY.  673 

county  offices  in  different  parts  of  the  territory, 
enough  to  show  a  growing  sense  of  the  evils  of  a  one 
sided  administration. 

In  the  mean  time  a  new  governor  had  been  ap 
pointed,  James  M.  Ashley  of  Ohio.  His  course  in 
politics  had  been  that  of  a  republican  radical,  which 
made  him  repugnant  to  the  reigning  party  in  Mon 
tana.  While  endeavoring  to  conciliate  this  party, 
hoping,  it  was  said,  to  become  delegate  to  congress,  he 
subjected  himself  to  its  scorn,  and  failed  in  his  ad 
ministration,  while  he  was  declared  to  be,  in  many 
respects,  the  best  executive  that  Montana  had  had. 
The  legislature  of  1869,  in  an  effort  to  deprive  him  of 
the  appointing  power  vested  in  him  by  the  organic 
act,  passed  a  law  relating  to  the  tenure  of  office,  which 
was  vetoed  by  the  governor,  and  passed  over  his  head, 
the  intent  of  which  was  to  keep  in  place  certain  terri 
torial  officers,  at  a  severe  cost  to  the  tax-payers.16  In 
consequence,  there  was  a  suit  in  the  courts,  whereby 
it  was  decided  that  neither  the  legislature  nor  the 
governor,  the  one  without  the  other,  had  power  to 
appoint,  and  a  bill  was  before  congress  in  1870 
which  proposed  to  deprive  the  Montana  legislature  of 
all  appointing  power,  and  to  bestow  it  upon  the  gov- 

Earty  predilections,  to  vote  for  local  officers  without  regard  to  party.  Affairs 
ad  indeed  came  to  a  sad  pass  when  the  democratic  journals  advocated  a 
rupture  in  their  own  well-drilled  ranks.  The  Deer  Lodye  New  Northwest, 
Oct.  8,  18G9,  gives  some  particulars.  It  estimates  the  valuation  of  this 
county  at  $1,100,000.  On  a  basis  of  23  mills  to  the  dollar,  the  tax  for  county 
purposes  would  amount  to  $11,000;  the  territorial  $4,000;  the  school  tax 
$3,000;  the  poor  tax  $2,000;  for  completing  county  building  $1,400;  total 
$24,900.  County  scrip  was  worth  20  cents  on  the  dollar.  The  sheriff's 
office  alone  had  been  costing  the  county  $22,000  per  annum.  How  was  $11,- 
000  to  be  made  to  meet  such  expenses,  and  pay  10  to  15  per  cent  interest  on 
a  large  indebtedness?  It  was  this  problem  which  extorted  a  cry  for  reform. 
16  Members  of  council  in  18G9,  Walter  B.  Dance,  president,  John  P. 
Barnes,  L.  Daems,  Thomas  R.  Edwards,  H.  W.  English,  C.  W.  Higley,  John 
Jones,  A.  H.  Mitchell,  Samuel  Word,  Thomas  Watson,  A.  G.  P.  George; 
sec.,  R.  S.  Leveridge;  asstsec.,  A.  M.  Carpenter;  clerks,  George  W.  Hill,  A.  J. 
Urlin;  sergeant-at-arms,  John  Thompson;  door-keeper,  John  S.  Bartruff. 
House  of  representatives,  J.  R.  Boyce,  speaker,  A.  H.  Barrett,  R.  O.  Bailey, 
N.  C.  Boswcll,  J.  A.  Browne,  G.  F.  Cope,  F.  E.  Collins,  V.  A.  Cockrell,  S.  R. 
Elwell,  J.  F.  Forbis,  J.  Gibbs,  R.  0.  Hickman,  H.  Jordan,  H.  Lamme,  J. 
Murphy,  T.  E.  Rounds,  P.  Scott,  A.  J.  Smith,  W.  D.  Wann,  P.  T.  Williams; 
clerks,  George  W.  Rockfellow,  Benjamin  Ezekiel,  Philip  Evans,  R.  Hedge; 
sergeant-at-arms,  William  Deascey;  door-keeper,  0.  P.  Thomas.  Mont,  Jour. 
Council,  6th  sess.,  4. 

HIST.  WASH.— 43 


674  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

ernor,  as  well  as  to  make  the  secretary  ex-officio 
superintendent  of  the  public  buildings  in  progress  of 
erection,  or  thereafter  to  be  erected,  and  prescribing 
such  an  oath  of  office  as  few  leading  democrats  in 
Montana  could  take  without  perjuring  themselves. 
The  bill  failed,  to  the  chagrin  of  Ashley,  who  insti 
gated  it. 

In  1870  Benjamin  F.  Potts  of  Ohio  was  appointed 
governor.  He  had  been  a  major  and  a  major-general 
in  the  civil  war,  and  was  a  republican  in  principle; 
but  the  democrats  of  Montana  made  a  distinction 
between  republicanism  in  a  mild  or  a  radical  form. 
Even  the  republicans  had  become  disgusted  by  Ash 
ley's  overtures  to  the  enemy;  so  that  in  consequence 
of  these  complications  Potts  was  welcomed  by  both 
parties.  The  democrats  pronounced  him  not  a  brilliant 
man,  but  honest,  and  affected  a  good-natured  tolera 
tion  of  him.  But  when  in  1872  congress  amended 
the  organic  acts  of  all  the  territories,  by  giving 
the  governor  power  to  fill  vacancies  during  the 
recess  of  the  council,  in  the  offices  of  treasurer, 
auditor,  and  superintendent  of  public  instruction, 
great  indignation  prevailed  in  certain  quarters,  and 
the  governor's  head  was  threatened.  It  might  have 
been  supposed  that  such  an  amendment  would  have 
been  welcomed  at  that  time,  the  result  of  the  previous 
course  of  the  legislature  in  enacting  once  that  those 
officers  should  be  elected  by  the  people,  which  was 
contrary  to  the  organic  act,  and  again  that  they 
should  be  elected  by  the  legislature,  while  the  organic 
act  said  they  should  be  appointed  or  nominated  by 
the  governor  and  confirmed  by  the  council,  having 
been  that  the  territorial  treasurer  had  been  unable  to 
settle  his  accounts,  and  the  bonds  of  Montana  had 
gone  to  protest,  that  there  had  been  no  superintend 
ent  of  public  instruction,  and  that  the  auditor  had 
illegally  retained  his  office  for  four  years.17  Yet  it 

17  William  G.  Barkley  was  treasurer  and  William  H.  Rodgers  auditor  at 
this  period.  Ashley  appointed  James  L.  Fisk,  and  Rodgers  refused  to  yield. 


GOVERNOR  POTTS.  675 

was  said  by  democratic  journals  that  Governor  Potts 
had  urged  the  amendment  out  of  spleen,  because  the 
legislature  had  not  confirmed  his  appointments,  while 
others  contented  themselves  with  laying  the  blame  of 
territorial  subordination  to  congress  at  the  door  of 
the  constitution  of  the  United  States.18 

Changes  in  the  executive  office  could  have  little 
effect  against  the  power  of  a  united  legislature.  At 
the  seventh  session  an  act  was  passed  prohibiting  a 
foreign-born  person  who  had  declared  his  intention  of 
becoming  a  citizen  from  voting  in  the  territory,19  in 
defiance  of  the  organic  law,  which  act  congress  was 
certain  to  disapprove,  and  which  had,  like  other 
obnoxious  and  idle  statutes,  to  be  expunged  by  the 
following  legislature.  The  election  law  was  the 
weapon  with  which  those  having  control  of  it  could 
punish  non-sympathizers.  According  to  the  act  of 
congress  making  the  sessions  of  the  legislature  bien- 

Suit  was  brought  in  the  district  court  of  Virginia  City,  and  appealed  to  the 
supreme  court,  and  again  appealed  to  the  U.  S.  supreme  court,  which  refused 
to  consider  it,  and  it  came  back  to  the  supreme  court  of  Montana.  Mean 
while  Rodgers  held  the  office  from  1807  to  February  1874,  four  years  of  the 
time  illegally.  The  territorial  treasurers  appointed  from  1864  to  1875  were 
J.  J.  Hull,  2  years;  John  S.  Rockfellow,  1£  years;  W.  G.  Barkley,  nearly  4 
years,  during  which  time  Leander  W.  Frary  was  appointed,  in  1SG9,  but 
failed  to  obtain  possession  of  the  office;  Richard  0.  Hickman,  4  years;  Daniel 
H.  Weston.  The  territorial  auditors  were  John  S.  Lott,  2  years;  John  H. 
Ming,  1  year;  William  H.  Rodgers,  over  7  years,  or  from  Dec.  1867  to  Feb. 
1874;  James  L.  Fisk,  appointed  in  1869,  but  unable  to  obtain  possession  of 
the  office;  George  Galloway,  who  resigned  in  Dec.  1874;  Solomon  Star,  who 
held  until  Jan.  1876,  and  resigned;  David  H.  Cuthbert.  The  superintendents 
of  public  instruction  were,  Thomas  J.  Dimsdale,  2  years;  Peter  Rowcn  and 
Alexander  Barrett,  both  of  whom  immediately  resigned;  A.  M.  S.  Carpenter, 
18G6  to  1S67;  Thomas  F.  Campbell,  2  years;  James  H.  Mills,  resigned;  S.  G. 
Lathrop,  1869;  Cornelius  Hedges,  1872.  Con.  I  list.  Soc.  Mont.,  332-3. 

18  Helena  Independent,  June  8,  1872;  Deer  Lodfje  New  Northwest,  June  15, 
1872. 

19  The  council  elect  was  composed  of  A.  H.  Mitchell,  president,  S.  J.  Beck, 
Seth  Bullock,  T.  E.  Collins,  Robert  Fisher,  J.  M.  Howe,  C.  J.  Kinney,  R. 
Laurence,  John  Owen,  A.  T.  Shoup,  G.  W.  Stapleton,  Granville  Stuart,  W. 
L.  Warren;  clerks,  R.  E.  Arick,  A.  M.  S.  Carpenter,  N.  Dickinson,  H.  C. 
Wilkinson;  sergeant-at-arms,  James  Cadigan;  door-keeper,  John  Thompson. 
House  of  representatives  elect,  Harry  R.  Comley,  speaker,  A.  D.  Aiken,  W. 
E.  Bass,  John  Billings,  Israel  Clem,  W.  W.  Dixon,  James  Garoutte,  H.  Jor 
dan,  N.  D.  Johnson,  T.  J.  Lowry,  F.  M.  Lowrey,  C.  A.  McCabe,  J.  C.  Metlin, 
P.  H.  Poindexter,  C.  Puett,  S.  F.  Ralston,  Daniel  Searles,  H.  D.  Smith,  S.  M. 
Tripp,  C.  McTate,  R.  P.  Vivian,  0.  C.  Whitney,  John  Williams,  Wright,  who 
did  not  appear  and  qualify;  clerks,  Benjamin  Ezekiel,  Benjamin  S.  Word,  J. 
D.  Alport,  W.  Freeman;  sergeant-at  arms,  P.  H.  Maloney;  door-keeper,  L.  B. 
Bell.  Mont.  Jour.  House,  7th  sess.,  3. 


676  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

nial,  the  seventh  session  was  held  in  December  and 
January  1871-2.  During  this  interregnum  of  legis 
lative  power  much  uneasiness  was  manifested,  and  an 
effort  was  made  to  bring  about  an  extra  session  by 
importuning  the  then  delegate,  William  H.  Claggett, 
to  procure  the  passage  of  an  act  postponing  the 
election  for  delegate  in  1872  to  October,  and  grant 
ing  an  appropriation  for  an  extra  session.  Claggett 
refused  to  ask  congress  to  interfere  with  territorial 
legislation  by  introducing  such  a  bill,  and  when  a 
member  of  congress  was  found  who  would  do  so,  ob 
jected  to  its  passage,  in  consequence  of  which  it  failed, 
and  there  was  no  extra  session  in  1872,  nor  was  that 
delegate  returned  to  congress  at  the  August  election. 
Indeed,  that  Claggett,  who  was  a  republican,  should 
have  been  in  congress  at  all  was  an  anomaly  in  early 
Montana  politics,  and  was  only  to  be  accounted  for  on 
the  ground  that  he  was  not  a  political  aspirant,  but 
was  an  able  man,  and  belonged  to  the  'west  side/ 
where  a  majority  in  some  instances  had  been  obtained 
against  the  regular  democratic  ticket.  He  was  nom 
inated  in  a  convention  of  the  representatives  elect, 
and  ran  against  E.  W.  Toole,  beating  him  by  a  major 
ity  of  over  five  hundred.  He  proved  to  be  a  useful 
and  influential  delegate,  doing  more  for  Montana  in 
the  first  eight  months  of  his  term  than  the  two 
preceding  delegates  had  done  in  seven  years.20 

20  W.  H.  Claggett  was  grandson  of  Thomas  Claggett,  of  Marlborough,  Mary 
land,  a  wealthy  and  respected  citizen,  who  died  in  August  1873.  William  H. 
Claggett  seems  to  have  derived  some  sterling  qualities  by  descent,  and  not  to 
have  stood  in  any  fear  of  wire-pulling  politicians.  He  won  great  praise,  even 
from  the  opposite  party,  for  his  energy  and  ability  in  the  delegatcship.  I  give 
herewith  a  summary  of  his  services.  Within  a  week  after  arriving  in  Wash 
ington  he  secured  a  bill  to  open  the  Bittcrroot  Valley  to  settlement,  by  hav 
ing  the  Indians  removed  to  the  reservation  on  the  Jocko  River,  and  securing 
the  immediate  survey  of  the  lands.  He  also  procured  the  exchange  of  the 
Yellowstone  Valley  with  the  Crows,  who  removed  to  the  Judith  basin.  He 
arranged  with  Gen.  Sheridan,  and  influenced  congress,  since  not  enough 
soldiers  could  be  sent  to  Montana  to  protect  the  frontier,  to  keep  the  Sioux 
temporarily  quiet  by  feeding  and  clothing  them  to  the  amount  of  §750,000; 

fetting  an  order  from  General  Sherman  that  the  troops  on  the  line  of  the  N. 
'.  R.  R.  should  patrol  the  frontier,  and  securing  the  passage  of  a  bill  provid 
ing  1,000  breech-loading  needle-guns  and  200,000  rounds  of  ammunition  for 
the  settlers  in  remote  situations.     He  found  the  only  law  giving  indemnity  to 
losers  by  the  predatory  acts  of  the  Indians  had  been  repealed,  and  he  had  it 


ELECTION  AND  EXTRA  SESSION.  677 

But  that  did  not  prevent  the  legislature  from  pass 
ing  a  bill  at  the  session  of  1871-2  changing  the  time 
of  the  election  of  his  successor  to  1872,  thereby  short 
ening  his  term  to  one  year.  Congress,  as  it  happened, 
passed  a  bill  changing  the  time  of  election  of  repre 
sentatives  and  delegates  to  the  43d  congress  to  the 
first  Monday  after  the  first  Tuesday  in  November 
1872,  so  that  the  Montana  act  was  partly  shorn  of  its 
force.  In  opposition  to  his  better  judgment,  those 
who  desired  his  reelection  persuaded  him  to  run  a 
second  time  in  1872,  when  he  was  defeated  by  the 
well-organized  democratic  party,  and  Martin  Magin- 
nis21  elected  by  a  majority  of  about  three  hundred. 

The  extra  pay  of  the  legislature  had  been  abol 
ished  and  forbidden  by  congress,  which  paid  all  the 
legislative  expenses.  An  obstacle  was  thus  removed, 
and  in  March  1873  Governor  Potts  issued  a  proc 
lamation  calling  an  extra  session  for  the  14th  of 
April,  the  nominal  excuse  for  which  was  the  im 
perfections  in  the  laws  passed  at  the  late  regular 
session,  but  the  real  reason  for  which  was  that  there 
existed  in  Montana  a  numerous  faction,  or  ring,  who 
were  determined  in  their  efforts  to  inveigle  the  tax 
payers  of  Montana,  already  overburdened  with  debt, 
into  pledging  the  faith  of  the  territory  to  build  a  rail- 
restored.  He  secured  6  new  post-routes  and  20  post-offices.  He  drew  up  and 
had  passed  the  national-park  bill,  setting  apart  50  miles  square  to  the  use  of  the 
nation  forever.  N.  G.  Langford  was  made  superintendent,  and  put  to  laying 
out  roads.  He  secured  3  national  banks,  1  at  Helena,  capital  §100,000;  1  at 
Deer  Lodge,  capital  $50,000;  and  1  at  Bozeman,  capital  §50,000.  He  secured 
an  assay  office  for  Helena  with  an  appropriation  of  §50,000;  and  another 
appropriation  of  §5,000  to  pay  for  the  printing  of  the  laws  of  the  7th  session 
of  the  Montana  legislature;  half  that  amount  to  pay  a  deficiency  in  settling 
with  the  printer  of  the  laws  of  the  5th  session;  and  an  additional  appropri 
ation  for  the  survey  of  the  public  lands.  He  procured  the  amendment  giving 
the  governor  power  to  appoint  in  rece&s.  He  assisted  in  amending  the  quartz 
law  of  the  territory,  giving  those  who  performed  a  certain  amount  of  labor 
upon  their  claims  a  patent  to  the  same.  He  procured  an  amendment  to  the 
organic  act  empowering  the  legislature  to  incorporate  railroads.  He  secured 
the  privilege  of  having  all  territorial  offices  filled  by  persons  domiciled  in  the 
territory,  excepting  U.  S.  judges,  Indian  agents,  and  superintendents.  He 
had  the  courage  to  refuse  to  do  something  which  he  was  requested  to  perform, 
but  never  lost  a  single  advantage  to  Montana  through  neglect  or  incapacity. 
Claggctt  was  formerly  of  Nevada. 

21  Maginnis  was  a  worthy  successor  to  Claggett,  and  secured  many  bene 
fits  to  the  territory.  He  was  in  congress  continuously  for  ten  years. 


678  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

road  which  was  to  enrich  them  if  it  ruined  the  com 
monwealth.  There  had  been  much  discussion  of  the 
question  of  the  legality  of  a  tax  levied  for  such  a  pur 
pose,  some  of  the  journals  taking  strong  ground 
against  it,22  on  the  side  of  the  people. 

The  governor  in  his  message  gave  a  statement  of 
finances,  showing  an  increase  of  debt  in  sixteen 
months  of  over  $29,000,  which  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
say  was  due  to  the  "  extravagant  expenditures  of  the 
last  legislative  assembly,  which  reached  nearly  the 
sum  of  $45,000;"  or  to  tell  them  that  the  finances 
of  the  territory  had  been  so  managed  by  the  law- 
making  power  as  to  give  little  hope  for  its  future. 

22  The  Deer  Lodge  New  Northwest,  republican,  edited  and  owned  by  James 
H.  Mills,  was  unremitting  in  defence  of  the  people's  interests.  The  New 
Northwest  was  established  July  9,  1869,  at  Deer  Lodge.  It  was  an  8-column 
journal,  and  ably  conducted,  without  being  radical.  The  journalism  of  Mon 
tana  was  for  the  most  part  conducted  with  dignity,  ability,  and  considering 
their  remoteness  from  the  great  world,  with  success.  The  Montanlan,  first 
published  at  Virginia  City  by  Joseph  Wright  and  L.  M.  Black,  July  12,  1870, 
was  a  democratic  journal.  Wright  left  in  August  1871,  when  G.  F.  Cope 
conducted  it  for  two  years.  Cope  sold  it  to  a  joint-stock  company,  H.  N. 
Blake  being  editor,  who  resigned  on  being  appointed  district  judge,  and  was 
succeeded  by  H.  T.  Brown.  It  was  at  last  sold  to  the  Madisonian  in  1876- 
The  Bozeman  Avant-Courier,  democratic,  was  founded  Dec.  15,  1871,  by 
Joseph  Wright  and  L.  M.  Black,  with  J.  W.  Allen  associate  editor.  In  1874 
Black,  desiring  to  change  the  policy  of  the  paper,  and  Wright's  lease  having 
expired,  made  a  new  lease  to  J.  V.  Bogert  without  giving  Wright  notice. 
This  caused  the  seizure  and  suspension  of  the  Courier,  from  September  25th 
to  November  13th,  when  Wright,  having  secured  other  material,  resumed  its 
publication.  It  was  published  semi-weekly  in  1876,  but  only  for  a  short 
time.  In  February  1877,  the  paper  passed  into  the  hands  of  W.  W.  Alder- 
son,  J.  V.  Bogert,  republican,  associate  editor.  The  Courier  was  the  pioneer 
journal  of  eastern  Montana,  to  whose  development  it  was  devoted.  The 
Helena  News  Letter  was  started  in  Feb.  1869.  The  Missoula  Pioneer,  demo 
cratic,  was  established  in  1871  by  the  Pioneer  Publishing  Company,  at 
Missoula  City,  in  Missoula  county,  and  was  devoted  to  the  development  of 
western  Montana,  Lcouidas  Boyle  and  W.  J.  McCormick,  editors.  Frank  M. 
Woody  and  T.  M.  Chisholm  purchased  the  paper  in  1873,  and  changed  its 
name  to  Missoulian.  Chisholm  sold  his  interest  the  same  year  to  W.  11.  Turk. 
The  Madisonian,  published  at  Virginia  City  in  Sept.  1873,  was  a  political 
democratic  journal,  edited  by  Thomas  Deyarman,  sheriff  of  Madison  county. 
When  the  Montanian  discontinued,  it  purchased  its  material  and  good- will. 
The  Rocky  Mountain  Husbandman,  devoted  to  the  agricultural  development 
of  the  country,  was  started  in  Nov.  1875,  by  K.  N.  Sutherlin,  at  Diamond 
City,  in  Meagher  county.  The  Tri-  Weekly  Capital  Times,  established  in  Sept. 
1869  by  Joseph  Magree,  S.  P.  Basset,  and  I.  H.  Morrison,  at  Virginia  City, 
was  a  democratic  journal,  6-column  sheet.  On  June  1,  1870,  it  was  trans 
ferred  to  the  charge  of  William  T.  Lovell  and  Joseph  Wright,  who  subse 
quently  published  the  Montanian.  The  Bozeman  Times,  another  democratic 
newspaper,  was  established  in  1S75  by  Henry  C.  Raleigli  and  F.  Wilkinson, 
edited  by  E.  S.  Wilkinson.  It  was  a  7-column  paper,  devoted  to  democracy. 


FINANCE  AND  RAILROAD.  679 

The  public  debt  was  in  excess  of  half  a  million  of 
dollars,  which  the  territory,  being  possessed  of  great 
resources,  might  pay,  but  which  should  not  be  in 
creased.  This  advice  came  after  congress  had  ap 
plied  the  remedy,  by  prohibiting  extra  compensation 
from  the  territorial  treasury,  and  advancing  the  pay 
of  the  legislators  to  a  compromise  between  penury 
and  extravagance.  The  governor  recommended  legis 
lation  which  should  prevent  the  sheriff  of  Madison 
county  charging  $222  for  taking  a  convict  to  the  peni 
tentiary  at  Deer  Lodge,  a  distance  of  120  miles,  and 
similar  unnecessary  wastefulness  of  the  public  money,23 
without  taking  into  account  that  to  hold  offices  and 
spend  the  people's  money  freely  were  prerogatives  of 
the  party  dominant  in  Montana  at  that  time,  with  which 
they  could  never  be  persuaded  to  part  voluntarily. 

On  the  proposition  to  vote  county  bonds  to  aid  in 
constructing  a  railway  from  the  Central  Pacific  to 
Helena,  the  governor  had  an  opinion  decidedly  un 
favorable  to  the  project,  which  he  pronounced  suicidal. 
As  to  the  legality  of  imposing  a  tax  for  such  a  pur 
pose,  he  held  that  taxes  must  be  imposed  for  a  public 
and  not  for  a  private  purpose;  and  that  when  taxation 
was  prostituted  to  objects  not  connected  with  the 
public  interests,  it  became  plunder.  Some  of  the  gov 
ernor's  suggestions  with  regard  to  retrenchment  were 
carried  out;  but  the  railroad  bill,  the  main  object  for 
which  an  extra  session  had  been  brought  about,  was 
passed  and  approved  by  the  governor,  namely,  "A  bill 
for  an  act  enabling  and  authorizing  any  county  or 
counties  within  the  territory  of  Montana  to  aid  in 
the  construction  of  a  railroad,  and  to  subscribe  to  the 
capital  stock  of  the  same."24 

23  The  county  of  Deer  Lodge  paid  the  sheriff  during  the  previous  year 
$7,353  out  of  its  treasury,  in  addition  to  the  fees  of  the  sheriff  paid  by  litigants 
in  civil  causes.  The  sheriff  of  Gallatin  county  received  $2,671  in  the  same 
way;  the  county  assessor  $3,843;  the  clerk  and  recorder  §1,947  each — all  of 
which  was  in  addition  to  their  proper  fees.  The  aggregate  debt  of  those  coun 
ties  was  §97,000.  The  amount  paid  for  salaries  in  Gallatin  in  1872  waa 
$32,736.62.  Message  of  Gov.  Potts,  in  New  Northwest,  April  19,  1873. 

"  The  council  of  the  extraordinary  session  was  composed  of  G.  W.  Staple- 


680  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

By  this  act  it  became  lawful  for  the  county  com 
missioners  of  any  county  to  submit  to  any  incorpo 
rated  company  a  proposition  to  subscribe  to  the  build 
ing  of  a  railroad  from  the  Union  Pacific,  the  Central 
Pacific,  or  the  Utah  Northern  into  or  through  the  ter 
ritory  of  Montana,  not  exceeding  twenty  per  cent  of 
the  taxable  property  of  the  county;  but  upon  condi 
tion  that  Madison,  Jefferson,  and  Gallatin  counties 
should  subscribe  fifteen  per  cent,  two  per  cent  to  be 
paid  as  soon  as  the  road  reached  those  counties,  and 
thirteen  per  cent  when  it  should  be  completed.  A 
similar  proposition  should  be  presented  to  the  other 
counties,  with  the  difference  that  the  amount  to  be 
subscribed  was  ten  per  cent  in  Meagher  and  twenty 
per  cent  in  Lewis  and  Clarke  counties,  with  other 
provisions,  the  chief  of  which  was  that  an  election 
was  to  be  held,  at  which  the  people  should  vote  upon 
the  question  of  subsidy,  yes  or  no.25 

ton,  president,  E.  T.  Yager,  John  Owen,  W.  B.  Dance,  W.  E.  Bass,  D.  P. 
Newcomer,  Robert  Lawrence,  Robert  Fisher,  Seth  Bullock,  J.  C.  Stuart,  S. 
J.  Beck,  and  Owen  Garrigan,  with  one  vacancy;  clerks,  A.  M.  S.  Carpenter, 
R.  W.  Hill,  A.  J.  Davidson,  W.  G.  Barkley;  sergeant-at-arms,  James  Cad- 
igan;  door-keeper,  H.  J.  Johnson.  House  of  representatives,  John  H. 
Rodgers,  speaker,  E.  D.  Aiken,  James  M.  Alger,  Joseph  A.  Brown,  Alexander 
Carrnichael,  W.  A.  Chessman,  George  S.  Coleman,  Otho  Curtis,  Isaac  Dean, 
A.  Dusold,  Benjamin  Ezekiel,  R.  K.  Emerson,  Joseph  W.  Hartwell,  Curtis 
L.  Harrington,  F.  George  Heldt,  James  Kennedy,  J.  C.  Kerley,  Samuel 
Mallory,  Christian  Mead,  George  W.  McCauley,  C.  C.  O'Keefe,  Isaac  S. 
Stafford,  Wilbur  F.  Sanders,  C.  W.  Sutton,  Carey  M.  Tate;  clerks,  W. 
W.  Chapman,  E.  H.  Hurley,  L.  Hawkins;  sergeant-at-arms,  W.  T.  Shirley; 
door-keeper,  L.  B.  Bell.  Mont.  Jour.  House,  extra  session,  April  14  to  May 
8,  1873. 

2°  Missoulian,  May  16,  1873.  A  bill  introduced  by  W.  F.  Sanders  called 
for  a  subscription  by  counties  to  the  amount  of  §2,300,000,  they  giving  bonds 
payable  in  30  years,  with  7  per  cent  interest,  to  be  paid  semi -annually,  which 
failed  to  pass.  The  one  which  passed  was  a  substitute.  When  Claggett  was 
in  congress  he  was  importuned  to  secure  a  right  of  way  across  the  public 
lands  for  any  railroad  companies,  and  to  secure  money  to  pay  for  the  extraor 
dinary  session.  He  managed  the  matter  adroitly.  He  would  not  ask  for  the 
money  until  a  bill  he  had  introduced  granting  right  of  way,  and  requiring  a 
two-thirds  vote  of  the  tax-payers  to  authorize  a  county  or  municipal  subsidy, 
should  have  passed.  Should  congress  pass  the  bill,  Montana  would  be  safe, 
and  he  would  do  his  best  to  get  an  appropriation  for  the  extra  session.  This 
diplomatic  course  was  the  origin  of  the  substitute  bill.  But  the  U.  S.  senate 
did  not  favor  aiding  railroads  in  the  territories,  and  the  right-of-way  bill  was 
not  passed.  Claggett  did,  however,  secure  an  amendment  to  the  organic  act 
empowering  the  legislature  to  incorporate  railroads,  which  could  do  no  harm 
under  the  restriction  of  the  right-of-way  bill.  The  bill  finally  passed,  in 
March  1875,  and  his  successor  secured  $20,000  appropriation  to  pay  the  ex 
penses  of  the  extra  session. 


REFORMS  NEEDED.  681 

The  failure  to  secure  a  grant  from  congress  of  a 
right  of  way  for  railroads  across  the  public  lands,  and 
the  disinclination  of  the  people  to  be  any  more  heavily 
taxed  than  they  were,  kept  the  question  from  being 
put  to  a  vote  before  the  eighth  session  of  the  legis 
lature,  occurring  in  January  and  February  1874.26 
From  the  message  of  Governor  Potts,  it  is  evident 
the  Montana  law-makers  had  not  much  amended  their 
habits  of  extravagance.27  The  reforms  recommended 
by  the  executive  had  not  yet  reached  county  commis 
sioners,  whose  per  diem  was  ten  dollars;  nor  sheriffs, 
who  received  three  dollars  a  day  for  subsisting  pris 
oners  in  jail;  nor  prosecuting  attorneys,  who  received 
three  thousand  dollars  per  annum.  Under  the  existing 
law  the  cost  of  collecting  taxes  was  four  times  greater 
than  in  the  states  east  of  the  Missouri.  Onlv  two 

*j 

counties  had  paid  any  of  their  indebtedness  the  last 
year,  Deer  Lodge  and  Beaverhead.  All  the  other 
counties  had  increased  their  debt,  Lewis  and  Clarke 
owing  $148,550.39;  and  in  Meagher  county  the  com 
missioners  had  refused  to  levy  a  school  tax  of  three 
mills,  their  economy  beginning  by  closing  the  public 

26  The  new  members  of  the  council  were  R.  E.  Arick,  0.  B.  Barber,  A.  H. 
Beattie,  Charles  Cooper,  J.  J.  Davis,  and  L.  R.  Maillet.     The  lower  house 
was  the  same  as  in  1873,  except  a  new  member,  J.  M.  Arnoux.     Clerks  of  the 
council,  A.  M.  S.  Carpenter,  Robert  W.  Hill,  T.  E.  Collins,  W.  B.  Morrison; 
sergeant-at-arms,  J.  E.  Allen;  door-keeper,  J.  M.  Castner.     Clerks  of  the 
house,  A.  II.  Barrett,  W.  \V.  Chapman,  E.  P.  Owens,  S.  Hughes;  sergeant- 
at-arms,  George  Broffy;  door-keeper,  George  Linder.  Mont.   Council  Jour., 
Sthsess.,  3. 

27  In  his  message  to  the  8th  legislature,  the  governor  made  the  plain  state 
ment  that  in  his  first  message  he  had  recommended  the  repeal  of  the  law 
granting  extra  compensation  to  U.  S.  officers  and  legislators  out  of  the  terri 
torial  treasury,  but  that  his  advice  had  been  disregarded,  except  as  to  the 
U.  S.  judges,  and  that  the  sum  of  $32,614.80  was  drawn  from  the  treasury  of 
Montana  and  paid  to  that  legislature;  and  at  the  close  of  that  session,  1871-2, 
$201,000  had  been  paid  by  the  territory,  under  the  law  granting  extra  com 
pensation,  since  the  assembling  of  the  first  legislature.     This  i'act,  and  the 
rapid  increase  of  the  debt  by  the  law-making  power,  had  caused  him  to  ask 
the  interposition  of  congress  to  annul  the  extra-compensation  laws;  and  he 
had  accompanied  his  request  with  an  abstract  of  the  financial  condition  of 
Montana,  which  produced  the  desired  result  in  the  passage  of  a  law  of  congress 
prohibiting  the  passage  or  enforcement  of  any  law  by  a  territorial  legislature 
by  which  officers  or  legislators  should  be  paid  any  compensation  other  than 
that  provided  by  the  laws  of  the  United  States.    U.  S.  Statutes  at  Lar^e,  vol. 
xvii.  416.     Under  this  law  Montana  had  expended  §41,350.21  less  in  1873  than 
in  1872,  and  warrants  had  advanced  10  cents  on  a  dollar  in  consequence. 


682  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

schools.28  These  revelations  did  not  prepare  the  peo 
ple  to  regard  favorably  any  scheme  which  should  in 
crease  their  burdens,  and  for  the  time  railroad  legis 
lation  was  interrupted. 

Meantime  a  lively  interest  was  felt  in  the  subject 
of  transportation,  arid  much  discussion  was  being  had 
in  the  public  prints  as  to  which  route  should  have 
the  preference.  The  Northern  Pacific,  dear  to  the 
people  of  Montana  from  a  sentiment  dating  back  to 
the  days  when  the  United  States  senate  debated  a 
route  to  China  via  the  mouth  of  "the  Oregon  River," 
and  now  plainly  a  necessity  of  this  commonwealth  to 
open  up  a  vast  extent  of  rich  mineral  and  agricultural 
lands,  was  the  first  choice  of  the  whole  of  eastern 
Montana;  while  the  counties  along  the  line  of  the  pro 
jected  extension  of  the  Utah  Northern  to  Helena 
would  have  liked,  could  they  have  afforded  it,  to  see 
that  road  constructed. 

After  the  passage  of  the  right-of-way  act  of  congress 
in  March  1875,  a  railroad  convention  was  held  at 
Helena  April  21st,  at  which,  among  other  declarations, 
it  was  resolved  that  a  committee  of  one  from  each 
county  should  be  appointed  to  solicit  propositions 
from  the  Northern  Pacific,  Utah  Northern,  Portland, 
Dalles,  and  Salt  Lake,  Union  Pacific,  and  Central 
Pacific  railroad  companies,  and  to  gather  information 
bearing  upon  the  subject  of  railroads.  The  only  com 
pany  which  availed  itself  of  the  invitation  extended 
by  the  convention  to  send  commissioners  to  the  legis 
lature,  which  convened  January  187G,  was  the  North 
ern  Pacific.  This  company  appointed  its  vice-presi 
dent,  George  Stark,  and  its  chief  engineer,  W.  Milnor 
Roberts,  a  committee  to  confer  with  the  legislature 
relative  to  a  plan  by  which  their  road  could  be 
extended  from  the  Missouri,  at  Bismarck,  to  the 
Yellowstone  River,  and  up  the  Yellowstone  Valley 
two  hundred  or  more  miles,  during  1876-7. 

The  result  of  this  conference  was  that  the  North- 

28  Governor's  message,  in  Bozeman  Avant-Courier,  Jan.  9,  1874. 


RAILROAD  SUBSIDY.  683 

era  Pacific  accepted  the  loan  of  the  credit  of  the  ter 
ritory  in  the  sum  of  three  million  dollars,  at  eight  per 
cent  interest,  secured  by  a  lien  upon  the  traffic  of  the 
road  to  and  from  Montana.  An  argument  in  favor  of 
such  a  loan  was  that  Montana  expended  annually  in 
freights  by  the  way  of  the  Union  Pacific,  and  by 
wagons  from  Corinne,  a  million  of  money,  to  which 
was  added  another  half  million  on  freights  by  the  way 
of  the  Missouri  River,  and  wagons  from  Benton. 
The  reduction  on  the  cost  of  freights  would  soon 
amount  to  three  millions,  if  the  people  could  be 
brought  to  deprive  themselves  temporarily  of  that 
amount.  A  similar  proposition  concerning  the  Utah 
Northern  was  also  to  be  entertained  if  that  company 
accepted,  which  it  did  not,  saying  that  Montana  was 
not  able  to  help  build  two  railroads,  and  they  would 
wait  the  action  of  the  people  on  the  Northern  Pacific 
proposition.  The  election  for  or  against  the  subsidy 
was  held  in  April  1876,  and  there  proved  to  be  a 
majority  of  only  248  against  it. 

For  such  an  outcome  the  legislature29  was  prepared, 
and  passed  an  act,  vetoed  by  the  governor  and  passed 
over  his  head,  convening  the  next  legislative  body  in 
January  1877.  The  ostensible  reason  for  changing 
the  time  of  meeting  was  to  bring  it  nearer  the  time 
of  election,  as  if  to  amend  the  election  law  were 
not  a  cheaper  method  of  arranging  this  matter.  Dele 
gate  Maginnis  was  notified  to  secure  an  appropriation 
from  congress,  and  did  so.30 

29  Members  of  the  council  at  the  9th  session  were  Asa  Brown,  president, 
J.  Abascal,  J.  Allenbaugh,  W.  E.  Bass,  Ed.  Cardwell,  Philip  Constans,  W. 
E.  Cullen,  William  Graham,  W.  0.  P.  Hays,  James  Hornbuckle,  I.  I.  Lewis, 
B.  H.  Tatem,  Thomas  Watson;  clerks,  Harry  R.  Comley,  G.  E.  Watson, 
Patrick  Talent,  H.   C.  Wilkinson;  sergeant-at  arms,  Otis  Strickland;  door 
keeper,  P.  H.  Maloney.     Members  of  the  lower  house  were  S.  W.  Lang- 
horiie,  speaker,  G.  W.  Beal,  E.  G.  Brooke,  J.  C.  Burkett,  Alfred  Cave,  A. 
Carmichael,  W.  A.  Chessman,  T.  H.  Clewcll,  Otho  Curtis,  R.  S.  Ford,  D. 
Kcnneally,  C.  Mead,  A.  B.  Moore,  J.  C.  Moore,  W.  J.  McCormick,  J.  H. 
McKnight,  L.  B.  Olds,  Brigham  Reed,  Louis  Rotwitt,  W.  F.  Sanders,  Gran- 
ville  Stuart,  John  M.  Sweeney,  William  E.  Tierney,  P.  Woodlock,   Samuel 
Word,  F.  L.  Worden;  clerks,  A.  H.  Barrett,  J.  N.  Heldt,  N.  H.  Connelly, 
J.  E.  C.   Kanouse;   sergeant-at-arms,  R.  K.  Emerson;    door-keeper,  J.  N. 
Thompson.  Mont.  Jour.  Council,  9th  session. 

30  The  council  of  the  10th  session  was  composed  of  W.  E.  Bass,  president, 


684  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

The  Northern  Pacific  having  been  disposed  of,  the 
Utah  Northern  now  came  forward  with  a  proposition 
to  the  legislature  in  session  in  1877,  and  offered  to 
build  300  miles  of  narrow-gauge  railroad  within  three 
years,  100  hundred  miles  a  year,  starting  at  Franklin, 
in  Idaho,  to  a  point  as  far  north  as  the  Bighole  River, 
and  to  be  called  the  Utah  Northern  Extension,  for  a 
subsidy  of  $5,000  per  mile  in  bonds  of  the  territory, 
to  be  placed  in  escrow  in  New  York,  to  be  delivered 
at  stipulated  times,  and  to  draw  interest  at  eight  per 
cent  per  annum  from  time  of  delivery,  that  is,  at  the 
completion  of  every  twenty  miles. 

The  proposition  to  build  to  the  Bighorn  was  made 
to  carry  the  road  near  or  to  the  national  park.  But 
it  would  in  that  case  pass  through  a  rough  and  ele 
vated  region,  not  likely  to  be  soon  settled  if  ever,  and 
chiefly  outside  of  Montana,  and  the  legislature  in 
framing  a  bill  changed  the  route  to  Fort  Hall,  Idaho, 
thence  to  Pipeston,  Jefferson  county,  Montana,  to 
terminate  at  or  to  come  to  Helena.  But  no  survey 
of  any  route  had  been  made,  and  the  bill  also  was 
very  loosely  drawn,  leaving  it  to  the  railroad  company 
to  stop  at  any  point  by  forfeiting  fifteen  per  cent  of 
the  proposed  subsidy.  If  the  company  accepted  the 
terms  proposed  in  the  bill  as  passed  by  the  legislature, 
it  was  to  signify  its  acceptance  on  or  before  the  25th 
of  March,  and  their  acceptance  or  non-acceptance  was 
to  be  announced  by  a  proclamation  from  the  executive 
office.  Whether  it  was  the  change  in  the  route,  or 

John  B.  Allenbaugh,  Asa  A.  Brown,  Philip  Constans,  W.  E.  Cullen,  Robert 
Ford,  W.  0.  P.  Hays,  I.  I.  Lewis,  P.  W.  McAdow,  Arimstead  H.  Mitchell, 
Benjamin  H.  Tatem,  Edwin  B.  Waterbury,  Thomas  Watson;  clerks,  Harry 
R.  Comly,  Horace  C.  Lewis,  David  Marks,  Henry  C.  Wilkinson;  scrgeant- 
at-arms,  Otis  Strickland;  door-keeper,  Thomas  Daly.  Members  of  the  house 
were  Alexander  E.  Mayhew,  speaker,  Edwin  M.  Batchelder,  Henry  B.  Brain- 
ard,  Walter  F.  Chadwick,  Joseph  Davis,  James  A.  Dixon,  Hugh  F.  Galen, 
Richard  0.  Hickman,  Horatio  S.  Howell,  Joseph  A.  Hyde,  Frank  C.  Ivcs, 
Nicholas  Kessler,  Washington  J.  McCormick,  James  McElroy,  Henry  H. 
Mood,  Benjamin  T.  Porter,  Daniel  P.  Robbins,  John  C.  Robinson,  Louis  Rot- 
witt,  Junius  G.  Sanders,  Wilbur  F.  Sanders,  George  Stell,  William  A. 
Thompson,  Robert  P.  Vivian,  Aaron  C.  Witter,  Samuel  Word;  clerks,  An 
thony  H.  Barrett,  Henry  A.  Lambert,  Albert  J.  McKiernan,  Clarence  0. 
Ewing;  sergeant-at-arms,  Stephen  Byuuin;  door-keeper,  Daniel  Farry.  Mont. 
Jour.  Council,  10th  session. 


THE  NORTHERN  PACIFIC.  685 

whether  the  tone  of  the  most  influential  newspapers 
in  Montana  foreshadowed  to  the  company  the  failure 
of  the  measure  at  the  election  which  would  follow 
their  acceptance,  they  made  no  sign  on  or  before  the 
25th  of  March,  and  the  proclamation  of  the  governor 
immediately  after  announced  the  conclusion  of  all  this 
scheming  and  legislation,  which  obviated  the  necessity 
of  a  subsidy  election  on  the  10th  of  April. 

The  same  year,  however,  the  Utah  Northern  ex 
tended  its  line  northward,  changing  its  route  to  Snake 
River,  through  Marsh  Valley  and  Port  Neuf  Canon. 
In  April  1879  the  president  of  that  company,  Sidney 
Dillon,  made  a  proposition  to  the  governor  of  Mon 
tana  to  extend  the  road  to  the  Montana  line  within 
the  current  year,  and  130  miles  into  Montana  within 
the  year  1880,  provided  only  that  the  legislature 
would,  by  act,  exempt  the  road  from  taxation  for  a 
period  of  fifteen  years.  To  be  able  to  accept  or  reject 
this  proposition,  the  governor  issued  a  proclamation 
calling  an  extraordinary  session,  to  convene  on  the  1st 
of  July,  and  in  his  message  strongly  advocated  the 
acceptance  of  the  proposition,31  the  message  being  re- 

31  Mont.  Jour.  Council  and  House,  1879,  12-14.  The  reasons  given  by  the 
governor  for  calling  an  extra  session  were,  as  stated  in  his  proclamation,  that 
the  eleventh  legislature  had  adjourned  without  making  an  apportionment 
of  the  territory  for  legislative  purposes,  as  required  by  a  recent  act  of  congress, 
and  as  the  safety  of  the  inhabitants  required  such  legislation  as  would  enable 
them  by  armed  organizations  to  protect  themselves  from  Indian  depredations, 
and  as  the  late  legislative  assembly  had  failed  to  enact  a  law  providing  for  the 
funding  of  the  debt  of  the  territory  at  a  lower  rate  of  interest  than  that  being 
paid,  and  as  serious  errors  appeared  in  some  of  the  laws  passed  at  the  eleventh 
session,  and  many  legitimate  subjects  of  legislation  failed  of  maturity  at  that 
session,  therefore  he  reassembled  them  to  do  what  should  have  been  done  at  the 
regular  session.  Nothing  was  said  about  railroads,  but  the  anti-railroad  journals 
treated  the  governor's  real  design  ns  if  it  had  been  proclaimed,  and  a  resolution 
was  introduced  in  the  house  censuring,  or  at  least  criticising,  the  executive  for 
assembling  them  for  reapportionment  before  a  census  had  been  taken,  at  a 
season  of  the  year  inconvenient  for  most  of  them,  and  in  violation  of  a  law  of 
congress  that  no  territorial  legislature  should  be  convened  without  an  appro 
priation  first  having  been  made  to  defray  the  expenses.  The  resolution  was 
referred  to  the  judiciary  committee,  of  which  W.  F.  Sanders  was  chairman. 
His  report  is  a  line  piece  of  diplomatic  writing — he  being  the  head  and  front 
of  railroad  agitation  —  declaring  that  the  legislative  assembly  was  not  a 
political  convention,  nor  was  it  elected  to  criticise  the  management  of  the 
executive  department  of  the  government.  It  might  memorialize,  but  it  should 
not  scold.  If  necessary,  it  might  impeach  officers  created  by  it;  but  the  res 
olution  did  not  proceed  to  that  length.  It  was  inappropriate  to  be  considered 


686  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

ferred  to  a  committee  composed  of  J.  A.  Hyde,  W. 
C.  Gillette,  and  W.  O.  P.  Hays,  the  two  former,  con 
stituting  a  majority,  reported  in  favor  of  the  governor's 
suggestions,  and  the  latter  against  them,  upon  the 
ground  that  the  laws  of  the  United  States  did  not 
permit  them  to  grant  a  special  privilege  to  one  com 
pany,  which  in  this  case  they  could  not  afford  to  ex 
tend  to  other  roads,  notably  to  the  Northern  Pacific, 
with  its  30,400  square  miles  of  land  within  the  terri 
tory,  besides  its  movable  property  when  completed. 
Two  bills  were  introduced,  one  to  comply  with  the 
proposition  of  the  Utah  Northern,  and  another  to 
empower  the  county  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  to  subscribe 
$300,000  in  bonds  to  that  road.  In  the  former  case, 
the  law  was  absolute  without  being  referred  to  the 
people;  in  the  latter,  it  was  subject  to  an  election. 
Both  met  with  much  adverse  argument,  and  both  were 
finally  defeated.  The  legislature  adjourned  on  the 
23d,  having  passed  nineteen  acts,  among  which  were 
several  tending  toward  a  more  economical  use  of  the 
people's  money  than  had  heretofore  been  the  practice 
of  the  legislators  of  Montana.32 

or  passed  by  the  assembly,  and  it  was  recommended  that  it  should  not  pass. 
This  report  silenced'  the  murmur  against  the  governor  for  doing  for  once,  of 
his  own  volition,  or  at  the  instance  of  the  railroad  party,  what  they  had  al 
ways  been  ready  to  do  when  their  pay  was  §12  a  day  for  enacting  laws  which 
filled  the  pockets  of  their  favorites.  There  being  no  money  appropriated, 
nor  any  in  the  treasury,  made  all  the  difference,  had  not  congress  besides 
already  been  driven  to  reduce  their  pay  to  four  dollars  per  diem,  and  forbidden 
them  to  take  any  pay  from  the  territory. 

S2The  council  of  the  llth  and  extraordinary  sessions  of  1879  consisted  of 
Armstead  H.  Mitchell,  president,  Martin  Barrett,  William  G.  Conrad,  War 
ren  C.  Gillette,  Richard  O.  Hickman,  Anton  M.  Holter,  W.  0.  P.  Hays, 
Joseph  A.  Hyde,  Frank  C.  Ives,  Richard  T.  Kennon,  William  Parberry,  Junius 
G.  Sanders,  Oscar  A.  Sedman;  clerks,  Harry  R.  Comly,  Hayden  E.  Riddle; 
sergeant-at-arms  and  door-keeper,  Dennis  C.  Sheehy;  chaplain,  Rev.  John 
Armstrong.  The  lower  house  was  composed  of  Samuel  Word,  speaker,  Sam 
uel  Barbour,  Elizur  Beach,  William  T.  Boardman,  Joseph  J.  Boyer,  Edward 
G.  Brooke,  Samuel  B.  Cornick,  Caldwell  Edwards,  James  Fergus,  John  F. 
Forbis,  Alfred  B.  Hamilton,  C.  L.  Harrington,  Joseph  E.  Marion,  Washing 
ton  J.  McCormick,  James  McElroy,  Henry  H.  Mood,  John  Noyes,  William  L. 
Perkins,  John  C.  Robinson,  Wilbur  F.  Sanders,  George  Stell,  Granville 
Stuart,  John  M.  Sweeney,  James  T.  Thorpe,  Enoch  Wilson:  clerks,  James 
E.  Kanouse,  James  W.  Kemper;  sergeant-at-arms  and  door-keeper,  Daniel 
Searles;  chaplain,  Mahlon  N.  Gilbert.  The  bill  reapportioning  the  territory 
for  legislative  purposes  was  vetoed  by  the  governor  because  it  violated  the 
law  of  congress  requiring  the  apportionment  to  be  made  according  to  popula- 


NEW  PROSPERITY.  687 

The  failure  of  the  railroad  bills  did  not  have 
the  effect  to  prevent  railroad-building.  The  Union 
Pacific  company  could  not  longer  defer  competing 
with  the  Northern  Pacific,  which  was  now  approach 
ing  the  Montana  territory  with  rapid  strides.  It 
therefore  constructed  ten  miles  of  the  Utah  Northern 
within  the  limits  of  Montana  before  cold  weather 
interrupted  grading.  In  the  following  year  it  con 
structed  110  miles,  and  in  1881  reached  Helena. 
With  the  opening  of  railroad  communication  a  new 
era  of  prosperity,  which  had  been  slowly  dawning  since 
about  1876,  greatly  assisted  the  territory  in  recover 
ing  from  its  embarrased  financial  condition.  This, 
together  with  the  restrictions  placed  upon  reckless 
expenditure  by  congress,  and  the  faithful  admonitions 
of  Potts,  who  still  held  the  executive  office  to  the 
satisfaction  of  both  political  parties,  finally  accom 
plished  the  redemption  of  the  territory.  When  the 
governor  found  that  at  the  meeting  of  the  twelfth 
legislature  the  several  counties  still  owed  an  as^sf rebate 

^  C_7t  J  (~J 

debt  of  $619,899.86,  he  pointed  out  over  again  that 
this  exhibit  did  not  sustain  their  boasted  ability  for 
local  self-government,33  and  that  it  must  deter  immi 
gration,  and  retard  the  admission  of  Montana  as  a 
state,  recommending  certain  improvements  in  the 
laws  regulating  county  affairs. 

On  the  contrary,  the  improvement  in  territorial 
finances  was  encouraging,  there  being  a  net  indebted 
ness  remaining  of  only  a  little  more  than  $20,000. 
Few  reforms  in  county  administrations  were  accom 
plished  at  this  session,34  and  at  the  meeting  of  the 

tion,  and  was  made  'to  answer  the  demands  of  locality  alone.'  The  house 
refused  to  reconsider  the  bill,  and  it  was  lost. 

b3  This  reproach  of  the  governor  was  aimed  at  a  continual  harping  by  cer 
tain  papers  on  the  tyranny  of  congress,  and  the  greater  prosperity  of  a  terri 
tory  which  could  be  allowed  to  choose  its  officers,  and  manage  its  own  affairs. 

34  The  council  of  the  12th  legislature  was  composed  of  12  members,  accord 
ing  to  an  act  of  congress  of  1878,  which  ordered  at  the  same  time  the  reduc 
tion  of  the  assembly  to  24  members,  and  a  new  apportionment  according  to 
population.  The  members  were  Joseph  K.  Toole,  president,  E.  D.  Aikin, 
Joseph  A.  Browne,  Edward  Cardwell,  R.  S.  Ford,  W.  0.  P.  Hays,  J.  B. 
Hubbcll,  William  B.  Hundley,  J.  C.  Kerley,  Armistead  II.  Mitchell,  William 
W.  Morris,  Frank  L.  Worden;  clerks,  Harry  R.  Comley,  Haden  E.  Riddle; 


688  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

thirteenth  legislature,  in  January  1883,  the  county 
indebtedness  had  reached  the  sum  of  $658,974.32, 
and  this,  while  the  assessed  valuation  of  the  territory 
reached  the  sum  of  $33,2 1 1,31 9. 12.35  The  revenue 
for  territorial  purposes  amounted  to  $90,863.47,  and 
the  treasury  of  Montana  had  a  surplus  of  over  $14,- 
000  in  its  coffers. 

Here,  at  last,  the  territorial  craft  found  clear  sail 
ing.  With  regard  to  the  public  institutions  necessary 
to  the  peace,  the  penitentiary  contained  sixty-seven 
convicts,  whose  maintenance  cost  seventy-five  cents  a 
day,  ten  of  whom  earned  fifty  cents  daily  at  contract 
labor.  During  the  year  1884  the  central  portion  of 
the  penitentiary  building  was  in  process  of  erection. 
Fifty-six  insane  persons  were  provided  for  and  treated 
at  the  public  expense,  by  the  contract  system.  The 
school  system  of  Montana  had  reached  a  condition  of 
much  excellence,  the  schools  being  graded,  and  none 
but  competent  teachers  employed.  The  population 
had  increased  to  40,000,  and  there  was  a  renewed 
movement  toward  a  state  constitution.  Just  at  this 
period,  after  more  than  twelve  years  of  wise  admin 
istration,  Governor  Potts  was  removed,  and  John 
Schuyler  Crosby  appointed  to  succeed  him,  who  as 
sumed  office  on  the  15th  of  January,  1883,  four  days 
after  the  meeting  of  the  legislative  assembly.30  Crosby 

sergeant-at-arms,  T.  B.  Harper;  J.  T.  Mason  chaplain.  The  house  of  rep 
resentatives  was  composed  of  John  J.  Donnelly,  speaker,  Elizur  Beach,  John 
M.  Bell,  Henry  N.  Blake,  Henry  Chambers,  Israel  Clem,  A.  L.  Corbly, 
William  E.  Cullen,  W.  D.  Davis,  Stephen  DC  Wolfe,  Amos  Eastman,  James 
H.  Garlock,  Michael  Hanley,  Curtis  L.  Harrington,  Christian  B.  Houser, 
Robert  G.  Humber,  Henry  A.  Kennerly,  Henry  M.  Parchen,  James  K.  Pardee, 
Jacob  M.  Powers,  J.  C.  Rogers,  Oscar  A.  Sedman,  John  Stedman,  Enoch 
Wilson;  clerks,  James  E.  Kanouse,  James  N.  Kemper;  sergcant-at-arms,  D. 
H.  Linenbarger;  chaplain,  W.  Scott  Stites.  Mont.  Jour.  Council,  12th  scss.,  3. 

35  The  governor's  message  shows  that  the  county  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  paid 
by  its  commissioners  $3,064.40  for  about  4  months'  work  in  assessing  the  prop 
erty  holders  at  the  rate  of  3  per  cent  per  annum.     The  sheriff  received  §1.25 
per  day  each  for  the  board  of  prisoners;  more  than  boarding-house  keepers 
required  of  their  patrons  for  first-class  fare;  and  other  abuses  are  mentioned. 
Yet  the  people  go  on  to-day  electing  legislatures  from  the  same  party  which 
for  twenty  years  has  persisted  in  these  spoliations. 

36  The  council  of   the  13th    legislature   was  composed  of   the  following 
members:  Granville  Stuart,  president,  Henry  S.  Back,  W.  E.  Bass,  Edward 
Card  well,  WTilliam  A.  Chessman,  Charles  G.  Cox,  Warren  C.  Gillette,  Annia- 


SAMUEL  T.    HAUSER.  689 

was  soon  succeeded  in  the  executive  office  by  B. 
Platt  Carpenter,  who  also  served  but  a  brief  term, 
during  which  the  fourteenth  regular  session  of  the 
legislative  assembly  was  held.37  In  1885  the  earnest 
desire  of  the  people  was  gratified  by  the  appointment 
of  one  of  their  own  number,  S.  T.  Hauser,38  governor 
of  Montana.  At  this  favorable  period  let  us  turn  to 
the  material  history  of  the  territory. 

tead  H.  Mitchell,  William  W.  Morris,  George  D.  Thomas,  Benjamin  F. 
White,  Aaron  C.  Witter,  Alfred  B.  Hamilton  (contestant);  clerks,  James  B. 
Wells,  W.  I.  Lippincott;  sergeant-at-arms,  Samuel  Alexander;  chaplain, 
L.  L.  Wood.  House  of  Representatives,  Alexander  E.  Mayhew,  speaker, 
Joseph  S.  Allen,  J.  D.  Armstrong,  Joseph  A.  Baker,  Orlando  B.  Batten, 
Henry  S.  Blake,  John  E.  Clutter,  Harry  R.  Comly,  Frank  D.  Cooper, 
Thomas  Dean,  Caldwell  Edwards,  Sidney  Erwin,  John  F.  Forbis,  Richard  0. 
Hick  man,  William  T.  Jacobs,  James  E.  Kanouse,  John  F.  Maloney,  Lee 
Mantle,  Perry  W.  Me  Ado  w,  Peter  B.  Mills,  William  B.  Settle,  Daniel 
O'Grady,  Robert  C.  Wallace,  Henry  J.  Wright;  clerks,  David  Marks,  J.  W. 
Kemper;  sergeant-at-arms,  N.  Dickenson;  chaplain,  Frederick  T.  Webb. 
JMont.  Jour.  Council,  3.  The  territorial  secretary  during  Crosby's  adminis 
tration  was  Isaac  D.  McCutcheon;  chief  justice,  Decius  S.  Wade;  associate 
justice  in  2cl  district,  Deer  Lodge,  William  J.  Galbraith;  1st  district  tempo 
rarily  vacant;  attorney-general,  John  A.  Johnston;  U.  S.  district  attorney, 
William  H.  De  Witt;  U.  S.  marshal,  Alexander  C.  Botkin;  surveyor-gen 
eral,  John  S.  Harris.  Mont.  Jour.  Council,  1883. 

37  This  assembly   consisted   of  the   following   members:    Council,    F.    K. 
Armstrong,  president,  Martin  Barrett,  H.  R.  Buck,  Ed.  Cardwell,  William  A. 
Chessman,  \\ '.  H.  Cotant,  Stephen  De  Wolfe,  James  Fergus,  F.  L.  Greene, 
Will  Kennedy,  A.    H.   Mitchell,  William  W.   Morris;  clerks,  David  Marks, 
S.   W.   Langhorne;  chaplain,   L.   L.   Wood;  sergeant-at-arms,   Amos  Calvin. 
In  the  house,  James  E.  Callaway,  speaker,  J.  T.    Baldwin,    S.  V.  B.  Biddle, 
Clyde  Eastman,  Martin  L.  Emigh,  Van  H.  Fiske,  John  F.  Forbis,  George  M. 
Hatch,  J.  M.  Holt,  J.  H.  Jurgens,  Conrad  Kohrs,  P.  J.  Moore,  George  R. 
Nichols,  W.  H.  Norton,  J.  M.  Page,  F.  L.  Perkins,  B.  F.   Potts,  John  M. 
Robinson,  A.  J.  Seligman,  H.  M.  Sloan,  W.  0.  Speer,  Jesse  F.  Taylor,  George 
R.  Tingle,  and  J.  Wells;  clerks,  Harry  H.  Davis,  Fred.  H.  Foster;  chaplain, 
Frederick  T.  Webb;  sergeant-at-arms,  Thomas  B.  Warren.     John  S.  Tooker 
was  secretary  of  the  territory;  the  judges,  the  same  as  in  1883,  except  that 
John  Coburn  was  in  charge  of  the  1st  district;  attorney -general,  William  H. 
Hunt.    Mont.  Jour.  Council,  1885. 

38  Samuel  T.  Hauser  was  born  at  Falmouth,  Pendleton  co.,  Ky,  Jan.  10, 
1833,  and  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  state.     In  1854  he  removed 
to  Mo.  and  engaged  in  civil  engineering,  serving  on  the  Missouri  Pacific  and 
N.  P.  R.  R.     In   lSti'2  he  came  up  the   Missouri  to  Fort  Benton,  and  pros 
pected  over  onto  the  upper  Columbia  waters,  returning  in  the  autumn  to  the 
Baunack  mines,  and  exploring  the  Lewis  and  Clarke  route  down  the  Yellow 
stone,  in  1803.     In  18(35,  in  company  with  W.  F.  Sanders,  he  opened  a  bank 
at  Virginia  City,  and  erected  the  lirst  furnaces  in  the  territory.     In  18(36 
Mr  Huuser  organized  the  1st  National  bank  of  Helena;  also,  the  St  Louis 
Mining  Co.,   at  Phillipsburg,  now  known  as  the   Hope  Mining    Co.,   which 
erected  the  first  silver  mill  in  Mont.     The  1st  National   banks  of  Missoula, 
Butte,  and  Benton  were  each  organized  by  Mr  Hauser.     He  is  largely  in 
terested  in  stock  and  mining,  organized  the  Utah  &  Northern  railroad  in 
Mont.,  and  is  president  of  a  branch  of  the  N.  P.  R.  R.,  besides  being  engaged 
in  many  other  enterprises. 

UlST.  WASH.—' i4 


CHAPTER  V. 

INDIAN  WARS. 

1855-1882. 

THE  BLACKFOOT  NATION — CROWS  AND  Sioux — THEIR  LANDS  AND  THEIR 
CHARACTERS — THE  OLD,  OLD  ISSUE — TREATY-MAKING,  TREATY-BREAK 
ING,  FIGHTING,  AND  FINISHING — MOVEMENTS  OF  TROOPS — MONTANA 
MILITIA  COMPANIES— ESTABLISHING  FORTS — EXPEDITIONS  FOR  PROS 
PECTING  AND  DISCOVERY — RESERVATIONS — LONG-CONTINUED  HOSTILI 
TIES — DECISIVE  MEASURES. 

WITH  the  resident  Indian  tribes  of  Montana  the 
government  had  treaties  of  amity  previous  to  the  period 
of  gold  discovery  and  settlement.  The  Blackfoot 
nation,  consisting  of  four  divisions — the  Gros  Ven- 
tre,1  Piegan,  Blood,  and  Blackfoot  proper — occupied 
the  country,  beginning  in  the  British  possessions, 
bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Rocky  Mountains,  on  the 
south  by  a  line  drawn  from  Hellgate  pass  in  an  east 
erly  direction  to  the  sources  of  the  Musselshell  River, 
and  down  that  stream  and  the  Missouri  to  the  mouth 
of  Milk  River,  where  it  was  bounded  on  the  east' by 
that  stream.  To  this  country,  although  claimed  as 
their  home,  they  by  no  means  restricted  them 
selves,  but  wandered,  as  far  as  their  prowess  could 
defend  them,  into  the  territory  of  the  neighboring 
nations,  with  which,  before  the  treaty  made  with  I.  I. 

1  This  tribe  claim  to  have  come  from  the  far  north,  and  to  have  travelled 
over  a  large  body  of  ice,  which  broke  up  and  prevented  their  return.  They 
then  journeyed  in  a  south-east  course  as  far  as  the  Arapahoe  country,  and 
remained  with  that  people  one  year,  after  which  they  travelled  eastward  to 
the  Sioux  country,  met  and  fought  the  Sioux,  who  drove  them  back  until 
they  fell  in  with  the  Piegans,  and  joined  them  in  a  war  on  the  Bloods,  after 
which  they  remained  in  the  country  between  the  Milk  and  Missouri  rivers. 
E.  A.  C.  Hatch,  inlnd.  Aff.  Kept,  185(5,  75;  Dunn's  Hist.  Or.,  156,  322-3. 

(690) 


THE  FOUR  NATIONS.  G91 

Stevens  in  1855,  they  were  always  at  war.  Between 
themselves  they  preserved  no  impassable  lines,  al 
though  the  Gros  Ventres  lived  farthest  east,  and  the 
Pie^ans  along:  the  Missouri  River,  while  the  Black- 

O  ^ 

foot  tribe  and  Bloods  domiciled  farther  north. 

Of  the  four  tribes,  the  Gros  Ventres,  hitherto  the 
most  predatory  in  their  habits,  at  first  appeared  the 
most  faithful  to  their  agreement  with  the  United 
States.  Likewise  the  Piegans,  though  of  the  most 
warlike  character,  seemed  to  feel  bound  by  their 
treaty  obligations  to  refrain  from  war;  while  the 
Blackfoot  still  occasionally  stole  the  horses  of  the 
Flathead;  and  the  Bloods,  within  ten  days  after  sign 
ing  the  treaty  at  the  mouth  of  Judith  River,  set  out 
on  a  war  expedition  against  the  Crows.  This  nation, 
which  occupied  the  Gallatin  and  Yellowstone  valleys, 
with  the  tributaries  of  the  latter  and  a  portion  of  the 
Missouri,  was  known  among  other  tribes  and  among 
fur-hunters  and  traders  as  the  most  mendacious  of 
them  all.  To  outlie  a  Crow,  arid  thereby  gain  an  ad 
vantage  over  him,  was  the  serious  study  of  the  moun 
tain  men.  He  was  not  so  good  a  fighter  as  the 
Blackfoot — if  he  had  been,  probably  he  would  have 
had  a  straighter  tongue — but  the  nation  being  large, 
and  able  to  conquer  by  force  of  numbers  as  well  as 
strategy,  made  him  a  foe  to  be  dreaded.  Of  the 
Blackfoot  nation  there  were  10,000  in  1858,  and  of 
the  Crows  nearly  4,000.  The  latter,  divided  into 
two  bands  of  river  and  mountain  ^rows,  had  entered 
into  obligations  at  the  treaty  of  Laramie  of  1851,  to 
gether  with  other  tribes  of  the  plains,  to  preserve 
friendly  relations  with  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
and  were  promised  annuities  from  the  government  in 
return.  These  annuities  were  distributed  by  Alfred  J. 
Vaughn  in  the  summer  of  1854,  who  made  a  journey  of 
three  hundred  miles  from  Fort  Union  on  the  Missouri 
up  the  Yellowstone  to  Fort  Sarpy,  the  trading  post  of 
P.  Choteau  Jr  &  Co.,  with  the  goods  stored  in  a  keel- 
boat  along  with  the  goods  of  the  trading  firm.  Tke 


692  INDIAN  WARS. 

party  was  attacked  by  seventy-five  Blackfoot  war 
riors,  who  killed  two  out  of  six  Crows  accompanying 
the  expedition,  and  from  whom  the  party  escaped 
only  by  great  exertions.  At  this  distribution  the 
Crows  professed  adherence  to  the  terms  of  the  Lara- 
mie  treaty.  Vaughn  was  continued  in  the  office  of 
agent  to  the  Crows  for  several  years. 

In  1856,  the  year  following  the  Stevens  treaty 
with  the  Blackfoot  nation,  E.  A.  C.  Hatch  was  ap 
pointed  agent  to  these  tribes,  but  was  succeeded  by 
Vaughn  in  18G7,  who,  in  distributing  goods  to  the 
Crows  the  previous  year,  seemed  to  have  dissemi 
nated  small-pox;  for  the  disease  broke  out  at  this 
time  and  carried  off  2,000  of  them,  1,200  of  the 
Assinaboines,  and  many  of  the  Arickarees,  Gros 
Ventres,  and  Mandaris.2  A.  H.  Redfield  was  ap 
pointed  agent  for  the  Crows  in  1857,  but  the  moun 
tain  Crows  avoided  assembling  at  Fort  William,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  as  directed,  and  their 
goods  were  stored  at  the  fort,  which  they  made  a 
cause  of  complaint,  saying  their  goods  should  be 
delivered  to  them  in  their  own  country,  on  the  south 
ern  tributaries  of  the  Yellowstone.  As  they  refused 
the  following'  year  to  come  to  Fort  William,  their 
agent  was  compelled  to  transport  two  years'  annu 
ities  to  Fort  Sarpy  in  1858,  as  the  only  apparent 
means  of  preserving  amicable  relations.  In  the  same 
manner  the  Bloods  refused  to  come  to  Fort  Ben- 
ton  for  their  annuities  in  1857,  and  their  chief  was 
fain  to  confess  that  his  young  men  had  been  at  war 
with  the  neighboring  tribes  and  with  parties  of 
white  men. 

Although  the  territory  of  Montana  was  divided 
between  the  Blackfoot  and  Crow  nations,  it  was  sub 
ject  to  invasion  from  the  west  by  the  Shoshones,  now 
no  longer  dreaded  as  an  enemy,  and  from  the  east  by 
the  Sioux,  those  Arabs  of  the  plains,  who  roamed  from 

a  The  Indians,  like  all  the  dark-skinned  races,  have  a  great  susceptibility 
to  contagion.  In  1838  small-pox  carried  off  10,000  of  the  Crow,  Blackfoot, 
Mandan,  and  Minataree  nations.  De  Smefs  Western  Missions,  197. 


HOSTILITIES  OF  THE  SIOUX.  693 

the  British  possessions  to  New  Mexico,  and  from 
Minnesota  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Belonging  to 
the  same  agency  with  the  Crows  were  the  Assina- 
boines,  of  whom  there  were  several  bands,  in  their 
character  resembling  the  Sioux,  yet  inferior  to  them 
in  strength.  But  of  all  the  tribes,  the  Sioux  were 
most  dreaded  and  formidable,  alike  from  their  num 
bers,  being  13,000  strong,  and  their  warlike  character. 
Their  hand  was  against  every  man. 

No  threatening  attitude  was  assumed  by  the  Ind 
ians  of  Montana  until  the  gold  discoveries  in  north 
ern  Idaho  began  to  attract  immigration  by  the  Mis 
souri  River  route.  Dissatisfaction  was  first  shown  by 
the  Sioux,  of  whom  there  were  seven  different  tribes,3 
who  attacked  Fort  Union,  in  1850,  400  strong,  burn 
ing  the  out-buildings,  killing  and  wounding  seven  men 
who  were  cutting  hay,  destroying  thirty  head  of  cat 
tle  and  horses,  and  firing  the  fort,  from  which  they 
were  with  difficulty  driven.  In  18G1  they  attempted 
to  burn  their  agency,  but  were  interrupted  by  the 
arrival  of  troops  from  Fort  Randall,  and  retired. 

In  1864  General  Sully  pursued  the  Sioux  as  far  as 
Montana,  and  fought  them  on  the  Yellowstone,  but 
without  the  force  to  achieve  an  important  victory,  or 
even  to  impress  the  Indians  with  awe  of  his  govern 
ment.  In  1865  General  Connor  met  them  on  Pow 
der  River,  and  punished  them  more  severely  for 
killing  immigrants  on  the  Bozeman  route  just  opened. 
The  Blackfoot  tribes,  agitated  by  the  breath  of  war, 
were  unsettled  and  sullen,  wishing  to  fight  on  one 
side  or  the  other;  and  to  add  to  the  danger  of  an 
outbreak,  the  Indian  country  was  being  filled,  not  only 
with  licensed  traders,  but  unlicensed  whiskey-sellers, 
whose  intercourse  with  the  savages  brutalized  them, 
and  led  to  quarrels  resulting  in  murders.  Such  was 
the  condition  of  the  Indian  affairs  of  Montana  when 
it  was  organized  under  a  territorial  government. 

8  The  Brules,  Blackfoot  Sioux,  Sana  Arc,  Minnecongies,  Uncpapas,  Two- 
kettles,  aud  Yauctonais. 


694  INDIAN  WARS. 

It  happened  that  the  Stevens  treaty  expired  in 
1865,  and  it  was  thought  a  fortunate  opportunity  to 
renew  it,  in  a  different  form,  arid  to  purchase  that 
part  of  their  country  lying  south  of  the  Missouri  and 
Teton  rivers.  In  the  mean  time,  such  was  the  temper 
of  these  Indians  that  Governor  Edgerton  issued  a 
proclamation  calling  for  five  hundred  volunteers  to 
chastise  them,  and  protect  the  immigration  after  its 
arrival  at  Fort  Benton  by  steamer,  and  while  eri  route 
to  the  mines. 

On  November  17th  a  treaty  was  made  with  the 
Blackfoot  tribes,  by  which  they  relinquished  to  the 
United  States  all  their  lands  except  those  lying  north 
of  latitude  48°  and  the  Teton,  Maria,  and  Missouri 
rivers.  But  the  treaty  was  hardly  concluded  be 
fore  these  bands,  who  were  not  sincere  in  their 
promises,  resumed  depredations,  roaming  about  the 
country  and  killing  men,  horses,  and  cattle.  On  the 
arrival  of  Secretary  Meagher,  and  upon  assuming  the 
executive  office  in  the  autumn  of  1865,  he  applied  to 
Major-general  Wheaton,  commanding  at  Fort  Lara- 
mie,  for  such  cavalry  as  he  could  spare;  but  it  was 
pronounced  impracticable  to  march  troops  into  Mon 
tana  in  the  winter,  and  they  were  promised  for  the 
spring.  Considerable  alarm  existing,  the  acting  gov 
ernor  issued  a  proclamation  February  10th,  calling 
for  500  mounted  volunteers;  but  not  being  able  to 
arm,  equip,  or  support  in  the  field  such  a  force,  noth 
ing  was  done  beyond  pursuing  the  predatory  parties 
with  such  meS-ns  and  men  as  were  within  reach.  An 
engagement  took  place  March  1st  between  a  band 
of  Bloods  and  a  party  of  road-viewers  at  Sun  River 
Bridge,  in  which  James  Malone  was  severely  wounded, 
one  Indian  killed,  and  three  were  captured  and 
handed.  About  the  middle  of  the  summer  Colonel 

O 

Reeves,  commandant  of  the  upper  Missouri,  arrived 
from  Fort  Rice  with  800  well-equipped  soldiers, 
under  Major  William  Clinton,  and  established  Camp 
Cook  at  the  mouth  of  Judith  River. 


A  NEW  TREATY. 


695 


On  the  30th  of  June,  1865,  another  treaty  was  ar 
ranged.  Two  thousand  Brules  and  Ogalallahs  were 
in  attendance  when  the  council  opened,  and  after  two 
weeks  of  sending  despatches  by  couriers,  the  majority 
of  these  two  tribes  came  in  and  signed  a  treaty,  giving 
their  consent  to  the  opening  of  roads  through  the 
territory  claimed  by  them,  and  were  presented  with  the 
usual  gifts  of  food,  clothing,  and  ammunition.  Red 


BOZKMAN  ROUTE. 

Cloud,  however,  with  several  others,  held  aloof,  and 
the  treaty  was  nothing  more  than  a  parley  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  these  same  presents  and  a  knowl 
edge  of  the  intentions  of  the  United  States. 

Military  companies  had  been  stationed  on  the  Pow 
der  River  division  of  the  Bozernan  route  in  1 865  to  keep 
the  Indians  away;  and  in  May  1866  Colonel  H.  B. 
Carrington,  who  had  been  made  commander  of  the 
district  of  the  Mountains,  left  Fort  Kearny  with  the 
18th  United  States  infantry  to  erect  forts  on  the  line 


696  INDIAN  WARS. 

of  the  road,  beginning  with  the  abandonment  of  Fort 
Reno,  erected  by  General  Connor  the  previous  year, 
and  the  substitution  of  a  new  Fort  Reno  forty  miles 
farther  north-west.  The  force  amounted  to  700  men, 
only  220  of  whom  were  trained  soldiers.4 

On  the  12th  of  July  Carrington  arrived  at  Crazy 
Woman's  fork  of  Powder  River,  where  the  new 
Fort  Reno  was  to  be  located,  and  where  he  selected 
a  site,  proceeding  on  his  march  the  next  day  with  two 
companies,  leaving  Major  Raymond  in  the  rear  with 
the  other  four.  Not  far  beyond  was  the  proposed 
site  of  a  fort  to  be  called  Philip  Kearny,  on  Piney 
fork  of  Clear  fork  of  Powder  River,  at  the  eastern 
base  of  Bighorn  Mountains,  where  headquarters 
arrived  on  the  evening  of  July  13,  1866.  On  the 
following  day  three  notable  events  occurred — the 
selection  of  a  site  for  the  fort,  the  desertion  of  a  party 
of  soldiers  who  had  started  for  the  mines,  and  the 
arrival  of  a  messenger  from  the  chief  Red  Cloud  de 
claring  war  should  the  commander  of  the  expedition 
persist  in  his  intention  of  erecting  a  fort  in  the  coun 
try.  Nevertheless,  on  the  15th  the  work  was  begun 
of  constructing  the  finest  military  post  in  the  moun 
tains,  upon  a  plan  directed  by  General  Crook,  which 
would  enable  a  few  men  to  guard  it,  leaving  the 
greater  part  of  the  garrison  to  occupy  themselves 
with  the  protection  of  the  roads,  telegraphs,  and 
mails.5 

On  the  16th  of  July  Major  Haymond  arrived  and 
went  into  camp  near  headquarters.  It  was  a  con 
tinued  struggle  with  the  command  to  keep  possession 

*Absaraka  is  the  title  of  a  narrative  by  the  wife  of  one  of  the  officers  of 
the  Carrington  expedition. 

5  Fort  Philip  Kearny  occupied  a  natural  plateau  GOO  or  800  feet  high,  with 
sloping  sides  or  glacis.  The  stockade  was  of  pine,  hewn  to  a  touching  surface, 
pointed,  and  loop-holed.  At  diagonally  opposite  corners  were  block-houses  of 
18-inch  pine  logs.  The  parade-ground  was  400  feet  square,  with  a  street  20  feet 
wide  bordering  it.  East  of  the  fort,  taking  in  Little  Piney,  was  a  corral  for 
stock,  hay,  wood,  etc.,  with  a  palisade  10  feet  high,  and  quarters  for  teamsters 
and  citizen  employes — 12  double  cabins,  wagon-shop,  blacksmith-shop,  and 
stables.  Room  was  allowed  for  4  companies  of  infantry.  Army  and  Navy 
Journal,  Nov.  24,  1866. 


FORTS  PHILIP  KEARNY  AND  C.  F.  SMITH. 


G97 


of  the  horses,  mules,  and  cattle,  and  one  in  which  they 
were  very  often  beaten.  In  sorties  to  recover  stock, 
a  number  of  the  men  were  killed,  and  nearly  all  the 
stock  was  thus  lost. 

About  the  last  of  August  Inspector-general  Hazen 
visited  Fort  Philip  Kearny,  and  inspired  fresh  cour 
age  by  assurances  that  two  companies  of  regular 
cavalry  had  been  ordered  to  reenforce  this  post. 

The  Yellowstone  post  having  been  given  up,  Ken- 
ney  and  Burrows  with  the  two  companies  intended  for 


FORT  PHILIP  KEARNY  AND  VICINITY. 

that  service  were  ordered  to  construct  Fort  C.  F.  Smith, 
a  hundred  miles  from  Fort  Philip  Kearny,  on  the  Big 
horn.  In  November  a  part  of  one  of  the  cavalry 
companies  promised  arrived,  under  Lieutenant  Bing- 
ham,  who  proceeded  to  Fort  C.  F.  Smith,  and  re 
turned  about  the  1st  of  December  to  Fort  Philip 
Kearny. 


698  INDIAN  WARS. 

Communication  had  now  entirely  ceased  with  C.  F. 
Smith  post,  for  it  was  no  longer  safe  to  travel  with 
an  escort  of  less  than  fifty  men,  who  could  not  be 
spared.  Snow  was  on  the  ground.  A  few  more  trains 
of  logs  from  the  woods  were  needed  to  complete 
quarters  which  were  being  built  for  a  fifth  company 
at  Fort  Philip  Kearny.  The  train,  when  it  set  out, 
with  its  teamsters,  choppers,  and  escort,  all  armed, 
numbered  about  ninety  men.  When  two  miles  from 
the  fort,  it  was  attacked,  and  signalled  for  relief.  Si 
multaneously  a  small  party  of  Indians  appeared  in 
sight  at  the  crossing  of  Big  Piney  Creek,  but  were 
dispersed  by  shells  from  the  fort.  A  detail  was  made 
at  once  of  fifty  men  and  two  officers  from  the  in 
fantry  companies,  and  twenty-six  men  under  Lieuten 
ant  Gummond  from  the  2d  cavalry.  Colonel  Fetter- 
man,  at  his  own  request,  was  given  the  command  of 
the  party,  and  with  him  went  Captain  Brown,  also  at 
his  own  desire,  and  three  citizens  experienced  in 
Indian  fighting.  The  orders  given  by  Colonel  Car- 
rington  were  to  relieve  the  wood  train,  but  on  no 
account  to  pursue  the  Indians  over  Lodge  Trail 
Ridge. 

Had  Fetterrnan  obeyed  instructions,  the  history  of 
Fort  Philip  Kearny  and  the  Powrder  River  route  to 
Montana  would  have  been  vastly  different,  in  all  prob 
ability.  But  with  a  contempt  of  the  danger  which  the 
summer's  experience  did  not  justify,  he  took  upon 
himself  a  responsibility  which  cost  him  his  life  and 
the  lives  of  every  man  and  officer  who  marched  with 
him  out  of  the  fort  that  morning.  In  less  than  two 
hours  not  a  person  of  the  whole  eighty-one  soldiers 
and  citizens  was  alive.  No  report  of  the  engagement 
was  ever  made  by  the  living  lips  of  white  men,  and 
only  the  terrible  story  of  the  field  of  death  gave  any 
information  of  what  befel  the  victims. 

In  January  there  arrived  General  H.  W.  Wessels 
with  two  cavalry  and  four  infantry  companies,  and 
orders  to  Carrington  to  remove  headquarters  to  Fort 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  DEFENCE.  699 

Casper  on  the  North  Platte,  and  the  18th  infantry 
regiment  took  its  leave  of  Fort  Philip  Kearny  on 
the  23d,  its  connection  with  the  Bozeman  route  ceas 
ing  from  that  time. 

Meanwhile  Fort  C.  F.  Smith  was  invested  by  hos 
tile  Indians  to  nearly  the  same  extent  that  its  sister 
fort  had  been,  and  even  with  less  opportunities  of 
relief.  The  only  troops  in  Montana,  except  the  be 
leaguered  ones  at  that  post,  being  the  regiment  under 
Major  Clinton  at  Camp  Cook,  Governor  Meagher 
addressed  that  officer,  requesting  troops  to  be  sent  to 
the  Gallatin  Valley,  to  which  Clinton  replied  that  he 
had  not  the  power  to  assign  troops  to  any  station 
beyond  his  immediate  control.  The  citizens  of  Vir 
ginia  City,  however,  had  not  waited  for  this  de 
cision.  Mass-meetings  were  held,  and  the  governor 
visited  Gallatin  Valley  to  procure  information.6 

On  the  24th  of  April  he  issued  a  proclamation 
calling  for  600  mounted  men  for  three  months'  ser- 

o 

vice,  during  which  time  it  was  hoped  the  government 
would  come  to  the  relief  of  the  territory.  Thomas 
Thoroughman,  William  Deascey,  John  S.  Slater, 
John  A.  Nelson,  L.  W.  Jackson,  George  W.  Hynson, 
Isaac  Evans,  and  Cornelius  Campbell  were  commis 
sioned  to  organize  companies  to  serve  as  Montana 
militia.  Martin  Beern7  was  appointed  adjutant  and 
inspector-general,  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  Hamilton 
Cummings8  quartermaster  and  commissary-general, 
with  the  same  rank,  and  Walter  W.  De  Lacy  engi- 
neer-in-chief,  with  the  same  rank.  On  the  comple- 

°The  call  for  the  first  mass-meeting  was  signed  by  John  P.  Bruce,  W.  L. 
McMath,  E.  T.  Yager,  Charles  Ohle,  P.  A.  Largy,  Marx  &  Heidenheimcr, 
F.  R.  Merk,  William  Deascey,  H.  L.  Hirschfiekl,  John  M.  Clarkson,  J. 
Feldberg,  D.  C.  Farwell,  George  Cohn,  Henry  N.  Blake,  A.  Leech,  F.  C. 
Dimling,  T.  C.  Everts,  Hez.  L.  Hosmer,  James  Gibson,  A.  M.  S.  Carpenter, 
J.  J.  Hull,  William  Y.  Lovell,  E.  S.  Calhoun,  John  S.  Rockfellow,  William 
H.  Chiles,  S.  E.  Vawtcr,  Alphonso  Lambrecht,  P.  S.  Pfouts,  G.  Crow,  L. 
Daems,  H.  W.  Stafford,  Martin  Beem,  N.  J.  Davis. 

7  Beem  was  from  Alton,  Illinois.     He  entered  the  army  as  a  private,  and 
was  promoted  to  captain. 

8  John  A.  Creighton  succeeded  him,  but  resigned,  and  J.  J.  Hull  was  ap 
pointed,  who  was  succeeded  by  Henry  N.  Blake.     John  Kingley  was  major 
of  the  regiment. 


700  INDIAN  WARS. 

tion  of  each  company,  it  was  required  to  march 
immediately  to  Bozeman,  which  had  been  selected  as 
the  rendezvous.  The  people  of  Gallatin  Valley  pledged 
the  subsistence  of  the  troops  in  the  field,  and  the 
arming  and  equipping  of  the  companies  was  also  de 
pendent  upon  private  contribution. 

On  the  organization  of  companies,  Meagher  ap 
pointed  Thomas  Thoroughman  brigadier-general,  with 
the  command  of  all  the  troops  in  the  field.  Neil 
Howie9  was  directed  to  take,  with  the  rank  of  colonel, 
the  general  direction  of  the  troops  raised  in  Lewis 
and  Clarke  county.  F.  X.  Beidler,10  John  Fether- 
stun,  James  L.  Fisk,  and  Charles  Curtis  were  ap 
pointed  recruiting  officers  in  the  same  county,  with 
the  rank  of  captain;  and  Granville  Stuart,  Walter  B. 
Dance,  and  William  L.  Irwin,  recruiting  officers,  with 
the  rank  of  captain,  in  Deer  Lodge  county.  Isaac 
Evans  was  appointed  captain  and  assistant  quarter 
master,  Francis  C.  Deimling  was  appointed  chief  of 
staff,  and  John  D.  Hearri  1st  aide-de-camp.11 

It  was  not  easy  to  put  600  troops  in  the  field 
without  a  treasury  to  draw  on,  but  the  merchants 
of  Bannack,  Helena,  and  Virginia  contributed  gener 
ously.  Wild  Indian  horses  were  broken  with  much 
labor,  and  too  slowly  for  the  demands  of  the  service, 
the  Helena  companies,  though  first  organized,  failing 
to  be  first  in  the  field  for  lack  of  mounts.  Captain 
Hynson's  company  left  Camp  Cumrnings,  at  Virginia 
City,  for  the  Gallatin  Valley,12  about  the  1st  of  May, 
followed  by  Captain  Lewis  and  Captain  Reuben  Fos 
ter's  company  of  scouts,  and  on  the  4th  by  General 
Thoroughman.  They  found  the  town  of  Bozeman, 
which  was  situated  near  the  entrance  of  Bridger's  and 
Jacobs'  passes,  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  valley,  being 
enclosed  with  a  stockade.  These  passes,  and  one 
leading  out  of  the  valley  toward  the  Blackfoot  coun- 

9  Howie  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general. 

10  Beidler  was  commissioned  lieutenant-colonel. 

11  Frank  Davis  was  afterward  appointed  aide-de-camp. 
12Hynson  was  promoted  to  be  colonel  of  the  1st  regiment. 


MILITARY  ARRANGEMENTS.  701 

try,  called  the  Flathead  pass,  it  became  the  duty  of 
scouts  to  guard. 

On  the  7th  of  May  Thoroughman  assumed  com 
mand  of  the  militia,  and  with  Colonel  De  Lacy  set 
about  selecting  a  suitable  site  for  a  fort,  with  the  com 
mand  of  the  pass  over  the  Belt  or  Yellowstone  range 
into  the  Crow  country.  The  spot  selected  was  eight 
miles  from  Bozernan,  at  the  mouth  of  Rock  Canon, 
where  was  begun  a  fortification  named  Fort  Elizabeth 
Meagher.13  A  picket  fort  was  also  established  at  the 
Bridger  pass.  But  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three 
companies,  none  others  appeared  upon  the  ground,  the 
Helena  troops  disbanding  about  the  last  of  May  be 
cause  horses  could  not  be  procured  to  mount  them. 

Just  when  failure  seemed  imminent,  the  energy  and 
acquaintance  of  Governor  Meagher  with  military 
affairs  prevailed.  General  Sherman,  to  whom  fre 
quent  communications  had  been  sent,  at  length 
ordered  Colonel  William  H.  Lewis,  late  commander 
of  Camp  Douglas  at  Salt  Lake,  to  Montana  to  inquire 
into  the  Indian  situation,  and  to  ascertain  the  measure 
of  defence  required.  The  result  of  the  inquiry  was 
that  Sherman  provided  the  means  of  equipping  the 
militia  by  sending  forward  the  territory's  quota  of 
2,500  stand  of  arms,  and  a  twelve-pound  battery, 
with  ammunition,  and  also  by  telegraphing  authority 
to  raise  and  equip  800  troops  to  drive  out  the  Indians, 
until  regular  soldiers  could  be  sent  to  take  their  places. 

Shortly  afterward  there  arrived  at  Bozeman,  by 
unfrequented  paths,  five  refugees,  members  of  an  ex 
ploring  expedition  which  had  wintered  at  Fort  C.  F. 
Smith,  who  brought  intelligence  of  the  deplorable 
condition  of  the  garrison,  which  news  was  confirmed 
by  three  deserters  who  followed.  J.  M.  Bozeman 
and  Thomas  Cover  started  out  to  learn  the  true  state 
of  affairs,  but  were  attacked,  and  the  former  killed.14 

13  This  appears  to  have  been  only  a  temporary  stockade,  though  dignified 
by  the  name  of  fort. 

11  Bozeman  is  described  as  'a  tall,  good-natured,  good-looking  Georgian, 
with  easy  habits  and  a  benign  countenance.' 


702  INDIAN  WARS. 

A  second  attempt  was  made  by  forty  men  under 
De  Lacy,  which  met  with  better  success.  In  order 
to  keep  watch  upon  the  movements  of  the  Crows  and 
Sioux,  the  militia  was  moved  forward  to  the  fortified 
camp,  Ida  Thoroughman,15  on  Shields  River,  thirty- 
five  miles  beyond  Fort  Meagher,  whence  reconnoi 
tring  parties  were  kept  pretty  constantly  in  motion.16 
The  new  post  was  made  large  enough  to  hold  a  regi 
ment  of  cavalry  with  their  horses,  and  strong  enough 
to  resist  a  siege,  with  a  well,  citadel,  and  every  con 
venience  for  withstanding  one.  Thus  passed  the  sum 
mer,  with  no  more  serious  encounters  than  occasional 
skirmishes,  in  which  two  of  the  Blackfoot  tribe  were 
killed  and  one  Crow  hanged. 

In  the  midst  of  these  .preparations  for  defence 
against  a  powerful  foe,  the  arrow  of  death  struck 
down  the  governing  mind,  which  in  shaping  and  car 
rying  forward  military  enterprises  under  great  difficul 
ties  had  won  the  respect  even  of  his  political  enemies. 
On  the  night  of  the  1st  of  July,  while  en  route  to 
Camp  Cook  on  the  business  of  the  regiment,  General 
Meagher  fell  overboard  from  the  steamer  G.  A.  Thomp 
son,  then  lying  at  Fort  Benton,  and  was  drowned.17 

15  Named  after  a  daughter  of  General  Thoroughman. 

13  The  command  consisted  at  this  time  of  the  following  companies  of  Mon 
tana  cavalry:  A,  Capt.  and  brevet  col  George  W.  Hynson;  B,  Capt.  Robert 
Hughes;  C,  Capt.  I.  H.  Evans;  D,  Capt.  Charles  F.  D.  Curtis;  E,  Capt. 
Cornelius  Campbell;  and  F,  Capt.  John  A.  Nelson.  Virr/inia  Montana  Po*t, 
June  29,  1869.  A  company  was  organized  at  Salmon  River,  in  Idaho,  and 
joined  the  Montana  militia  about  the  last  of  June,  under  A.  F.  Weston  capt. , 
Thomas  Burns  1st  lieut,  and  Charles  H.  Husted  2d  lieut.  Id.,  June  22.  18G7. 
James  Dunleavy  wa,s  surgeon.  I  regret  not  having  a  complete  report  of  the 
adjutant-generals,  from  which  to  give  a  more  perfect  list  of  officers.  I  have 
been  compelled  to  rely  wholly  on  newspaper  files. 

17  Thomas  Francis  Meagher  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  was  a  natural 
as  well  as  trained  orator.  He  became  a  patriot  under  O'Connell,  and  was 
arrested  and  transported  for  life.  He  renounced  his  parole  and  escaped  from 
Van  Dieman's  Land,  arriving  in  New  York  in  1852,  where  he  started  the 
Irish  News.  He  afterward  went  to  Central  America,  and  from  there  wrote 
articles  for  Harper's  Magazine.  Returning  to  the  U.  S.,  he  enlisted  in  sup 
port  of  the  union,  and  in  command  of  his  Irish  brigade  won  laurels,  and  the 
title  of  general.  In  Montana  he  provoked  much  criticism  by  certain  reckless 
habits,  and  by  an  imperious  and  often  wrong-headed  political  course;  but 
when  it  came  to  military  matters  he  was  in  his  element,  and  won  the  grati 
tude  of  all.  Every  respect  was  paid  to  his  memory,  though  the  body  was  not 
recovered. 


GENERAL  SMITH. 

Governor  Green  Clay  Smith,  having  returned  to 
Montana  about  the  time  of  Meagher's  demise  and 
the  expiration  of  the  term  of  enlistment,  was  ready 
to  assume  the  command,  which  he  did  by  making  a 
call  for  800  men,  and  reorganizing  the  troops  under 
the  regulations  of  the  army,  with  the  title  of  First 
Regiment  of  Montana  Volunteers.18  He  directed 

O 

that  Thoroughman  should  retain  his  headquarters  in 
the  Gallatin  Valley,  whence  he  would  send  out  from 
time  to  time  such  forces  as  were  necessary  to  chastise 
marauding  bands,  to  expedite  which  Major  Howie 
was  ordered  to  take  Captain  Hereford's  company, 
with  one  section  of  artillery,  and  move  down  the  Mus- 
selshell  River  about  one  hundred  miles,  where  he 
would  establish  a  camp  for  the  protection  of  miners 
and  settlers. 

After  some  fighting,  with  losses  on  both  sides,  and 
further  manipulation  of  troops,  regular  and  volunteer, 
came  the  intelligence  that  the  Indian  question,  except 
so  far  as  guarding  the  roads  was  concerned,  was  to 
be  left  in  the  hands  of  the  interior  department,  where 
it  had  been  placed  by  congress,  and  that  this  depart 
ment  had  appointed  a  peace  commission  similar  to  that 
of  the  foregoing  summer.19  Two  points  were  named 
for  assembling  the  Indians,  the  first  at  Fort  Laramie, 
September  15th,  and  the  second  at  Fort  Lamed, 
Kansas,  October  15th.  Runners  were  sent  out  to 
invite  all  the  tribes  of  the  military  departments  in 
which  these  posts  were  situated,  and  all  military 

18  Thomas  Thoroughman  retained  the  command,  with  the  rank  of  col; 
Gcorgn  W.  Hynson  lieut-col;  Neil  Howie  1st  maj.;  J.  H.  Kingley  2<l  maj. 
Company  commanders:  A,  Capt.  L.   M.  Lyda;  B,  Capt.  Robert  Hughes;  C, 
Capt.  Charles  J.  D.  Curtis;  D,  Capt.  I.  H.  Evans;  E,  Capt.  Cornelius  Camp 
bell;  F,   Capt.  John  A.  Nelson;  G,  Capt.  A.   F.   Weston;  I,  Capt.   Robert 
Hereford ;  K,  Capt.  William  Ueascey.     Commissions  issued  by  Meagher  other 
than  those  confirmed  by  him  were  made  complimentary.     Smith's  staff  con 
sisted  of  Martin  Beem  adj.  and  insp.-gcn.,  Hamilton  Cummings  quart. -gen., 
J.  J.  Hull  com. -gen,  each  with  the  rank  of  colonel. 

19  N.  G.  Taylor,  commissioner  of  Indian  affairs,  John  B.  Henderson,  chair 
man  of  the  committee  on  Indian  affairs  in  the  senate,  John  B.  Sanborn,  and 
S.  F.  Tappan,  constituted  the  committee;  §300,000  was  appropriated  to  sub 
sist  friendly  Indians,  and  $150,000  for  other  expenses.     If  the  commission 
should  fail,  the  U.  S.  would  accept  4,000  volunteers  into  the  regular  service. 


704  INDIAN  WARS. 

operations  were  suspended  while  the  negotiations 
were  in  progress.  In  accordance  with  these  regula 
tions,  General  Terry  ordered  the  mustering-out  of 
the  volunteers,  and  they  were  disbanded  about  the 
last  of  the  month,  when  two  companies  of  regulars 
were  stationed  at  Bozeman  for  the  protection  of  the 
Gallatin  Valley,  whose  commander,  Captain  R.  S.  La 
Motte,  founded  Fort  Ellis,  a  three-company  post, 
beautifully  situated,  about  two  miles  and  a  half  from 
Bozeman.  The  cost  of  the  volunteer  organization  was 
no  less  than  $1,100,000,  which  charges  were  referred 
to  congress  for  payment;  and  the  'necessary  ex 
penses'  were  ordered  paid  in  1870;  but  on  investiga 
tion  of  charges,  the  amount  was  cut  down  $513,000 
in  1873,  and  that  amount  paid. 

When  the  legislature  met  in  November,  Governor 
Smith  urged  the  enactment  of  an  efficient  militia  law, 
which  that  body  failing  to  do,  the  governor,  in  Janu 
ary,  issued  a  general  order  for  the  organization  of  two 
military  districts  within  the  territory,  numbered  I. 
and  II.,  with  Brigadier-general  Neil  Howie  in  com 
mand  of  the  first,  and  Brigadier-general  Andrew  J. 
Snyder  in  command  of  the  second.'20  The  governor's 
action  was  precautionary  merely,  at  this  time,  yet  he 
had  business  for  the  militia  before  the  winter  was 
over,  the  citizens  of  Prickly  Pear  Valley,  among 

20  Howie's  district  comprised  the  counties  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  Chotean, 
Deer  Lodge,  Missoula,  and  Meaghcr,  with  headquarters  at  Helena;  and  Sny- 
der's  district  the  counties  of  Madison,  Beaverhead,  Gallatin,  Bighorn,  and 
Jefferson,  with  headquarters  at  Virginia  City.  The  generals  were  ordered  to 
organize  their  districts  into  not  more  than  four  regiments  of  eight  companies 
each;  the  companies  to  consist  of  forty  enrolled  men,  who  should  elect  their 
captain  and  two  lieutenants.  The  regimental  officers  were  ordered  to  consist 
of  a  colonel,  lieutenant-colonel,  and  major,  the  colonel  to  be  appointed  by  the 
district  commander,  and  the  lieutenant-colonel  and  major  elected  by  the  line- 
officers;  the  colonel  to  appoint  an  adjutant  from  the  line  with  the  rank  of  1st 
lieutenant;  staif-officers  to  be  appointed,  the  adjutant  with  the  rank  of  major, 
the  quartermaster  and  commissary-general  with  the  rank  of  captain,  2  aides- 
de-camp  with  the  rank  of  captain,  and  1  surgeon  with  the  rank  of  major. 
The  staiFof  the  commander-in-chicf  consisted  of  Moses  Veale,  adjutant-gen 
eral,  with  the  rank  of  brigadier;  Hamilton  Cummings,  quartermaster-general, 
with  the  rank  of  colonel;  George  W.  Hill,  commissary-general,  with  the  rank 
of  colonel;  L.  Daems,  M.  D.,  medical  director,  with  the  rank  of  colonel; 
James  H.  Mills,  J.  W.  Brown,  and  W.  F.  Scribuer,  aides-de-camp,  with  the 
rank  of  colonel. 


TREATIES  WITH  THE  TRIBES.  705 

others,  appealing  for  arras  in  February  1868  to  pro 
tect  themselves  against  the  Blackfoot  and  Blood 
tribes,  who,  as  territorial  critics  pithily  remarked,  had 
been  supplied  with  murderous  weapons  by  the  officers 
of  the  government  at  Benton  to  make  attacks  upon 
white  people,  whom  the  peace  commissioners  recom 
mended  should  be  prohibited  from  defending  them 
selves.  Arms  and  ammunition  were  sent  to  Prickly 
Pear  Valley  by  order  of  the  executive,  and  in  defiance 
of  the  peace  commissioners.21 

A  treaty  was  concluded  with  the  mountain  Crows 
May  7th  at  Fort  Laramie,  and  ratified  July  9th,22  by 
which  they  relinquished  all  claim  to  any  territory  ex 
cept  that  included  between  longitude  107°  on  the  east, 
the  Missouri  River  on  the  west,  latitude  45°  on  the 
south,  and  the  Yellowstone  River  on  the  north.  The 
Missouri  River  Crows,  Gros  Ventres,  and  Blackfoot 
tribes  were  also  treated  with  in  July,  and  the  latter 
ceded,  as  in  1865,  all  that  portion  of  their  territory 
lying  south  of  the  Missouri  and  Teton  rivers,  reserv 
ing  all  of  Montana  north  of  those  rivers.  Immediate 
steps  were  taken  by  their  special  agent  to  establish 
agencies  and  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  treaties. 
But  congress  failed,  as  it  so  often  did,  to  ratify  at  the 
proper  time  the  contracts  it  had  empowered  commis 
sioners  to  make,  and  to  which  the  Indians  had  con 
sented,  which  delay  furnished  a  sufficient  provocation, 
in  their  minds,  to  a  renewal  of  hostilities. 

All  through  the  spring  and  summer  of  1869  these 
outrages  continued,  culminating  August  18th  in  the 

21 1  represent  here  the  sentiment  of  the  people  of  the  territories.  It  was 
said,  no  doubt  with  much  truth,  that  the  persons  interested  in  peace  commis 
sions  made  fortunes  out  of  these  negotiations;  that  traders  flocked  to  the 
council-grounds,  who  sold  ammunition  and  arms  to  the  Indians.  Two  tons  of 
lead  and  powder  were  sold  at  the  council  of  1866  at  Laramie.  The  Indians 
expended  a  year's  collection  of  furs  and  robes  in  war  supplies,  took  all  the 
government  offered  them  in  presents,  and  departed  to  renew  their  outrages. 
These  occasions  were  fairs  or  markets  at  which  the  savages  laid  in  supplies. 

22  A  treaty  was  made  with  the  Crows  in  1866,  at  Fort  Union,  by  Gov.  Ed 
munds,  Gen.  Curtis,  and  others,  by  which  they  yielded  to  the  government 
the  right  of  a  public  road  through  the  Yellowstone  Valley,  and  ceded  a  tract 
10  miles  square  at  each  station  necessary  on  the  route,  but  the  treaty  waa 
never  ratified.  Lid.  Aff.  Rept,  1S68,  223. 
HIST.  WASU.-IO 


703  INDIAN  WARS. 

killing  of  one  of  Montana's  oldest  and  most  esteemed 
citizens,  Malcolm  Clark.  His  residence  was  in  the 
Prickly  Pear  Valley,  and  from  his  long  association 
with  the  Indian  tribes  no  harm  to  him  was  ap 
prehended.  Still,  a  young  Piegan,  whom  he  had 
brought  up  in  his  own  house,  under  a  pretence  of  de 
livering  horses  stolen  by  his  people,  enticed  Clark's 
son  Horace  from  their  dwelling,  and  shot  and  wounded 
him;  and  on  the  father  going  out  to  speak  to  a  chief, 
he  was  shot  and  killed.  Twenty  other  Piegans  were  in 
company  with  the  treacherous  Blackfoot,  and  the  lives 
of  Clark's  wife  and  daughter  were  saved  only  by  the 
intervention  of  an  Indian  woman. 

It  was  impossible  that  a  mere  handful  of  troops 
should  protect  so  extensive  a  frontier  as  Montana 
possessed.  On  the  Idaho  side  the  Sheepeaters,  under 
the  hostile  chief  Tendoy,  disturbed  the  peace  of  the 
inhabitants.  In  the  Flathead  country  signs  of  war 
were  accumulating,  through  the  reservation  troubles.23 

23  In  June  1855  I.  I.  Stevens  made  a  treaty  with  the  Flathead,  Kootenai, 
and  Pend  d'Oreille  tribes,  whereby  they  were  allowed  a  general  reservation  of 
5,000  square  miles  on  the  Jocko  River.  To  this  they  all  agreed  in  council; 
but  before  signing  the  treaty  the  Flatheads  demanded  an  additional  reserva 
tion  in  the  Bitterroot  "Valley,  embracing  500  or  600  square  miles.  To  this 
demand  Stevens  yielded  in  the  llth  article  of  the  treaty,  which  was  ratified 
in  1859,  so  far  as  to  say  if  in  the  judgment  of  the  president  it  should  be  better 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  tribe  than  the  general  reservation,  then  such  por 
tions  as  might  be  necessary  should  be  set  apart  to  them.  White  settlers  were 
encouraged  by  the  Indians  to  settle  on  this  tract,  embracing  all  of  the  valley 
above  Lolo  fork,  a  beautiful  and  productive  region.  The  discovery  of  gold 
accelerated  settlement,  to  which  the  Indians  made  no  objection  until  1867,  at 
which  time  the  disturbances  east  of  the  mountains  and  in  Idaho  and  eastern 
Oregon  undoubtedly  excited  their  wild  natures.  That  year  the  citizens  of 
Missoula  county  petitioned  the  governor  for  arms  and  ammunition,  repre 
senting  that  the  Flatheads  were  making  threats  of  driving  out  all  the  white 
people,  and  had  already  murdered  4  prospectors  between  Flathead  Lake  and 
Thompson  River,  had  stolen  stock,  broken  into  houses,  and  burned  off  the 
grass,  the  fires  consuming  the  farmers'  hay-stacks.  Virginia  Montana  Post, 
Oct.  5,  1867.  War,  however,  did  not  follow.  The  majority  of  the  tribe  were 
on  the  Jocko  reservation,  and  of  those  in  the  Bitterroot  Valley  some  had 
farms  and  were  on  good  terms  with  their  white  neighbors.  More,  however, 
were  roving  in  their  habits.  These  latter,  more  than  the  former,  were  dis 
satisfied  with  the  occupancy  of  the  white  farmers,  and  talked  about  claiming 
a  reservation  in  the  valley,  to  which  the  neglect  of  the  government  to  survey 
and  examine  the  country  gave  color.  In  1869  Gen.  Alfred  Sully  was  ap 
pointed  to  the  superintcndency  of  Montana,  and  alarmed  the  settlers  by  pro 
posing  a  new  treaty,  which  would  deprive  over  200  settlers  of  their  farms. 
But  of  this  he  thought  better,  when  the  citizens  memorialized  the  senate  of 
the  United  States  not  to  confirm  the  treaty,  and  gave  their  reasons.  Ind.  Aff. 


ARMIES  AND  RESERVATIONS.  707 

The  Blackfoot  nation  was  openly  at  war;  the  Crows, 
while  professedly  friendly,  took  horses  and  scalps 
when  convenient;  and  Red  Cloud  with  several  thou 
sand  Sioux  was  encamped  on  the  Bighorn;  while  the 
United  States  troops  under  General  Sheridan  were 
driving  the  hostile  tribes  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
northward  to  swell  the  forces  that  at  any  time  could 
be  precipitated  upon  the  territory. 

At  length  a  change  seemed  about  to  occur.  General 
De  Trobriand,  in  command  of  the  district  of  Montana, 
made  such  representations  at  Washington  as  procured 
more  troops  in  Montana.  General  Sherman  author 
ized  General  Sheridan  to  punish  the  Piegans,  and 
Sheridan  sent  his  inspector — General  James  A.  Har- 
die — to  Montana  to  satisfy  himself  of  their  guilt. 

About  the  middle  of  December  an  expedition  was 
organized,  consisting  of  detachments  from  the  cavalry 

Rept,  1869,  26.  The  citizens  did  not  ask  that  those  Indians  who  cultivated, 
and  were  permanent,  should  be  removed,  but  suggested  that  they  be  allowed 
to  retain  a  certain  amount  which  the  government  should  patent  to  them,  and 
General  Sully  made  such  a  recommendation,  coupled  with  a  suggestion  to  pay 
the  Indians  something  for  removal;  and  in  1871  the  president  ordered  them 
to  go  upon  the  Jocko  reservation,  congress  having  appropriated  $50,000  to 
compensate  them  for  any  loss.  At  length  a  special  commissioner,  James  A. 
Gariicld,  \vas  appointed  in  1872  to  visit  and  accomplish  the  adjustment  of 
the  claims  of  the  Flatheads.  Investigation  showed  them  to  be  firm  in  their 
impression  that  the  treaty  of  1855  gave  them  the  Bitterroot  Valley.  The 
catholic  fathers  were  called  on  to  aid  in  persuading  them  to  remove,  except 
such  as  were  willing  to  abandon  tribal  relations,  and  to  become  owners  in 
severalty  of  their  farms.  An  agreement  was  finally  entered  into  between  the- 
commissioner  and  the  chiefs  of  the  Flathead  tribe,  that  the  government  should 
erect  60  houses  12  by  16  feet,  3  of  them,  for  the  chiefs,  being  double  the  size, 
and  placed  wherever  on  the  Jocko  reservation  they  should  select,  provided 
the  same  was  not  already  occupied;  they  were  to  be  supplied  with  flour, 
potatoes,  and  vegetables  the  first  year;  land  was  to  be  enclosed  and  broken 
up  for  their  use;  §55,000  was  to  be  paid  to  them  in  instalments.  Any  who 
chose  could  take  land  in  Bitterroot  Valley  under  the  land  laws.  On  the 
part  of  the  Flatheads,  they  agreed  to  remove  all  who  did  not  take  land  in  this 
manner  to  the  Jocko  reservation.  The  following  year,  however,  they  refused 
to  remove,  basing  their  refusal  on  the  non-fulfilment  of  the  government's  part 
of  treaty  stipulations.  A  few  were  prevailed  upon  to  go  to  the  reservation 
in  1874,  more  followed,  and  by  degrees  the  condition  of  these  Indians  on  their 
reservation  has  improved.  A  boarding-school  for  girls  and  day-school  for 
boys  was  established  by  the  catholics  of  St  Ignatius  mission,  in  1863,  discon 
tinued  after  13  months  because  results  did  not  warrant  the  expense.  It  waa 
resumed  by  the  government,  which  paid  §1,800  for  teachers  until  1872,  and 
§2,100  until  1874,  when  the  schools  were  again  closed,  and  again  reopened. 
Helena  Independent,  May  15,  1S74;  Meagher,  in  Harper's  Magazine,  Oct.  1867, 
581-3;  Winser's  N.  Pac.  R.  R.  Guide,  196-7;  Smalley's  Hist.  N.  Pac.  R.  R.t 
343. 


708  INDIAN  WARS. 

and  a  company  of  mounted  infantry,  in  all  between  300 
and  400  troops,  to  invade  the  Blackfoot  country.  On 
the  23d  of  January,  1870,  they  surprised  the  Piegan 
camp  on  Maria  River,  killing  173  men,  women,  and 
children,  and  capturing  100.  Three  hundred  horses 
were  captured,  and  all  the  winter  supplies  of  forty- 
four  lodges,  driving  the  Blackfoot  tribe  into  the 
British  possessions.24 

On  the  1st  of  March,  1872,  congress  set  apart  a 
tract  of  land  in  Montana  and  Wyoming,  fifty-five  by 
sixty-five  miles  square,  about  the  head  of  the  Yellow 
stone  River,  to  be  called  the  Yellowstone  National 
Park,  and  the  survey  begun  in  1871  by  Hayden  was 
continued  this  year  in  the  Gallatin  and  upper  Yel 
lowstone  valleys — from  the  east  fork  of  the  Yellow 
stone  to  the  mining  district  on  Clarke  fork;  in  the 
Geyser  basins,  and  on  Madison  River.25  This  survey 
was  not  in  the  route  of  the  raiding  Sioux,  and  es 
caped  any  conflict  with  the  common  enemy.  But  a 
railroad  surveying  expedition  of  300  men  under  Colo 
nel  E.  Baker  was  attacked  near  the  mouth  of  Pryor 
fork  by  a  larger  number  of  Sioux  and  Cheyennes, 
losing  one  man  -killed,  and  having  five  wounded.  The 
fio-hting;  lasted  for  several  hours,  and  the  Indians, 

O  O 

though  armed  with  repeating  rifles,  lost  heavily  in 
men  and  horses.20  More  fortunate  was  a  pleasure 
excursion  projected  by  Durfee  and  Peck  of  the  North 
western  Transportation  Company,  which  thus  early 
invited  travel  over  the  route  pursued  by  them  from 
Chicago  westward.  The  excursionists  took  boats, 

21  This  expedition  was  officered  by  Col  E.  M.  Baker,  commander ;  Maj. 
Lewis  Thompson,  Capt.  S.  H.  Norton,  1st  lieuts  J.  G.  McAdams,  G.  C.  Doane, 
S.  T.  Hamilton,  and  S.  M.  Swigert,  and  2d  lieut  J.  E.  Batchelder,  2d  cavalry. 
The  infantry  was  commanded  by  Lieut-col  George  H.  Higbee,  with  Capt.  R.  A. 
Surry  and  1st  lieut  W.  M.  Waterbury.  New  Northwest,  Feb.  4,  1870. 

25  Hayden's  report  for  1872  is  interesting  reading.     It  makes,  with  the 
scientific  and  technical  descriptions,  a  volume  of  over  800  pages,  and  is  a 
survey  not  only  of  Montana,  but  of  Idaho,  Wyoming,  and  Utah.     In  1877 
Hayden  made  an  exhaustive  survey  of  Idaho  and  Wyoming. 

26  It  is  said  that  the  camp  was  saved  by  the  promptness  and  gallantry  of 
Lieut  W.  J.  Reed  of  the  7th  infantry,  who  was  a  Californian  before  he  en 
tered  the  army.  S.  F.  Alta,  Oct.  5,  1872. 


YELLOWSTONE  PARK.  709 

built  for  the  occasion,  at  Sioux  City,  and  proceeded  up 
the  Missouri  and  the  Yellowstone  as  far  as  Powder 
River,  where  a  wagon-train  was  fitted  up,  and  escorted 
by  a  strong  military  guard  and  reliable  guides  to  Yel 
lowstone  park.  General  Sheridan  detailed  General 
Gibbon  to  accompany  this  notable  excursion — the  first 
purely  pleasure-seeking  company  to  visit  the  nation's 
reserve.27 

In  the  spring  of  1873  the  Blackfoot  tribe,  having 
partially  recovered  from  the  humiliation  inflicted  by 
Baker's  command,  became  once  more  troublesome, 
when  the  irrepressible  conflict  was  resumed,  being 
carried  over  the  boundary  into  the  British  posses 
sions,  and  returning  to  the  territory  of  the  United 
States.  These  raids  and  skirmishes  seldom  gave  oc 
casion  for  the  employment  of  the  few  troops  stationed 
in  the  territory,  but  were  met  and  fought  by  citizens.28 

27  On  the  27th  of  September  Gen.  Gibbon  lectured  at  Helena  upon  the 
wonders  and  attractions  of  this  region.  Helena  Rocky  Mountain  Gaze.Ue, 
Sept.  30,  1872. 

'j8The  advance  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  survey  diverted  for  a  time 
the  hostilities  of  the  Sioux  from  the  people  of  the  territory  to  the  exploring 
expedition.  Red  Cloud  had  said  that  the  railroad  should  not  be  laid  across 
his  country,  and  he  meant  to  maintain  his  word.  Accordingly,  when  the  sur 
veying  party,  with  a  force  of  1,500  men  and  an  abundance  of  ammunition  and 
supplies,  appeared  on  the  Yellowstone  about  the  middle  of  July,  he  was  there 
to  resist  their  progress.  The  expedition  was  commanded  at  this  time  by 
Gen.  D.  S.  Stanley,  the  7th  cavalry  companies  being  under  General  Custer. 
They  were  met  at  the  mouth  of  Glendive  Creek  by  steamers  loaded  with  sub- 
'sistence  and  the  material  of  war.  A  strong  stockade  was  erected  fifteen 
miles  above  this  point,  and  garrisoned  by  one  company  of  the  17th  infantry 
and  two  of  cavalry  under  the  command  of  Captain  E.  P.  Pearson.  The  re 
mainder  of  the  force  proceeded  up  the  river,  Custer  generally  in  advance 
with  a  portion  of  the  cavalry,  looking  out  a  practicable  road  for  the  supply 
trains  and  artillery.  The  expedition  had  proceeded  as  far  as  Tongue  River 
without  encountering  the  Sioux,  and  had  begun  to  feel  that  relaxation  from 
apprehension  which  the  Indian  knows  so  well  how  to  inspire.  'Where  there 
ain't  no  Injuns  you'll  find  'em  thickest,'  was  the  caution  of  Bridger  the 
mountaineer  to  the  military  in  1866.  Absaraka,  183. 

On  the  4th  of  Aug.  Custer,  with  two  companies  of  the  cavalry,  numbering 
ninety-five  men,  guided  by  a  young  Arickaree  warrior,  left  camp  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  At  noon,  while  taking  a  siesta,  they  were  attacked, 
and  an  attempt  made  to  draw  them  into  an  ambush,  which  failed,  Cnster  be 
ing  rescued  from  a  perilous  position  by  the  main  body.  After  that  the  Ind 
ians  moved  on  up  the  Yellowstone,  Custer  following  with  450  cavalry  to 
punish  them.  On  the  9th  he  found  where  they  had  crossed  the  river  on  rafts, 
but  the  stream  being  too  wide  and  too  swift  for  swimming  the  horses,  the 
pursuit  was  abandoned  on  the  10th.  That  night  his  camp  was  discovered,  and 
the  next  morning  attacked  by  800  Indians,  who  fired  across  the  river.  After 
several  hours  of  exchanging  shots,  300  warriors  effected  a  crossing,  and  en- 


710  INDIAN  WARS. 

deavored  to  gain  the  bluffs  in  the  rear  of  Ouster's  command.  The  cavalry 
were  dismounted  and  received  them  bravely.  After  they  had  been  engaged 
for  some  time  a  charge  was  ordered,  the  troops  driving  them  for  eight  miles. 
In  the  mean  time  the  main  column  came  up,  and  the  artillery  opening  on  the 
Indians  across  the  river  dispersed  them.  This  battle  took  place  within  two 
miles  of  the  Bighorn  lUver.  General  Ouster  and  Adjutant  Ketchard  had 
their  horses  shot  under  them.  Lieutenant  Brogen  was  severely  wounded, 
and  private  Tuttle,  Ouster's  orderly,  killed.  The  loss  on  the  part  of  the 
Sioux  was  about  forty  killed  and  wounded.  After  this  second  fruitless 
attempt  to  intercept  the  movements  of  the  expedition,  the  Indians  did  no 
more  than  to  hang  upon  the  trail  of  the  troops  to  annoy  them.  After  reach 
ing  Pompey's  Pillar,  on  the  15th  of  September,  the  expedition  turned  north 
ward  to  Fort  Peck,  whence  it  returned  home. 

Other  expeditions  traversed  the  Yellowstone  country  in  1873,  one  of  which 
was  composed  of  149  mountaineers,  seventeen  wagons,  and  a  thorough  out 
fit,  under  Colonel  Brown,  the  object  of  which  seems  to  have  been  to  prospect 
for  minerals  and  fight  the  Sioux.  The  history  of  this  expedition  was  never  pub 
lished,  and  the  few  facts  I  have  are  gathered  from  a  letter  printed  in  the  L'oze- 
man  A  vant-Courier,  Oct.  18,  1877.  It  is  called  in  that  communication  the 
'  best  managed  Indian  expedition  of  the  west. '  It  descended  the  Yellowstone  as 
far  as  the  Bighorn  River,  having  a  skirmish  with  the  Sioux  a  short  distance 
below,  and  crossing  the  country  to  the  Rosebud  River,  '  had  several  days' 
and  nights'  terrific  fighting  with  many  hundred  Sioux  and  Oheyennes,  and 
thoroughly  defeated  them.'  A  gun  accompanied  the  expedition  which 
had  been  used  on  a  march  from  the  North  Platte  to  Bozemau  in  1870. 
It  was  loaded  with  horse-shoes  cut  in  fragments  for  the  purpose,  and 
performed  deadly  work  among  the  Indians,  who  followed  and  fought  the 
expedition  from  the  Littlehorn,  later  called  Ouster,  River,  back  by  Fort  Smith 
and  the  Bozeman  road  to  the  Yellowstone,  losing  but  one  man.  This  piece  of 
ordnance,  known  as  the  Bighorn  gun,  'all  the  mountaineers  nearly  idolize,' 
says  the  letter  referred  to.  It  was  the  only  gun  in  Fort  Pease,  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Bighorn,  and  was  burned  in  it  by  the  Indians,  after  a  year  of 
guerrilla  fighting,  in  1876.  It  was  afterward  mounted  on  a  rough  carriage  of 
cottonwood,  and  placed  at  Black's  landing,  below  the  Bighorn. 

The  Union  Pacific  railroad  had  also  an  expedition  in  the  field  under  Cap 
tain  W.  A.  Jones  of  the.  engineer  corps,  to  look  out  a  route  to  the  Yellow 
stone  park  and  lake,  in  order  to  secure  the  travel  of  tourists  to  this  wonder 
land,  besides  making  a  more  direct  road  to  the  already  developed  mines  of 
Montana,  and  competing  with  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad.  The  survey 
began  at  Fort  Bridger,  on  a  branch  of  Green  River,  in  Wyoming,  and  travelled 
north-east  to  Camp  Stambaugh,  a  two-company  post  on  one  of  the  sources 
of  the  Svveetwater;  thence  north  to  Fort  Brown  on  Little  Wind  River,  the 
agency  for  the  Shoshones;  thence  to  the  main  Wind  River,  in  a  course  a  little 
west  of  north,  crossing  which,  and  passing  mountains  and  streams  in  the  same 
course,  to  the  south  fork  of  the  Stinkingwater;  thence  up  the  north  fork 
and  over  the  divide  to  Mud  Lake  and  Gardiner  River;  thence  to  Fort  Ellis 
for  supplies,  returning  by  the  Firehole  basin  and  Yellowstone  Lake,  whence 
it  crossed  the  Snake  River  divide,  the  Yellowstone  and  Wind  River  divide, 
and  passed  down  Wind  River  to  Fort  Brown  and  home.  This  expedition 
reported  that  nothing  worthy  of  notice  in  the  way  of  minerals  was  found  on 
the  whole  route,  and  advised  miners  not  to  waste  their  time  prospecting  in 
these  regions,  but  the  route  for  a  road  was  declared  to  be  practicable.  Helena 
Rocky  Mountain  Gazette,  Oct.  12  and  Nov.  30,  1873.  The  first  public  convey 
ance  of  any  kind  to  enter  the  Yellowstone  park  was  the  stage-coach  of  G. 
W.  Marshall's  line  of  Virginia  City,  on  the  1st  of  October,  1880.  Slrahoni's 
Montana  and  Yellowstone  Park,  158. 

It  was  found  in  the  course  of  explorations  that  the  Crow  reservation  occu 
pied  some  of  the  most  desirable  agricultural  and  mineral  lands  in  Montana, 
and  that  lying  in  the  track  of  great  thoroughfares  it  was  an  obstacle  to  the 


VARIOUS  EXPLORATIONS.  711 

development  of  the  country,  besides  surrounding  the  Indians  with  tempta 
tion.  Accordingly,  when  the  commission  appointed  to  examine  into  the  con 
dition  of  the  Indians,  consisting  of  Felix  Brunot,  James  Wright,  General  E. 
Whittlcsey,  and  Thomas  K.  Cree,  visited  the  country,  an  agreement  was  entered 
into  with  the  Crows  to  remove  to  a  reservation  in  the  Judith  River  basin,  one 
third  the  size  of  that  on  the  Yellowstone,  which  contained  over  three  square 
miles  to  every  individual  in  the  tribe.  For  the  exchange,  a  fair  compensation 
was  promised.  Their  removal  was  not  effected;  but  in  1882  the  government 
purchased  a  tract  on  the  western  end,  forty  miles  in  extent  along  the  Yel 
lowstone,  and  sixty  in  breadth,  embracing  the  mineral  region  of  Clarke  fork. 

The  success  of  an  effort  made  to  ascend  the  Yellowstone  with  steamboats 
in  1873  determined  the  citizens  of  Bozeman,  early  in  1874,  to  send  an  expedi 
tion  down  the  river  for  the  purpose  of  opening  a  wagon-road  to  the  head  of 
navigation,  and  making  connection  with  the  advancing  line  of  the  Northern  Pa 
cific  by  means  of  this  road  and  a  line  of  steamers  on  the  Yellowstone,  and 
also  to  prospect  for  the  precious  metals.  The  expedition  failed  of  its  purpose, 
being  harassed  by  Indians  after  getting  into  the  Bighorn  country,  and  was 
short  of  supplies,  though  its  reports  were  of  some  use  to  the  country.  It  had 
four  engagements  with  the  Sioux,  lost  one  man  and  seventeen  horses  killed, 
and  had  twenty  horses  wounded.  They  found  the  Indians  to  be  armed  with 
breech-loading  rifles,  as  well  as  every  other  fire-arm,  bows  and  arrows;  they  were 
well  supplied  with  ammunition,  and  mounted.  But  in  a  battle  they  aimed 
too  high,  and  the  white  men,  being  better  marksmen  and  courageous  lighters, 
killed  fifty  for  their  one.  B.  F.  Grounds  was  captain;  William  Wright,  lieu 
tenant;  E.  B.  Way,  adjutant;  Hugh  O'Donovan,  signal-officer;  B.  P.  Wickers- 
ham,  secretary;  councilmen,  F.  B.  Wilson,  T.  C.  Burns,  William  Langston,  Ad- 
dison  N.  Quivey,  D.  A.  Yates  (killed  in  battle),  George  Miller,  A.  B.  Ford, 
James  Hancock,  Joseph  Brown,  and  133  others.  There  were  22  wagons,  28 
yoke  of  oxen,  over  200  horses  and  mules,  2  pieces  of  artillery,  arms  of  the  best 
description,  and  provisions  for  months.  A  large  portion  of  these  provisions 
were  furnished  by  the  citizens  of  the  Gallatin  Valley,  who  much  desired  to 
open  the  proposed  road,  and  were  greatly  vexed  by  the  return  of  the  expedi 
tion  without  having  accomplished  its  purpose.  Delegate  Magirmis  had  asked 
congress  for  an  appropriation  for  the  removal  of  obstructions  to  navigation 
in  the  Yellowstone. 

Year  after  year  the  troubles  continued.  In  1875  a  government  expedition 
was  set  on  foot  to  further  explore  the  Yellowstone  River  with  reference  to 
its  navigability,  and  also  the  selection  of  sites  for  forts  in  eastern  Montana. 
It  was  commanded  by  Gen.  Forsyth,  and  left  Bismarck,  Dakota,  with  one  com 
pany  of  infantry,  May  23d,  in  the  steamer  Josephine,  arriving  at  the  Yellow 
stone  River  two  days  later,  and  taking  on  two  additional  companies  at  Fort 
Buford.  The  mouth  of  the  Bighorn  was  reached  June  2d.  Above  this  point, 
navigation  to  within  twenty  miles  of  Clarke  fork  was  accomplished  with  more 
difficulty,  though  proving  the  feasibility  of  steamboat  navigation  for  a  dis 
tance  of  400  miles  up  the  Yellowstone.  No  Indians  were  encountered  on  the 
expedition  except  a  large  party  of  Crows,  going  on  their  summer  hunt,  who  had 
a  three  days'  fight  with  the  Sioux  in  the  Bighorn  country  in  July.  Sites  for 
military  posts  were  selected  at  the  mouths  of  Tongue  and  Bighorn  rivers. 

Another  expedition,  a  government  geological  survey,  consisting  only  of 
Colonel  William  Ludlow  of  the  engineer  corps  of  the  army,  four  other  persons, 
including  Grinnell  and  Dana  of  Yale  college,  and  half  a  dozen  raw  recruits, 
without  arms,  from  Camp  Lewis,  on  Judith  River,  garrisoned  by  two  com 
panies  of  the  7th  infantry,  under  Captain  Browning,  left  Carroll  on  the  Mis 
souri,  which  at  that  time  was  a  town  of  twenty-five  log  houses,  and  made 
the  journey  to  Fort  Ellis,  just  avoiding  a  meeting  with  the  Sioux  after  their 
three  days'  battle  with  the  Crows,  the  former  having  gone  north  through  the 
Judith  gap  two  days  before  the  geologists  reached  it  going  south.  They 
found  at  Camp  Baker,  on  Deep  Creek,  later  Fort  Logan,  two  companies  of 
the  7th  infantry,  Major  Freeman  commanding;  and  at  Fort  Ellis,  Gen. 
Sweitzer  in  command,  only  two  of  its  five  companies  unemployed,  one  being 


712  INDIAN  WARS. 

at  that  moment  escorting  Secretary  of  War  Belknap  through  the  Yellowstone 
park,  to  which  the  expedition  was  bound.  Ludlow's  Recon.  to  Yellowstone 
Park,  1-17.  This  book  contains  a  zoological  report  by  G.  B.  Grinnell,  a 
geological  report  by  E.  S.  Dana  and  G.  B.  Grinnell,  and  the  itinerary  of  the 
route  by  Ludlow,  with  maps  and  illustrations. 

The  accounts  brought  back  of  the  resources  of  the  Bighorn  country,  by 
the  citizens'  exploring  expedition  of  the  previous  year,  determined  a  com 
pany,  led  by  F.  D.  Pease,  late  agent  of  the  mountain  Crows,  to  establish 
themselves  in  that  country,  and  to  lend  their  aid  to  all  persons  following 
their  example.  Four  mackinaw  boats  were  built,  and  loaded  with  artillery, 
arms,  tools,  and  supplies  for  the  founding  and  maintaining  of  a  settlement 
in  a  new  country.  Misfortunes  attended  the  expedition.  Two  boats  were 
swamped  by  overloading,  in  the  rapid  stream,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  sup 
plies,  tools,  and  ammunition  lost.  The  new  settlement  was  located  in  a 
piece  of  fine  bottom-land  on  the  east  side  of  the  Bighorn,  near  its  junction 
with  the  Yellowstone,  where  another  party  in  1863  had  laid  out  Bighorn 
City.  Here  a  rude  but  strong  fort  was  erected,  the  famous  Bighorn  gun 
mounted,  and  for  a  short  time  affairs  progressed  favorably.  But  this  deceit 
ful  calm  was  not  of  long  duration.  On  the  night  of  the  10th  of  July  the 
place  was  attacked,  and  the  savages  were  with  difficulty  kept  at  bay  until 
relief  came  from  Bozeman. 

The  time  had  now  arrived  when  the  government,  having  exhausted 
its  resources  of  treaty,  determined  to  take  active  measures  to  obtain  by 
force  what  could  not  be  purchased  with  friendship  and  money.  The  order 
had  gone  forth  that  all  Indians  should  be  at  their  agencies  by  the  31st  of 
January,  1376,  or  take  the  alternative  of  war.  From  the  forts  all  over  the 
Rocky  Mountain  country  troops  were  marched  into  the  field.  Montana  fur 
nished  5  companies  2d  cav.,  1  of  7th  inf.,  and  1  citizen  co.  from  Fort  Ellis 
under  Maj.  Brisbin;  5  cos  of  7th  inf.  from  Fort  Shaw,  commanded  by  Capt. 
Rawn;  and  1  co.  of  the  same  reg.  from  Camp  Baker;  the  whole  to  be  com 
manded  by  Gen.  John  Gibbon,  in  command  of  the  district  of  Montana.  Wyo 
ming  furnished  10  cos  of  the  2d  and  3d  cav.,  under  Gen.  Reynolds,  col  of  the 
3d.  From  forts  Laramie  and  Fetterman  5  cos  of  the  4th  inf.  were  drawn; 
and  Gen.  Crook  commanded  the  whole.  Dakota  furnished  the  7th  cav. 
under  Gen.  George  A.  Custer.  Helena  Herald,  March  16  and  23,  1876. 

The  campaign  opened  by  Gen.  Crook  leaving  Fort  Fetterman  March  1st 
with  a  force  of  750  officers,  soldiers,  and  guides.  Crook's  experience  in  Oregon 
had  confirmed  him  in  his  estimation  of  the  importance  of  winter  fighting  in 
Indian  wars.  North  of  Fetterman  150  miles  the  wagon  transportation  was 
dispensed  with,  and  the  infantry  sent  back  with  it  to  Fort  Reno.  With  the 
cavalry  only,  and  fifteen  days'  rations,  he  proceeded  to  Tongue  River,  the 
weather  being  intensely  cold.  Scouting  commenced  under  Col  Stratton,  who 
discovered  the  village  of  Crazy  Horse,  one  of  the  bravest  of  the  Sioux  chiefs, 
consisting  of  over  100  lodges,  on  the  Powder  River,  ten  miles  above  the  con 
fluence  of  the  Little  Powder;  and  also  that  Sitting  Bull,  the  most  noted  of 
all  the  Sioux  since  Red  Cloud,  was  encamped  on  the  Rosebud  River. 

Sitting  Bull  first  became  famous  in  white  circles,  in  the  Sully  and  Sibley 
expeditions  of  1863  and  1864.  He  fought  Sully  north  of  the  Black  Hills, 
driving  him  through  the  Bad  Lands  beyond  Powder  River.  He  then  returned 
to  the  Bighorn  and  drove  out  the  Crows.  In  1865  he  warred  on  steamboats, 
and  captured  and  killed  the  crews  of  mackinaws.  He  attacked  one  steamer 
with  troops  on  board  and  was  repulsed.  At  the  peace  council  opposite  Fort 
Union  he  wheedled  the  commissioners  out  of  20  kegs  of  powder  and  ball,  and 
then  went  for  their  scalps.  They  escaped  to  the  steamer,  and  under  a  shower 
of  their  own  bullets,  took  refuge  in  Fort  Union.  He  kept  Fort  Buford 
in  a  state  of  siege  that  winter.  He  refused  to  attend  the  treaty  in  1868,  but 
was  present  to  witness  the  dismantling  of  the  forts  Kearny  and  Smith.  He 
marched  300  miles  to  strike  the  settlement  on  the  Musselshell;  but  the  set 
tlers  lay  in  wait  and  killed  36  of  his  warriors.  In  1869  he  fought  peaceable 


CROOK,  TERRY,  GIBBOX,  AND  OUSTER.  713 

tribes  because  they  were  peaceable,  and  besieged  Fort  Buford  again  that 
winter.  The  next  winter  congress  appropriated  $750,000  to  purchase  peace 
with  him;  and  still  he  was  in  the  field.  Epitome  of  a  Speech  of  Delegate. 
Maginnass  on  Defences  for  Montana. 

Crook  divided  his  command,  retaining  but  two  companies,  and  sent  Rey 
nolds  with  the  main  force  to  attack  Crazyhorse,  while  he  pursued  the  trail 
to  Sitting  Bull's  camp.  Reynolds  surrounded  and  surprised  the  village  of 
Crazyhorse.  Captain  Eagan  of  the  2d  cavalry  obeyed  his  orders  and  charged 
the  Sioux.  But  Captain  Webb  of  the  3d  cavalry,  who  was  to  have  charged 
simultaneously  from  the  other  side,  failed  to  meet  him  half-way,  and  instead 
of  a  victory  there  was  a  defeat.  Crook,  on  learning  the  manner  in  which  his 
orders  had  been  disobeyed,  ordered  a  retreat,  and  returned  to  Fort  Fetter- 
man,  and  thence  to  Omaha,  preferring  not  to  encounter  the  now  exasperated 
Sioux  with  a  command  which  could  not  be  depended  upon. 

There  seems  to  have  been  an  effort  made  to  cover  up  the  conduct  of  the 
guilty  officers,  and  there  were  directly  opposite  reports  published  in  the  news 
journals  concerning  the  affair;  but  the  evidence  is  against  them.  The  Ind 
ians  lost  their  lodges  and  the  contents,  among  which  was  a  large  amount  of 
ammunition,  but  otherwise  their  losses  were  trilling.  Reynolds'  loss  was  tea 
killed  and  wounded. 

Toward  the  last  of  May  Crook  once  more  marched  against  the  Sioux  with 
about  1,000  men.  At  the  same  time  Gibbon,  who  had  been  since  the  1st  of 
March  in  the  field  watching  the  enemy,  and  making  roads  and  bridges,  was 
encamped  opposite  the  mouth  of  Rosebud  River,  and  General  Terry  with  Cus- 
ter's  cavalry  was  marching  from  Fort  Lincoln,  in  Dakota,  to  cooperate  with  the 
other  divisions.  On  the  13th  and  17th  of  June  Crook  came  upon  the  enemy 
in  large  numbers  on  the  upper  Rosebud,  and  in  a  hard  battle  lasting  for  sev 
eral  hours  put  them  to  rout,  losing  nine  men  killed  and  twenty  wounded. 

General  Terry,  who  had  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  Powder  River  on  the  7th, 
discovered  the  location  of  Gibbon's  command,  and  held  a  conference  with  him 
on  the  9th,  when  it  was  decided  to  establish  a  supply  camp  at  Powder  River, 
where  the  supply  steamer  Far  West  was  lying,  and  to  operate  from  this  initial 
point.  Six  troops  of  cavalry  under  Major  Reno  were  sent  to  scout  up  Powder 
River,  which  reached  the  forks  and  crossed  to  the  Rosebud,  following  it  down 
to  its  mouth  without  encountering  Indians.  On  the  21st  General  Terry  held 
with  Gibbon  and  Custer  a  final  conference,  when  a  plan  of  campaign  was 
adopted.  Gibbon  was  to  cross  his  command  near  the  mouth  of  the  Bighorn, 
proceeding  up  the  stream  to  the  junction  of  the  Littlehorn,  and  thence  up 
the  latter;  but  to  be  at  the  junction  on  the  26th.  Custer  was  to  proceed  up 
the  Rosebud  to  ascertain  the  direction  of  an  Indian  trail  discovered  by  Major 
Reno,  and  if  it  led  toward  the  Little  Bighorn,  it  was  not  to  be  followed,  but 
Custer  was  to  keep  south  for  some  distance  before  turning  toward  the  stream, 
in  order  to  intercept  the  Indians  should  they  be  coming  that  way,  as  well  as 
to  give  Gibbon  time  to  come  up.  Crook  was  supposed  to  be  advancing  from 
the  south,  and  with  so  large  an  army,  commanded  by  experienced  generals, 
nothing  but  the  complete  humiliation  of  the  Sioux  was  anticipated. 

Custer  left  the  mouth  of  the  Rosebud  on  the  22d,  with  twelve  companies 
of  the  7th  cavalry,  striking  the  trail  reported  by  Reno.  On  the  24th  his 
scouts  discovered  fresh  trails  twenty  miles  up  the  Little  Bighorn.  The  fol 
lowing  morning  a  deserted  village  was  discovered,  and  the  scouts  reported  a 
large  village  two  miles  or  more  down  the  stream,  and  that  the  Indians  were 
fleeing.  This  last  information  determined  Custer  to  risk  an  attack  without 
waiting  for  Gibbon.  At  this  time  Reno  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  river 
with  a  battalion  of  seven  companies  of  the  cavalry,  and  Custer's  adjutant  was 
sent  to  bring  him  over  to  the  east  side  when  the  attack  was  planned.  Reno 
was  ordered,  at  half-past  twelve  o'clock,  to  recross  to  the  west  side  and  attack 
from  the  upper  end  of  the  camp,  while  Custer  would  strike  the  lower  end  and 
meet  him  half-way. 

The  village  was  located  in  a  valley,  on  a  narrow  strip  of  bottom-land, 
backed  by  woods  which  extended  up  the  bluff.  It  was  arranged  in  four  rows 
of  lodges,  and  extended  with  one  narrow  street  in  the  middle  for  three  or 


714  INDIAN  WARS. 

four  miles.  Eeno,  at  the  time  appointed,  leaving  a  reserve  of  four  companies 
under  Capt.  Benton  as  directed  by  Custer,  entered  the  valley  and  rode  rapidly 
after  the  Indians,  who  made  no  resistance  until  the  troops  had  almost  gained 
the  village,  thus  decoying  them  into  a  trap  set  for  them  there.  As  they  came 
near  the  lodges,  warriors  seemed  to  start  up  out  of  the  earth  in  swarms 
on  every  side,  and  Reno  saw  that  instead  of  attacking  he  must  defend  him 
self.  His  men  were  dismounted  and  fought  their  way  on  foot  to  and  through 
the  woods  to  the  summit  of  a  high  bluff,  whence  he  sent  Captain  Weir  with  his 
company  to  open  communication  with  General  Custer.  But  finding  it  im 
possible  to  reach  Custer,  being  surrounded  immediately,  Weir  retreated,  and 
Reno,  dismounting  his  whole  force,  hurried  the  pack  animals  and  cavalry 
horses  into  a  hollow  between  heights  and  prepared  to  be  assaulted  in  position. 

It  was  not  too  soon.  A  furious  attack  took  place,  in  which  he  lost 
eighteen  men  killed  and  forty-six  wounded.  The  battle  lasted  until  OP.  M., 
when  the  Indians  retired  to  hold  a  war-dance,  and  Reno  devoted  the  night 
to  digging  rifle-pits,  having  abandoned  the  hope  that  Custer  would  be  able  to 
get  through  the  Indians  to  his  assistance.  No  suspicion  seems  to  have 
occurred  to  any  one  that  the  general  had  met  with  any  disaster  worse  than 
their  own,  and  knowing  that  Gibbon  would  soon  arrive,  the  troops  kept  up  good 
courage,  though  much  suffering  was  experienced  for  want  of  water,  a  want 
which  was  not  relieved  for  thirty-six  hours,  or  until  evening  of  the  26th.  A 
few  canteens  full  were  obtained,  which  cost  one  man  killed  and  seven  wounded. 
The  thirst  of  the  fighting  men  was  terrible,  their  swollen  tongues  protruding 
from  their  mouths. 

At  half -past  two  on  the  morning  of  that  day  the  attack  on  Reno's  position 
was  renewed  with  great  fury.  The  noise  of  the  firing  was  compared  by  a 
Crow  scout  to  the  snapping  of  threads  when  a  blanket  is  being  torn,  so  rapid  and 
continuous  was  it.  At  least  2,500  warriors  surrounded  Reno's  700,  who  fought 
from  rifle-pits  barricaded  with  dead  horses  and  mules,  and  boxes  of  hard 
bread,  and  being  picked  off  by  skilled  marksmen,  whom  that  officer  believed 
to  be  white  outlaws. 

At  2  P.  M.  the  grass  was  fired  in  the  bottom,  causing  a  dense  smoke  to  ob 
scure  the  movements  of  the  Indians,  and  it  was  not  discovered  until  sunset 
that  they  were  removing  from  their  village.  At  that  hour  they  filed  away  in 
the  direction  of  the  Bighorn  Mountains,  moving  in  almost  military  order,  and 
taking  as  long  to  pass  as  the  cavalry  corps  of  a  great  army.  The  meaning  of 
this  movement  was  explained  when  news  was  brought  that  evening  that  Gib 
bon's  command  was  only  six  miles  away,  and  would  come  up  in  the  morning. 

Reno  was  still  looking  for  Custer  to  make  his  appearance,  when  a  lieuten 
ant  of  Gibbon's  scouts  dashed  into  camp  with  the  astounding  information  that 
Custer  and  every  officer  and  man  who  went  with  him  into  the  valley  on  the 
25th  was  lying  naked  and  lifeless  upon  the  field  where  they  had  fought.  Cus- 
ter's  body  escaped  mutilation  or  even  scalping,  probably  through  the  hurry  of 
the  Indians,  the  absence  of  the  Sioux  women  who  were  busy  with  Reno's  dead, 
and  the  circumstance  that  Ouster's  rank  was  concealed  by  a  hunting-suit 
of  buckskin.  About  half  of  Custer's  dead  were  scalped.  Report  of  Lieut 
Bradley,  in  Helena  Herald,  July  27,  1876.  Bradley  discovered  the  battle 
field,  and  his  account,  although  it  does  not  agree  with  newspaper  stories 
of  mutilation,  I  take  to  be  correct.  Reno's  dead,  says  the  same  aiithority, 
were  frightfully  cut  in  pieces.  Custer  was  accompanied  by  his  brother 
Captain  Custer,  a  citizen  brother  Boston  Custer,  a  brother-in-law  Lieut 
Calhoun,  two  nephews  Capt.  Yates  and  Mr  Reed,  besides  Capt.  Keough 
and  lieutenants  Cook,  Smith,  Harrison,  Porter,  Sturgis,  and  Riley  of 
the  7th  cavalry,  and  Crittenden  of  the  20th  inf.,  Dr  Lord,  Mark  Kellogg, 
a  correspondent  of  the  N.  Y.  Herald,  and  207  men,  all  of  whom  were  killed. 
Reno  lost  lieuts  Hodgson  and  Mclntosh,  and  surgeon  De  Wolf;  Capt.  Beuton 
and  Lieut  Mclntosh  were  wounded.  Charles  Reynolds,  a  citizen,  was  killed. 
About  50  enlisted  men  were  killed,  and  as  many  more  wounded,  some  of 
whom  died.  In  July  1877  the  bodies  of  Custer  and  his  brothers  were  re 
moved  east  by  Col  Sheridan  of  the  7th  cavalry  and  buried  at  Fort  Leaven- 
worth.  The  graves  had  been  disturbed,  most  of  the  bodies  being  unearthed. 


715 

The  remains  of  Reynolds  were  'brought  away  in  a  handkerchief.'  Bozeman 
Avaiit-Courier,  July  19,  1877. 

When  Custer  separated  from  Reno  he  proceeded  with  his  five  companies 
around  the  base  of  a  high  hill  overlooking  the  valley  through  a  ravine  only 
wide  enough  to  admit  a  column  of  fours.  No  Indians  were  in  sight  among 
the  bluffs  on  that  side  of  the  river,  and  nothing  impeded  the  progress  of  the 
troops  until  they  had  passed  around  the  hill  and  come  in  sight  of  the  village. 
The  bugles  sounded  a  charge,  and  Custer  waved  his  hat  to  his  men  to  en 
courage  them.  As  they  came  to  the  ford  leading  across  to  the  village,  a  sharp 
fire  was  opened  on  them  by  the  enemy  concealed  in  a  thicket  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  stream,  which  checked  the  advance.  A  portion  of  the  command 
were  dismounted  and  thrown  forward  to  return  the  fire  of  the  Indians,  but 
as  they  now  began  to  pour  out  of  the  village  in  hordes,  and  to  deploy  across 
his  front  and  to  his  right  as  if  with  the  intention  of  surrounding  him,  Custer 
withdrew  toward  the  hills  on  his  right,  the  Indians  following,  and  his  men 
fighting  dismounted  and  leading  their  horses.  By  marching  in  a  circle, 
taking  advantage  of  the  ground,  and  keeping  the  horses  in  the  rear,  a  little 
time  was  gained,  but  it  was  impossible  to  avert  the  end.  The  Indians  also 
dismounted,  and  completely  surrounded  Custer's  command,  which  fought 
bravely  but  hopelessly  as  long  as  their  ammunition  held  out.  The  scene 
which  followed  had  110  witnesses  on  the  side  of  the  troops,  for  within  two 
hours  every  one  of  the  command  had  met  a  bloody  death.  %  Reno's  officers 
surveying  the  country  from  high  points  toward  the  close  of  the  afternoon 
encountered  only  illimitable  silence. 

The  little  that  is  known  of  Custer's  fatal  fight  was  related  to  Gen.  Terry 
after  his  first  report  was  made  up,  by  a  half-breed  Crow  scout,  called  Curley, 
who  accompanied  Custer,  and  who  escaped  by  drawing  a  blanket  around  him 
after  the  manner  of  a  Sioux.  But  being  hidden  in  a  ravine,  he  could  not  have 
witnessed  the  closing  scene.  As  he  did  not  see  Custer  fall,  it  is  probable  he 
was  not  killed  until  near  the  end.  Helena  Herald,  July  20,  187G. 

Thereupon  the  troops  retreated  to  the  Yellowstone,  where  a  fort  was 
being  erected  at  the  mouth  of  Tongue  River,  which  was  named  after  Capt. 
Miles  W.  Keough,  one  of  the  slain  officers  of  the  7th  cavalry.  A  fort  erected 
in  the  Bighorn  country  in  1877  was  called  Fort  Custer,  and  the  Montana 
legislature  changed  the  name  of  Bighorn  county,  calling  it  after  the  lamented 
general  who  had  given  his  life  in  the  service  of  the  territory;  and  the  Little 
Bighorn  River  also  was  called  thenceforth  Custer  River. 

Terry's  division,  under  Gen.  Gibbon,  remained  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big 
horn,  to  which  several  steamers  ascended  during  the  summer,  fighting  their 
way  with  the  Indians  on  the  banks.  Toward  the  last  of  July,  Crook's  force,  en 
camped  on  Goose  Creek,  near  Fort  Philip  Kearny,  was  reenforced  by  cavalry, 
and  increased  to  1,174  men,  and  Terry's  to  1,873;  but  although  Sheridan  had 
'stripped  every  post  from  Manitoba  to  Texas,'  there  were  still  not  troops 
enough  to  give  battle  to  the  Sioux  in  a  body  in  their  chosen  position.  But  a 
fair  fight  was  not  what  Sitting  Bull  desired,  and  the  delay  in  concentrating 
troops  furnished  him  the  opportunity  of  dividing  his  force  into  several  war 
parties,  going  in  different  directions,  and  making  war  in  detail. 

Early  in  August,  Gen.  Terry,  having  been  joined  by  the  5th  infantry  regi 
ment  under  Gen.  Miles,  and  six  companies  of  the  21st  infantry  under  Col. 
Otis,  moved  up  the  Rosebud  River  to  form  a  junction  with  Crook,  but  only 
to  inarch  down  again,  Sitting  Bull  evading  a  meeting,  and  going  north  of  the 
Yellowstone,  whither  he  was  followed  by  Terry.  All  through  the  remainder 
of  the  summer  the  United  States  forces  marched  up  and  down,  from  the 
Missouri  to  the  Black  Hills,  having  numerous  skirmishes,  and  occasionally 
doing  material  harm  to  the  enemy,  as  when  Miles  with  150  men  surprised  a 
village  of  forty  lodges,  on  the  road  to  the  Black  Hills,  and  captured  their 
winter  stores  and  a  large  number  of  horses. 

Persistent  warfare,  in  their  own  fashion,  began  to  tire  the  Sioux  in  Sep 
tember,  who  sent  begging  parties  to  the  agencies,  where  they  received  noth 
ing,  and  soon  a  few  made  propositions  of  surrender.  Sitting  Bull,  however, 
still  held  out,  and  after  the  troops,  excepting  the  garrison  on  the  Yellow- 


71G 


INDIAN  WARS. 


CAMPAIGN  OF  MILES  AND  BRISBIN.  717 

stone,  under  Gen.  Miles,  had  returned  to  their  posts  for  the  winter,  kept  Tip 
a  show  of  being  master  of  the  situation.  On  the  10th  of  Oct.  he  intercepted 
a  supply  train  of  ninety-four  wagons  on  the  way  from  Glendive  Creek  to  the 
cantonment  at  the  mouth  of  Tongue  River,  and  forced  it  to  turn  back  for  as 
sistance.  On  returning,  five  days  later,  with  an  escort  of  nearly  200  men 
and  eleven  officers,  the  train  was  again  attacked,  and  advanced  with  diffi 
culty,  fighting  the  Indians,  who  had  set  fire  to  the  grass  around  it.  On  the 
day  following,  Sitting  Bull  sent  a  despatch  to  Col.  Otis,  demanding  that  he 
should  leave  the  train  in  his  hands,  and  retreat  to  Glendive.  But  as  no  no 
tice  was  taken  of  this  command,  the  chief  pretended  to  repent  of  his  arro 
gance,  and  sent  a  flag  of  truce,  with  a  request  for  a  council.  This  also  was 
declined,  unless  he  would  come  within  the  lines,  which  he  refused  to  do, 
sending  three  subordinates  instead.  To  these  ambassadors  Otis  said  that 
they  must  come  to  Tongue  River,  to  Gen.  Miles,  if  they  wished  to  open  peace 
negotiations;  and  giving  them  some  food,  dismissed  them. 

In  the  mean  time  Miles  had  become  alarmed  at  the  unaccountable  delay  in 
the  arrival  of  the  train,  and  had  come  out  with  his  whole  regiment  to  do 
whatever  fighting  might  be  needful.  Pursuing  Sitting  Bull,  he  came  up  with 
him  on  Cedar  Creek  and  opened  a  parley;  but  as  the  Sioux  autocrat  would 
only  have  peace  on  his  own  terms,  and  showed  a  disposition  to  renew  the 
fight,  Miles  engaged  him,  driving  him  more  than  forty  miles,  and  capturing 
a  large  amount  of  provisions  and  other  property,  besides  killing  a  few  war 
riors.  This  blow  crushed  the  war  spirit  in  two  thousand  Sioux,  men,  women, 
and  children,  who  surrendered  to  Miles  on  the  27th.  Sitting  Bull  himself 
escaped  with  a  small  following  to  the  north  side  of  the  Missouri.  But  hostil 
ities  were  by  no  means  ended.  Prospecting  parties  continued  to  be  cut  off, 
and  travel  to  be  unsafe.  In  December  a  portion  of  Miles'  command,  under 
Lieutenant  Baldwin,  found  Sitting  Bull,  and  pursued  him  across  the  Missouri. 
A  fortnight  later  the  same  detachment  again  discovered  him  on  the  Red- 
water,  a  small  creek  on  the  south  side  of  the  Missouri,  and  destroyed  his 
camp,  the  Indians  fleeing  south.  Miles,  meantime,  was  fighting  the  Sioux 
and  Cheyennes  under  Crazyhorse,  who  had  escaped  from  Crook,  in  the 
Tongue  River  Valley,  having  a  number  of  engagements  with  them  between 
the  1st  and  the  8th  of  January,  1877,  in  which  he  overcame  them  and  sent 
them  to  their  agencies.  Finding  that  he  could  expect  no  succor  from  Crazy- 
horse,  Sitting  Bull  returned  northward,  crossing  the  boundary  into  the 
British  possessions. 

About  the  1st  of  March  Gen.  Brisbin  was  ordered  to  take  the  cavalry  from 
Fort  Shaw  and  Fort  Ellis  and  join  Miles.  The  combined  command  left  the 
cantonment  on  the  1st  of  May,  marched  up  Tongue  River,  and  struck  a  vil 
lage  of  fifty-seven  lodges  on  the  Rosebud,  capturing  it,  with  the  herd  of  horses 
and  all  the  Indian  supplies.  The  Indians  fled  to  the  hills,  were  pursued,  and 
after  a  hard  fight,  in  which  they  lost  heavily,  surrendered.  Toward  the 
last  of  the  month  Crazyhorse  made  a  formal  surrender  at  the  Red  Cloud 
agency,  Camp  Robinson,  Nebraska,  and  the  Sioux  war  seemed  about  to  be 
ended.  But  this  mischievous  chief,  continuing  to  make  trouble  by  drawing 
the  Indians  away  from  their  reservations,  was  arrested  for  this  offence  and 
his  followers  disarmed.  He  escaped,  was  rearrested,  and  refusing  to  give  up 
his  arms,  was  wounded  so  severely  in  the  struggle  that  he  died  September  6th. 

While  the  Sioux  war  was  in  progress,  the  Montana  tribes,  awed  by  the 
display  of  the  military  power  of  the  United  States,  and,  so  far  as  the  Crows 
were  concerned,  afraid  of  being  captured  by  their  hereditary  enemies,  re 
mained  at  peace,  except  the  Flathead  and  other  Indians  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  who  had  for  some  time  been  uneasy  to  such  an  extent  that  a  mil 
itary  post  had  at  length  been  ordered  to  be  established  in  the  Bitterroot 
Valley,  called  Fort  Missoula,  which  was  garrisoned  by  a  single  company 
under  Captain  Rawn.  And,  as  if  Montana  had  not  enough  of  hostile  Indians 
within  its  borders,  an  irruption  of  warring  Nez  Percys  was  forced  upon  it 
from  the  neighboring  territory  of  Idaho,  in  the  month  of  July,  at  which  time 
the  regular  troops  were  in  the  field  endeavoring  to  overtake  the  Sioux  still  at 
large  and  committing  depredations. 


718  INDIAN  WARS. 

Becoming  much  alarmed  by  the  advance  of  the  Nez  Percys  along  the  Lolo 
trail  toward  the  Bitterroot  Valley,  the  inhabitants  of  that  region  petitioned 
Governor  Potts  for  more  troops;  and  not  knowing  what  else  to  do  in  the  ab 
sence  of  an  organized  militia,  the  governor  telegraphed  the  president  for  au 
thority  to  raise  500  volunteers.  The  secretary  of  war,  on  being  consulted, 
referred  the  matter  to  General  Sheridan.  General  Sherman,  however,  who 
happened  opportunely  to  be  upon  a  visit  to  Montana,  encouraged  the  governor 
to  furnish  volunteers,  and  it  was  determined  to  place  300  men  in  the  field, 
and  240  were  really  raised.  Missoula  raised  64  men,  Stevensville  38,  West 
Side  32,  Corvallis  35,  Skalkaho  37,  Frenchtown  24,  in  all  240;  160  guns  were 
issued.  Bozeman  Avant-Courier,  Aug.  9,  1877.  The  narrative  of  the  Nez 
Perce"  war  in  Idaho  and  Montana  has  been  given,  and  need  not  be  repeated 
here.  A  large  number  of  persons  were  murdered,  a  great  amount  of  property 
destroyed,  and  several  severe  battles  fought  during  this  raid.  In  the  battles 
with  the  Nez  Percys,  generals  Gibbon  and  Miles  won  the  commendations  of 
Montanians  and  of  their  brother  officers.  The  people  of  Idaho  named,  or  re 
named,  the  town  of  Dahlonega,  on  the  north  fork  of  Salmon  River,  Gibbon- 
ville.  Miles'  popularity  was  already  attested  by  the  founders  of  a  town  at 
the  mouth  of  Tongue  River,  to  which  and  to  the  organization  of  Ouster  county 
he  had  given  encouragement,  the  new  metropolis  of  an  excellent  grazing 
region  being  named  Miles  City  in  his  honor. 

The  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  the  government  by  the  advocates  of 
peace  led  to  the  appointment  of  another  commission,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
visit  Sitting  Bull  in  the  British  dominions,  and  prevail  upon  him  to  accept  life 
annuities  and  the  friendship  of  the  United  States,  with  a  home  at  one  of  the 
agencies.  The  commissioners  were  Terry,  Lawrence,  Smith,  and  Corbin,  who, 
late  in  September,  left  Fort  Shaw  on  this  errand.  They  were  met  with  much 
ceremony  at  the  boundary  line,  and  escorted  by  McLeod,  of  the  dominion 
police,  to  Fort  Welch.  On  the  day  following  their  arrival  an  interview  was 
had  with  Sitting  Bull  and  his  suite,  in  which  the  utmost  unconcei-n  was  dis 
played  for  the  commissioners  and  their  proposals.  Nothing  was  left  for  them 
but  to  return  and  report  their  defeat. 

Not  long  afterward  depredations  were  resumed  on  the  Bighorn  and  Yellow 
stone  and  in  the  region  of  the  Black  Hills,  causing  Terry  to  order  another 
winter  campaign.  But  Sitting  Bull  cautiously  remained  in  the  British  pos 
sessions,  and  about  the  1st  of  May,  1878,  sent  a  courier  to  General  Miles  to 
learn  on  what  terms  the  "United  States  would  make  peace,  intimating  that  he 
did  not  expect  to  be  required  to  give  up  his  horse  and  gun.  These  overtures 
were  simply  toying  with  a  power  he  both  dreaded  and  despised.  In  July 
Montana  again  became  the  prey  of  hostile  bands,  adventurers  from  the  Sioux, 
Nez  Percys,  Blackfoot,  and  Gros  Ventres,  who,  making  sudden  descents  upon 
wood-cutters,  cattle-herders,  teamsters,  or  other  isolated  camps,  murdered 
the  men  and  drove  off  the  stock.  At  the  same  time  the  Bannack  war  was  in 
progress  in  Idaho,  and  not  a  few  outrages  were  due  to  this  outbreak,  and  to 
the  return  of  White  Bird's  band  of  Nez  Perec's  through  the  Missoula  Valley 
to  Idaho.  These  Indians  were  pursued  by  a  detachment  from  Fort  Missoula 
under  Lieutenant  Wallace,  3d  infantry,  who  killed  six  and  wounded  three, 
capturing  and  killing  a  large  number  of  horses;  but  the  principal  portion  of 
the  band  escaped  and  joined  the  Snakes. 

Scouting  was  continued  all  summer  by  Miles'  command,  which  did  not, 
however,  prevent  the  setting  on  foot  of  the  geological  surveying  party  in  the 
national  park,  and  other  enterprises.  Much  difficulty  had  been  experienced 
ever  since  the  discovery  of  the  mineral  region  of  Clarke  fork,  in  pursuing 
mining  in  that  locality,  on  account  of  Indian  attacks  on  the  workmen,  and 
the  Nez  Perec's  had  quite  driven  them  away  in  1877,  causing  a  large  loss  of 
property.  In  1878  the  reduction-works  were  once  more  put  in  operation, 
when  it  became  necessary  to  give  them  military  protection  from  the  Ban- 
nacks,  thirteen  of  whom  were  killed  and  thirty-seven  captured  by  a  detach 
ment  under  Miles,  in  which  engagement  Cupt.  Bennett  was  killed. 

In  September  a  party  of  six  Sioux  arrived  at  Fort  Keough  from  Sitting 
Bull,  who  represented  that  the  Indians  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  British 


END  OF  HOSTILITIES.  719 

dominions  were  desirous  of  returning  to  the  United  States,  and  asking  upon 
what  terms  they  would  be  received.  General  Sheridan,  being  telegraphed  to 
on  the  subject,  replied  that  he  was  not  anxious  to  have  the  Sioux  come  back 
from  Canada,  but  if  they  should,  it  would  only  be  upon  terms  of  unconditional 
surrender.  The  visit  was  looked  upon  as  a  spying  expedition. 

The  winter  of  1878-9  was  noted  for  trouble  with  the  Sioux  and  Cheyennes 
at  their  agencies,  from  which,  time  and  again,  they  had  escaped  after  surrender 
ing,  to  return  to  war.  Bad  management  by  the  interior  department  compli 
cated  these  difficulties,  which,  however,  affected  Montana  less  at  this  time 
than  the  territories  adjacent  on  the  east  and  south.  In  the  spring  of  1879  a 
new  post  was  established  in  the  Milk  River  country,  seventy  miles  from  Ben- 
ton,  called  Fort  Assinaboine,  to  which  point  the  18th  infantry  were  ordered, 
with  six  companies  of  the  2d  cavalry,  this  post  being  for  the  protection  of  the 
frontier  against  Sitting  Bull.  Congress  also  appropriated  $35,000  for  a  mili 
tary  telegraph  between  the  several  posts  now  in  Montana.  All  these  evi 
dences  of  his  power  flattered  the  vanity  of  the  great  Sioux  leader,  who,  while 
he  remained  safely  outside  of  United  States  territory,  plotted  and  directed 
as  before.  The  Canadian  government,  however,  on  being  informed  that  the 
chief  would  be  regarded,  after  submitting  himself  to  British  authority,  as  a 
Canadian  Indian,  and  held  responsible  for  his  acts,  notified  him  that  he  would 
be  arrested  should  he  commit  hostilities  over  the  border.  At  the  same  time 
British  Indians  crossed  the  boundary  to  hunt  buffalo  in  the  territory  of 
the  Gros  Ventres,  who  fought  them  on  that  account;  and  seeing  that  the 
seven  or  eight  thousand  United  States  Indians  at  the  Poplar  Creek  agency, 
for  whom  an  insufficient  appropriation  had  been  made  by  congress,  needed 
the  buffalo  on  their  ranges,  General  Miles  attacked  the  intruders,  who  were 
driving  the  agency  Indians,  and  sent  them  back  in  haste  to  their  own  country. 

The  winter  of  1879  was  notable  for  a  serious  outbreak  among  the  Utes, 
which  called  away  a  portion  of  the  troops  in  Montana;  but  enough  were  left 
for  the  prevention  of  general  wars,  although  attacks  on  life  and  property  con 
tinued  to  be  made  in  isolated  localities,  and  were  punished  in  detail.  After 
six  years  of  voluntary  exile,  during  which  his  adherents  grew  pcor  and  few, 
Sitting  Bull  returned  to  the  United  States  and  was  domiciled  at  the  Standing 
Rock  agency  in  Dakota,  since  which  time  Indian  wars  in  Montana  have 
ceased.  As  a  reward  to  the  soldiers  serving  in  the  arduous  and  dangerous 
campaigns  of  the  north-west,  the  secretary  of  war  declared  them  entitled  to 
wear  distinctive  stripes.  He  selected  the  campaigns  of  18G5-8  in  Oregon, 
Idaho,  California,  and  Nevada;  of  1808-9  in  Kansas,  Colorado,  and  Indian 
Territory;  of  1872-3  in  the  Modoc  country;  of  1873  in  Arizona;  of  1874-5  in 
Kansas,  Colorado,  Texas,  Indian  Territory,  and  New  Mexico;  of  1876-7  in 
Montana  and  Wyoming;  of  1877  and  1878  in  Idaho  and  Montana;  and  of 
1878-9  against  the  northern  Cheyennes.  Helena  Independent,  June  19,  1879. 
Gen.  Gibbon  recommended  that  the  volunteers  who  fought  with  him  in  the 
battle  of  Bighole  should  be  compensated,  and  pensions  granted  to  the  families 
of  the  slain.  Helena  Herald,  Dec.  6,  1879. 

The  legislature  of  Montana  asked  congress  to  make  Montana  a  separate 
military  department,  with  General  Miles  in  command;  but  it  was  made  a 
separate  district  -instead.  Of  the  forts  within  this  district,  Fort  Keough, 
established  by  General  Miles  in  1877,  is  the  principal.  It  has  barracks  for  a 
large  garrison,  sixteen  houses  for  the  families  of  officers,  a  chapel,  school, 
hospital,  and  other  buildings,  with  a  handsome  parade-ground,  in  the  centre 
of  which  a  fountain  throws  up  water  from  the  Yellowstone  River.  Fort  Cus- 
ter,  established  by  Col  Brackett,  2d  cav.,  in  the  same  year,  is  on  the  Crow 
Indian  reservation,  where  it  preserves  order.  Fort  Assinaboine,  on  the  Black- 
foot  reservation,  protects  and  keeps  in  subjection  the  tribes  on  that  large 
reserve;  while  forts  Shaw  and  Ellis  stand  at  the  passes  whereby  hostile  bands 
could  most  readily  enter  the  settlements.  The  peace  and  security  afforded 
by  government  protection  has  imparted  new  life,  and  inaugurated  a  thousand 
enterprises  before  impossible.  The  Indians  became  more  settled,  and  began 
to  advance,  though  somewhat  slowly,  in  the  industrial  habits  leading  to 
their  ultimate  good. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MINING  AND  CATTLE-RAISING. 

1864-1885. 

INFLUX  OF  PROSPECTORS — CONTINUED  MINERAL  DISCOVERIES — ALDER  AND 
LAST  CHANCE  GULCHES — MINING  ADVENTURES — SOME  NOTABLE  DISCOV 
ERIES — HYDRAULIC  MACHINERY —  QUARTZ-MINING — TRANSPORTATION — 
ROUTES  AND  FREIGHTS — THE  BUSINESS  OF  CATTLE-GROWING — RANGES — 
BRANDS — ROUND-UP — PRODUCT  AND  PROFIT — FURTHER  MINING  DEVEL 
OPMENTS — CONDITION  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

THE  two  primary  elements  of  Montana's  grand  de 
velopment  were  gold  and  grasses.  In  a  rough  country 
of  apparently  few  resources,  the  discovery  of  Alder 
gulch,  resulting  in  $60,000,000  of  precious  metal, 
which  that  ten  miles  of  auriferous  ground  produced 
in  twenty  years,1  was  like  the  rubbing  of  an  Aladdin 
lamp.  It  drew  eager  prospectors  from  Colorado,  Utah, 
and  Idaho,  who  overran  the  country  on  both  sides  of 
the  upper  Missouri,  and  east  and  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  many  of  whom  realized,  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent,  their  dreams  of  wealth.2  The  most  im- 

1  Strahom's  Montana,  8;  Barrows1  Twelve  Nights,  239. 

a  Among  the  discoveries  of  1804  was  the  Silver  Bow,  or  Summit  Mountain 
district,  on  the  head  waters  of  Deer  Lodge  River.  It  was  found  in  July  by 
Bud.  Barker,  Frank  Ruff,  Joseph  Ester,  and  James  Ester.  The  name  of 
Silver  Bow  was  given  by  these  discoverers,  from  the  shining  and  beautiful 
appearance  of  the  creek,  which  here  sweeps  in  a  crescent  among  the  hills. 
The  district  was  12  miles  in  length,  and  besides  the  discovery  claim  or  gulch, 
there  were  21  discovered  and  worked  in  the  following  5  years,  and  about  as 
many  more  that  were  worked  after  the  introduction  of  water  ditches  in  1869. 
The  men  who  uncovered  the  riches  of  Silver  Bow  district  were,  after  the 
original  discoverers,  W.  R.  Coggeswell,  Peter  Slater,  Vernon  &  Co.,  C.  Solo 
mon,  M.  Johnson,  Dennis  Driscoll,  J.  Baker,  Robert  McMinn,  Thomas  Flood, 
\V.  R.  Crawford,  Sherman  &  Co.,  Henry  Rust,  M.  Prettyman,  Lester  Popple, 
W.  E.  Harris,  J.  La  Clair,  L.  Thayer,  George  Popple,  A.  M.  Smith,  C.  S. 
Warren,  James  Beattie,  George  McCausland,  Wolf  &  Cowan.  From  the 
gulches  opened  by  these  men  was  taken,  between  1864  and  1869,  $1,894,300. 

(720) 


LAST  CHANCE.  721 

portant  discovery  after  Alder  gulch  was  made  by 
John  Cowan,  a  tall,  dark-eyed,  gray-haired  man  from 
Ackworth,  Georgia,  who  had  explored  for  a  long  time 
in  vain,  and  staked  his  remaining  hopes  and  efforts  on 
a  prospect  about  half-way  between  Mullan's  pass  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Missouri  River,  in  the 
valley  of  the  Little  Prickly  Pear  River,  and  called  his 
stake  the  Last  Chance  gulch.3  From  near  the  ground 
where  Helena  was  located,  in  the  autumn  of  1864, 
John  Cowan  took  the  first  few  thousands  of  the 
$16,000,000  which  it  has  yielded,  and  returned  to  his 
native  state,  where  he  built  himself  a  saw-mill  and 
was  wisely  content.4  Hundreds  of  miners  swarmed  to 
Last  Chance,  and  by  the  first  of  October  the  town  of 
Helena  was  founded  and  named,  and  a  committee 
appointed  by  citizens  to  lay  it  off  in  lots  and  draw 
up  a  set  of  municipal  regulations  suited  to  the  condi 
tions  of  a  mining  community.5  From  its  favorable 

Of  the  gulches,  which  lay  too  high  to  be  worked  before  the  completion  of 
the  Pioneer  and  Rocker  ditch  in  1870,  the  discoverers  were:  W.  E.  Vernon, 
John  W.  Baker,  Nelson  Everest,  Charles  S.  Warren,  Michael  Moran,  John 
Hanifiii,  Benjamin  Vener,  Eugene  Boiteaux,  William  Barry,  Thomas  Smith, 
H.  H.  Alstreadt,  Earl  Gower,  John  Barrick,  Levi  Russell,  John  Sheppard, 
L.  W.  Burnett,  John  M.  Killop,  'Arkansaw,'  H.  H.  Porter,  L.  Griswold, 
Charles  Rures,  Sidney  Dinnon,  Vernon  &  Co.,  Thomas  Burden,  H.  J.  Matti- 
son,  Charles  Noyes,  Gower  &  Co.,  Crane  &  Lynch.  Total  number  of  claims 
in  the  district  in  1869  was  1,007.  There  were  at  this  time  7  ditches  in  the 
district  from  1  to  20  miles  in  length,  aggregating  53  miles,  with  a  total  ca 
pacity  of  3,100  inches  of  water,  constructed  at  a  cost  of  §106,000.  Deer  Lodi/e 
New  Northwest,  Nov.  12,  1869. 

3R.  Stanley  of  Attleborough,  Nuneaton,  England,  was  one  of  the  dis 
covery  party.  John  Crab  and  D.  J.  Miller  were  also  of  the  party.  They  had 
come  from  Alder  gulch,  where  no  claims  were  left  for  them.  They  encamped 
in  a  gulch  where  Helena  was  later  placed,  but  not  finding  the  prospect  rich, 
set  out  to  go  to  Kootenai.  On  Hellgate  River  they  met  a  party  returning 
thence,  who  warned  them  not  to  waste  their  time.  So  they  turned  back,  and 
prospected  on  Blackfoot  River,  and  east  of  the  mountains  on  the  Dearborn 
and  Maria  rivers,  until  they  found  themselves  once  more  in  the  gulch  on  the 
Prickly  Pear,  which  they  said  was  '  their  last  chance.'  It  proved  on  further 
trial  to  be  all  the  chance  they  desired.  Stanley,  in  Helena  City  Directory, 
18S3-4,  47-8. 

4  John  Sloss,  killed  by  Indians  in  1866,  on  the   Dry  fork  of  Cheyenne 
River,  is  also  called  one  of  the  discoverers  of  Last  Chance  gulch. 

5  George  P.  Wood,  says  the  Helena  Republican,  Sept.  20,  1866,  was  the 
only  one  of  the  committee  who  ever  attempted  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his 
office — an  unpaid  and  thankless  service.     If  Helena  shows  defects  of  grade 
and  narrowness  of  streets  in  the  original  plan,  it  could  not  be  otherwise  in  a 
town  hastily  settled,  without  surveys,  and  necessarily  conforming  to  the 
character  of  the  ground.     And,  as  has  frequently  been  the  case,  a  spring  of 

HIST.  WASH.— 46 


722  MINING  AND  CATTLE-RAISING. 

situation  with  regard  to  routes  of  travel,  and  other 
advantages,  Helena  became  a  rival  of  the  metropolis 
of  Alder  gulch — Virginia  City. 

Following  rapidly  upon  the  discovery  of  Last 
Chance  gulch  were  others  of  great  richness,  as  the 
Ophir  and  McClellan,6  thirty  miles  from  Helena,7  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  Confed 
erate,  east  of  the  Missouri  River  and  south-east  of 
Helena,  and  others.8 

water  determined  the  question  of  the  first  settlement.  After  the  Helena 
Water  Company  had  constructed  a  system  of  water-pipes  leading  to  the  more 
level  ground,  which  it  did  in  1865-6,  the  town  rapidly  followed  in  that  direc 
tion.  A  ditch  leading  from  Ten  Mile  Creek  to  the  mines  below  town  caused 
a  spreading-out  in  that  direction.  Hence  the  irregularities  in  the  plan  of 
Montana's  capital. 

6  Named  after  John   L.  McClellan,  the   discoverer.     Blackfoot  City  was 
located  on  Ophir  gulch,  discovered  by  Bratton,  Pemberton,  and  others,  in  May 
1865.     In  1872  it  had  been  abandoned  to  the  Chinese. 

7  Helena  was  located  on  Dry  gulch,  which  could  not  be  worked  until 
ditches  were  constructed.     Oro  Fino  and  Grizzly  gulches  were  joined  half  a 
mile  above  the  town,  forming  the  celebrated  Last  Chance.     Nelson's  gulch 
headed  in  the  mountains,  and  ran  into  Ten  Mile  Creek.     South  from  these 
were  a  number  of  rich  gulches   running  into  Prickly  Pear  River.  Helena 
Republican,  Sept.  15,  1866. 

8  For  150  miles  north  and  south  of  Helena,  and  100  east  and  west  of  the 
same  point,  mines  of  exceeding  richness  were  discovered  in  1865  and  1SG6. 
First  Chance  gulch,  a  tributary  of  Bear  gulch,  in  Doer  Lodge  county,  yielded 
nearly  §1,000  a  day  with  one  sluice  and  one  set  of  hands.     New  York  gulch 
and  Montana  bar,   in  Meagher  county,   were   fabulously  productive.     Old 
Helena  residents  still  love  to  relate  that  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  of  Au 
gust,  1866,  two  wagons  loaded  with  a  half-ton  each  of  gold,  and  guarded  by 
an  escort  of  fifteen  men,  deposited  their  freight  at  Hershfeld  &  Co. 's  bank, 
on  Bridge  street,  this  treasure  having  been  taken   from  Montana  bar  and 
Confederate  gulch  in  less  than  four  months,  by  two  men  and  their  assistants. 
And  Helena  bankers  are  still  pleased  to  mention  that  in  the  autumn  of  1866 
a  four-mule  team  drew  two  and  a  half  tons  of  gold  from  Helena  to  Benton, 
for  transportation  down  the  Missouri  River,  most  of  which  came  from  these 
celebrated  mines  in  one  season,  and  the  value  of  which  freight  was  §1,500, 000. 
The  train  was  escorted  by  F.  X.  Beidler  and  aids.     The  treasure  belonged 
to  John  Shineman,  A.  Campbell,  C.  J.   Friedrichs,  and  T.  Judsori.  Helena, 
Republican,  Sept.  1.  1866;  W.  A.  Clarke,  in  Strahorn's  Montana,  9. 

As  a  memento  of  early  days  in  Montana,  I  will  cite  here  some  of  the 
nuggets  which  rewarded  the  miner's  toil  in  the  placer-mining  period.  In 
Brown  gulch,  5  miles  from  Virginia  City,  the  gold  was  coarse,  and  nuggets 
of  10  oz.  or  more  were  common.  Virrjinia  and  Helena  Post,  Oct.  9,  1866.  In 
1867  a  miner  named  Yager  found  in  Fairweather  gulch,  on  J.  McEvily's 
claim,  a  piece  of  gold,  oblong  in  shape,  with  a  shoulder  at  one  end,  and  worn 
smooth,  weighing  15  Its  2  oz.  Virrjinia  Montana  Post,  May  18,  1867.  From 
McClellan's  gulch,  on  the  Blackfoot  River,  $30,000  was  taken  from  one 
claim  in  11  days,  by  5  men.  From  a  claim,  No.  8,  below  Discovery  claim, 
on  the  same  gulch,  §12,584  was  taken  out  in  5  days.  The  dirt  back  of 
Blackfoot  City  paid  from  20  c.  to  §140  to  the  pan.  Helena  Republican,  Aug. 
26,  1866.  From  Nelson's  gulch,  at  Helena,  were  taken  a  nugget  worth  §2,093, 
found  on  Maxwell,  Rollins,  &  Co.'s  claim,  and  one  worth  $1,650  from  J.  H. 
Rogers'  claim.  From  Dcitrick  &  Brother's  claim,  on  Rocker  gulch,  one  worth 


NUGGETS  AND  QUARTZ.  723 

It  will  be  seen  that  with  so  large  a  stream  of  gold 
pouring  out  of  the  country,  with  a  diminishing  popu- 

$1,800;  and  on  Tandy's  claim  three  worth  $375,  $475,  and  $550,  respectively. 
Almost  every  claim  had  its  famous  nugget.  Mining  ground  was  claimed  as 
soon  as  discovered,  and  prospectors  pushed  out  in  every  direction.  New 
placers  were  found  from  the  Bitterroot  to  the  Bighorn  River,  but  none  to  ex 
cel  or  to  equal  those  of  1803  and  1864. 

The  discovery  of  quartz-ledges  was  contemporaneous  with  the  discovery 
of  Bannack  placers  in  1862.  A  California  miner  remarked,  in  1861,  that  he 
counted  7  quartz  lodes  in  one  mountain.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Aug.  28,  1861.  The 
first  lode  worked  was  the  Dakota,  which  was  a  large,  irregularly  shaped 
vein  carrying  free  gold,  varying  from  three  to  eight  feet  in  thickness,  trending 
north-west  and  south-east,  dipping  to  the  north-east,  and  situated  in  a  bald 
hill  near  Bannack.  Its  owners  were  Arnold  &  Allen,  who  proceeded  to 
erect  a  mill  out  of  such  means  as  were  at  hand,  the  iron  and  much  of  the 
wood  being  furnished  by  the  great  number  of  wagons  abandoned  at  this  point 
by  the  Salmon  River  immigrants  before  spoken  of.  Out  of  wagon-tires,  in  a 
common  blacksmith's  forge,  were  fashioned  six  stamps,  weighing  400  pounds 
each.  The  power  used  was  water,  and  with  this  simple  and  economical  con 
trivance  more  gold  was  extracted  than  with  some  of  ten  times  the  cost  in 
troduced  later. 

The  first  steam  quartz-mill  was  put  up  in  Bannack  in  1S63,  by  Hunkins. 
Walter  C.  Hopkins  placed  a  steam-mill  on  No.  6  Dakota,  in  August  1866. 
The  Bullion  Mining  Company  of  Montana  owned  a  mill  in  1866,  with  3  Bul 
lock  crushers,  and  placed  it  on  the  New  York  ledge,  Keyser  manager.  The 
East  Bannack  Gold  and  Silver  Mining  Company  owned  a  mill  in  1866,  placed 
on  the  Shober  ledge;  managed  by  David  Worden.  The  Butterfield  mill,  and 
Kirby  &  Clark  mill,  were  also  in  operation  near  Bannack  in  1866;  and  N.  E. 
Wood  had  placed  a  Bullock  patent  crusher  on  Dakota  No.  12,  for  the  New 
Jersey  Company. 

Under  the  first  quartz-mining  law  of  Montana,  100  feet  in  length  consti 
tuted  a  claim.  The  second  legislature  changed  this  to  200  feet  along  the 
lode,  with  all  the  dips,  spurs,  and  angles,  and  50  feet  on  each  side  of  the  lode 
for  working  purposes;  but  1,000  feet  of  grouud  might  be  taken  in  each  di 
rection  along  the  lode  for  the  same  uses.  Montana,  Scraps,  39.  The  person 
discovering  a  lode  was  entitled  to  one  claim  for  the  discovery  and  one  by 
preemption. 

In  September  1864  James  W.  Whitlatch,  born  in  Pa,  not  much  cultured 
in  book-knowledge,  but  with  great  shrewdness  and  an  indomitable  will,  who 
had  become  acquainted  with  mining  and  milling  ores  in  Nevada  and  Colorado, 
was  looking  for  a  quartz  location,  having  prospected  in  several  districts  before 
he  came  to  Prickly  Pear,  where  he  tried  working  some  silver-bearing  galena 
ores  which  proved  intractable  from  the  presence  of  copper  and  antimony. 
The  expenditure,  in  a  country  of  high  prices,  reduced  his  exchequer  to  naught, 
and  he  sought  Last  Chance  gulch,  there  to  encamp  for  the  winter  with  eight 
companions.  The  placers  were  paying  enormously,  and  believing  that  quartz 
is  the  mother  of  placer  gold,  he  began  searching  for  the  veins.  In  this  search 
he  was  assisted  by  his  eight  messmates,  who,  having  less  faith,  and  desiring 
to  test  their  fortunes  in  the  placer  diggings,  bound  him  to  an  agreement  to 
give  up  the  pursuit  if  at  the  close  of  a  certain  day  of  the  month  he  Lad  not 
found  his  bonanza.  The  day  was  drawing  to  a  close,  and  his  companions  had 
returned  to  camp,  when  Whitlatch  caught  sight  of  a  fragment  of  quartz, 
which  on  being  broken  open  by  his  pick  showed  free  gold.  It  was  with  a 
quickened  pulse  that  he  struck  it  into  the  earth  and  uncovered  the  long- 
sought  lode. 

This  was  the  famous  Whitlatch  mine.  In  order  to  work  it,  a  company 
was  formed  of  succeeding  claimants,  called  the  Whitlatch  Union  Mining  Coin- 


724  MINING  AND  CATTLE-RAISING. 

lation,  with  no  exports  except  the  precious  metals  and 
a  few  hides  and  furs,  and  with  a  recklessly  extrava- 

pany.  In  1864-5  there  was  taken  out  a  good  quantity  of  ore  worth  on  an 
average  forty  dollars  per  ton,  and  in  Sept.  1866  the  mill  of  the  National  Min 
ing  and  Exploring  Company  commenced  crushing  it,  followed  by  several 
others  which  were  erected  in  this  and  the  following  year.  These  were  the 
Turnley,  Hendie,  Sensenderfer  &  Whitlatch,  and  Eicker  &  Price  mills, 
the  first  2  erected  in  1866.  Virginia  Montana  Post,  Dec.  25,  1867.  Over 
32,000  tons  were  worked  before  the  close  of  1867,  yielding  §1,001,500.  The 
cost  of  mining  and  milling  ores  in  Montana  at  this  period  was  enormous,  being 
$7  per  ton  to  get  out  the  ore,  and  from  $15  to  $18  for  crushing  it,  in  gold, 
when  gold  was  worth  a  premium  of  100  per  cent.  The  profit  was  therefore 
small,  but  such  as  it  was,  Whitlatch,  with  the  true  enterprise  of  a  pioneer, 
devoted  to  the  further  development  of  his  own  and  neighboring  mines.  I X  L, 
owned  by  J.  C.  Ricker  and  M.  A.  Price,  was  claim  No.  1  west  of  Whit 
latch  discovery  claim.  Whitlatch  and  Sensenderfer  was  claim  No.  3  cast  and 
clairi  No.  3  west  on  the  lode,  from  discovery,  a  half-interest  in  which  was 
sold  to  Sensenderfer  in  June  1869,  and  a  30-stamp  mill  erected  thereon.  The 
property  was  resold  to  a  Philadelphia  company  under  the  name  of  The  Co 
lumbia  Mining  Company  of  Montana,  managed  by  B.  H.  Tatem.  Claim  No. 
4  east  was  owned  equally  by  this  company  and  by  E.  Mansfield  &  Co.  Claim 
No.  2  east  was  owned  by  Mansfield  and  E.  Hodson.  The  westward  extension 
on  the  Union  lode  was  called  the  Parkinson,  and  was  owned  by  J.  W.  Whit 
latch,  J.  Parkinson,  W.  Parkinson,  and  C.  McClure.  On  the  extension,  the 
Essex  Mining  Company,  composed  of  Thomas  Parkinson,  W.  Parkinson, 
Thomas  Argyle,  and  C.  McClure,  owned  1,800  feet.  They  received  a  patent 
for  the  ground  from  the  U.  S.,  the  first  granted  in  Montana  under  a  law  of 
congress  concerning  quartz  claims.  The  mill  site  included  10  acres  on  Grizzly 
gulch,  £  mile  from  the  mine.  More  fortunate  than  many  other  men  of  his 
class,  he  secured  a  fortune  for  his  own  uses. 

The  discovery  of  the  Whitlatch  lode  led  to  a  quartz  excitement,  not  only 
about  Helena,  but  in  every  other  part  of  Montana.  The  Cliff  was  a  promising 
lode  at  Helena,  discovered  by  Worclen  and  Hall,  on  which  18  claims  were 
located,  9  of  which  were  consolidated  in  one  company  known  as  the  Croesus 
Mining  Company.  The  crevice  of  the  Cliff  was  from  20  to  200  feet  wide,  and 
it  rose  in  many  places  30  feet  above  the  surface.  It  formed  a  dividing  line 
between  the  slate  and  granite  formations.  It  crossed  the  gulches  in  the 
vicinity  of  Helena,  all  of  which  paid  well  below  it,  and  none  paid  above  it, 
from  which  it  would  appear  that  it  must  have  been  the  source  of  their  riches. 
The  Owyhee  Park  mines  also  were  famous  in  1866.  Professor  Hodge  was 
agent  of  the  National  Mining  and  Exploring  Company  of  New  York,  which 
owned  them.  Turnley's  mill  commenced  running  on  the  ores  in  the  latter 
part  of  August  1866.  Helena  Republican,  Sept.  1,  1866.  Hodge  and  his  son 
Russell  were  indicted  in  January  1867  for  killing  George  Moore  because  he 
took  timber  from  the  company's  land.  Virginia  Montana  Post,  Feb.  2 
and  March  9,  1867.  The  Bullion  Mining  Company,  of  Nilson's  gulch,  com 
menced  crushing  their  ores  in  November  1866.  The  Sultana,  at  the  head  of 
Grizzly  gulch,  had  a  ten-stamp  mill  erected  by  J.  Gormley&  Co.  at  work  in 
November  also.  It  was  erected  by  Richard  Fisher.  His  partner,  Clifford, 
was  superintendent  for  a  New  York  company  which  owned  5  mills  in  Georgia 
before  the  rebellion.  The  property  being  confiscated,  Clifford  migrated  to 
Colorado,  and  mined  there  for  5  years  before  coming  to  Montana.  Among 
other  mines  partially  opened  in  1865  near  Helena  was  the  Uncle  Sam,  owned 
by  a  miner  from  Scotland  named  Brown,  who  had  formerly  worked  on  the 
Gould  and  Curry  lode  of  Nevada.  This  mine  was  said  at  the  period  of  its 
discovery  to  be  the  richest  in  the  known  world,  being  a  well-defined  ledge 
five  feet  wide,  three  fourths  of  which  was  pure  gold,  and  the  remainder  prin 
cipally  bismuth.  The  quartz  casing  containing  the  vein,  it  was  stated,  would 


QUARTZ-MINING.  725 

gant  system  of  government,  Montana  must  be  brought 
to  comparative  poverty,  or  at  all  events,  was  no  better 

assay  from  $300  to  $2,000.  Making  every  allowance  for  over-enthusiasm,  the 
Uncle  Sam  was  undoubtedly  a  mine  of  very  unusual  richness,  with  one  of 
those  bonanzas  at  the  top  which  have  not  been  altogether  unknown  in  other 
mines. 

While  quartz-mining  was  being  followed  with  so  much  earnestness  in  the 
regions  of  Bannack  and  Helena,  it  was  being  prosecuted  also  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  Virginia  City.  In  Summit  district,  five  miles  south  of  the  then  cap 
ital  of  Montana,  four  mills  were  running  on  ores  from  the  mines  in  that 
vicinity.  In  Hot  Springs  district,  30  miles  north  of  Virginia  City,  were  three 
others.  Idaho  mill  was  the  first  in  Madison  county,  and  began  pounding  ore 
with  12  stamps  in  Dec.  1865.  It  was  not  successful,  being  replaced  by  another 
little  more  than  a  year  later.  Virginia  Montana  Post,  Dec.  30,  1865.  The  follow 
ing  year  Seneca  Falls  mill,  in  a  large  frame  structure  with  excellent  machin 
ery,  Scranton  mill  with  a  Dodge  crusher,  in  a  stone  building,  and  Excelsior 
mill  witli  20  stamps,  in  a  fine,  large  building,  were  added.  In  a  gulch  just 
below  Summit  was  the  Foster  mill  with  24  stamps,  crushing  ore  from  the 
Mcsler  lode.  A  50-stamp  mill  was  on  its  way  from  the  cast,  in  May,  intended 
for  Mill  Creek  mines  in  the  same  county.  The  owpers  were  James  A. 
Dowdall,  Manlius  Branham,  and  C.  C.  Branham.  The  first  run  was  made  on 
the  Lady  Suffolk  lode.  Two  mills  arrived  in  Summit  in  Oct.,  for  Frank 
Chistnot,  from  Nebraska  City,  overland.  The  best  known  lodes  of  Summit 
district  were  the  Yankee  Blade,  Lucas,  assaying  §2,000,000  per  ton,  Caverone 
from  15  to  40  feet  in  width,  Oro  Cache,  and  Keystone. 

There  was  one  belonging  to  Raglan,  Cope,  and  Napton,  a  custom  mill,  and 
one  to  the  Clark  and  Upson  Mining  Company,  and  of  which  Professor  Eaton  was 
the  agent.  Helena  Republican,  Sept.  13,1806.  The  mines  in  the  Hot  Springs 
district  which  were  worked  at  this  period  were  the  Cotopaxi,  Gold  Hill,  Esop, 
Oro  Fino,  Sebastopol,  Buena  Vista,  Poco  Tiempo,  Alpha,  Cleopatra,  Mark 
Antony,  May  Reid,  Megatherium,  Brooklyn,  and  Pony.  The  latter  was  the 
leading  mine.  Virginia  Montana  Post,  Feb.  24,  18G6.  Several  other  mills  and 
mines  appear  in  1867,  owned  by  H.  A.  Ward,  Me  Andrews,  Warre  &  Co., 
Isaacs,  and  L.  W.  Borton.  At  Pipestonc,  a  few  miles  north  of  Hot  Springs, 
a  mill  was  erected  in  1866.  At  Fish  Creek,  a  short  distance  south  of  Pipe- 
etone,  the.  Red  Mountain  district  was  opened  too  late  in  the  season  for  the 
introduction  of  mills. 

North-east  of  and  within  about  fifteen  miles  of  Helena,  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Missouri,  was  the  Trout  Creek  district,  in  which  both  mills  and  arastras 
were  busily  at  work  grinding  and  pounding  out  gold  from  rock  of  great  rich 
ness,  at  a  place  called  New  York,  on  a  creek  flowing  into  the  Missouri,  with 
a  Brooklyn  on  the  opposite  side,  the  two  towns  having  a  population  of  about 
400.  John  A.  Gaston,  one  of  the  first  comers,  and  an  Englishman,  was  asso 
ciated  with  Simpson  in  a  30-stamp  quartz-mill.  Each  stamp  weighed  600 
pounds,  and  dropped  35  times  a  minute,  pounding  22  tons  in  24  hours.  It 
started  up  Aug.  28,  1866.  A  water-power  mill,  with  an  1 1  -foot  overshot  wheel, 
was  located  west  of  the  steam-mill,  and  carried  six  500-pound  stamps,  crush 
ing  a  ton  a  day  each.  This  was  the  pioneer  mill  of  Trout  Creek  district,  and 
belonged  to  Wessel  &  Wilkes,  and  started  Aug.  25th.  It  had  an  arastra  at 
tached.  Another  water-mill  was  erected  by  Cullen,  and  a  20-stamp  steam- 
mill  by  Hendrie  &  Cass,  during  the  summer.  An  arastra  belonging  to 
Rumlay  &  Watrous  consisted  of  a  circular  basin  12  feet  in  diameter,  with 
5  mullers,  weighing  in  the  aggregate  3,000  pounds.  It  reduced  1 ,000  pounds 
of  ore  in  6  hours,  with  one  hand,  and  was  run  by  water-power  from  an  over 
shot  wheel,  8  feet  in  diameter. 

The  Star  of  the  West  was  the  first  ledge  developed  in  this  district.  Seven 
tons  yielded  $387.50  in  Wcssell  &  Wilkes'  arastra,  at  a  total  expense  of 
$97. ")0.  The  Nonpareil.  Grizzly,  Alta,  Excelsior  No.  2,  Little  Giant.  Zebra, 


726  MINING  AND  CATTLE -RAISING. 

off  than  other  new  countries  which  were  with  out  gold 
mines.     This,  indeed,  was  her  condition  for  a  number 

Chief  of  Montana,  Hidbard,  Trout,  Keystone,  Humboldt,  Sampson,  and  Old 
Dad  were  more  or  less  worked  in  1866. 

The  mines,  both  placer  and  quartz,  were  discovered  in  January,  by  four 
hunters  returning  from  an  exploring  expedition  to  Sun  River.  These  men 
were  Moore,  Price,  Bitter,  and  Spivy.  The  valley  of  Trout  Creek  was  2^  by 
1 J  miles  in  extent.  The  stream  furnished  the  famous  New  York  and  other 
gulches,  and  numerous  bars.  A  rumor  of  rich  discoveries  at  the  mouth  of 
Sun  River,  in  the  winter  of  1865-6,  drew  a  rush  of  prospectors  in  that  direc 
tion  in  the  months  of  January  and  February.  Many  were  frozen  to  death,  or 
had  their  hands  and  feet  frozen.  Five  bodies  were  found  in  the  spring. 
Most  of  the  explorers  returned  disappointed.  Idaho  World,  Feb.  24  and 
March  17,  1866.  A  large  number  of  immigrants  by  the  northern  route  (Fisk'a 
train)  stopped  there  in  the  summer,  but  abandoned  that  region  in  October. 
Virginia  and  Helena  Post,  Oct.  11,  1866.  They  also  explored  the  Bear  Paw 
Mountains.  Helena  Republican,  Aug.  21,  1866. 

In  June  1866  both  quartz  and  placer  mines  were  discovered  on  Crow 
Creek,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Missouri,  nearly  due  west  of  the  south  end  of 
the  Belt  Range  of  mountains,  which  has  furnished  so  great  a  number  of  good 
mines  on  the  east  side.  At  this  place  the  town  of  Radersburg  was  laid  off  in 
October,  one  mile  from  the  road  leading  from  Helena  to  Gallatin.  The  first 
lode  found  was  the  Blipp,  by  J.  A.  Cooper  and  George  Beard.  The  Johnny 
Keating,  by  Keating  and  Blacher,  Ironclad,  Leviathan,  Twilight,  Nighthawk, 
Ohio,  Ultramarine,  Robert  E.  Lee,  and  20  others  were  located  during  the  sum 
mer.  Virginia  Montana  Post,  May  2, 1868.  The  district,  a  rich  one,  and  Raders 
burg  had,  in  1868,  600  inhabitants.  In  the  Silver  Bow  and  Blackfoot  regions 
quartz  was  being  daily  discovered.  In  December  1865  there  had  been  dis 
covered  the  Lioness,  Rocker,  Shamrock,  Original,  Alhambra,  Wild  Pat, 
Mountaineer,  Polar  Star,  Lepley,  Dewey,  Arctic,  Fairmount,  and  a  host  of 
others.  Quartz  was  discovered  near  McClellan  gulch  by  Henry  Prosser  and 
Charles  Melvin,  1,000  feet  of  which  sold  for  $10,000.  This  was  the  Glencoe 
mine.  Helena  Republican,,  Aug.  18,  1866.  But  there  appear  to  have  been  no 
mills  introduced  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  until  later. 

The  first  arrival  of  hydraulic  machinery  in  Montana  was  in  November 
1865,  when  the  Nelson  Hydraulic  Mining  Company  imported  four  engines  of 
ten-horse  power,  throwing  water  eighty  feet  high,  with  iron  piping  and  india- 
rubber  hose  extensions.  Another  powerful  hydraulic  machine  was  imported 
by  N.  G.  McComb  in  September  1866,  and  put  up  on  Zoller's  bar,  near  Ban- 
nack.  The  construction  of  bed-rock  flumes  and  extensive  ditches  was  only 
just  begun.  There  were  500  or  more  gulches  in  Montana  which  produced 
well,  and  about  twenty  that  were  remarkably  rich.  Some  were  soon  ex 
hausted,  but  a  good  number  paid  well  for  the  introduction  of  improved  means 
of  mining.  As  early  as  1867  there  were  over  thirty-two  miles  of  ditching  at 
French  bar,  near  Caiion  ferry,  east  of  Helena,  and  ninety-six  flumes,  the  cost 
of  which  was  $75,000,  and  was  at  that  period  the  largest  improvement  of  the 
kind  in  Montana.  The  Bowlder  ditch,  owned  by  McGregor,  Metcalf,  & 
Speigle  of  California,  which  supplied  the  mines  around  Diamond  City,  was 
five  miles  long,  and  cost  $60,000.  The  excessive  cost  of  the  work  was  occa 
sioned  by  having  to  use  1,716  feet  of  pipe  in  crossing  Confederate  gulch.  8.  F. 
Alta,  March  23,  1868.  The  El  Dorado  bar  ditch,  north  of  French  bar,  was 
4^  miles  long,  and  cost  $50,000;  and  many  smaller  ditches  had  been  con 
structed  east  of  the  Missouri,  whose  aggregate  cost  was  about  a  quarter  of 
a  million.  The  Ten-Mile  ditch  at  Helena  was  completed  in  June  1867.  It  was 
built  by  Henry  B.  Truett,  who  came  to  Montana  in  1866.  Truett,  born  in 
Maryland  in  1814,  removed  to  Illinois,  and  worked  a  lead  mine;  thence  to 
Cal.  in  1849,  where  he  made  and  spent  a  fortune.  He  operated  in  mining  in 
Nevada,  and  from  there  went  to  Montana.  A  good  citizen  and  courteous 


SILVER  MIXES.  727 

of  years,  from  about  1869  to  1873.  But  this  period 
was  not  lost  upon  its  permanent  population.  Those 

gentleman.  Died  April  23,  18G9,  aged  58  years,  leaving  a  family.  Virginia 
Montana  Post,  April  30th.  Deer  Lodge  county  had,  in  1809,  nearly  300  miles  cf 
ditches,  costing  $498,000,  and  carrying  an  aggregate  of  20,350  inches  of 
water.  Deer  Lodge  New  Northwest,  Aug.  27,  1869.  A  nine-mile  ditch,  car 
rying  2,500  inches  of  water,  was  completed  to  Norwegian  gulch,  in  Madison 
county,  in  1876,  and  similar  expenditures  will  yet  be  made  in  some  of  the 
richer  placer  districts.  A  flume  was  completed  to  Confederate  gulch  in  1879. 
There  had  been  one  built  in  1876,  which  a  flood  destroyed.  It  was  rebuilt 
by  the  owner,  James  King.  It  was  but  one  mile  in  length,  but  it  was  esti 
mated  that  it  would  require  25  years  of  constant  work  to  exhaust  the  ground 
controlled  by  it.  Helena  Herald,  Nov.  18,  1879. 

In  mining  countries  the  usual  succession  is,  first  placer  gold,  then  quartz 
gold,  and  lastly  silver  mining.  In  Montana  the  discovery  of  gold  and  silver 
quartz  was  contemporaneous.  The  first  experiments  with  silver  quartz  were 
made  in  the  Blue  Wing  and  Rattlesnake  districts,  a  few  miles  east  and  north- 
east  of  Bannack.  The  first  lodes  of  the  Blue  Wing  district  were  the  Huron, 
Wide  West,  Blue  Wing,  Arizona,  and  Silver  Rose;  of  the  Rattlesnake  dis 
trict,  Legal  Tender,  White  Cloud,  New  World,  Watson,  and  Dictator.  Vir 
ginia  Montana  Post,  March  31,  I860.  The  ores  carried  enough  galena  to  make 
them  reducible  by  the  smelting  process,  furnaces  being  set  up  in  1866  by  sev 
eral  companies.  The  first  smelter  was  erected  at  Marysville  by  the  New 
York  and  Montana  Mining,  Prospecting,  and  Discovery  Company.  Their 
scientist  was  A.  K.  Eaton,  and  their  general  manager  E.  Loring  Pratt  of 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  In  1868  the  St  Louis  Smelting  Co.  erected  furnaces  at  Ar- 
genta.  The  Rocky  Mountain  Gold  and  Silver  Mining  Company  put  up  a  cu 
pelling  furnace  at  Marysville,  just  east  of  Bannack,  Charles  D.  Everett  super 
intendent.  The  ore  smelted  was  from  the  Wide  West  in  Blue  Wing  district. 
A  blasting-furnace  was  erected  by  Professor  Eaton;  a  furnace  and  a  24-stamp 
mill  by  Duran  &  Co. ;  a  cupel  furnace  in  Rattlesnake  district  by  Professor 
Augustus  Steitz,  on  Legal  Tender  lode.  The  ore  yielded  80  per  cent  lead. 
The  mine  was  owned  by  Esler  and  others.  The  Stapleton  and  Henry  Clay 
ores  were  also  worked  in  this  furnace.  Virginia  and  Helena  Post,  Oct.  11  and 
Nov.  8  and  15,  1866.  The  Huron  Silver  Mining  Company  erected  furnaces, 
Thomas  W.  Wood  superintendent.  A  small  town  in  this  district,  hitherto 
called  Montana,  suffered  a  change  of  appellation  by  the  command  of  Augus 
tus  Steitz,  and  was  henceforth  known  as  Argeuta,  which  name  it  seemed 
really  to  deserve  from  the  quantity  of  argent  which  it  turned  out. 

This  was  the  beginning,  and  when  the  miners  had  begun  to  look  for  silver 
leads  the  epidemic  had  to  run  its  course.  They  also  began  to  talk  about  the 
placers  being  exhausted,  and  to  dilate  upon  the  importance  of  developing 
quartz,  and  doubtless  the  world  is  richer  for  their  vagaries.  When  they 
came  to  look  the  country  over,  there  really  was  no  end  of  silver.  Silver  Bow, 
which  in  the  first  instance  referred  to  a  shining  crescent  of  water,  now  meant 
that  the  crescent  was  backed  by  a  wall  of  silver  leads.  In  1869  the  judges 
at  the  industrial  exhibition  held  at  Helena  gave  the  first  premium  to  silver 
specimens  from  the  S.  C.  Day  mine,  on  Moose  Creek,  in  the  south  end  of  Sil 
ver  Bow  county,  then  Deer  Lodge.  Deer  Lodge  New  Northwest,  Oct.  8, 1869. 
Mining  in  Colorado  and  Montana,  by  George  Aux,  is  a  manuscript  of  14  pp., 
containing  good  references  to  early  mining  in  the  latter.  In  the  most  fertile 
and  beautiful  valleys,  which  should  have  been  sacred  to  bucolic  pursuits, 
cropped  up  legions  of  silver  lodes,  notably  in  the  country  about  the  three 
forks  of  the  Missouri  River,  and  on  both  sides  of  that  river  for  a  hundred 
miles.  Silver  lodes  were  found  in  Jefferson  county,  in  1866,  near  where  the 
most  famous  mines  of  the  present  are  being  worked.  The  Gregory,  owned 
by  Axcrs  and  Mimmaw,  was  located  near  Jefferson  City.  Virginia  and  Helena 
Post,  Nov.  10,  I860. 


728  MINING  AND  CATTLE-RAISING- 

who  owned  quartz  mines  and  mills,  and  who  had  not 
found  them  remunerative  by  reason  of  defects  in  ma- 

But  it  now  began  to  be  observed  that  Montana  was  not  advancing  in  wealth 
as  it  should  have  been  with  these  grand  resources.  In  January  1868  there 
were  forty  quartz-mills  in  the  country  already  in  operation,  and  half  a  dozen 
not  yet  set  up,  yet  there  had  been  a  steady  falling-off  in  the  treasure  produc 
tion  since  1865,  which  was  continued  during  a  period  of  ten  years.  I  borrow 
from  Strahorn's  Montana  the  following  table,  which  by  comparison  with  the 
most  reliable  statements  I  find  to  represent,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the  gold 
and  silver  production  of  the  territory: 

1862 $600,000  1872 $7,000,000 

1863 8,000,000  1873 5,200,000 

1864 16,000,000  1874 4,000,000 

1865 18,000,000  1875 4,100,000 

186G 17,000,000  1876 4,500,000 

1807 16,000,000  1877 3,750,000 

1868 15,000,000  1878 4,867,000 

1809 11,000,000  1879 5,000,000 

1870 9,000,000  1880 6,500,000 

1871 , .       8,000,000  

Total $164,517,000 

Which  amount  is  distributed  by  counties  as  follows: 

Madison $79,500,000  Beaverhead $19,500,000 

Lewis  and  Clarke 29,000,000  Jefferson 5,500,000 

Deer  Lodge 26,367,000  Missoula 1 ,000,000 

Meagher 13,000,000  Gallatin 650,000 


Total $164,517,000 

IF.  A.  Clark,  Centennial  Historian  for  Montana,  in  Avant  Courier,  Feb.  23, 
1877.  Strahorn  gives  these  figures.  J.  Ross  Browne  makes  a  lower  estimate 
for  the  first  6  years;  but  Brown  did  not  get  his  statistics  at  first  hand.  See 
Mineral  Resources  of  Pacific  States,  511.  The  Helena  and  Deer  Lodge 
newspapers,  which  should  be  well  informed,  place  the  figures  much  higher. 
For  instance,  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  makes  the  product  of  1866  $18,000,- 
000,  while  territorial  authorities  place  it  at  $30,000,000  for  that  year. 

To  account  for  this  reverse  of  progress  is  not  difficult.  The  same 
happens  in  all  mining  countries  in  the  first  twenty  years.  The  majority  of 
the  30,000  or  40,000  people  who  flocked  to  Montana  in  the  earlier  years 
gathered  up  the  most  easily  obtainable  wealth  and  hurried  away  with  it, 
often  the  same  season.  When  a  few  years  of  this  depletion  had  gone  on,  and 
it  was  becoming  more  difficult  to  pick  up  a  fortune  in  a  creek-bed  or  ravine, 
the  discovery  of  new  mining  districts  in  Nevada,  Colorado,  and  Wyoming 
drew  away  a  large  proportion  of  the  mining  population,  who  never  returned 
or  were  replaced  by  others.  Of  those  who  were  left,  some  settled  upon  land 
claims,  investing  their  gold  in  farm-stock,  mills,  agricultural  implements,  and 
buildings.  Two  classes  were  left,  merchants  who  lived  upon  the  profits  of 
trade,  and  mining  men  who  had  a  real  interest  in  the  country;  and  they  had 
a,  heavy  burden  to  carry  in  the  cost  of  transportation.  To  get  a  quartz-mill 
from  the  Missouri  River  to  its  destination  in  Montana  required  from  thirty 
to  fifty  wagons,  which  were  often  loaded  at  some  point  in  Kansas  or  Nebraska. 
Or  if  they  came  by  steamboat  from  St  Louis  to  Fort  Bcnton,  it  was  the  same 
tiling — wagons  had  to  be  used  to  carry  them  to  the  point  selected,  several 
hundred  miles  from  the  landing.  Often  low  water  prevented  steamers  coming 
above  Fort  Union,  or  Cow  Island.  Freights  during  the  first  decade  were 
enormous,  costing  the  country  between  a  million  and  a  half  and  two  millions 
annually,  even  after  the  population  had  shrunk  to  eighteen  thousand.  Many 
plans  Mere  resorted  to  to  lessen  the  cost  of  transportation,  but  without 
materially  affecting  it. 


ROUTES  OF  TRANSPORTATION.  729 

chinery  or  ignorance  of  methods,  took  time  to  right 
themselves,  or  found  others  willing  to  take  the  prop- 

The  subject  of  transportation  in  Montana  is  one  full  of  interest  and  even 
of  romance.  Taking  up  the  recital  at  1864,  there  was  at  this  time  no  settled 
plan  of  travel  or  fixed  channel  of  trade.  There  had  been  placed  upon  the 
Missouri  a  line  of  steamers  intended  to  facilitate  immigration  to  Idaho,  which 
was  called  the  Idaho  Steam  Packet  Company.  The  water  being  unusually 
low,  or  rather,  not  unusually  high,  only  2  of  the  boats  reached  Fort  Benton — 
the  Benton  and  Cutter.  The  Yellowstone  landed  at  Cow  Island,  and  the  Effie 
Deans  at  the  mouth  of  Milk  River.  The  Benton,  which  was  adapted  to  upper- 
river  navigation,  brought  a  part  of  the  freight  left  at  other  places  down  the 
river,  by  other  boats,  to  Fort  Benton;  but  the  passengers  had  already  been 
set  afoot  in  the  wilderness  to  make  the  best  of  their  way  to  the  mines. 
Overland  Monthly,  ii.  379;  and  a  large  portion  of  the  freight  had  to  be 
forwarded  in  small  boats.  At  the  same  time  there  was  an  arrival  at  Virginia 
City  of  200  or  300  immigrants  daily  by  the  overland  wagon-route,  as  well  as 
large  trains  of  freight  from  Omaha.  Boise  City  Statesman,  Jan.  21,  1865: 
Portland  Oregonian,  Sept.  14,  1864.  In  1865  there  were  8  arrivals  of  steam 
boats,  4  of  which  reached  Benton,  the  other  4  stopping  at  the  mouth  of  Maria 
River.  In  this  year  the  merchants  of  Portland,  desirous  of  controlling  the 
trade  of  Montana,  issued  a  circular  to  the  Montana  merchants  proposing  to 
make  it  for  their  interest  to  purchase  goods  in  Portland  and  ship  by  way 
of  the  Columbia  River  and  the  Mullan  road,  with  improvements  in  that  route 
of  steamboat  navigation  on  Lake  Pcnd  d'Oreille,  and  S.  G.  Reed  of  the  O.  S. 
N.  Company  went  east  to  confer  with  the  Northern  Pacific  R.  R.  Company. 
In  I860  some  progress  was  made  in  opening  this  route,  which  in  the  autumn 
of  that  year  stood  as  follows:  From  Portland  to  White  Bluffs  on  the  Colum 
bia  by  the  0.  S.  N.  Company's  boats;  from  White  Bluffs  by  stage-road  to  a 
point  on  Clarke  fork,  where  Moody  &  Co.  were  building  a  steamboat  110 
feet  long  by  26  feet  beam,  called  the  Mary  Moody,  to  carry  passengers  and 
freight  across  the  lake  and  up  Clarke  fork  to  Cabinet  landing,  where  was 
a  short  portage  and  transfer  to  another  steamboat  which  would  carry  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Jocko  River,  after  which  land  travel  would  again  be  resorted  to. 
The  time  to  Jocko  would  be  7  or  8  days,  and  thence  to  the  rich  Blackfoot 
mines  was  a  matter  of  50  or  60  miles.  It  was  proposed  to  carry  freight  to 
Jocko  in  17  days  from  Portland  at  a  cost  of  13  cents  per  pound.  From 
Jocko  to  Helena  was  about  120  miles,  and  from  Helena  to  Virginia  about  90. 
By  this  route  freight  could  arrive  during  half  the  year,  while  by  the  Missouri 
River  it  could  only  come  to  Benton  during  a  period  of  from  4  to  6  weeks,  de 
pendent  upon  the  stage  of  water.  The  lowest  charges  by  Missouri  steamer, 
in  1866,  were  15  cents  to  Benton  for  a  large  contract,  ranging  upward  to  18 
and  21  cents  per  pound,  or  §:!60  and  §420  per  ton  to  the  landing  only,  after 
which  there  was  the  additional  charge  of  wagoning,  at  the  rate  of  from  5  to  S 
cents,  according  to  whether  it  reached  Benton  or  not,  or  whether  it  was  des 
tined  to  Helena  or  more  distant  points.  Sacramento  Record- Union,  May  7, 
1866.  San  Francisco  merchants  offered  for  the  trade  of  Montana,  averring 
that  freight  could  be  laid  down  there  at  from  15  to  20  cents  per  pound  over 
land.  S.  F.  Alta,  May  7  and  Aug.  1 1,  1866.  Chicago  merchants  competed  as 
well,  taking  the  overland  route  from  the  Missouri.  Meanwhile  Montana 
could  not  pause  in  its  course,  and  took  whatever  came.  In  1866  there  was  a 
large  influx  of  population,  and  a  correspondingly  large  amount  of  freight  com 
ing  in,  and  a  considerable  flood  of  travel  pouring  out  in  the  autumn.  Tho 
season  was  favorable  to  navigation,  and  there  were  31  arrivals  of  steamboats, 
7  boats  being  at  Fort  Benton  at  one  time  in  June.  One,  the  Marion^  was 
wrecked  on  the  return  trip.  These  boats  were  built  expressly  for  the  trade 
of  St  Louis.  They  brought  up  2,000  passengers  or  more,  and  6,000  tons  of 
freight  valued  at  $6,000,000.  The  freight  charges  by  boat  alone  amounted  to 
$2,000,000.  Some  merchants  paid  §100,000  freight  bills;  2,500  men,  3,000 


730  MINING  AND  CATTLE-RAISING. 

erty  off  their  hands  at  a  discount,  and  make  improve 
ments.  Those  who  owned  placer  claims  were  driven 

teams,  20,000  oxen  and  mules  were  employed  conveying  the  goods  to  differ 
ent  mining  centres.  Helena  Republican,  Sept.  15,  18(50;  Virginia  and  Helena. 
Post,  Sept.  29  and  Oct.  11,  1866;  Goddard's  Where  to  Emigrate,  123.  Large 
trains  were  arriving  overland  from  the  east,  both  of  immigrants  and  freight, 
from  Minnesota,  and  conducted  by  James  Fisk,  the  man  who  conducted  the 
Minnesota  trains  of  1862  and  1863,  by  order  of  the  government,  for  the  pro 
tection  of  immigrants.  The  plan  of  the  organization  seems  to  have  been  to 
make  the  immigrants  travel  like  a  military  force,  obeying  orders  like  sol 
diers  and  standing  guard  regularly.  From  Fort  Ripley,  Fisk  took  a  12-pound 
howitzer  with  ammunition.  Scouts,  flankers,  and  train-guards  were  kept  on 
duty.  These  precautions  were  made  necessary  by  the  recent  Sioux  outbreak 
in  Minnesota.  The  officers  under  Fisk  were  George  Dart,  1st  assist;  S.  H. 
Johnston,  2d  assist  and  journalist;  William  D.  Dibb,  physician;  George  North- 
rup,  wagon-master;  Antoine  Frenier,  Sioux  interpreter;  R.  D.  Campbell, 
Chippewa  interpreter.  The  guard  numbered  50,  and  the  wagons  were  marked 
'U.  S.'  Colonels  Jones  and  Majors,  majors  Hesse  and  Hanney,  of  the  Oregon 
boundary  survey,  joined  the  expedition.  The  wagon-master,  Northrup,  and  2 
half-breeds  deserted  on  the  road,  taking  with  them  horses,  arms,  and  accoutre 
ments  belonging  to  the  government.  The  route  was  along  the  north  side  of 
the  Missouri  to  Fort  Benton,  where  the  expedition  disbanded,  having  had  no 
trouble  of  any  kind  on  the  road,  except  the  loss  of  Majors,  who  was,  however, 
found,  on  the  second  day,  nearly  dead  from  exhaustion,  and  the  death  of  an 
invalid,  William  H.  Holyoke,  after  reaching  Prickly  Fear  River.  In  1864 
about  1,000  wagons  arrived  at  Virginia  by  the  central  or  Platte  route.  In 
1865  the  immigration  by  this  route  was  large.  The  roundabout  way  of  reach 
ing  the  mines  from  the  east  had  incited  J.  M.  Bozeman  to  survey  a  more 
direct  road  to  the  North  Platte,  by  which  travel  could  avoid  the  journey 
through  the  South  pass  and  back  through  either  of  the  passes  used  in  going 
from  Bauuack  to  Salt  Lake.  The  road  was  opened  and  considerably  travelled 
in  I860,  but  was  closed  by  the  Indian  war  in  the  following  year,  and  kept 
closed  by  order  of  the  war  department  for  a  number  of  years.  In  July  1866 
a  train  of  45  wagons  and  200  persons  passed  over  the  Bozeman  route,  com 
manded  by  Orville  Royce,  and  piloted  by  Zeigler,  who  had  been  to  the  states 
to  bring  out  his  family.  Peter  Shroke  also  travelled  the  Bozeman  route. 
Several  deaths  occurred  by  drowning  at  the  crossing  of  rivers,  among  them 
Storer,  Whitson,  and  Van  Shimel.  One  train  was  composed  of  Iowa,  Illinois, 
and  Wisconsin  people.  In  the  rear  of  the  immigration  were  freight-wagons, 
and  detached  parties  to  the  number  of  300.  Virginia  Montana  Post,  July 
12,  1806. 

A  party  of  young  Kentuckians  who  left  home  with  Gov.  Smith's  party 
became  detached  and  wandered  about  for  100  days,  35  of  which  they  were 
forced  to  depend  on  the  game  they  could  kill.  They  arrived  at  Virginia  City 
destitute  of  clothing,  on  the  13th,  14th,  and  15th  of  December.  Their  names 
were  Henry  Cummings  and  Benjamin  Cochran  of  Covington;  Austin  S. 
Stuart,  Frank  R.  Davis,  A.  Lewis,  N.  T.  Turner,  Lexington ;  Henry  Yerkes, 
Danville;  P.  Sidney  Jones,  Louisville;  Thomas  McGrath,  Versailles;  J.  VV. 
Throckmorton  and  William  Kelly  of  Paris.  Virginia  and  Helena  Post,  Dec. 
20,  1866. 

The  Indians  on  the  Bozeman  route  endeavored  to  cut  off  the  immigration. 
Hugh  KikendalPs  freight  train  of  40  six-mule  teams  was  almost  captured 
by  them,  'passing  through  showers  of  arrows.'  It  came  from  Leaven  worth, 
arriving  in  September.  Joseph  Richards  conducted  52  wagons  loaded  with 
quartz  machinery  from  Nebraska  City  to  Summit  district,  for  Frank  Chist- 
nut,  and  had  but  1  mule  stolen.  J.  H.  Gilderslceve,  bringing  out  3  wagon- 
loads  of  goods  for  himself,  lost  9  horses  by  the  Indians  near  Fort  Reno. 
J.  Dilrnortn  brought  out  8  loaded  wagons  from  Leavenworth;  J.  H.  Marden 


WAGONS  AND  BOATS.  731 

to  construct  ditches  and  flumes  whereby  the  dry 
gulches  and  the  creek-beds  could  be  mined.  The-set- 

5,  from  Atchinson.  for  Brencllinger,  Dowdy,  and  Kiskadden  of  Montana. 
J.  P.  Wheeler  brought  out  6  wagons  loaded  at  the  same  place  for  the  same 
firm.  F.  R.  Merk  brought  13  wagons  from  Lawrence,  Kansas.  Alfred 
Myres  7  wagons,  for  Gurney  &  Co.  D.  and  J.  McCain  brought  11  wagons 
from  Nebraska  City,  loaded  with  flour,  via  Salt  Lake.  E.  R.  Homer 
brought  out  8  wagons  loaded  at  Nebraska  City  for  himself.  The  Indians 
killed  2  men,  and  captured  5  mules  belonging  to  the  train.  William  Ellinger 
of  Omaha  brought  out  4  wagons.  A.  F.  Weston  of  St  Joseph,  Missouri, 
brought  out  8  wagons,  loaded  with  boots  and  shoes,  for  D.  H.  Weston,  of 
Guriiey  &  Co.  Thomas  Dillion  left  Plattsmouth,  Nebraska,  for  Virginia 
City,  May  26th,  with  23  wagons  for  Tootle,  Leach,  &  Co. ;  Dillon  was  killed  by 
the  Indians  on  Cedar  fork,  near  Fort  Reno.  A  tram  of  19  wagons  belonging 
to  C.  Beers  and  Vail  &  Robinson  had  90  mules  captured  on  the  Bighorn 
River.  The  wagons  remained  there  until  teams  could  be  sent  to  bring  them 
in.  Phillips  &  Freeland  of  Leavenworth  arrived  with  14  loaded  wagons 
in  September;  and  5  wagons  for  Bernard  &  Eastman.  R.  W.  Trimble 
brought  out  17  wagons  for  Hanauer,  Solomon,  &  Co.  Nathan  Floyd  of 
Leavenworth,  bringing  5  wagons  loaded  with  goods  for  himself,  was  killed  by 
the  Indians  near  Fort  Reno,  and  his  head  severed  from  his  body.  A  train  or 
2G  wagons,  which  left  Nebraska  City  in  May  with  goods  for  G.  B.  Morse, 
had  2  men  killed  near  Fort  Reno,  on  Dry  fork  of  Cheyenne  River.  Pfouts 
&  Russell  of  Virginia  City  received  40  tons  of  goods  in  17  wagon-loads, 
this  season.  At  the  same  time  pack-trains  from  Walla  Walla  camo  into 
Helena  over  the  Mullan  road,  which  had  been  so  closed  by  fallen  timber, 
decayed  or  lost  bridges,  and  general  unworthiness  as  to  be  unfit  for  wagon 
travel,  bringing  clothing  manufactured  in  San  Francisco,  and  articles  of 
domestic  production.  Heavy  wagon-trains  from  Salt  Lake,  with  flour,  salt, 
bacon,  etc.,  arrived  frequently.  So  much  life,  energy,  effort,  and  stir  could 
but  be  stimulating  as  the  mountain  air  in  which  all  this  movement  went  on. 
The  freighter  in  those  days  was  regarded  with  far  more  respect  than 
railroad  men  of  a  later  day.  It  required  capital  and  nerve  to  conduct  the 
business.  Sometimes,  but  rarely,  they  lost  a  whole  train  by  Indians,  or  by 
accident,  as  when  Matthews,  in  the  spring  of  I860,  lost  a  train  by  the 
giving  way  of  an  ice  jam  in  the  Missouri,  which  flooded  the  bottom  where  he 
was  encamped,  and  carried  off  all  his  stock.  Montana  Scraps,  4 

I  have  attempted  to  give  some  idea  of  the  getting  to  Montana.  But  many 
of  those  who  came  in  the  spring,  or  who  had  been  a  year  or  more  in  the  coun 
try,  returned  in  the  autumn.  The  latter  class  availed  themselves  of  the 
steamers,  which  took  back  large  numbers,  at  the  reasonable  charge  of  §00 
and  $75.  The  boats  did  not  tarry  at  Bcnton,  but  dropped  down  the  river  to 
deeper  water,  and  waited  as  long  as  it  would  be  safe,  for  passengers.  A  small 
boat,  called  the  Miner,  belonging  to  the  Northwest  Fur  Company,  was  em 
ployed  to  carry  them  from  Benton  to  the  lower  landings.  The  Luella  was 
the  boat  selected  to  carry  the  2^  millions  of  treasure  from  Confederate  gulch, 
of  which  I  have  before  spoken.  She  left  Benton  on  the  IGth  of  August,  and 
was  7  days  getting  down  to  Dophan  rapids,  250  miles  below,  where  it  was 
found  necessary  to  take  out  the  bulk-head,  take  off  the  cabin  doors,  and  land 
the  passengers  and  stores,  to  lighten  her  sufficiently  to  pass  her  over  the 
rapids.  Helena  Republican,  Aug.  30,  I860.  What  an  opportunity  for  Indians 
or  road-agents!  She  escaped  any  further  serious  detention,  passing  Leave^- 
worth  Oct.  8th,  and  St  Joseph  Oct.  10th,  as  announced  in  the  telegraphic  de« 
spatches  in  Virfiinia  and  Helena  Pout,  Oct.  16th.  The  expedient  was  resorted 
to  of  building  fleets  of  mackinaw  boats,  such  as  were  used  by  the  fur  com 
panies,  and  either  selling  them  outright  to  parties,  or  sending  them  down  the 
river  with  passengers.  Riker  and  Bevins  of  Helena  advertised  such  boats  to 
leave  September  10th,  in  the  Republican  of  the  1st.  J.  J.  Kennedy  &  Co. 


732  MINING  AND  CATTLE  RAISING. 

tiers  on  land  claims  began  to  realize  that  agriculture 
could  be  made  to  pay,  whenever  a  railroad  came  near 
enough  to  carry  away  the  surplus  of  their  fields. 

advertised  'large-roofed  mackinaws'  to  Omaha,  'with  comfortable  accommo 
dations  and  reasonable  charges;'  also  boats  for  sale,  carrying  10  to  30  men. 
Jones,  Sprague,  &  Nottingham  were  another  mackinaw  company;  and  W.  H. 
Parkeson  advertised  'bullet-proof  mackinaws.  That  was  a  recommenda 
tion,  as  bullets  were  sometimes  showered  upon  these  defenceless  craft  from 
the  banks  above.  Three  men,  crew  of  the  first  mackinaw  that  set  out,  were 
killed  by  the  Indians.  Another  party  of  22  Avere  fired  upon  one  morning  as 
they  were  about  to  embark,  and  2  mortally  wounded — Kendall  of  Wisconsin 
and  Tupsey  of  New  York — who  were  left  at  Fort  Sully  to  die.  In  this  and 
subsequent  years  many  home-returning  voyagers  were  intercepted,  and  heard 
of  no  more.  The  business  in  the  autumn  of  1866  was  lively.  Huntley  of 
Helena  established  a  stage  line  to  a  point  on  the  Missouri  15  miles  from  that 
place,  whence  a  line  of  mackinaw  boats,  owned  by  Kennedy,  carried  pas 
sengers  to  the  falls  in  25  hours.  Here  a  portar°.  was  made  in  light  wagons. 
On  the  3d  day  they  reached  Benton,  where  a  rinal  embarkment  took  place. 
At  least  1J  millions  in  gold-dust  left  Benton  on  mackinaws  in  one  week. 
One  boat  carried  22  passengers  and  $50,000  in  treasure.  A  party  of  45, 
which  went  down  on  the  steamer  Montana,  carried  $100,000.  A  party  of 
Maine  men  carried  away  §50,000,  and  Munger  of  St  Louis  §25,000.  Pro 
fessor  Patch  of  Helena,  with  a  fleet  of  7  large  boats  and  several  hundred  pas- 
seugers,  carried  away  §1,000,000.  They  were  attacked  above  Fort  Rice  by 
300  Indians,  whom  they  drove  away.  These  home-returning  miners  averaged 
$3,000  each,  which  I  take  to  be  the  savings  of  a  single  short  season. 

A  new  route  was  opened  to  the  Missouri  in  1866,  by  mackinaws  down  the 
Yellowstone.  A  fleet  of  16  boats,  belonging  to  C.  A.  Head,  carried  250 
miners  from  Virginia  City.  It  left  the  Yellowstone  canon  Sept.  27th,  and 
travelled  to  St  Joseph,  2,700  miles,  in  28  days.  Si  Joseph  Herald,  Nov.  8,  1866. 
The  pilot-boat  of  this  fleet  was  sunk  at  Clarke  fork  of  the  Yellowstone,  with 
a  loss  of  §2,500.  The  expedition  had  in  all  §500,000  in  gold-dust. 

It  was  projected  to  open  a  new  wagon-route  from  Helena  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Musselshell  River,  300  miles  below  Benton.  The  distance  by  land,  in  a 
direct  line,  was  190  miles.  The  Missouri  and  R,ocky  Mountain  Wagon-Road 
and  Telegraph  Company  employed  20  men  under  Miles  Courtwright  to  lay  it 
out,  in  the  autumn,  to  Kerchival  City,  a  place  which  is  not  now  to  be  found 
on  the  maps.  The  object  was  to  save  the  most  difficult  navigation,  and  open 
up  the  country.  8.  F.  Call,  Jan.  12,  1866;  Virginia  and  Helena  Post,  Nov.  8, 
1866.  The  Indians  interrupted  and  prevented  the  survey  of  this  road.  An 
appropriation  was  made  by  congress  in  1865  for  the  opening  of  a  road  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Niobrara  River,  Nebraska,  to  Virginia  City,  and  Col  J. 
A.  Sawyer  was  appointed  superintendent.  Helena  Republican,  Aug.  18,  1866. 
This  would  have  connected  with  the  Bozeman  route.  Its  construction  through 
the  Indian  country  was  opposed  by  Gen.  Cook. 

Such  were  the  conditions  of  trade  and  travel  in  Montana  in  1866.  There 
were  local  stage  lines  in  all  directions,  and  better  mail  facilities  than  the 
countries  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  had  enjoyed  in  their  early  days.  The 
stage  line  east  of  Salt  Lake  had  more  or  less  trouble  with  the  Indians  for  10 
or  15  years.  In  1867  travel  was  cut  off  and  the  telegraph  destroyed.  The 
Missouri,  treacherous  and  difficult  as  it  was,  proved  the  only  means  of  get 
ting  goods  from  the  east  as  early  as  May  or  June.  The  Waverlcy  arrived  May 
25th,  with  150  tons  of  freight  and  as  many  passengers.  Silver  City  Avalanche, 
June  15,  1867.  She  was  followed  by  38  other  steamboats,  with  freight  and 
passengers;  and  in  the  autumn  there  was  the  same  rush  of  returning  miners 
that  I  have  described,  carrying  millions  with  them  out  of  the  treasure  de 
posits  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  Imperial,  one  of  the  St  Louis  fleet,  had 
the  following  experience:  She  started  from  Cow  Island,  where  400  passeu- 


TRADE  AND  IMMIGRATION.  733 

But  the  men  who  were  not  injured  or  in  any  way- 
put  back  by  this  period  of  silent  development  were 

gets,  who  had  come  down  from  Benton  on  mackinaws,  took  passage  Sept. 
18th  with  15  days'  provisions.  She  reached  Milk  River  Oct.  4th,  out  of  sup 
plies  in  the  commissary  department.  The  river  was  falling  rapidly,  and  this, 
with  the  necessity  for  hunting,  caused  the  boat  to  make  but  20  miles  in  one 
entire  week.  The  Sioux  killed  John  Arnold,  a  miner  from  Blackfoot,  and  a 
Georgian,  while  out  hunting.  The  passengers  were  compelled  to  pull  at 
ropes  and  spars  to  help  the  boat  along.  Every  atom  of  food  was  con 
sumed,  and  for  a  week  the  400  subsisted  on  wild  meat;  then  for  three  days 
they  had  nothing.  At  Fort  Union  they  obtained  some  grain.  Still  making 
little  progress,  they  arrived  at  Fort  Sully  Nov.  14th,  the  weather  being  cold 
and  ice  running.  At  this  place  14  of  the  passengers  took  possession  of  an 
abandoned  mackinaw  boat,  which  they  rigged  with  a  sail,  and  started  with  it 
to  finish  their  voyage.  They  reached  Yankton,  Dakota,  Nov.  22d,  where 
they  took  wagons  to  Sioux  City,  and  a  railroad  thence.  The  Imperial  was  at 
last  frozen  in  the  river  and  her  passengers  forced  to  take  any  and  all  means  to 
get  away  from  her  to  civilization.  Virginia  Montana  PoKt,  Jan.  18,  18C8.  A 
train  of  immigrants  came  over  the  northern  route  this  year,  Capt.  P.  A.  Davy, 
commanding;  Major  William  Cahill,  adjutant;  Capt.  J.  D.  Rogers,  ordnance 
and  inspecting  officer;  Capt.  Charles  Wagner,  A.  D.  C. ;  and  capts  George 
Swartz,  Rosseau,  and  Niblcr.  The  train  was  composed  of  60  wagons,  130 
men,  and  the  same  number  of  women  and  children.  Captain  Davy  had 
loaded  his  wagons  so  heavily  that  the  men,  who  had  paid  their  passage, 
were  forced  to  walk.  They  had  a  guard  of  100  soldiers  from  Fort  Abercrom- 
b;e.  St  Cloud  Journal,  Aug.  10,  1867.  This  train  arrived  safely.  The 
fleet  down  the  Yellowstone  this  year  met  with  opposition  from  the  Indians 
just  below  Bighorn  River,  and  had  one  man,  Emerson  Randall,  killed. 
There  were  67  men  and  2  women  in  the  party,  who  reached  Omaha  without 
further  loss. 

A  movement  was  made  in  1873  to  open  a  road  from  Bozeman  to  the  head  of 
navigation  on  the  Yellowstone,  and  to  build  a  steamer  to  run  thence  to  the 
Missouri;  also  to  get  aid  from  the  government  in  improving  the  river.  The 
tirst  steamboat  to  ascend  the  river  any  distance  was  the  Key  West,  which  went 
to  Wolf  rapids  in  1873,  the  Josephine  reaching  to  within  7  miles  of  Clarke 
fork  in  1874.  Lamne  built  the  Yellowstone,  at  Jeffersonville,  Indiana,  in 
1876.  She  was  sunk  below  Fort  Keogh  in  1879.  In  1877,  14  different  boats 
ascended  above  the  Bighorn,  and  goods  were  wagoned  to  Bozeman.  It  was 
expected  to  get  within  150  miles  of  Bozeman  the  following  year. 

In  1868,  35  steamers  arrived  at  Benton  with  5,000  tons  of  freight.  One 
steamer,  the  Amelia  Poe,  was  sunk  30  miles  below  Milk  River,  and  her 
cargo  lost.  The  passengers  were  brought  to  Bentou  by  the  Bertha.  This 
year  the  Indians  were  very  hostile,  killing  wood-cutters  employed  by  the 
steamboat  company,  and  murdering  hunters  and  others.  There  was  also  a- 
sudden  dropping  in  prices,  caused  by  the  Northwest  Transportation  Company 
of  Chicago,  which  despatched  its  boats  from  Sioux  City,  competing  for  the  Mon 
tana  trade,  and  putting  freight  down  to  8  cents  a  pound  to  Benton,  in  gold, 
or  12  cents  in  currency.  This  caused  the  St  Louis  merchants  to  put  freights 
down  to  6cents.  Montana  Democrat.  The  president  of  theChicago  company  was 
Joab  Lawrence,  an  experienced  steamboat  man,  with  Samuel  De  Bow  agent. 
This  reduction  effectually  cut  off  competition  on  the  west  side  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  rendered  the  Mary  Moody  and  the  Mullan  road  of  little 
value  to  the  trade  of  Montana.  This  accounts,  in  fact,  for  the  apathy  con 
cerning  that  route.  For  a  short  period  there  was  a  prospect  of  the  Pend 
d'Orcille  Lake  route  being  a  popular  one,  but  it  perished  in  1868.  Overland 
Monthly,  ii.  3S3-4.  In  1874  delegate  Maginnis  introduced  a  bill  in  congress 
for  the  improvement  of  the  Mullan  road,  which  failed,  as  all  the  memorials 
and  representations  of  the  Washington  legislature  had  failed.  There  was  a 


734  MINING  AND  CATTLE-RAISING 

the  stock -raisers.  Their  only  enemy  was  the  Indian, 
and  him  they  warned  off  with  rifles.  Stock-raising  in 
Montana  was  carried  on,  as  I  have  shown  in  a  previous 
chapter,  by  the  Indian  traders,  before  mines  were  dis 
covered.  It  cropped  up,  accidentally,  through  the 
trading  system,  and  the  practice  of  buying  two  worn- 
out  animals  of  immigrants  to  Oregon  for  one  fresh 
one,  the  two  being  fit  the  next  year  to  exchange  for 
four.  It  was  found  that  the  grasses  of  the  country, 
from  the  mountain  tops  to  the  river  margins,  were  of 
the  most  nutritious  character;  that  although  the 
winters  were  cold,  cattle  seldom  died.  The  natural 
adaptability  of  the  county  to  stock-growing  was  indi 
cated  by  the  native  animals,  the  mountain  sheep,  the 
buffalo,  and  the  wild  horse.9  The  sight  of  the  large 

new  era  begun  in  1869,  when  the  Central  and  Union  Pacific  railroads  were 
joined.  There  were  still  28  steamers  loaded  for  Montana,  4  of  which  were 
burned  with  their  cargoes  before  leaving  the  levee  at  St  Louis.  This  fleet 
was  loaded  before  the  completion  of  the  road.  Had  the  Bozeman  route  been 
kept  open  there  would  have  been  communication  with  the  railroad  much 
earlier;  but  since  the  government  had  chosen  to  close  it,  and  to  keep  a  large 
body  of  hostile  Indians  between  the  Montana  settlements  and  the  advancing 
railroad,  it  was  of  no  use  before  it  reached  Ogden  and  Corinne.  The  advent 
of  the  railroad,  even  as  near  as  Corinne,  caused  another  reduction  from  for 
mer  rates  to  8  cents  per  pound  currency  from  St  Louis  and  Chicago  by  rail,  to 
which  4  cents  from  Corinne  to  Helena  was  added.  The  boats  underbid,  and 
24  steamers  brought  cargoes  to  Fort  Benton,  8  of  which  belonged  to  the 
Northwest  Company;  but  in  1870  only  8  were  thus  employed;  in  1871,  only 
6;  in  1872,  12;  and  in  1873  and  1874,  7  and  6.  Conspicuous  among  the  freight 
ing  companies  which  made  connections  with  railroad  points  was  the  Diamond 
railroad,  George  B.  Parker  manager,  which  in  1880  absorbed  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Despatch  Companj1-,  shippers  from  Ogden,  and  made  its  initial  point 
Corinne.  Corinne  Reporter,  May  21,  1870.  When  the  Northern  Pacific  rail 
road  reached  the  Missouri  at  Bismarck,  the  Diamond  railroad  made  connection 
with  it  by  wagon-train,  thus  compelling  the  U.  P.  R.  R.  to  make  special  rates 
to  Ogden  for  Montana,  the  charge  being  $1.25  per  cwt.  without  regard  to  class 
ification,  when  Utah  merchants  were  being  charged  $2.50  for  the  same  service. 
Montanians  chose  to  sustain  the  northern  route.  Deer  Lodge.  New  Northwest, 
Aug.  22,  1874.  In  1879  there  were  1,000  teams  on  the  road  between  Bismarck 
and  the  Black  Hills,  and  Montana  merchants  were  unable  to  get  their  goods 
brought  through  in  consequence  of  this  diversion  of  transportation.  Helena 
Herald,  Oct.  18,  1879.  Many  efforts  were  made  from  time  to  open  a  wagon- 
road  to  the  east  by  way  of  the  Yellowstone,  which  failed  for  reasons  that 
appear  in  the  history  of  Indian  affairs.  These  difficulties  only  disappeared  as 
the  N.  P.  R.  R.  advanced.  Steamboat  trade  had  a  revival  after  the  falling- 
off  mentioned  above.  In  1877,  25  steamers  arrived  at  Benton  with  5,283 
tons  of  freight.  Small  companies  engaged  in  steamboating  later.  The  com 
pletion  of  the  Northern  Pacific  placed  transportation  on  a  basis  of  certainty, 
and  greatly  modified  its  character. 

9 1  find  frequent  references  to  the  black  horse  of  Montana,  which  is  de- 
ecribed  as  a  beautiful  and  fleet  creature,  the  last  of  which  has  disappeared 


STOCK-RAISING.  735 

herds,  accumulated  by  trade,  and  enlarged  annually 
by  natural  increase,  pointed  out  an  easy  and  speedy 
means  of  acquiring  wealth — easier  than  agriculture 
and  surer  than  mining.10  Cattle-raising  became  a 
great  and  distinctive  business,  requiring  legislation, 
and  giving  some  peculiar  features  to  the  settlement  of 
the  country.11 

from  the  plains.  In  the  Missoula  Pioneer,  June  29,  1872,  is  an  animated 
account  of  the  manner  of  pursuing  and  taking  them  by  the  Indians — the  Indian 
sentinels,  the  flying  blackbird,  the  clouds  of  dust  which  helped  to  betray  the 
creatures  to  their  capture  or  their  death,  for  they  often  died  in  the  struggle, 
strangled  by  the  lasso,  and  exhausted  with  running  and  with  dread — and  of 
the  killing  of  the  last  of  the  race,  a  mare,  by  the  •writer.  She  was  killed  for 
stealing,  or  enticing  away  other  horses.  'She  stood  14  hands  high,  glossy 
black,  not  one  white  hair,  but  two,  one  on  the  edge  of  each  sphere  of  her 
brain;  her  mane  twisted  in  hard  heavy  locks,  of  which  I  keep  two,  each  3£ 
feet  long;  her  neck  and  limbs  clean,  hard,  wiry;  her  hoofs  concave,  thin,  hard, 
and  steep;  her  sharp,  oblique  shoulder  and  wither,  straight,  delicate  face,  and 
right-angled  upper  lids — soon  told  why  she  was  so  fast  and  spirited.' 

10  John  Grant  owned,  in  1866,  4,000  head  of  cattle  and  between  2,000  and 
3,000  Indian  horses,  and  was  worth  $400,000.  //.  Ex.  Doc.,  45,  26,  38th  cong. 
1st  sess. 

11 1  will  give  here  an  account  of  the  methods  of  cattle-growers  in  Montana 
and  the  adjoining  country.  The  land  belonging  to  the  government,  which 
made  no  charge  for  pasturage,  and  the  cattle  requiring  little  if  any  care  dur 
ing  the  winter,  the  cost  of  keeping  them  was  trifling,  and  consisted  mainly  in 
the  wages  paid  to  a  few  herders.  Formerly  all  cattle  were  permitted  to  mix 
promiscuously,  being  distinguished  only  by  their  brands.  They  separated 
into  bands,  and  sought  favorite  localities,  as  men  do,  being  governed  in  their 
choice  by  tha  quality  of  their  feed,  water,  shade,  and  the  prevailing  winds. 
If  they  preferred  a  certain  grazing-ground  several  miles  from  water,  they 
travelled  that  distance  daily  to  drink.  As  the  number  of  herds  increased, 
some  necessary  regulations  were  introduced,  as  to  the  extent  of  ranges,  in 
organized  counties.  In  1874  the  legislature  of  Montana  enacted  a  law  pro 
viding  that  the  county  commissioners  should  divide  their  respective  counties 
into  not  less  than  three  nor  more  than  ten  stock-districts,  with  a  place  desig 
nated  in  each  for  the  '  round-up,'  which  occurred  annually  or  semi-annually 
— the  '  round-up '  being  the  gathering  together  of  the  cattle  for  the  purpose 
of  separating  the  herds,  and  branding  the  young  cattle  with  their  owners' 
marks,  which  were  described,  and  recorded  with  the  county  register.  See 
Annual  Kept  of  auditor  and  treasurer  of  Montana  1880,  for  brands  and  marks 
of  owners,  to  the  number  of  281,  delineated  in  the  printed  pages.  If  any 
strange  cattle  or  estrays  were  found  in  the  herds  they  were  given  in  charge  of 
a  person  appointed  by  the  commissioner,  who  was  allowed  a  suitable  compen 
sation  for  taking  care  of  them.  Notice  of  a  round-up  was  to  be  given  30  days 
in  advance,  and  no  two  districts  should  hold  these  meetings  on  the  same  day. 
On  the  1st  Monday  in  June  1874  the  county  commissioners  should  hold  a 
public  meeting  of  the  bona  fide  residents  of  each  stock-district,  in  their  re 
spective  counties,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  stock-board  in  each  district, 
which  should  consist  of  three  stock-inspectors,  elected  by  the  actual  stock- 
owners  of  the  district,  to  hold  office  for  one  year.  The  board  should  elect  a 
superintendent  and  a  clerk,  and  the  duty  of  the  former  should  be  to  attend 
all  round-ups,  and  have  the  care  and  custody  of  unclaimed  stock;  while  the 
latter  should  keep  a  correct  description  of  all  unclaimed  or  estray  stock,  in  a 
book  of  record,  and  should  send  a  copy  of  such  descriptions  to  the  clerks  of 
the  other  districts.  The  stock-boards  should  have  a  separate  brand  for  each 


736  MINING  AND  CATTLE-RAISING. 

W.  H.  Raymond  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  to 
drive  a  herd  to  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  for  ship 
ment  to  the  east,  and  this  he  did  in  1874  without  loss. 

district,  which  brand  should  be  recorded  in  the  county  clerk's  office,  and  re 
main  in  the  keeping  of  the  superintendent,  to  be  used  only  by  the  direction 
of  a  majority  of  the  board.  Estrays  should  be  branded  with  the  district 
mark,  which  on  their  being  claimed  should  be  'vented,' i.  e.,  obliterated. 
Heavy  tines  were  imposed  for  branding  the  property  of  another  with  a  false 
mark;  and  all  animals  suffering  from  contagious  diseases  should  be  taken  6 
miles  away  from  any  herd,  and  confined  in  a  secure  enclosure,  failing  in  which 
the  owner  should  be  punished  by  a  tine  of  from  $30  to  $500.  The  Mitsoulian, 
Feb.  26,  1874.  Herders  were  appointed  for  each  district.  Missoula  county 
was  divided  into  9  districts,  with  the  following  herders,  which  in  this  instance 
are  presumed  to  be  the  owners:  Jasper  Deschamps,  J.  K.  Clark,  D.  C. 
O'Keefe,  Sidney  Mitchell,  Samuel  Miller,  James  H.  Cowan,  Joseph  Pardee, 
Thomas  Simpson,  and  Thomas  Fruin.  This  law  may  have  received  some 
modifications. 

Certainly  the  cattlemen  have  come  to  occupy  a  large  extent  of  country. 
Eight  men,  in  the  territory  surrounding  the  Yellowstone  National  Park,  con 
trol  an  area  large  enough  to  herd,  and  let  increase,  190,000  head  of  cattle.  I 
get  this  statement  from  manuscript  Notes  Recueillies  sur  les  Elevates  d'Ani- 
maMX  dans  les  Etats  de  V Quest  de  V  Amirique  du  Nord,  by  G.  Weis,  1884,  page 
4.  This  is  an  exhaustive  account  of  the  business  of  cattle-raising,  from  which 
I  take  some  further  information.  Weis  says  that  the  number  of  herders,  'cow 
boys'  they  were  called,  was  almost  in  inverse  ratio  to  the  number  of  cattle  to 
be  herded.  There  was  usually  a  foreman  where  the  herd  was  large,  and  two 
cowboys  will  herd  1,200  or  1,400  head  of  cattle.  The  wages  of  a  foreman 
depended  on  his  value — from  $100  to  $200  per  month,  or  sometimes  more, 
and  the  cowboys  got  from  $30  to  $90,  with  food,  lodging,  horses  to  ride,  and 
ammunition.  During  winter,  when  there  was  little  to  do,  the  proprietor 
might  dismiss  a  part  of  the  herders,  keeping  those  who,  having  spent  their 
money  in  debauchery,  were  willing  to  work  for  their  keeping.  They  were 
faithful  to  their  employers  generally,  and  performed  their  duties  willingly. 
Mexicans  were  preferred  on  account  of  their  horsemanship. 

The  round-up  is  the  great  event  of  the  year.     At  the  close  of  winter  the 

Eroprietors  meet  afc  the  rendezvous  and  decide  where  the  round-up  shall  be 
eld  and  when;  what  road  they  will  take,  and  how  many  men  and  horses  each 
will  furnish,  with  provisions  for  the  same.  Five  horses  to  the  man  is  the 
number  usually  allotted,  on  account  of  the  labor  required  of  them.  A  chief 
or  superintendent  is  chosen,  and  a  number  of  deputies,  to  secure  the  proper 
execution  of  details.  A  large  number  of  persons  being  brought  together, 
much  merriment  is  indulged  in,  the  scene  of  the  encampment  being  usually 
well-chosen  and  picturesque.  For  several  days  the  work  of  driving  in  con 
tinues.  As  the  calves  are  with  their  mothers  at  this  season,  it  is  admitted 
that  a  calf  belongs  to  the  cow  which  it  follows  and  suckles.  The  proprietors, 
having  separated  their  stock  from,  the  general  herd,  proceed  to  brand  the 
young,  renew  obliterated  marks,  castrate  the  young  males  not  desired 
for  breeding,  and  sort  out  those  that  are  to  be  sold.  If  another  proprietor 
chooses  to  purchase,  his  mark  is  branded  on  the  opposite  side  from  the 
first.  But  it  is  to  dealers  from  eastern  stock-yards,  or  their  agents,  that  sales 
are  usually  made.  These  purchasers  have  a  copy  of  all  the  brands,  to  avoid 
buying  stolen  stock.  Whether  the  cattle  are  sold  on  the  ground,  or  taken  to 
market — usually  Chicago— they  are  driven  to  the  railroad  at  some  point  where 
conveniences  for  shipping  stock  have  been  provided,  as  at  Bozeman  or  Bil 
lings.  Here  the  eastern  agents  are  again  met  with,  who  keep  an  eye  upon  the 
shipment  and  telegraph  information  to  the  markets,  or  receive  it  from  them. 
The  Northern  Pacific  railroad  in  1885  charged  $100  a  car-load  of  from  1(5  to  20 
animals,  and  disembarked  the  cattle  at  certain  places  where  the  pasturage 


PROFITS  OF  RAISING  CATTLE.  737 

The  only  danger  to  the  welfare  of  the  country, 
from  the  prominence  taken  by  this  business,  is  that 

was  good,  allowing  them  to  feed  several  hours  each  day,  assuming  the  risk  of 
accidents  to  the  cattle,  charging  §40  or  $50  per  day  for  the  whole  trail1..  Free 
passage  was  granted  to  the  proprietors,  who  took  the  usual  passenger  trains, 
and  to  a  certain  number  of  cowboys,  who  had  a  special  car  attached  to  the  cat 
tle  train,  which  took  from  6  to  7  days  to  reach  Chicago.  The  cattle  sold  are 
generally  beeves,  3  or  4  years  old,  and  weigh  900  to  1,100  pounds  when  em 
barked,  but  lose  120  or  160  on  the  journey.  They  bring  from  3^  to  5  cents 
per  pound;  or  sell  for  an  average  of  $35.  If  kept  another  year  or  two,  they 
may  bring  $45.  Improvements  are  being  made  in  the  methods  of  transport 
ing  stock,  to  save  it  from  loss  of  weight,  or  total  loss,  which  does  not  often 
happen.  The  plan  of  production  and  sale  is  to  part  with  one  fourth  of  the 
herd  annually.  Bulls  raised  in  the  herds  are  not  considered  desirable,  but 
those  used  for  breeding  purposes  are  taken  from  foreign  localities,  and  the 
best  possible,  the  English  short-horns  being  preferred,  after  them  Durhams, 
then  Spanish.  A  cow  will  usually  cost  from  §24  to  $27,  and  will  produce  a 
calf  annually  for  ten  years.  The  increase  can  be  counted  on  to  be  half  male 
and  half  female.  The  female  half  in  2  years  doubled  itself,  and  so  on  in 
arithmetical  progression,  and  at  little  cost  to  the  owner.  The  following  table 
illustrates  the  cattle-raiser's  increase  in  10  years,  beginning  with  a  herd  of  890: 
Years.  Steers.  Yearlings.  Cows.  Born.  Total. 

1st 190 190 300 290 970 

2d 90 290 400 300 1,080 

3d 80 300 970 400 1,750 

4th 100 400 720 600 1,820 

5th 190 500 1,070 800 2,660 

6th 200 800 1,470 1,000 3,470 

7th 300 1,000 2,070 1,600 4,790 

8th 500 1,600 2,870 2,500 7,470 

9th 790 2,500 4,100 4,000 11.390 

10th 1,000 4,000 6,000 9,900 21,000 

The  table  above  allows  for  accidents,  and  loss  by  cold,  drought,  etc.,  and 
supposes  the  steers  only  to  have  been  sold.  The  yearlings  comprise  all  the 
animals  born  of  either  sex  one  year  after  birth. 

The  expense  of  caring  for  cattle  or  horses  in  herds  of  1,000  or  more  is 
about  75  cents  per  head.  Adding  taxes  and  all  the  costs  of  producing  a  steer 
worth  $30,  and  we  have  a  total  of  $3.50.  Previous  to  1879-80  the  average 
loss  from  storms  was  about  two  per  cent  per  annum.  In  that  year  the  loss 
was  7  or  8  per  cent,  and  the  following  winter  it  was  also  unusually  large;  but 
many  were  cattle  driven  in  from  Oregon  late,  and  in  poor  condition.  The 
banks  loaned  money  to  be  invested  in  stock,  and  there  was  no  more  sure  invest 
ment  in  Montana.  A  firm  which  borrowed  $13,500  at  two  per  cent  per  month 
for  six  years  showed  a  profit  of  $51,073  over  total  investment  and  expenses. 
Ktrahorn's  Montana,  103.  The  West,  compiled  from  the  Census  of  1880  by 
liobert  P.  Porter,  and  presenting  a  significant  array  of  facts  concerning  the 
Pacific  states,  says  that  there  were  in  Montana,  in  1877,  220,000  head  of  cattle, 
40,000  horses,  and  120,000  sheep,  and  that  the  census  of  1880  shows  489,500 
cattle,  512,600  sheep,  and  29,000  swine.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  also, 
that  the  figures  in  a  census  report  are  always  below  the  facts.  In  E.  J.  Far 
mer's  Resources  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  published  in  1883,  containing  brief 
descriptions  of  Colorado,  Utah,  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Wyoming,  Dakota,  and 
Montana,  it  is  stated  that  there  were  at  that  date  400,000  cattle  and  nearly 
500,000  sheep  in  Montana;  the  cattle  being  worth  at  $25  per  head  $10,000,- 
000,  and  the  sheep  $1,750,000,  the  wool  clip  being  not  less  than  3,000,000 
pounds. 

A  large  stock-owner  in  Montana  was  Baron  de  Bonnemain,  born  in  1851, 
at   Means,  >Seine-et-Marie,  France.     He  served  in   the   French  army  under 
HIST.  WASH. -47 


738  MINING  AND  CATTLE-RAISING. 

the  cattle-owners  will  continue  more  and  more  to 
oppose  themselves  to  settlement.  This  they  cannot 
do  as  successfully  in  Montana  as  they  have  done  in 
Texas,  where  they  have  taken  possession  of  the 
springs  and  watercourses  by  the  simple  preemption 
of  a  quarter-section  of  land  where  the  spring  occurs. 
As  settlers  must  have  access  to  water  and  timber,  to 
control  the  supply  is  to  drive  them  away  from  the  re 
gion.  But  in  Montana  there  is  a  greater  abundance 
of  water,  and  timber  also,  and  consequently  not  the 
same  means  of  excluding  farmers.  Doubtless  efforts 
will  be  made  to  obtain  the  actual  ownership  of  large 
bodies  of  land,  which  the  government  wisely  endeav 
ors  to  prevent. 

The  falling-off  in  the  yield  of  the  mines  forced 
development  in  other  directions,  so  that  by  the  time 
Montana  had  railroad  connection  with  eastern  mar 
kets  it  was  prepared  to  furnish  exports  as  well  as  to 
pay  for  importing.  In  1879,  three  years  before  the 
railroad  reached  Helena,  the  farmers  of  Montana 
produced  not  less  than  $3,000,000  worth  of  agricul 
tural  products,12  and  were  supplied  with  the  best 
labor-saving  machinery.  They  lived  well,  and  were 
often  men  of  education,  with  well-stored  book-shelves, 

Marshal  McMahon  in  the  Franco-Prussian  war,  after  which  he  immigrated  to 
New  York,  and  visiting  Montana  on  a  hunting  expedition,  perceived  the  ad 
vantages  of  stock -growing  on  the  natural  ranges,  and  engaged  in  the  business. 
He  had  3,200  head  in  1883,  and  a  range  of  32  miles.  The  baron  has  furnished 
my  library  with  a  manuscript  on  the  subject,  Stock-Raising  in  Montana,  which 
agrees  with  that  of  Weis  and  other  accounts. 

The  first  blooded  horses  introduced  into  Montana  in  1873  were  owned  by 
Mr  Campbell  of  Gallatin  City.  The  first  large  sales  of  cattle  to  eastern 
shippers  was  in  1874;  by  1876  a  regular  trade  was  established,  bringing  in 
$120,000.  Charles  Anceny  was  one  of  the  most  enterprising  cattle-raisers  in 
Gallatin  county,  in  the  beginning  of  the  business.  The  Montana  Wool- 
Grower's  Association  was  organized  in  September  1877.  In  1878  John  Healy 
of  San  Francisco,  agent  for  a  California  company,  established  a  depot  at 
Helena  for  grading  wool.  The  wool  clip  of  that  year  was  1,000,000  pounds. 
An  effort  has  been  made  to  domesticate  the  Rocky  Mountain  sheep,  but  with 
out  success,  Helena  Gazette,  Oct.  3,  1873;  Helena  Independent,  Sept.  30, 1875; 
Winser's  Guide  to  N.  P.  Railroad,  172-3;  Deer  Lodye  Independent,  Oct.  18, 
1869. 

12  Wheat  400,000  bushels,  oats  600,000,  barley  50,000,  corn  12,000,  vege 
tables  500,000,  hay  65,000  tons.  Strahorn's  Montana,  90.  In  1880  Montana 
produced  470,000  bushels  of  wheat,  900,000  of  oats,  40,000  of  barley.  Far 
mers'  Resources  of  the  liocky  Mountains,  110. 


AGRICULTURE. 


739 


even  while  still  occupying  the  original  farm-house 
built  of  logs.  By  the  laws  of  Montana  a  homestead 
of  the  value  of  $2,500  was  exempt  from  execution 
and  sale.  Experience  has  shown  that  the  grasshop 
per  is  the  worst,  and  almost  the  only,  enemy  that  the 
agriculturist  dreads.  This  pest  appears  to  return 
annually  for  a  period  of  three  or  four  years,  when  it 


BOTTE  AND  SUMMIT  VALLEY  MINING  DISTRICT. 

absents  itself  for  an  equal  length  of  time.  No  com 
plete  destruction  of  crops  has  ever  occurred,  their 
visitations  being  intermittent  as  to  place — now  here, 
now  there;  and  grain-farmers  agree  that  while  the 
yield  and  the  prices  remain  as  good  as  they  have 
been,  they  can  support  the  loss  of  every  third  crop. 
But  it  is  probable  that  in  time  the  more  general  cul 
tivation  of  the  earth  will  be  a  cheek,  if  not  destruc 
tion,  to  the  grasshopper. 

v  But  whatever  the  advantages  of  Montana  to  the 
agriculturalist,  stock-raiser,  or  manufacturer  of  the 
present  or  the  future — and  they  are  many — it  is  and 
must  remain  preeminently  a  mining  country.  A  re 
action  toward  an  increased  production  of  the  precious 
metals  began  in  1878,  the  silver  yield  being  in  excess 
of  the  gold.13 

13  The  most  famous  silver  districts  were  those  of  Brrtte  in  Silver  Bow,  Phil- 
ipsburg  in  Deer  Lodge,  Glendale  in  Beaverhead,  and  Jefferson  in  Jefferson 


740  MINING   AND  CATTLE-RAISING. 

Many  phenomena  are  brought  forward  to  account 
for  the  climate  of  Montana,  such  as  the  isothermal 

county.  In  May  1864  Charles  Murphy  and  William  Graham  discovered  the 
Black  Chief  lode,  which  they  called  the  Deer  Lodge,  in  the  Silver  Bow  dis 
trict.  Soon  after,  G.  0.  Humphreys  and  William  Allison  discovered  the  Vir 
ginia,  Moscow,  and  Missoula  leads.  The  Black  Chief  was  an  enormous  ledge, 
extending  for  miles.  Copper  also  was  found  in  the  foothills,  and  soon  a  camp 
of  seventy-five  or  a  hundred  men  had  laid  the  foundations  of  Butte  at  the 
head  of  Silver  Bow  Creek.  But  they  had  neither  mills  nor  smelters,  and  but 
for  the  finding  of  good  placer  diggings  by  Felix  Burgoyne,  would  have  aban 
doned  the  place.  In  I860  a  furnace  for  smelting  copper  was  erected  by  Joseph 
Ramsdall,  William  Parks,  and  Porter  Brothers.  In  1875,  the  time  having 
expired  when  the  discoverers  could  hold  their  claims  without  performing 
upon  them  an  amount  of  labor  fixed  by  a  law  of  congress,  and  no  one  appear 
ing  to  make  these  improvements,  W.  L.  Farlin  relocated  thirteen  quartz 
claims  south-west  from  Butte,  erected  a  quartz-mill,  and  infused  a  new  life 
into  the  town.  Five  years  afterward  a  substantial  city,  with  five  thousand 
inhabitants,  occupied  the  place  of  the  former  shabby  array  of  miners'  cabins. 
From  twenty  quartz-mills,  arastras,  roasters,  and  smelters,  $1,500,000  was 
being  annually  turned  out,  and  the  thousands  of  unworked  mines  in  the 
vicinity  could  have  employed  five  times  that  number.  The  Alice  mine, 
which  begun  with  a  twenty-stamp  mill,  in  1881  used  one  of  sixty  stamps  in 
addition,  crushing  eighty  tons  of  ore  daily.  The  vein  was  of  great  size, 
depth,  and  richness.  While  the  Alice  may  be  taken  as  the  representative 
silver  mine  of  Butte,  the  Moulton,  Lexington,  Anaconda,  and  many  others 
produced  well.  Eastern  capital  has  been  used  to  a  great  extent  to  develop 
these  mines.  The  silver  ores  of  this  district  carried  a  heavy  percentage  of 
eopper,  and  some  lodes  were  really  copper  veins  carrying  silver. 

Cable  district,  twenty-five  miles  north-west  of  Butte,  took  it  name  from 
the  Atlantic  Cable  gold  mine,  which  yielded  $20, 000  from  100  tons  of  quartz, 
picked  specimens  from  which  weighing  200  pounds  contained  $7,000  in  gold. 

North-west  of  the  Cable  district  was  the  Silver  district  of  Algonquin,  on 
Flint  Creek,  where  the  town  of  Philipsburg  was  placed.  Here  were  the 
famous  Algonquin  and  Speckled  Trout  mines,  with  reduction-works  erected 
by  the  Northwest  Co.  In  1881  a  body  of  ore  was  found  in  the  Algonquin 
which  averaged  500  ounces  to  the  ton  of  silver,  with  enough  in  sight  to  yield 
$2,000,000.  The  Hope,  Comanche,  and  other  mines  in  this  district  were 
worked  by  a  St  Louis  company,  and  produced  bullion  to  the  amount  of  from 
8300,000  to  $500,000  annually  since  1877.  The  Granite  furnished  rock  worth 
seventy-five  dollars  per  ton. 

Philipsburg  was  laid  out  in  1867,  its  future  being  predicated  upon  the 
silver- bearing  veins  in  its  vicinity.  The  first  mill,  erected  at  a  great  expense 
by  the  St  Louis  and  Montana  Mining  Company,  failed  to  extract  the  silver, 
which  for  years  patient  mine-owners  had  been  reducing  by  rude  arastras  and 
hand  machinery  to  prove  the  value  of  their  mines,  and  the  prospects  of  Philips 
burg  were  clouded.  A  home  association,  called  the  Imperial  Silver  Mining 
Company,  was  formed  in  1871,  which  erected  a  five-stamp  mill  and  roaster, 
and  after  many  costly  experiments,  found  the  right  method  of  extracting  sil 
ver  from  the  ores  of  the  district.  The  stamps  of  their  mill  being  of  wood 
were  soon  worn  out,  and  the  company  made  contracts  with  the  St  Louis  com 
pany's  mill  to  crush  the  ore  from  the  Speckled  Trout  mine,  the  machinery 
having  to  be  changed  from  wet  to  dry  crushing,  and  two  new  roasting- 
furnaces  erected,  the  expense  being  borne  by  the  Imperial  Company. 

The  process  which  was  adopted  in  this  district  is  known  as  the  Reese  River 
chloridizing  process.  The  ore,  after  being  pulverized,  dry,  is  mixed  with 
6  per  cent  of  common  salt,  placed  in  roasting-furnaces — 1,200  pounds  to  each 
furnace — and  agitated  with  long-handled  iron  hoes  for  4J  hours,  while  sub 
jected  to  a  gradually  increasing  heat.  After  being  drawn  and  cooled,  the 
pulp  is  amalgamated  in  Wheeler  pans.  The  wet  pulp,  agitated  in  hot  water 
and  quicksilver,  after  four  hours  is  drawn  into  large  wooden  vats  called  set- 


METHODS  OF  WORKING  ORES.  741 

lines,  the  chinook  wind,  and  the  geysers  of  Yellow 
stone  park,  all  of  which  influences  are  doubtless  felt ; 

tiers,  with  revolving  arms,  from  which  it  passes  through  a  small  pan,  where 
the  last  of  the  amalgam  which  may  have  escaped  is  saved.  It  is  then  retorted 
and  turned  into  bullion.  The  cost  of  milling  and  roasting  the  ore  was  §40  per 
tou,  and  the  yield  §125.  Eight  tons  per  day  of  24  hours  was  the  capacity  of 
the  works.  Veer  Lodye  New  Northwest,  June  22,  1872.  The  salt  used  in 
reducing  ores  in  Montana  is  chiefly  brought  from  the  Oneida  salt-works  of 
Idaho. 

In  1876  the  St  Louis  company  took  §20,000  worth  of  silver  bullion  from 
157  tons  of  the  Hope  ore,  and  the  average  yield  of  medium  ore  was  rated  at 
$63  per  ton.  As  a  result  of  the  profitable  working  of  the  mines  of  this  dis 
trict,  the  population,  which  in  1872  was  little  over  200,  by  1886  had  doubled. 
In  every  direction  from  Flint  Creek,  the  valley  of  which  is  a  rich  agricultural 
region,  the  hills  are  full  of  minerals.  At  Philipsburg  there  is  about  four  per 
cent  of  gold  in  the  bullion.  North  from  there  the  gold  increases,  until  near 
Beartowii  it  is  almost  pure.  Between  Philipsburg  and  the  mouth  of  Flint 
Creek  veins  carrying  silver,  gold,  copper,  and  iron  abound. 

In  Lewis  and  Clarke  county  the  quartz  gold  mines  held  their  own.  The 
Whitlatch-Union  after  producing  $3,500,000  suspended,  that  its  owners 
might  settle  some  points  of  difference  between  them,  and  not  from  any  want 
of  productiveness.  About  twenty-five  miles  north-west  of  Helena  was  the 
Silver  Creek  or  Stemple  district,  the  most  famous  of  whose  mines  of  gold  is 
the  Penobscot,  discovered  by  Nathan  Vestal,  who  took  out  §100,000,  and 
then  sold  the  mine  for  §400,000.  The  mines  in  this  district  produce  by  mill 
ing  about  ten  dollars  per  ton  on  an  average.  The  Belmont  produced  with  a 
twenty-stamp  mill  §200,000  annually,  at  a  profit  of  nearly  half  that  amount. 
The  Bluebird,  Hickory,  Gloster,  and  Drum  Lemond  were  averaging  from 
ten  to  twelve  dollars  to  the  ton. 

Silver  mines  were  worked  at  Clancy,  eighteen  miles  south  of  Helena.  At 
Wickes,  twenty-five  miles  south,  were  the  most  extensive  smelting-works  in 
Montana,  erected  by  the  Alta-Montana  Company,  which  had  a  capital  stock 
of  §5,000,000,  and  calculated  to  treat  all  classes  of  ores  in  which  silver  and 
lead  combined.  Silver  was  discovered  on  Clarke  fork  of  the  Yellowstone  in 
1874,  and  F.  D.  Pease  went  to  Pa  in  the  spring  of  1875  to  arrange  for  erect 
ing  smelting-works;  but  Indian  troubles  prevented  mining  in  that  region 
until  1877,  when  the  Eastern  Montana  Mining  and  Smelting  Company  erected 
furnaces.  In  1873  the  famous  Trapper  silver  lode  was  discovered,  followed 
immediately  by  others  in  the  vicinity. 

As  a  rule,  the  ores  of  Montana  are  easily  worked.  The  rock  in  which 
auriferous  and  argentiferous  veins  occur  is  limestone  or  granite,  often  granite 
capped  with  slate.  The  presence  of  lead  and  copper  simplifies  the  process  of 
the  reduction  of  silver,  and  in  general  the  character  of  Montana  galena  ores 
does  not  differ  greatly  from  those  of  Utah,  Colorado,  eastern  Nevada,  and 
Idaho.  No  lead  mines  have  been  worked,  though  they  exist  in  these  terri 
tories,  but  the  lead  obtained  from  their  silver  ores  furnished,  in  1875,  half  of 
that  used  in  the  United  States,  which  was  61,473  tons.  Copper  lodes  are 
abundant  and  large,  and  are  found  near  Butte,  at  White  Sulphur  Springs, 
and  in  the  Musselshell  country,  as  well  as  in  several  other  parts  of  the  country. 
Iron  is  found  in  a  great  number  of  places.  Deer  Lodge  county  has  an  iron 
mountain  four  times  larger  than  the  iron  mountain  of  Missouri.  Fine  marble, 
excellent  building  stone,  fire-clay,  zinc,  coal,  and  all  the  materials  of  which 
and  with  which  men  build  the  substantial  monuments  of  civilization,  are 
grouped  together  in  Montana  in  a  remarkable  manner,  when  it  is  considered 
that  the  almost  universal  estimate  of  a  mineral  country  is  that  it  is  unfit  for 
the  attainment  of  the  greatest  degree  of  refinement  and  luxury,  and  that 
when  the  precious  metals  are  exhausted,  nothing  worth  remaining  for  in  the 
country  will  be  left. 

In  1879  the  United  States  assay  office  was  opened  at  Helena,  congress 
having  enacted  that  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  might  constitute  any  super- 


742 


MINING  AND  CATTLE-RAISING. 


but  to  the  lower  altitude  of  the  country,  as  com 
pared  with  the  territories  lying  south,  much  of  its 

iiitendent  of  a  mint,  or  assayer  of  an  assay  office,  an  assistant  treasurer  to 
receive  gold  coin  and  bullion  on  deposit.  The  assay  office  was  a  relief  to 
miners,  who  had  been  forced  to  send  their  bullion  east  at  exorbitant  charges. 
The  silver  export  aggregated  in  1879  $6,635,022.  The  non-mineral  ex 
ports,  after  ten  years  of  territorial  existence,  were  as  follows: 

Buffalo  robes,  6,500  ©  $5 $327,500 

Antelope,  deer,  elk,  bear,  wolf,  and  other  skins  @  50  cents  ^  lt>. . . .     50,000 

Beaver,  otter,  mink,  etc ,     20,000 

Flint  hides,  400,000  lt>s  @  12  cents 50,000 

Sheep  peltries 5,003 

Wool,  100,000  R>s  @  35  cents 35,000 

Cattle,  fat,  @  §27.50,  3,500  head 101,250 

Stock-cattle  @  $20,  1,000  head 20,000 


Total $008,750 

Deer  Lodge  New  Northwest,  April  30,  1875. 

There  was  received  at  Omaha,  in  1876,  over  $60,000,000;  $27,000,000  in 
silver  bullion,  handled  by  express,  besides  a  large  amount  sent  as  freight. 
The  gold  handled  was  $25,000,000.  The  Omaha  smelting-works  furnished 
$5,000,000.  Of  the  silver,  $10,000,000  was  in  coin,  about  half  of  which  was 
returned.  Of  the  whole,  the  Black  Hills  furnished  $2,000,000;  Colorado, 
Montana,  and  Idaho  the  rest.  Omaha  Republican,  in  Bozeman  Avant-Courier, 
Feb.  8,  1877. 

An  agricultural,  mechanical,  and  mineral  association  was  incorporated  in 
Dec.  1867,  which  held  its  first  fair  from  the  6th  to  the  12th  of  Sept.,  1868,  at 
Helena.  Governor  Smith  was  the  first  president;  Sol  Merideth,  vice-presi 
dent;  W.  E.  Cullen,  secretary;  J.  T.  Forbes,  treasurer;  J.  F.  Farber.  W.  L. 
Irvine,  W.  S.  Travis,  C.  P.  Higgins,  W.  L.  Vantilburg,  J.  B.  Campbell,  and 
Philip  Thorn,  directors.  Helena  Montana  Post,  March  17,  1868.  A  territorial 
grange  was  organized  soon  after.  Missoula  county  held  its  first  fair  in  1876. 
It  will  be  seen  that,  under  the  conditions  set  forth  as  existing  previous  to 
the  opening  of  railroad  communication,  no  matter  what  its  facilities  for  agri 
culture,  Montana  would  not  establish  a  reputation  as  a  farming  country. 
Nevertheless  it  was  gradually  coming  to  be  better  understood  in  this  respect 
with  each  succeeding  year.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that  new  soils  are  the 
most  highly  productive,  the  yield  of  grain,  and  particularly  of  vegetables, 
being  often  astonishingly  great  in  the  territories.  Therefore  I  pass  over  the 
numerous  instances  of  enormous  garden  productions,  to  the  statement  that  as 
a  wheat  country  virgin  Montana  was  not  surpassed,  and  all  the  cereals  except 
corn  yielded  largely.  In  the  higher  valleys  grain  was  likely  to  fail  on  account 
of  frost,  but  in  not  too  elevated  parts  the  yield  was  from  thirty  to  fifty 
bushels  per  acre.  Wheat  averaged  thirty  bushels  and  oats  seventy-five.  The 
following  table  in  Strahorn's  Montana,  82,  is  valuable,  as  recording  the  names 
of  pioneer  agriculturists,  with  their  locations: 


Name. 

Location. 

Acres. 

Crop  and  Yield. 

Average 
bush, 
per  acre. 

Value. 

A   G  England    . 

100 

Wheat  7,000 

43  \ 

$8,400 

A,  G  England  .  .  . 

40 

Oats  2,000 

60 

1,200 

Robert  Vaughn  .  . 

4 

Oats  410 

102  % 

246 

M  Stone 

100 

Wheat  6,000 

60 

7,200 

8 

Oats  GOO 

75 

300 

Gallatin  Valley... 

6 

Oats  C'20 

103  % 

3G2 

23 

Wheat  1,150 

50 

1,380 

Prickly  Pear  Valley 

50 

Oats  3,500 

70 

2,100 

Charles    Rowe  

Missouri  Valley... 

23  "3 
11 

Wheat  and  oats  .  1,200 
Oats  1,200 

45 
100 

1,250 
720 

John  Rowe 

Gallatin  Valley... 

85 

Oats  4,982 

57 

2,089 

Eobert  Barnett 

Keese  Creek  Valley 

48 

Wheat  2,200 

45 

2,640 

8.  Hall  

Ruby  Valley  

500 

Wheat  10,000 

50 

11,000 

ALTITUDES.  743 

mildness  of  climate  must  be  ascribed.  Latitude  west 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  does  not  affect  climate  as  it 
does  to  the  east  of  that  line;  nor  does  it  account  for 
temperature  to  any  marked  extent  on  the  eastern 
slope  of  the  great  divide,  for  we  may  journey  four 
hundred  miles  north  into  the  British  possessions,  find 
ing  flourishing  farms  the  whole  distance;  and  it  is  a 
curious  fact  that  the  Missouri  River  is  open  above  the 
falls,  in  Montana,  four  weeks  before  the  ice  breaks  up 
on  the  Iowa  frontier.  In  all  countries  seasons  vary, 
with  now  and  then  severe  winters  or  hot  summers. 
A  great  snowfall  in  the  Montana  mountains  every 

The  soldiers  at  Fort  Ellis  in  the  Gattatin  Valley  raised  all  the  vegetables 
to  feed  the  five  companies  stationed  there,  thereby  saving  the  government 
between  $7,000  and  $8,000.  General  Brisbin,  who  was  for  a  long  time  in 
command  of  that  post,  was  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic  writers  on  the 
resources  of  the  country,  contributing  articles  to  the  American  Agriculturist, 
and  other  journals,  which  were  copied  in  the  Montana  newspapers.  See 
Helena  Herald,  Jan.  2,  1879.  Rye  raised  by  B.  F.  Hooper  of  Bowlder  Valley 
produced  grains  J  larger  than  the  ordinary  size,  plump,  gold-tinted,  and 
transparent  as  wheat — 65  pounds  to  the  bushel.  Three  quarts  of  seed  yielded 
10  bushels  of  grain,  sown  in  the  spring.  This  seed  is  said  to  have  come  from 
some  grains  taken  from  the  craw  of  a  migratory  bird  killed  in  Oregon  in  1863. 
Virginia  Montana  Post,  Jan.  29,  1S68. 

As  in  every  country,  the  valleys  were  first  settled.  What  the  uplands, 
now  devoted  to  grazing,  will  produce  remains  to  be  demonstrated  in  the 
future.  Although  it  is  generally  thought  that  comparative  altitude  is  an  im 
portant  factor  in  the  making  of  oops,  it  is  now  pretty  well  understood  that 
where  bunch-grass  grows  wheat  will  grow  as  well. 

The  average  altitude  of  Montana  is  less  by  2,260  feet  than  the  average 
altitude  of  Colorado,  Wyoming,  Utah,  and  New  Mexico.  Official  reports 
make  the  mean  elevation  of  Montana  3,900  feet;  of  Wyoming  6,400;  of  Col 
orado  7,000;  and  of  New  Mexico  5,660.  Of  Montana's  145,786  square  miles, 
an  area  of  51,600  is  less  than  4,000  feet  above  the  sea;  40,700  less  than  3,000. 
The  towns  are  either  in  mining  districts,  which  are  high,  or  in  agricultural 
districts,  which  are  lower;  therefore  the  following  list  of  elevations  is  indic 
ative  of  the  occupations  of  the  inhabitants: 

Argenta 6,337         Brewer's  Springs. .  .4,957         Hamilton 4,342 

Beaverhead 4,464        Camp  Baker 4,538        Jefferson  . . .    .4,776 

Bighorn  City 2,831         Carroll 2,247         Lovell 5,465 

Boetler's  Rancho.. 4,873        Deer  Lodge 4,546        Montana  City.  4, 191 

Bozeman 4,900        Fort  Benton 2,780        Missoula 3,900 

Butte 5,800        Fort  Shaw 6,000        Nevada  City.  .5,548 

Bannack 5,896         Fish  Creek  Station. 4, 134         Sheridan 5,221 

Bcaverstown 4,942        Fort  Ellis 4,935        Salisbury 4,838 

Blackfoot  Agency. 3, 169         Gallatin  City 4,838        Virginia  City.. 2, 824 

Bowlder 5,000         Helena 4,266         Whitehall 4,639 

It  will  be  observed  by  a  comparison  with  the  preceding  table  that  an  alti 
tude  of  nearly  5,000  feet,  as  at  Bozeman,  Fort  Ellis,  and  Gallatin  City,  does 
not  affect  the  production  of  cereals  unfavorably.  Sun  River  Valley  near  Fort 
Shaw,  at  a  considerably  greater  altitude,  produces  100  bushels  of  oats  to  the 


744  MINING  AND  CATTLE-RAISING. 

winter  is  expected  and  hoped  for.  Its  depth  through 
out  the  country  is  graded  by  the  altitude,  the  valleys 
getting  only  enough  to  cover  the  grass  a  few  inches, 
and  for  a  few  days,  when  a  sudden  thaw,  caused  by 
the  warm  chinook,  carries  it  off.  Occasionally  a 
wind  from  the  interior  plains,  accompanied  by  severe 
cold  and  blinding  particles  of  ice  rather  than  snow, 
which  fill  and  darken  the  air,  brings  discomfort  to  all, 
and  death  to  a  few.  Such  storms  extend  from  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  east  of  the  Missouri  River; 
from  Helena  to  Omaha. 

The  mean  temperature  of  Helena  is  44°,  four  de 
grees  higher  than  that  of  Deer  Lodge  or  Virginia 
City,  these  points  being  of  considerable  elevation 
about  the  valleys,  where  the  mean  temperature  is 
about  48°.  With  the  exception  of  cold  storms  of 
short  duration,  the  coldest  weather  of  winter  may  be 
set  down  at  19°  below  zero,  and  the  warmest  weather 
of  summer  at  94°.  June  is  rainy,  the  sky  almost  the 
whole  of  the  rest  of  the  year  being  clear,  and  irrigation 
necessary  to  crops.  The  bright  and  bracing  atmos 
phere  promotes  health,  and  epidemics  are  unknown. 
Violent  storms  and  atmospheric  disturbances  are  rare.14 

The  first  settlers  of  Montana  had  doubts  about  the 
profits  of  fruit-culture,  which  have  been  dispelled  by 
experiments.  Apples,  pears,  plums,  grapes,  cherries, 
currants,  gooseberries,  raspberries,  blackberries,  and 
strawberries  bear  abundantly,  and  produce  choice  fruit 
at  an  early  age.15  In  the  Missoula  Valley  cultivated 

u  An  earthquake  was  felt  at  Helena  in  the  spring  of  1869,  which  did  no 
damage;  a  tornado  visited  the  country  in  April  1870 — both  rare  occurrences. 
In  18(58,  which  was  a  dry  year,  Deer  Lodge  Lake,  at  the  base  of  Vie  Gold 
Creek  Mountains,  was  full  to  the  brim,  covering  50  or  GO  acres.  In  1870,  with 
a  rainy  spring,  it  had  shrunk  to  an  area  of  100  by  150  feet.  The  lake  has  no 
visible  outlet,  but  has  a  granite  bottom.  Deer  Lodye  New  Northwest,  May  27, 
1870.  Thirty  miles  from  Helena  is  the  Bear  Tooth  Mountain,  standing  at 
the  entrance  to  the  Gate  of  the  Mountains  canon.  Previous  to  1878  it  had 
two  tusks  fully  500  feet  high,  being  great  masses  of  rock  300  feet  wide  at 
the  base  and  150  feet  on  top.  In  February  1878  one  of  these  tusks  fell, 
sweeping  through  a  forest,  and  leveling  the  trees  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 
Helena  Independent,  Feb.  14,  1878. 

15  One  of  the  largest  fruit-growers  in  the  country  was  D.  W.  Curtiss,  near 
Helena.  He  came  from  Ohio  about  1870  a  poor  man.  In  1884  he  owned  his 
farm,  and  marketed  from  $4,000  to  $7,000  worth  of  berries  and  vegetables 
annually. 


FRUIT-CULTURE.  745 

strawberries  still  ripen  in  November.  At  the  county 
fair  in  1880  over  a  dozen  varieties  of  standard  apples 
were  exhibited,  with  several  of  excellent  plums  and 
pears.  Most  of  the  orchards  had  been  planted  subse 
quently  to  1870,- and  few  were  more  than  six  years 
old.  Trees  of  four  years  of  age  will  begin  to  bear. 
At  the  greater  altitude  of  Deer  Lodge  and  Helena 
fruit  was  at  this  period  beginning  to  be  successfully 
cultivated;  but  fruit-growing  being  generally  under 
taken  with  reluctance  in  a  new  country,  it  is  probable, 
judging  by  the  success  achieved  in  Colorado,  that  the 
capacity  of  Montana  for  fruit-culture  is  still  much 
underrated.  All  garden  roots  attain  a  great  size,  and 
all  vegetables  are  of  excellent  quality.  Irrigation, 
which  is  necessary  in  most  localities,  is  easily  accom 
plished,  the  country  in  general  being  traversed  by 
many  streams.  For  this  reason  irrigation  has  not 
yet  been  undertaken  on  the  grand  scale  with  which  it 
has  been  applied  to  the  arid  lands  a  few  degrees  far 
ther  south.  The  desert  land  act,  designed  to  benefit 
actual  settlers,  has  been  taken  advantage  of  to  enrich 
powerful  companies,  which  by  bringing  water  in  canals- 
long  distances  were  able  to  advance  the  price  of  land 
$10  or  $15  per  acre.  The  timber  culture  act  was  made 
use  of  in  the  same  way  to  increase  the  value  of  waste 
land.16  Doubtless  the  lands  thus  benefited  were  actu- 

36  Some  of  the  early  farmers  of  Montana  might  be  mentioned  here. 

E.  S.  Banta,  born  in  Mo.  Sept.  2,  1832;  brought  up  a  farmer;  immigrated 
to  Cal.  in  1862,  with  his  own  team;  remained  there  one  year,  and  came  to 
Montana,  first  to  the  Bitterroot  Valley,  then  to  Gallatin  City,  and  finally 
to  Willow  Creek  in  Madison  co.,  where  he  obtained  196  acres  of  land,  and 
raised  stock.     He  married,  in  1861,  Mary  Foster. 

William  McKimens,  a  native  of  Pa,  was  born  Oct.  20,  1835,  and  raised  a 
farmer.  Removed  to  111.  at  the  age  of  19,  and  soon  after  to  Kansas.  In 
1858  he  went  the  Pike's  Peak  country,  and  was  one  of  the  100  locators  of 
Denver.  Returning  east,  he  came  to  Montana  in  1864,  and  established 
himself. 

Ellis  Elmer,  born  in  England  May  18,  1828,  immigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in 
1850,  settling  in  111.,  where  he  remained  9  years,  when  he  removed  to  Mo., 
whence  he  came  to  Montana  in  1871.  Painter  by  trade;  secured  160  acres 
of  land  at  Fish  Creek.  In  1 857  married  R.  T.  Lambert. 

F.  T.  Black,  born  Oct.  23,  1856,  in  111.,  removed  at  ten  years  of  age  to 
Mo.,  and  at  ihe  age  of  26  to  Montana,  where  he  leased  improved  laud  at 
Pony,  on  Willow  Creek. 

Robert  Riddle,  born  in  Ohio  Aug.  18,  1840,  was  brought  up  a  farmer. 
At  the  age  of  18  he  learned  harness-making,  after  which  he  resided  2  or  3 


746  MINING  AND  CATTLE-RAISING. 

ally  worth  the  increased  price  to  those  who  could  pur 
chase  them,  but  the  poorer  rnan  whom  the  government 

years  in  111.,  coming  to  Montana  with  an  ox-team  in  1864,  via  Bridger's  pass, 
and  mining  in  Emigrant  and  Alder  gulches  and  the  Coeur  de  Aleue  country 
until  1871,  when  he  settled  at  Bozeman,  where  he  became  owner  of  200  acres 
and  some  stock.  In  1882  he  married  Cynthia  Stevens. 

Thomas  Garlick,  born  in  Eng.  Aug.  16,  1836,  was  1|  years  of  age  when 
his  parents  immigrated  to  the  U.  S.,  landing  at  N.  O.,  whence  they  pro 
ceeded  to  St  Louis,  and  soon  to  a  farm  in  111.,  where  he  remained  till  1860. 
Served  as  a  volunteer  in  the  union  army,  and  afterward  drove  a  herd  of 
cows  to  Denver,  soon  following  the  exodus  from  Colorado  to  Montana.  In 
the  spring  of  1865  he  left  Bannack  for  Helena  gold-diggings,  where  he  re 
mained  two  years,  when  he  went  to  Hamilton,  in  the  Gallatin  Valley,  work 
ing  for  wages.  In  1874  settled  upon  160  acres  near  Bozeman,  where  he  grew 
grain  and  stock.  Married  Nancy  Jane  Krattcar  in  1865. 

James  Kent,  a  native  of  Tenn.,  born  July  28,  1841,  removed  with  his 
parents,  at  4  years  of  age,  to  Mo.  When  10  years  old  his  father  joined  the 
army  of  immigrants  to  Cal.,  where  he  died.  Then  the  mother  died,  leaving 
5  children  to  the  mercy  of  the  world.  At  21  years  of  age  James  began  to  go 
west,  and  reached  Montana  in  1864,  spending  a  season  in  Alder  gulch  and 
another  in  Gallatin  county,  alternately,  until  1876,  when  he  settled  upon  400 
acres  of  land  near  Bozeman,  farming  and  raising  horses  and  cattle.  In  1873 
he  married  Martha  Simes. 

G.  W.  Krattcar,  born  in  Ohio  April  4,  1826,  removed  to  Mo.  with  his 
parents  at  the  age  of  17,  where  he  lived  upon  a  farm  for  18  years,  immigrating 
to  Colorado  in  18(iO  with  an  ox-team.  Remained  there  three  years,  and  came 
to  Montana,  settling  first  at  Hamilton,  but  removing  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Bozeman  in  1871,  where  he  secured  160  acres,  farm  machinery,  and  stock. 
Was  married  in  1859  to  Frances  Morper.  Mrs  Krattcar  came  up  the  Mis 
souri  on  the  steamer  Helena  in  1866,  and  was  90  days  on  the  way. 

William  Sheppard,  born  in  Eng.  March  25,  1846,  immigrated  to  America 
in  1862,  after  being  2  years  in  the  East  Indies  and  Africa.  He  resided  a  few 
months  in  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  before  coming  to  Montana  with  an  ox-team. 
He  crossed  the  plains  a  number  of  times,  and  settled  in  the  Gallatin  Valley 
on  160  acres  of  land  in  1870. 

J.  Burrell,  a  native  of  Canada,  born  in  1839,  removed  to  Ohio  in  1862,  and 
to  Montana  in  1864  with  an  ox-team,  in  company  with  a  train  of  850  immi 
grants.  On  the  Bozeman  route,  at  Powder  River,  the  train  was  attacked  by 
250  Sioux,  whom  they  fought  for  24  hours,  3  of  the  company  being  killed. 
Reached  Alder  gulch  Aug.  2d,  and  the  same  season  settled  on  320  acres  of 
land  near  Gallatin  City,  raising  grain  and  stock.  Was  married  in  1864  to 
Miss  Campbell. 

George  W.  Marshall,  born  in  111.  Jan.  10,  1834,  resided  in  Mo.  from  1849 
to  1863  on  a  farm.  In  the  latter  year  began  freighting  for  the  government 
to  New  Mexico,  and  was  in  Colorado  when  the  flood  of  1864  swept  away  so 
much  of  Denver,  the  river  spreading  to  li  miles  in  width.  His  camp  escaped 
by  having  moved  to  higher  ground.  In  1865  came  to  Montana,  first  to  Alder 
gulch,  then  to  Boulder,  and  lastly  to  Salesville  in  1873,  where  he  secured  160 
acres,  and  some  farm  stock.  While  freighting  across  the  plains  has  lived  for 
days  on  frozen  dough,  the  snow  having  wet  the  buffalo  chips  so  that  they 
would  not  burn  enough  to  bake  bread. 

George  L.  Dukes,  born  in  Ky  Oct.  26,  1824,  reared  a  farmer,  removed  to 
Mo.  in  1845,  and  engaged  in  farming,  merchandising,  and  hotel-keeping  until 
1862,  when  he  removed  to  111.,  and  2  years  later  to  Montana  by  steamboat. 
Resided  in  Alder  gulch  one  winter  and  in  Helena  4  or  5  years,  engaged  in 
taking  building  contracts.  Was  police  magistrate  1\  years.  In  1869  moved 
to  Prickl}'  Pear,  and  the  same  year  to  WTillow  Creek,  in  Gallatin  county, 
where  he  took  320  acres  of  land  and  engaged  in.  farming  and  stock-raising. 


EARLY  FARMERS.  747 

designed  to  protect  was  despoiled  of  his  opportunity 
to  build  up  a  home  by  slow  degrees  by  the  desire  of 

Was  for  7  years  county  commissioner.  Was  married  in  1848  to  Catherine 
Decring. 

John  Hanson,  a  native  of  Sweden,  born  Sept.  4,  1840,  immigrated  to  the 
U.  S.  at  the  age  of  15  years,  and  settled  in  111.,  working  as  a  farm  hand  near 
Galesburg  for  5  years.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war  he  enlisted  in 
the  42d  111.,  serving  nearly  four  years,  being  wounded  3  times,  once  in  the 
breast  and  once  in  either  arm.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  came  to  Mon 
tana  with  an  ox-team,  arriving  in  Alder  gulch  and  Jefferson  City  in  1866. 
He  bought  a  farm  near  the  latter  place,  on  which  he  resided  5  years,  then 
went  to  Bozeman,  and  was  in  the  Yellowstone  expedition  of  1874.  He  then 
purchased  240  acres  of  government  land  and  640  of  railroad  land  near  Bozeman, 
and  established  himself  as  a  farmer.  He  married,  in  1803,  Minnie  Hager. 

Charles  Holmes,  born  May  11,  1836,  in  Sweden,  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1848, 
residing  in  111.  3  years  on  a  farm,  and  from  there  going  to  Minnesota  and 
Dakota,  whence  he  immigrated  to  Montana  in  1866  with  an  ox -team,  going 
to  Helena  and  mining  for  2  years,  then  to  Gallatin  Valley,  where  he  helped 
build  Fort  Ellis;  and  afterward  made  a  business  of  furnishing  fire-wood  for 
several  years.  In  1872  he  settled  on  200  acres  of  land  near  Bozeman.  While 
a  resident  of  Dakota,  Holmes  enlisted  under  Gen.  Sully  to  fight  Indians,  and 
was  with  him  when  he  built  Fort  Kice.  He  married  Mary  Banks  in  1876. 

E.  T.  Campbell,  born  in  Wis.  Nov.  6,  1842,  resided  there  13  years,  when 
he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Iowa,  and  remained  there  until  he  enlisted 
in  the  8th  Iowa  cavalry  during  the  civil  war,  in  which  regiment  he  served  2 
years  and  6  months.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  migrated  to  Montana, 
driving  an  ox-team,  arriving  in  the  Gallatin  Valley  in  1868.  Followed  driv 
ing  for  several  years,  settling  on  320  acres  near  Bozeman  in  1871. 

George  W.  Flanders,  a  native  of  Vt,  born  Feb.  22,  1842,  was  reared  on  a 
farm.  At  16  years  of  age  he  began  learning  the  trade  of  a  millwright  and 
carpenter.  On  the  opening  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  he  enlisted  in  the  6th 
Vt  regiment,  and  was  wounded  in  both  shoulders  at  the  battle  of  Spottsyl- 
vania  Court  House.  Remained  in  the  army  4  years.  In  1869  came  to  Mon 
tana  via  the  river  route,  and  worked  at  his  trade  in  Helena  for  three  years, 
after  which  he  resided  on  Bear  Creek,  Gallatin  county,  for  6  years,  when  he 
erected  a  saw-mill  for  himself  on  Middle  Creek,  which  in  1883  cut  1,000,000 
feet  of  lumber. 

Amos  Williams,  born  in  111.  Dec.  21,  1840,  and  bred  a  farmer;  went  to 
the  Colorado  mines  in  1850  with  a  horse-team,  returning  to  Kansas,  and 
from  there  to  Mo.,  where  he  resided  until  1876,  making  a  journey  to  Texas 
in  the  mean  time.  In  the  year  mentioned  he  settled  on  160  acres  near 
Bozeman.  Married  Anna  Foxall  in  1868. 

M.  Witten,  a  native  of  Cal.,  born  Jan.  14,  1856,  lived  a  iarmer's  life  in 
Cal.  and  Or.,  and  came  to  Montana  in  1880,  locating  near  Gallatin  City,  on 
160  acres  of  government  and  80  acres  of  railroad  land,  raising  stock  and 
farming. 

Rufus  Smith,  born  in  Mo.  Feb.  16,  1855,  came  to  Cal.  when  an  infant,  by 
the  ocean  route.  Was  bred  a  farmer,  and  educated  at  Christian  college. 
Removed  to  Montana  in  1880,  and  located  near  Gallatin  City  on  a  farm. 

T.  T.  Callahan,  born  in  111.  Feb.  16,  1854,  removed  when  a  child  to  Ark. 
•with  his  parents,  and  was  reared  on  a  farm.  Went  to  Kansas  and  farmed 
for  two  years;  ^then  came  to  Montana  in  1880,  and  taking  320  acres  of  land 
at  the  Three  Forks,  engaged  in  stock-raising. 

W.  C.  Jones,  born  in  New  York  Sept.  25,  1830,  bred  on  a  farm,  migrated 
to  Iowa  at  the  age  of  24  years,  where  he  resided  4  years  and  went  to  St  Louis, 
where  he  was  for  5  years,  a.id  then  into  the  union  army  for  1^  years,  after 
which  he  took  a  beef  contract  from  the  government  at  Springfield,  111.  In 
1866  he  came  to  Montana  with  an  ox-team,  mining  in  Alder  gulch  until  1870, 


748  MINING  AND  CATTLE-RAISING. 

richer  men  to  increase  their  fortunes  indefinitely. 
An  effort  is  now  being  made  to  induce  the  govern- 
when  he  removed  to  Boulder  valley  and  became  an  owner  with  S.  B.  Rice  in 
the  silver  quartz  mines  Mono,  Boulder  Belle,  Montana,  Union,  and  Plymouth 
Rock.  The  Mono  yielded  66  ounces  to  the  ton,  and  was  bonded  for  $50,000. 
Married  Kate  Hay  ward  in  1852. 

John  Colburn,  born  iu  Sweden  Feb.  4,  1855,  immigrated  to  America  in 
1872,  and  went  directly  to  Colorado,  where  he  remained  in  the  mines  6 
years.  He  came  to  Montana  in  1878,  and  worked  at  Wickes,  where  he  pur 
chased  the  Little  Giant  mine  in  1882,  in  company  with  Roberts  and  Thurs- 
ton. 

Charles  Charlton,  native  of  Ohio,  born  March  23,  1817,  bred  on  a  farm, 
and  taught  the  trade  of  a  butcher.  Emigrated  to  Kansas  in  1855,  and  4 
years  after  by  horse-team  to  Colorado,  where  he  mined  until  1864,  when  he 
came  to  Montana.  After  a  season  at  Alder  gulch  resorted  to  his  trade  of 
butcher,  which  he  followed  at  Virginia  City  and  Bivens  gulch.  In  186G  re 
moved  to  Beaverhead  Valley,  and  secured  160  acres  of  land,  raising  horses 
and  cattle.  Married  Susannah  Pritchard  in  1844. 

William  Stodden,  born  in  England  Nov.  27,  1838,  came  to  the  U.  S.  in 
I860,  remaining  3  years  in  N.  Y.,  and  going  to  the  copper  mines  on  Lake  Su 
perior;  and  from  there  to  Colorado,  where  he  was  8  months  in  the  mines; 
and  then  to  Nevada,  from  which  state  he  returned  to  Montana  in  1865,  when 
he  settled  near  Dillon,  with  his  brother  Thomas  Stodden,  on  640  acres,  rais 
ing  stock. 

Ross  Degan,  born  in  Albany,  N".  Y.,  March  24,  1830,  enlisted  for  the  Mex 
ican  war  in  1848,  but  peace  being  declared,  was  not  sent  out.  Next  engaged 
to  go  whaling  for  Howland  &  Co..  which  service  carried  him  to  many  Pacific 
and  other  ports  for  4  years.  After  roaming  about  the  world  for  several  years 
more,  he  commanded  a  steamer  on  Lake  Michigan  2  seasons.  On  the  break 
ing  out  of  the  war  enlisted  in  the  3d  New  York.  Served  several  months  in 
that  regiment  until  commissioned  in  the  162d  New  York.  Fought  at  Big 
Bethel,  and  in  other  battles.  On  returning  to  Albany  went  into  the  produce 
business,  and  migrated  to  Montana  in  1866.  Tried,  first,  mining,  but  settled 
down  in  Helena  to  keeping  a  livery  and  feed  stable.  Has  been  city  marshal. 
He  secured  320  acres  of  land,  and  raised  horses  and  cattle.  Married  Rosa 
mond  Street  in  1860. 

George  Breck,  born  in  N.  H.  Oct.  8,  1852,  was  educated  at  Kimball 
Union  and  Dartmouth  colleges,  and  migrated  to  Montana  in  1870,  engaging 
in  merchandising  and  stock-raising.  He  had,  in  1884,  320  horses,  being  com 
pelled  to  sell  700  acres  in  Prickly  Pear  Valley  to  procure  a  larger  range 
somewhere  else  for  his  stock.  Kept  fine  stallions  and  brood  mares,  and 
raised  fast  roadsters. 

H.  Gleason,  born  in  N.  Y.  in  1824,  removed  to  Michigan  at  the  age  of  20, 
and  from  there  to  Minnesota,  soon  after,  where  he  resided  18  years,  in  hotel- 
keeping.  Migrated  to  Wisconsin,  and  to  Montana  in  1872,  by  the  river 
route.  Has  been  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Wisconsin,  a  constable,  deputy 
sheriff,  and  superintendent  of  the  county  farm  in  Lewis  and  Clarke  county. 
Owned  160  acres,  and  raised  grain  and  stock.  Married  Sarah  Ogden  in  1844; 
Caroline  Park  in  1846;  and  Anna  Payne  in  1866. 

James  A.  Smith,  born  in  Kirkville,  Bear  co.,  Mo.,  in  1848,  resided  there 
until  1864,  when  he  took  employment  on  a  steamboat  transporting  supplies 
to  the  federal  forces  at  Memphis  and  other  points  above  the  blockade.  In 
the  winter  of  1869  he  was  in  the  service  of  the  military  at  Fort  Belknap. 
In  1880  he  came  to  Fort  Benton,  and  from  there  returned  to  his  early  home, 
where  he  was  persuaded  to  study  law,  which  profession  he  practised  at 
Missoula. 

Emmerson  Hill,  born  in  Tenn.,  sent  to  school  at  Trenton,  Tenn.,  and  St 
Louis,  Mo.,  living  alternately  on  a  farm  aud  in  the  city,  came  to  Montana 


EARLY  FARMERS.  749 

ment  to  undertake  water  storage  for  the  improvement 
of  desert  lands. 

in  1881,  and  located  himself  at  Red  Rock,  in  the  dairying  business.     He 
warned  Margaret  Bess  in  1879. 

Joseph  Haines,  born  in  Mo.  in  1844,  was  brought  up  on  a  farm,  and  edu 
cated  at  McGee  college.  At  the  age  of  20  years  he  came  to  Montana,  min 
ing  at  Alder  gulch  and  Helena,  and  working  in  a  bakery  at  Blackfoot.  From 
that  he  went  to  livery-keeping,  and  to  stock-raising,  first  on  Sun  River  and 
again  on  the  Yellowstone.  He  accompanied  Gen.  Miles  on  his  campaign 
against  Lame  Deer,  being  in  the  battle.  He  prospected  over  a  great  extent 
of  country,  but  settled  finally  near  Red  Rock,  in  1878,  at  stock-raising.  He 
married  Mrs  Rose  Hoovis  in  1884. 

Thomas  T.  Taylor,  born  in  England  in  1840,  immigrated  to  Illinois  in 
1861,  and  came  to  Montana  in  18(56.  He  was  forced  to  fight  the  Indians 
from  Powder  River  to  the  Yellowstone  on  the  Bozeman  route.  He  settled 
at  Sheridan,  mining  in  the  vicinity  until  1873,  when  he  began  farming,  hav 
ing  between  300  and  400  acres,  well  stocked. 

Thomas  Uonegan  was  born  in  1847,  and  came  with  his  family  to  America. 
He  came  to  Montana  in  1865,  and  mined  most  of  the  time  until  1878.  He 
was  elected  assessor  for  Madison  co.  for  1871-2. 

John  Fenaluna,  born  in  England  in  1843,  came  to  the  U.  S.  and  Montana 
in  1864,  where  he  was  engaged  in  mining  at  Bannack  until  1881,  when  he 
preempted  160  acres  on  Horse  Prairie  and  began  stock-raising.  He  was  cor 
oner  of  Beaverhead  co.  when  the  Nez  Perces  raid  occurred. 

Among  the  settlers  of  Yellowstone  Valley  was  William  Arthur  Davis,  who 
was  born  in  Virginia  in  1845,  bred  a  farmer,  and  attended  the  common 
schools.  He  crossed  the  plains  to  California  in  1836,  and  returned  as  far  as 
Colorado  2  years  later,  mining  in  both  countries.  He  owned  some  shares  in 
the  town  of  Auraria,  which  he  sold  for  a  few  hundred  dollars  in  1SIJ'2,  enga 
ging  in  business  in  Nevada,  but  coming  to  Montana  in  1863,  where  he  mined 
in  all  the  principal  camps.  He  became  owner  in  the  Davis  lode  in  Madison 
co.,  which  carried  80  oz.  of  silver  to  the  ton;  but  resided  at  Riverside  in  Cus- 
ter  co.,  where  he  had  a  stock  rancho.  He  married  Minnie  Price  Ferral  in 
1879.  William  H.  Lee,  born  in  Ohio  in  1841,  was  brought  up  a  farmer,  with 
a  common-school  education.  He  immigrated  to  Montana  in  1863,  driving  an 
ox-team,  mined  for  2  or  3  years,  and  settled  on  some  land  near  Fort  Ellis, 
where  he  lived  during  1866-7.  Being  driven  from  here  by  the  military  au 
thorities,  he  went  lower  down  the  Yellowstone,  but  when  the  Crow  reserva 
tion  was  set  off  he  was  again  forced  to  move,  the  Indians  burning  his  barns 
and  hay  crop.  Again  he  went  to  the  Gallatin  country,  and  took  a  claim  3 
miles  west  of  Bozeman,  where  he  remained  until  1871,  when  he  returned  to 
Riverside,  Yellowstone  Valley,  and  became  engaged  in  the  cattle  business 
with  Nelson  Story.  He  was  married  in  1877  to  Viola  B.  Swan.  O.  Bryan 
was  born  in  Ohio  in  1854,  and  immigrated  with  his  father,  Henry  B.  Bryan, 
to  Colorado  in  1860,  where  he  remained  until  1862,  coming  that  year  to  Ban 
nack.  The  elder  Bryan  mined  until  1870  in  Bannack  and  Alder  gulch,  after 
which  he  settled  on  some  farming  land  in  Gallatin  Valley,  and  cultivated  it 
until  1875.  After  that,  father  and  son  mined  in  Emigrant  gulch  for  5  years, 
when  they  removed  to  Riverside  and  engaged  in  merchandising,  owning  be 
sides  160  acres  of  coal-land  in  Custer  co. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

1870-1888. 

CONDITION  OF  MONTANA  FROM  1870  TO  1880— COUNTIES  COMPARED— TOTAL 
PRODUCTION  IN  1888 — PRICE  OF  LABOR — RAILROAD  ERA — AGRICULTURE 
— LUMBERING — WAGES — TRANSPORTATION  COM  PANIES — COAL — LOSSES  IN 
CATTLE — MINING  DEVELOPMENT — Bum — PHILLIPSBURG — DEER  LODGE 
— HELENA — GREAT  FALLS — BENTON — EASTERN  MONTANA — MORAL  AND 
SOCIAL  CONDITION. 

THE  progress  of  Montana  in  mining,  as  indicated 
in  the  previous  chapter,  had  received  a  partial  check 
from  about  1870  to  1880.  The  reason  of  this  was 
that  surface  mining  had  declined,  the  placers  being 
exhausted,  and  deep  mining  had  not  yet  been  suffi 
ciently  developed  to  give  equal  returns.  There  were 
other  causes  operating  at  the  same  time,  such  as  the 
great  cost  of  transportation  of  machinery,  and  the 
financial  crisis  resultant  upon  the  suspension  of  Jay 
Cooke  &  Co.,  with  the  consequent  embarrassments  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  company,  to  whose  ad- 
'vent  in  the  territory  all  eyes  had  been  turned  in  hope. 

Neither  had  agriculture  advanced  materially;  for 
no  other  market  than  the  mines  could  be  reached  by 
wagons,  the  only  means  of  transporting  farm  products 
to  consumers.  Besides,  a  few  years  were  needed  in 
which  to  build  more  comfortable  houses,  erect  saw 
and  grist  mills,  fence  farms,  lay  out  roads,  start  schools 
and  churches,  and  set  in  motion  all  the  wheels  within 
wheels  which  move  the  complicated  machinery  of  so 
ciety.  Perhaps  from  having  so  long  observed  the 
processes  of  state  building,  I  have  come  to  render 
more  willingly  than  others  the  meed  of  praise  to  these 

1750) 


COUNTY  STATISTICS.  751 

men  of  sturdy  frames,  intelligent  brains,  and  deft 
hands  who  robbed  the  secret  treasury  of  nature  to 
spread  over  the  mountains  and  plains  thriving  cities 
and  happy  homes.  In  how  little  have  they  failed! 
Great  is  an  army  with  banners,  but  greater  is  a  host 
with  ploughs  and  picks.  One  destroys,  while  the 
other  creates. 

Time  enough  had  elapsed  between  1870  and  1880 
to  establish  the  comparative  capabilities  of  the  several 
counties l  when  the  railroad  era  dawned,  wrhich  solved 

1  Beginning  with  Missoula,  the  first  settled  and  organized,  and  the  most 
western,  it  contained  about  30,000  square  miles,  distributed  in  forest-crowned 
mountains  and  sunny  valleys,  affording  a  charming  variety  of  scenery,  and  a 
fortunate  arrangement  of  mineral,  agricultural,  and  grazing  lands.  About 
36.000  acres  were  occupied,  and  5,196  cultivated.  Its  principal  valley,  the 
Bitterroot,  contained  500  farmers,  and  would  support  four  times  as  many. 
It  had  8,000  horses,  19,000  cattle,  and  13,000  sheep.  It  produced  in  1884 
124,2-26  bushels  of  wheat,  and  281,312  bushels  of  oats;  made  30,000  pounds  of 
butter,  and  raised  large  quantities  of  all  the  choicest  garden  vegetables,  and 
800  pounds  of  tobacco,  besides  making  40,000,000  feet  of  lumber.  Its  popu 
lation  in  1880  was  2,537,  and  its  taxable  property  was  valued  at  $1347,189. 
Its  valuation  in  1885  was  over  $1,000,000.  Missoula,  the  county  seat,  situated 
on  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad,  near  the  junction  of  the  Missoula  and  Bitter- 
root  rivers,  had  2,000  inhabitants.  Its  public  buildings  were  a  substantial 
court-hourse,  a  union  church  for  the  use  of  several  congregations,  a  catholic 
convent,  a  large  flouring  and  saw  mill,  a  good  public  school-house,  2  newspaper 
offices,  and  a  national  bank  building.  The  mill  belonged  to  Worden  &  Co.,  and 
was  erected  in  1866,  40  by  40  feet,  3  stories  high,  with  2  run  of  stones,  and  cost 
$30,000.  It  ground  the  crop  of  1866,  10,000  bushels;  of  1867,  15,000  bushels; 
of  1868,  20.000  bushels;  of  1869,  20,000  bushels.  Its  capacity  was  400  sacks 
in  24  hours.  The  saw-mill  cut  2,000  feet  of  lumber  daily.  Deer  Lodr/e  Neiv 
Nortkicest,  Oct.  8,  1869.  At  Frenchtown,  18  miles  distant,  was  another 
flouring-mill  and  saw-mill  for  the  convenience  of  its  200  inhabitants  and  the 
farming  community  of  the  lower  valley.  iStrakorns  Montana,  64. 

The  lesser  settlements  were  Andrum,  Arlie,  Ashley,  Belknap,  Bigcut, 
Bitterroot  Creek,  Camas  Prairie,  Cantonment  Stevens,  Cedar  Junction,  Cedar 
Mouth,  Clarke  Fork,  Corno,  Corvallis,  Dayton  Creek,  De  Smet,  Duncan, 
Eddy,  Ellisport,  Ewartsville.  Flathead,  Flathead  Agency,  Flathead  Lake, 
Forest  City,  Fort  Missoula,  Fort  Owen,  Gird  Creek,  Grant  Creek,  Grass  Val 
ley,  Heron  Siding,  Hope,  Horse  Plains,  Hudson  Bay  Post,  Indian  Agency, 
Jocko,  Kayuse,  Kitchens,  Kootenai,  Koriaka,  Lavoy,  Louisville,  Loulou's 
Grave,  Mayville,  Missoula  River,  Paradise,  Pen  d'Oreille,  Pineland,  Quartz, 
Quartz  Creek,  Ravallia,  Rock  Island,  Ross  Hole,  Selish,  Skalkaho,  St  Ig 
natius,  Stephens'  Mill,  Stevensville,  Superior,  Superior  City,  Seventy-Mile 
Siding,  Thompson  Falls,  Thompson  River.  Tobacco  Plains,  Trading  Post, 
Trout  Creek,  White  Pine,  and  Windfall. 

Deer  Lodge  county,  also  west  of  the  Rocky  Mauntains,  and  the  second  set 
tled,  was  much  less  in  size  than  Missoula,  containing  6,500  square  miles,  but 
fully  equal  in  attractions  and  natural  wealth.  It  had  25,000  acres  under  im 
provement,  and  raised  130,000  bushels  of  grain  in  1878,  made  150,000  pounds 
of  butter,  produced  50,000  bushels  of  potatoes,  1,200,000  pounds  of  garden 
vegetables,  75,000  of  wool,  and  manufactured  1,000,000  feet  of  lumber.  Its 
population  was  9,000,  and  taxable  wealth  $2,341,268.  In  1884  its  live-stock 
aloue  was  valued  at  $1,000,000.  Deer  Lodge  City,  the  county  seat,  sit- 


752  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  transportation  problem  for  Montana.  The  Utah. 
Northern  branch  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  reached 

uated  on  the  east  side  of  .Deer  Lodge  River,  contained  1,200  inhabitants- 
It  is  the  commercial  and  educational  centre  of  a  large  area  of  mining  and 
farming  country.  It  had  a  fire  in  1872  which  destroyed  a  large  amount  of 
property,  and  caused  the  organization  of  a  fire  department.  Its  educational 
facilities  were  a  collegiate  institute,  erected  in  1878  at  a  cost  of  $22.000, 
a  graded  public  school,  and  a  catholic  boarding-school,  conducted  by  the 
sisters  of  charity.  The  Neiu  Northwest  newspaper,  not  excelled  by  any 
in  Montana,  was  published  here.  The  penitentiary  was  located  here.  The 
catholic,  episcopal,  and  presbyterian  churches  were  tasteful  and  creditable 
structures,  and  the  general  style  of  architecture  was  pleasing.  Seen  at  a 
proper  distance  for  perspective,  Deer  Lodge  presents  an  inviting  picture, 
with  a  mountain  background  contributing  to  its  scenic  effect;  nor  does  it 
disappoint  the  beholder  on  a  nearer  view.  Phillipsburg.  Pioneer,  Silver 
Bow,  Blackfoot,  New  Chicago,  McClellan,  and  Lincoln  all  became  towns 
of  some  consequence.  The  other  settlements  in  Deer  Lodge  county  are 
Baker's  Mill,  Bear  gulch,  Bear's  Mouth,  Beartown,  Black  Tail,  Boulder 
Creek,  Boulder  House,  Brown  gulch,  Cable,  Cariboo  gulch,  Casmark,  Clark 
Station,  Coberly's  Station,  Cottonwood  City,  Deep  gulch,  First  Chance. 
Flint  Creek  Valley,  Frederickson,  Georgetown,  Gold  Creek,  Got- 'Em-Sure, 
Greenwood,  Gwendale,  Harrisburg,  Helmville,  Henderson,  Henderson  gulch, 
Hope  Mine,  Humbug,  Jefferson  gulch,  Levengood,  Lincolnville,  McClellan 
gulch,  Morristown,  Pike's  Peak,  Race  Track,  Reynolds,  Rocker,  Saw  Pit, 
Scratch  Awl,  Silver  Lake,  Snatch  'Em,  Stone  (Station,  Stonewall  gulch, 
Stuart,  Sunset,  Sweetland,  Trarona,  Tower,  Vestal,  Warm  Springs,  Wash 
ington  gulch,  Williams,  Willow  Creek,  WTillow  Glen,  Yamhill,  and  Yreka. 

Silver  Bow  county,  cut  off  from  Deer  Lodge  in  1881,  had  a  -"Mall  area,  but 
a  po  pulatiou  of  14,000,  and  is  richer,  in  proportion  to  its  size,  ha  any  county 
in  Montana,  its  assessed  valuation  in  1884  being  $7,240,000.  It  .as  first  set 
tled  in  June  1864  by  placer  miners.  Ten  years  of  digging  ami  washing  ex 
hausted  the  deposits,  or  so  nearly  that  only  300  inhabitants  remained.  Quart- 
mining  was  begun  in  1875.  The  county  contained  in  1885  19  mills,  coiicen- 
trato  s,  and  furnaces,  which  give  employment  to  3,000  miners. 

Butte,  the  county  seat,  was  the  second  town  in  Montana.  It  had  an  altitude 
of  5,800  feet,  and  is  the  center  of  one  of  the  richest  silver  and  copper  districts 
in  the  world.  Population  in  1885  10,000,  with  3  banks,  the  eldest  being  that 
of  Clarke  &  Larabie,  the  others  Hoge,  Brownlee  &  Co.,  and  the  First  National, 
their  deposits  aggregating  $3,000,000.  It  had  school  property  valued  at 
§40,000,  supporting  a  corps  of  21  teachers;  besides  7  churches,  4  hospitals,  2 
fire  companies,  2  newspapers,  a  court-house  which  cost  §150,000,  an  opera- 
house  costing  $50,000,  water,  gas,  and  electric-light  companies,  and  the  usual 
number  of  secret  societies.  The  receipts  on  freights,  incoming  and  outgoing, 
were  over  $6,000.000  per  annum,  consisting  chiefly  of  outgoing  ore.  Buxton, 
Divide,  Feely,  French  gulch,  Grace,  Gunderson,  Lavell,  Melrose,  Mount 
Horeb,  Norwood,  Red  Mountain,  Walkerville,  and  Silver  Bow  are  the  other 
settlements  in  the  county. 

Choteau  county,  containing  27,380  square  miles,  the  first  inhabited  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  having  their  summits  for  its  boundary  on 
the  west,  and  the  vast,  unorganized  area  of  Dawson  county  on  the  east,  the 
British  possessions  on  the  north,  and  Lewis  and  Clarke  and  Meagher  counties 
on  the  south,  was  a  grazing  country,  with  a  few  agricultural  valleys  of  consid 
erable  extent,  the  stock-raisers  usually  cultivating  farms  also.  In  1884  its 
live-stock  was  valued  at  $2,000,000,  and  50,000  pounds  of  wool  sent  to  market. 
The  population  of  the  county  was  3,058. 

Fort  Benton,  the  county  seat,  was  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Missouri, 
and  consequently  a  place  of  importance.  To  this  point,  for  twenty  years, 
came  freight  worth  millions  of  dollars  annually,  and  from  it  departed  the 
treasure  of  the  mines.  It  was  also  the  depot  of  the  fur  trade  after  the  origi- 


COUNTY  STATISTICS.  753 

Helena,  then  the  principal  commercial  city  of  the  terri 
tory,  in  1881,  and  the  Northern  Pacific  reached  it  from 

nal  fort  or  fortifications  were  abandoned.  Before  the  opening  of  the  North 
ern  Pacific  railroad  fifteen  steamboats,  costing  $400,000,  were  employed 
carrying  freight  to  and  from  Benton.  These  boats  were  owned  by  several 
companies.  The  Coulson  line  lost  a  fine  steamer,  the  Montana,  in  a  storm, 
July  2,  1879.  The  Dakota  was  also  damaged.  Helena  Independent,  July  10, 
1879.  I.  G.  Baker  owned  the  Red  Cloud  and  Colonel  McLeod.  St  Louis  Times- 
Journal,  March  11,  1879.  The  Power  brothers  owned  the  Helena,  which 
was  snagged.  The  fmperial  was  wrecked  in  1867.  The  Peninah,  also,  was 
caught  at  this  spot  in  1879.  John  H.  Charles  was  superintendent  ef  the  line 
to  which  the  Helena  belonged.  Helena  HeraM,  Oct.  10,  1879.  A  company 
was  formed  in  Jan.  1879,  called  the  Missouri  River  Navigation  Company,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  complete  the  navigation  of  the  river  to  a  point  near 
Helena,  by  building  boats  to  run  above  and  below  the  falls,  and  a  portage 
around  this  obstruction.  The  directors  were  A.  Kleinschmidt,  A.  M.  Holter, 
A.  Sands,  J.  M.  Ryan,  Henry  Klein,  John  T.  Murphy,  T.  C.  Power,  C.  Keuck, 
H.  M.  Parchen;  J.  F.  Murphy,  president,  A.  Kleinschmidt,  vice-president,  E. 
W.  Knight,  treasurer.  The  N.  P.  R.  R.,  it  was  understood,  would  aid  the 
enterprise.  Congress  was  asked  for  appropriations,  and  did  appropriate 
§25,000  for  the  improvement  of  the  river  below  the  falls,  $20,000  to  improve 
it  above  the  falls,  $15,000  to  survey  the  Yellowstone,  and  $25,000  for  its  im 
provement.  Helena  ft/dependent,  March  13,  1879. 

In  1878  they  brought  9,500  tons  of  freight,  and  carried  away,  among  other 
things,  00,000  buffalo  robes  and  several  hundred  thousand  dollars'  worth  of 
furs.  The  fur  export  of  Montana,  in  fifteen  years  ending  in  1878,  was  valued 
at  $0,000,000.  The  population  of  Benton  was  1,618  in  1880.  The  Benton 
Record  was  published  at  this  place,  having  a  continued  and  prosperous 
growth.  The  settlements  made  in  Choteau  county  were  Arrow  Creek,  Bel- 
knap,  Belt  Creek,  Birch  Creek,  Blackfoot  Agency,  Camp  Cook,  Carroll,  Cow 
Island,  Fort  Assinaboine,  Fort  Belknap,  Fort  Browning,  Fort  Claggett,  Fort 
Hawley,  Fort  La  Barge,  Fort  Maginnis,  Highwood,  Judith,  Judith  Basin, 
New  Agency,  Old  Agency,  Piegan,  Ruter,  Sullivan,  Twenty-eight  Mile 
Spring. 

Beaverhead  county,  where  the  first  town  of  eastern  Montana  was  laid  off 
in  1862,  contains  4,230  square  miles.  More  than  any  other  part  of  Montana, 
it  reminds  the  traveller  by  its  nomenclature  of  the  journey  of  Lewis  and 
Clarke  in  1805,  containing  Horse  Prairie,  Willard  Creek,  Beaverhead  Rock, 
and  the  pass  by  which  these  explorers  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  is  a 
mountainous  district  interspersed  with  a  few  fertile  valleys,  and  furnishing 
excellent  stock-ranges  on  the  bench-lands  between  the  valleys  and  the  high 
ridges.  Its  population  was  less  than  3,000  in  1880.  In  1884,  its  taxable  prop 
erty  was  valued  at  $4,500,000.  The  number  of  farms  in  the  county  was  small. 

Bannack,  which  was  for  a  short  time  the  capital  and  the  metropolis  of 
Montana,  and  the  county  seat  of  Beaverhead,  was  later  but  a  small  town 
containing  250  inhabitants.  Glendale,  the  seat  of  a  large  mining  interest, 
had  in  1885  a  population  of  678,  and  Argenta  also  was  a  thriving  mining 
town.  The  county  seat  was  removed  to  Dillon,  which  as  a  business  centre 
ranked  next  after  Helena  and  Butte.  The  other  settlements  made  in  Beaver 
head  county  were  Allerdice,  Apex,  Barratts,  Beaverhead  Rock,  Burnt  Pine, 
Darling,  Dell,  Dewey's  Flat,  Edgerton,  Fairview,  Glen,  Glendale,  Grayling, 
Hecla,  Horse  Prairie,  Hot  Spring,  Lyon  City,  Mervenstoe,  Montana,  Pine 
Butte,  Poindexter,  Red  Rock,  Rock  Creek,  Ryan,  Soap  gulch,  Spring  Hill, 
Terminus  Creek,  Trapper,  Vipond,  Watson,  and  Willis. 

Madison  county,  rendered  forever  famous  as  the  district  of  country  con 
taining  the  Alder  gulch  of  world-wide  renown,  4,900  square  miles  in  extent, 
had  also  a  population  of  not  more  than  4,000  at  the  last  census.  It  is  a  county 
rich  in  resources,  chiefly  mineral,  although  agricultural  to  a  considerable  de 
gree.  Its  chief  export  was  gold,  while  silver,  copper,  lead,  iron,  marble,  coal, 
HIST.  WASH. — ;8 


754  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

east  and  west  in  1883.  The  completion  of  this  road 
was  celebrated  with  imposing  ceremonies  on  Septem- 

and  other  valuable  minerals  abound.  The  county  owned  in  1884  cattle, 
horses,  and  sheep  valued  at  $1,860,000,  and  had  10  saw-mills  cutting  1.000,000 
feet  of  lumber  yearly,  2  grist-mills  making  6,000  sacks  of  flour  annually,  be 
sides  raising  100,000  bushels  of  grain,  50,000  bushels  of  root  crops  and  pease, 
and  selling  5,000  beef-cattle. 

Virginia  City,  once  the  capital  of  Montana,  and  the  county  seat  of  Madi 
son  county,  had  in  1880  a  population  of  about  1,000,  and  more  business 
than  that  would  seem  to  indicate.  Virginia  had  telegraphic  communication 
with  Salt  Lake  and  the  east  in  1866.  John  Creighton  was  superintendent  of 
the  line.  It  was  extended  to  Helena  in  1867.  In  1878  the  leading  bank 
bought  .$400,000  worth  of  gold  bars  and  dust,  received  deposits  which  aver 
aged  §100,000  in  bank  constantly,  and  sold  $1,400,000  in  exchange.  The  pub 
lic  buildings  at  Virginia  are  handsome  and  costly.  The  public  school  build 
ing  cost  $12,000,  the  masonic  temple  $30,000,  the  court-house  $35,000,  and 
others  in  proportion.  There  were  three  churches,  catholic,  methodist,  and 
episcopal,  a  weekly  newspaper,  the  Madisonian,  and  a  daily  line  of  coaches 
connecting  it  with  other  business  centres.  The  first  masonic  organization  was 
at  Virginia  City  in  1863;  corner-stone  of  the  temple  laid  June  24,  1867. 
Nevada,  Montana,  and  Helena  lodges  followed,  and  a  grand  lodge  in  January 
1866;  John  J.  Hill  first  grand  master,  and  W.  F.  Sanders  grand  secretary. 
Virginia  Montana  Post,  Aug.  11,  1866. 

The  early  towns  and  settlements  of  Madison  county  were  Adobetown, 
Bagdad,  Cicero,  Crawford,  Daly,  Darmitzies,  Fish  Creek,  Gaffney,  Home  Park, 
Hot  Spring  Creek,  Iron  Rod,  Jefferson  Bridge,  Jefferson  Island,  Junction, 
Laurin,  Lewis,  Lower  Silver  Star,  McCarthy  Springs,  Meadow  Creek, 
Monida,  Monmouth,  Muriers,  Nevada,  Norwegian  gulch,  Parson's  Bridge, 
Pollinger,  Red  Bluff,  Rising  Sun,  Rochester,  Salisbury,  Sheridan,  Silver 
Springs,  Sterling,  Stone's  Precinct,  Summit,  Twin  Bridges,  Upper  Silver  Star, 
Warm  Spring  Creek,  Washington  Bar,  and  Wisconsin  Creek. 

Jefferson  county,  lying  north  of  Madison,  and  divided  from  it  by  the  Jeffer 
son  fork  of  the  Missouri,  contained  5,000  square  miles  and  2,500  inhabitants. 
It  was,  after  mining,  chiefly  a  dairying  county,  though  there  several  farming  set 
tlements  sprang  up  in  the  valleys  of  Prickly  Pear,  Boulder,  Crow,  Pipestone, 
and  other  streams.  In  1878,  50,000  tt>s  of  butter  and  20,000  Ibs  of  cheese 
were  produced.  The  farmers  raised  50,000  bushels  of  grain,  and  there  were 
about  10,000  acres  of  improved  lands.  The  saw-mills  in  the  county  cut  about 
1,500,000  feet  of  lumber.  The  stock  of  the  county  consisted  of  25,000 
range  cattle,  2,000  milch  cows,  10,000  horses,  and  15,000  sheep.  The  pioneer 
woollen-mill  of  Montana  was  established  in  Jefferson  county,  and  was  com 
pleted  in  1878.  Strnkorns  Montana,  67.  The  first  woollen-mill  begun  was 
at  Virginia  City  in  1877.  Mad/Ionian,  Oct.  27,  1877.  The  property  valuation 
of  the  county  in  1884  was  about  $1,000,000.  Radersburg,  situated  in  the 
valley  of  Crow  Creek,  near  the  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad,  is  the 
county  seat,  and  had  200  inhabitants  at  the  last  census.  The  towns  and  set 
tlements  made  in  Jefferson  county  are  Aurora,  Basin,  Basin  gulch,  Beaver 
Creek,  Beaver  Creek  Camp,  Beavertown,  Bedford,  Boulder  City,  Boulder 
Valley,  Cataract,  Cheatem,  Claggett,  Cold  Spring,  Comet,  Comet  Mine,  Crow 
Creek  City,  Eclipse,  Gregory,  Gregory  Mine,  Gregoryville,  Harrison,  Holter's 
Saw-mill,  Iron  Age,  Jefferson  City,  Jefferson  Island,  Keatingville,  Little 
Boulder,  McDaniel  Station,  Middle  Fork  Buffalo,  Milk  Ranch,  Mitchell,  Mon 
tana,  O'Neil's  Mine,  Whitman's  gulch,  Overland  gulch,  Parnell,  Pipestone, 
Prickly  Pear,  Remley,  Rocker  Mine,  Spokane,  Springville,  St  Louis,  Warm 
Springs,  Whitehall,  Wickes,  and  Woodville.  In  this  county  are  the  Boulder 
hot  springs  and  Clancy  warm  springs,  both  popular  resorts. 

Lewis  and  Clarke  county,  occupying  a  central  position,  although  com 
paratively  small  in  extent,  having  only  2,900  square  miles,  was  the  second  in 
population,  its  inhabitants  numbering  about  13,000,  and  its  assessed  valuation 


COUNTY  STATISTICS.  755 

ber  8th  at  Independence  Creek,  on  the  north  bank  of 
Deer  Lodge  River,  sixty  miles  west  of  Helena,  the 

being  in  1884  over  $8,000, 000.  Its  mines  have  already  been  spoken  of.  From 
135  farms  in  Prickly  Pear  Valley  was  harvested,  in  1878,  25,000  bushels  of 
wheat,  40,000  bushels  of  oats,  15,000  bushels  of  barley,  or  an  average  of  over 
500  bushels  of  grain  to  every  farm.  Besides  the  grain  crop,  7.000  tons  of  hay 
were  harvested,  over  3)0  tons  of  turnips  and  cabbages,  40,000  bushels  of  po 
tatoes,  and  15,000  bushels  of  pease.  The  county  grazes  30,000  cattle  and 
25,000  sheep,  the  wool  clip  from  18,000  head  being  83,000  pounds.  The  live 
stock  in  1884  was  valued  at  $1,000,000. 

Helena,  the  county  seat,  made  a  port  of  entry  in  1867,  and  also  the  capi 
tal  of  Montana,  was  in  all  respects  a  progressive  modern  town.  With  a  pop 
ulation  of  7,000  in  1883,  which  had  increased  from  4,000  in  1879,  its  four 
national  banks  had  on  deposit  $3,000,000,  and  sold  a  large  amount  of  exchange 
annually,  besides  purchasing  gold-dust  and  silver  bullion  to  the  amount  of 
about  $2,000,000.  The  first,  or  Montana  National  Bank,  was  instituted  June 
24,  1872.  James  King  president,  Charles  E.  Duer  cashier,  D.  S.  Wade, 
W.  E.  Gillette,  William  Chumasero,  James  Fergus,  and  George  Steele 
directors.  There  was  a  board  of  trade  organized  in  1877,  a  U.  S.  assay  office 
erected  in  1875,  and  a  fire  department  organized  in  1869.  The  occasion  of 
this  early  creation  of  a  fire  department  was  the  occurrence  of  a  fire  in  Feb. 
1869,  which  destroyed  $75,000  worth  of  property.  Helena  Fire  Company 
No.  1  organized  in  April,  and  elected  E.  H.  Wilson  president,  A.  O'Con- 
nell  vice-president,  J.  J.  Lyon  secretary,  Lee  Watson  treasurer,  R.  S.  Price 
foreman,  Henry  Klein  1st  assistant,  and  W.  F.  Stein  2d  assistant.  Helena, 
Montana  Pout,  April  16,  1869.  On  the  28th  of  the  same  month,  and  before 
the  department  had  provided  itself  with  fire-extinguishing  apparatus,  another 
greater  fire  occurred,  destroying  over  $500,000  worth  of  the  business  portion 
of  the  town.  Id.,  April  30,  1869.  In  Oct.  1871  a  third  conflagration  destroyed 
$150,000  worth  of  property.  Helena  Gazette,  Oct.  3,  1871.  In  Sept.  1872 
another  fire  consumed  $175,000  worth  of  property.  In  March  1873  a  fifth  fire 
was  started,  it  was  supposed  by  incendiaries,  which  destroyed  a  large  and  old 
mercantile  house.  Helena  Herabt,  March  20,  1873.  A  sixth  conflagration 
in  Jan.  1874,  also  the  work  of  an  incendiary,  consumed  $850,000  worth  of 
property.  Deer  Lodge  New  Northwest,  Jan.  17,  1874.  In  this  fire  was  con 
sumed  the  archives  and  library  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Montana,  which 
had  been  instituted  8  years  previous.  An  appeal  was  immediately  made  by 
the  officers  to  the  people  to  repair  as  far  as  possible  the  loss,  which  was  done. 
Helena  Herald,  Dec.  30,  1875,  and  Jan.  27,  1876. 

^  historical  society  was  founded  in  1864.  There  were  masonic  orders  and  a 
temple  whose  corner-stone  was  laid  in  1872,  with  appropriate  ceremonies;  odd 
fellows'  societies,  with  a  temple  founded  in  July  1879,  on  the  60th  anniversary 
of  oddfellowship  in  America;  and  a  library  association  founded  in  1868,  by 
subscriptions,  the  proceeds  of  lectures,  and  other  means.  The  first  officers 
were  James  King  president,  C.  Hedges  vice-president,  J.  L.  Douglas  recorder 
and  secretary,  Charles  W.  Fowler  corresponding  secretary,  S.  H.  Bohen 
treasurer,  J.  W.  Whitlatch,  Wilbur  F.  Sanders,  J.  H.  King,  T.  E.  Tutt,  and 
William  Rumsey  board  of  trustees.  The  contribution  of  books  in  the  first 
few  weeks  of  its  existence  was  744,  besides  a  large  number  of  manuscripts  and 
unbound  books.  Helena  Montana  Post,  Dec.  11  and  25,  1868.  There  was  a 
hospital  and  asylum  sustained  by  the  cabholic  church,  a  society  of  the  knights 
of  Pythias,  a  Hebrew  benevolent  association,  excellent  graded  public  schools, 
a  catholic  academy  for  young  ladies,  opened  in  Sept.  1872,  a  classical  school,  a 
Rocky  Mountain  club;  one  catholic  and  five  protestant  churches,  German 
turn-vereins,  and  musical  societies,  extensive  water-works  supplied  by  pure 
mountain  springs,  electric  lights  and  fire-alarms;  iron-foundries,  wagon-fac 
tories,  saw,  grist,  and  planing  mills,  telephonic  communication  with  mining 
camps  50  miles  distant,  two  excellent  daily  newspapers,  and  a  general  style 
of  comfortable  and  even  elegant  living  vividly  in  contrast  with  the  cabins  of 


756  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

place  being  named  Gold  Spike  Station,  in  commemo 
ration  of  the  joining  of  the  last  rails  by  a  spike  of  the 

its  founders  twenty  years  ago.  Near  Helena  are  some  celebrated  hot  springs, 
with  ample  accommodations  for  visitors.  All  the  lines  of  travel  centre  at 
Helena.  300  buildings  were  erected  in  1884,  at  a  cost  of  over  $1,000,000. 

The  first  towns  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  county  were  Belmont,  Bird  Tail, 
Canon  Creek,  Carpenter  Mine,  Oro  Fino  gulch,  Cartersville,  Clark  Station, 
Clarkston,  Crown  Butte,  Dearborn,  Eagle  Rock,  Fergus'  Station,  Flat  Creek, 
Florence,  Florence  Springs,  Fort  Shaw,  Georgetown,  Gloster,  Keller's  Ranch, 
Kennedy's  Station,  Marysville,  Millersville,  Mount  Pleasant,  Mullan,  Nelson 
gulch,  Park  City,  Piegan,  Peagan-Power,  Rock  Creek,  Rocky  Gap,  Silver 
City,  Shafer's  Mill,  Silver  Creek,  South  Fork,  Spring  Creek,  Square  Butte, 
St  Louis  gulch,  St  Peter's  Mission,  Sun  River,  Three-Mile  Creek,  Trinity, 
Unionville,  Virginia  Creek,  Voight's  Mines,  Dry  gulch,  Warner's  Ranch, 
Whippoorwill,  Willow  Creek,  and  Wolf  Creek. 

Gallatin  county,  containing  10,000  square  miles,  was  divided  between  the 
two  valleys  of  the  Gallatin  and  Yellowstone  rivers,  and  the  Belt  and  Snowy 
ranges  of  mountains.  The  three  forks  of  the  Missouri  met  within  its  bounda 
ries,  making  a  remarkable  and  beautiful  combination  of  river  and  meadow 
scenery  with  bench-land  and  mountains.  The  basin  formed  by  the  Gallatin 
Valley,  from  the  earliest  settlement  of  eastern  Montana,  has  been  a  favorite 
resort  for  home-seekers  with  agricultural  tastes.  From  its  lesser  altitude  it 
is  more  generally  productive  than  the  country  to  the  west,  and  became  more 
thickly  settled,  having  a  population  of  3,500  at  the  census  of  1880.  It  pro 
duced  1,000,000  bushels  of  grain  in  a  season,  with  other  vegetable  products 
in  proportion.  Farm  machinery  of  the  best  models  was  employed.  Six 
flouring-mill  converted  wheat  into  flour.  The  first  flour  made  for  market 
in  eastern  Montana  was  in  1866,  at  the  Gallatin  Mills  of  Cover  &  Mc- 
Adow  of  Bozeman.  Virginia  and  Helena  Post,  Oct.  23,  1866.  Like  every 
part  of  Montana,  it  was  also  a  good  grazing  country,  and  supported  large  herds 
upon  its  native  grasses.  In  1878  there  were  45,000  cattle,  8,000  horses,  and 
10,000  sheep  on  the  ranges.  There  were  marketed  5,000  cattle,  100,000 
pounds  of  butter  and  cheese,  besides  a  large  amount  of  wool.  The  taxable 
property  of  the  county  was  valued  at  $1,386,340  in  1878.  The  stock  alone 
of  Gallatin  county  in  1882  was  valued  by  the  assessor  at  $1,225,800.  In  1884, 
the  assessed  valuation  of  the  county  was  §6,255,910. 

Bozeman,  the  county  seat,  was  founded  in  July  1864  by  J.  M.  Bozeman, 
the  pioneer  of  the  Bozeman  route  to  the  North  Platte.  It  had  a  fine  situation 
at  the  foot  of  the  Belt  range  on  the  west,  and  a  population  in  1884  of  2,500, 
whose  substantial  residences  attested  the  prosperity  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
whose  water-works  were  an  evidence  of  their  enterprise.  Its  public-school 
building  was  the  finest  in  Montana,  costing  $18,000,  and  its  churches,  library 
association,  court-house,  masonic  temple,  hotels,  and  other  public  buildings 
were  all  witnesses  of  the  progressive  character  of  the  people.  The  Gallatin 
Valley  Female  Seminary,  under  the  charge  of  L.  B.  Crittenden  of  the  pres- 
byterian  church,  is  deserving  of  mention.  Previous  to  the  opening  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  railroad  a  line  of  coaches  connected  it  with  the  capital,  and 
another  line  with  the  Utah  Northern,  via  Virginia  City.  Its  nearness  to  the 
national  park,  as  well  as  many  other  points  of  scenic  interest,  renders  Boze 
man  a  well-known  and  popular  resort  of  tourists.  The  weekly  Aidant-Courier 
was  the  early  local  journal.  The  noted  Emigrant  hot  springs,  yielding  10,000 
barrels  of  hot  water  daily,  are  situated  4  miles  from  Findlay  station.  The 
Apollinaris  springs  are  situated  10  miles  from  Riverside  station,  on  the  branch 
road  to  the  national  park.  The  other  early  settlements  of  Gallatin  county 
were  Allny's  Ranch,  Benson's  Landing,  Benson's  Store,  Big  Timber,  Bottler's 
Ranch,  Bridger  Creek,  Catfish  Hotel,  Central  Park,  Cooke,  Cowans,  Daw's 
Store,  Dornix,  Eagle  Nest,  East  Gallatin,  Elliston,  Elton,  Emigrant,  Emi 
grant  gulch,  Fort  Ellis,  Gallatin  City,  Gardiner,  Hamilton,  Havana,  Hayden, 
Hillsdale,  Keiser's  Creek,  Livingston,  Madison,  Mammoth  Hot  Springs, 


COUNTY  STATISTICS.  757 

chief  Montana  product.  The  event  of  the  opening 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  was  of  greater  interest  than 

Meadow  Ranch,  Melville,  Middletown,  Mission,  Penwells,  Reedpoint,  Rich- 
land,  Riverside,  Salesville,  Shields,  Shields'  River,  Springdale,  Spring  Hill, 
Sweet  Grass,  Three  Forks,  Trout  Rapids,  Tucker's  Post,  White  Beaver, 
White  Beaver  Creek,  Willow  Creek,  Windville,  and  Yellowstone  City. 

Custer  county  occupied  in  1884  an  area  of  25,500  square  miles,  divided 
by  the  Yellowstone  River,  which  is  navigable,  and  watered  by  numerous 
large  and  small  tributaries.  It  formerly  included  the  Crow  reservation,  a 
5,000,000-acre  tract,  which  was  surrendered  to  the  government  in  1882,  and 
thrown  open  to  settlement  in  1883.  Several  mountain  ranges  separated  the 
principal  valleys  and  gave  diversity  to  the  scenery.  It  was  possessed  of  a  supe 
rior  soil,  and  the  bench-lands  furnish  every  variety  of  nutritious  native  grasses, 
including  blue-grass,  wild  rye,  and  wild  oats.  The  lower  portion  of  the  Yel 
lowstone  Valley  was  favored  by  a  climate  where  corn,  grapes,  hops,  melons, 
and  fruits  of  various  kinds  nourish.  Although  later  settled,  it  soon  ranked  as 
the  second  agricultural  county  of  Montana.  Its  taxable  property  in  1878  was 
valued  at  $329,231,  with  a  population  of  2,510  in  1880.  In  1884  its  live 
stock  alone  was  assessed  at  $7,150,000.  Miles  City,  the  county  seat,  situated 
near  the  mouth  of  Tongue  River,  contained  in  1880  a  population  of  2,500, 
and  was  a  thriving  town.  In  1878  there  were  thirty-five  arrivals  of  steamers 
with  freight  for  the  citizens  and  Fort  Keogh,  two  miles  distant.  Public 
schools,  two  daily  and  weekly  newspapers,  a  church,  theatre,  banks,  and  large 
business  houses  were  a  proof  of  its  prosperity.  The  incipient  towns  of  Custer 
county  were  Ada,  Ainslie,  Beeman,  Beach,  Big  Horn,  Birney,  Brandenburg, 
Buell,  Bull  Creek,  Canyon,  Coal  Bank,  Coulson,  Crow  Agency,  Custer,  Cutler, 
Danton,  Dickson,  Etchetah,  Etna,  Fallen,  Faurie  Point,  Foley,  Forsyth,  Fort 
C.  F.  Smith,  Fort  Custer,  Fort  Keogh,  Fort  Sarpy,  Fort  Tullock,  Grayclifle, 
Guyville,  Greycliffe,  Hathaway,  Horton,  Huntley,  Howard,  Hyde,  Iron  Bluff, 
Kirbyv-lle,  Keith,  Kendrick,  Lignite,  Little  Missouri,  Little  Porcupine,  Mil 
ton,  Morgan,  Myres,  Nolton,  Old  Fort  Alexander,  Palisades,  Peasefort,  Pom- 
pey's  Pillar,  Porcupine,  Powder  River,  Rimrock,  Riverside,  Rosebud,  Rouse's 
Point,  Sadie,  Sand  Creek,  Sanders,  Savage,  Spring  Creek,  Stoneville,  Straders, 
Sherman,  Terry,  Lilly,  and  Young's  Point. 

The  Yellowstone  Valley  was  late  in  being  settled,  on  account  of  Indian 
hostilities.  In  1873  Nelson  Gage  made  himself  a  home  below  the  Old  Crow 
agency,  and  quite  away  from  any  settlements.  He  erected  substantial 
buildings,  surrounding  them  with  palisades,  having  2  underground  forts 
flanking  his  dwelling,  and  connecting  with  it  by  tunnels.  He  was  the  pio 
neer  farmer  arid  stockman  of  the  Yellowstone  Valley,  according  to  the  Bow 
man  Courier  and  Deer  Lodge  New  Northwest,  Oct.  22,  1875.  The  Montana 
Pioneer  Association  was  not  formally  organized  until  1884,  when  only  300 
pioneers  were  in  attendance. 

Yellowstone  county,  organized  out  of  Gallatin  and  Custer  in  1883,  com 
prised  a  part  if  not  all  of  the  former  Crow  reservation.  The  county  town, 
Billings,  was  founded  in  1882,  and  had  a  rapid  growth.  It  contained  400 
buildings  in  1883,  among  which  were  a  brick  church  of  good  size,  a  bank 
building,  several  wholesale  merchandise  establishments,  three  hotels,  a  com 
modious  school-house,  the  round-house  and  shops  of  the  Northern  Pacific  rail 
road,  at  the  terminus  of  the  Yellowstone  division,  and  three  newspapers,  one 
a  daily.  This  phenomenal  growth,  seldom  seen  except  in  mining  towns,  might 
have  quickly  disappeared  were  it  not  that  the  country  surrounding  Billings 
was  of  the  greatest  fertility,  with  an  irrigating  ditch  nearly  forty  miles  in 
length,  which  supplied  water  to  100,000  acres  in  the  Clarke  fork  bottoms;  be 
sides  which  the  mining  districts  of  Clarke  fork,  Barker,  and  Maginnes  were 
tributary.  Coal  mines  also  existed  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Billings, 
distant  thirty  miles.  The  whole  country  within  a  radius  of  100  miles  was 
tributary  to  this  little  metropolis.  It  was  one  of  the  two  principal  shipping 
points  for  cattle  sold  to  eastern  dealers.  In  the  autumn  of  1882,  16,000  head 


758  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

simply  a  commercial  one,  because  it  carried  out  the 

were  loaded  on  cars  to  be  taken  to  Chicago,  in  1883,  20,000,  and  in  1884  nearly 
35,000.  There  was  abundant  water-power  in  the  Yellowstone  to  supply  un 
limited  manufactories.  A  wool  market  was  early  established,  and  in  May 
1883  a  shipment  was  made  of  60,000  pounds  of  silver  bullion  from  the  Barker 
district.  The  early  towns  and  settlements  of  Yellowstone  county  were  few, 
owing  to  its  occupation  by  the  Crows.  They  were  Carlton,  Huntley,  Junc 
tion,  Merrill,  Park  City,  Rapids,  and  Stillwater. 

Meagher  county  extended  from  the  Missouri  River  on  the  west  to  the 
Musselshell  River  on  the  east,  and  was  sandwiched  between  Gallatin  and 
Choteau  counties.  It  contained  20,000  square  miles,  embracing  mountain 
ranges  clothed  in  forest,  and  veined  with  mineral  deposits,  high  grazing  lands, 
and  low  agricultural  lands.  The  valleys  of  the  Judith,  Musselshell,  Smith, 
and  Missouri  rivers  aggregated  2,000  square  miles.  The  population  of  the 
county  in  1880  was  2,743.  In  1884  its  live-stock  was  valued  at  $7,000,000; 
$750,000  being  in  horses.  The  mines  of  Meagher  county  by  1886  produced 
over  $10,000,000  in  gold  from  the  gulches,  while  the  deposits  of  silver,  lead, 
copper,  gold,  and  coal  waited  longer  the  open-sesame  of  capital.  Mineral 
springs  of  great  medicinal  virtues  were  found  in  this  county,  the  chief  of 
which  was  the  white  sulphur  group  on  the  north  fork  of  Smith  River. 

The  county  seat  was  removed  from  Diamond  City  to  White  Sulphur  Springs, 
a  noted  health  resort,  in  1879,  by  a  general  election.  Neither  were  towns  of  any 
size.  A  newspaper,  the  Montana  Husbandman,  was  published  at  Diamond.  In 

1882  Townsend  was  laid  out  near  the  Missouri  River  crossing  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  railroad,  and  is  the  nearest  station  to  White  Sulphur  Springs.     In 

1883  it  had  a  population  of  350,  and  being  the  centre  of  a  large  and  produc 
tive  farming  and  mining  region,  its  prosperity  was  assured.     The  other  early 
settlements  of  Meagher  county  were  Andersonville,  Arrow  Creek,  Bercail, 
Big  Elk,   Brassey,   Brewer's   Springs,   Camp  Baker,   Camp  Lewis,   Canton, 
Canyon  Ferry,  Cavetown,  Centreville,  Chestnut,  Clendenniug,  Cooper  gulch, 
Dennison,  El  Dorado,  El  Dorado  Bar,  Flatwillon,  Fort  Logan,  French  Bar, 
Gardenland,  Garrison,  Graperaiige,  Hellgate,  Hoover,  Hopely  Hole,  Hughes- 
ville,  Judith  Junction,  Langford  City,  Linn's  Cave,  McKewen's  Bar,   Mag 
nolia,  Magpie,  Maiden,  Martinsdale,  Merino,  Neihart,  Nelsonville,  New  York, 
Oka,  Olden,  Old  Trading  Post,  Onoudaga,  Oregon,  Otter,  Overland,  Parker, 
Philbrook,  Rader's  Ranch,  Readsfort,  Saw-mill,  Stanford,  Thompson  gulch, 
Townsend,  Trout,  Creek,  Ubet,  Unity,  Utica,  Whites,  Wolfdene,  and  Yago 
gulch. 

Dawson  county,  owing  to  Indian  wars  and  other  causes,  remained  unor 
ganized  down  to  a  late  period,  and  although  having  an  area  of  32,000  square 
miles,  and  good  stock  ranges,  contained  in  1880  only  about  200  inhabitants. 
It  occupied  the  northwestern  portion  of  Montana,  and  was  divided  by  the 
Missouri  River,  and  crossed  by  the  Yellowstone,  Musselshell,  and  Milk 
rivers.  Its  assessable  property  in  1884  was  about  $2,500,000.  Glendive, 
the  principal  town,  was  founded  in  1881,  and  named  by  Lewis  Merrill  after 
Glendive  creek,  which  received  its  name  from  Sir  George  Gore,  who  wintered 
in  Montana  in  1856.  It  was  the  first  point  where  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad 
touched  the  Yellowstone,  and  the  terminus  of  the  Missouri  division.  It  occu 
pied  a  sloping  plain  facing  the  river  on  the  south  bank,  and  was  sheltered  from 
the  winds  by  an  abrupt  range  of  clay  buttes,  resembling  those  of  the  Bad 
Lands,  300  feet  in  height,  and  half  a  mile  distant.  The  soil  about  Glendive, 
the  altitude  of  which  is  2,070  feet  above  sea-level,  was  a  rich  sandy  loam,  and 
produced  plentifully  of  grains  and  vegetables.  The  railroad  company  made 
extensive  and  substantial  improvements,  and  the  town  soon  had  1,500  inhabi 
tants,  a  bank,  schools,  churches,  hotels,  and  a  weekly  newspaper.  The  settle 
ments  early  made  in  Dawson  county  were  Allard,  Cantonment,  Fort  Galpin, 
Fort  Kipp,  Fort  Peck,  Gray's  Wood-yard,  Hodges,  Iron  Bluff,  McClellan, 
Milton,  Newlon,  Old  Fort  Charles,  Old  Fort  Union,  Stockade,  Trading  Post, 
and  Wolf  Point. 


TERRITORIAL  STATISTICS.  759 

original  Jeffersoriian  idea  of  a  highway  to  the  mouth 

Taking  1883  as  a  point  in  time  when  the  railroad  era  was  fairly  begun  in 
Montana,  twenty  years  after  the  discovery  of  Alder  gulch,  we  have  the  coun 
try  producing,  aside  from  its  minerals,  745,500  bushels  of  wheat,  1,614,000 
bushels  of  oats,  besides  large  crops  of  barley,  potatoes,  and  garden  vegeta 
bles;  and  owning  74,560  horses,  5,254  mules,  21,000  milch  cows,  378,813 
stock  cattle,  524,440  sheep  from  which  2,637,000  pounds  of  wool  were 
shipped.  Of  these,  50,000  cattle  and  10,000  sheep  were  sent  to  market. 
The  value  of  the  stock  on  the  ranges  was  $16,867,972.  The  sales  aggregated 
between  two  and  two  and  a  half  million  dollars,  besides  those  consumed  at 
home.  The  value  of  the  stock  raised  brought  the  income  of  Montana  from  live 
stock  alone  up  to  $3,000,000.  Montana  Husbandman;  Portland  West  Slwre, 
March  1884.  The  increase  from  this  kind  of  property  being  rapid,  the 
total  value  in  the  autumn  of  1885  is  put  down  at  $30,000,000.  With  her 
bread  and  meat  raised  entirely  within  her  own  borders,  with  the  ques 
tion  of  cheap  and  quick  transportation  settled,  and  with  millions  com 
ing  in  for  beef,  mutton,  wool,  butter,  lead,  silver,  and  gold,  nothing  was 
lacking  but  an  honest  and  careful  administration  of  county  and  territorial 
affairs  to  place  Montana  in  a  position  to  be  admitted  to  the  union,  and  to  take 
rank  at  once  as  a  wealthy  state.  Although  still  too  soon  to  look  for  manu 
factures  of  importance,  there  was  every  facility  for  their  maintenance  in  the 
water,  forests,  salt,  iron,  copper,  wool,  lime,  coal,  marble,  hides,  and  other 
materials.  Helena  turned  out  Concord  coaches  and  excellent  farm-wagons. 
The  annual  report  of  the  auditor  of  Montana  for  1880  gives  18  grist-mills, 
manufacturing  147,000  sacks,  or  588,000  pounds,  of  flour;  57  saw-mills,  cut 
ting  20,952,000  feet  of  lumber;  3  foundries,  making  284  tons  of  castings;  11 
wagon-factories,  manufacturing  23  carriages,  20  of  which  were  made  at 
Helena;  42  carpenters'  shops,  and  16  saddlers'  shops;  with  an  aggregate  of  all 
amounting  to  $45,500.  Lime-works,  tanneries,  furniture-shops,  dairies,  etc., 
are  not  enumerated.  Population,  which  was  first  of  all  needful,  was  quoted 
in  1880  at  39, 157,  but  soon  rapidly  returning  to  the  60,000  of  the  flush  mining 
times  of  18o5-6. 

In  1886  the  territorial  auditor,  J.  P.  Woolman,  reported  4,115,457  acres 
of  land  under  improvement  in  Montana,  valued  at  $9,898,470;  and  33,954 
town  lots  improved,  valued  at  $8,997,460;  or  $18,895,930  as  the  value  of  real 
estate,  not  including  mining  ground.  In  the  thirteen  counties  there  were 
127,748  horses,  valued  at  $4,333,595;  663,716  cattle,  valued  at  $13,347,815; 
968,298  sheep,  valued  at  $1,952,728;  2,121  mules  and  asses,  valued  at  $116,- 
145;  and  18,837  hogs,  valued  at  $75,713;  or  stock  worth  $19,825,999.  Tha 
capital  invested  in  manufactures  was  $296,700;  in  merchandise,  $3,493,976. 
The  value  of  personal  property  in  the  territory  was  $6,615,405.82.  Altogether, 
the  real  and  personal  property  of  the  territory,  as  assessed  in  1886,  was  $55,- 
076,871.53,  an  increase  since  1883  of  $10,378,410.25.  There  were  16  flour- 
mills  and  91  saw-mills  in  the  territory;  158  blacksmith  shops,  5  foundries, 
21  silversmiths'  shops,  and  43  reduction  furnaces.  The  flour  manufactured 
was  141,500  sacks;  the  number  of  feet  of  lumber  sawed  was  94,777;  castings 
made  at  the  foundries,  2,605;  value  of  saddlers'  work  in  27  shops,  $221,000; 
the  bullion  produced  in  the  furnaces  was  21,481,615  pounds,  valued  at  $18,- 
542,498.85.  The  coal  produced  in  the  territory  from  16  mines  was  1,563,350 
bushels. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  production  of  flour,  lumber,  and  coal  in  1886 
was  insignificant  in  proportion  to  other  sources  of  wealth.  Although  lum 
ber  and  coal  production  has  increased,  the  same  disproportion  has  continued 
to  the  present  date,  the  railroads  importing  these  commodities,  and  export 
ing  such  as  are  more  abundantly  produced  in  the  territory.  From  the 
report  of  Gov.  White  made  in  1889,  and  acknowledged  to  be  imperfect,  it 
appears  that  there  were  in  1888  4,882  farms  in  Montana,  and  that  on  2(5,155 
acres  were  raised  770,200  bushels  of  wheat,  or  between  28  and  29  bushels  to 
the  acre.  On  84,978  acres  were  raised  3,026,572  bushels  of  oats,  or  between 


760  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

of  the    Columbia,  and  thence  to  China.     No  other 

35  and  36  bushels  to  the  acre.  Over  half  the  total  amount  of  grain  raised 
was  produced  in  the  two  valleys  of  Bitterroot  and  Gallatin.  This  was  not 
alone  because  of  the  greater  fertility  and  better  facilities  for  irrigation,  but 
because  those  valleys  lie  contiguous  to  mining  centres  which  furnish  markets 
for  farm  productions. 

Owing  to  heavy  losses  in  cattle  and  other  stock  sustained  in  the  severe 
winter,  of  1887,  the  increase,  except  in  sheep,  has  been  slight,  the  showing  in 
1888  being  142,040  horses,  an  increase  of  only  14,256  in  two  years;  while 
in  cattle  there  was  still  a  loss  of  175,249;  but  in  sheep  there  had  been  a  gain 
of  185,473.  The  wool  clip  of  1888  reached  ten  million  pounds,  and  sold  for 
about  $1,600,000.  The  same  year  Montana  exported  and  consumed  beef, 
mutton,  live-stock,  hides,  pelts,  lumber,  coal,  and  farm  products  of  the  value 
of  $30,000,000.  Add  to  this  $40,487,000  in  gold,  silver,  lead,  and  copper 
produced  in  1888,  and  we  have  over  $70,000,000,  which,  divided  per  capita 
among  her  population  of  140,000,  would  give  every  inhabitant  the  sum  of 
$500,  which  is  a  higher  standard  of  wealth  than  that  attained  by  the  major 
ity  of  commonwealths. 

This  abundance  does  not  come,  as  we  have  seen,  from  the  agricultural  re 
sources  of  the  state,  which  are  still  undeveloped,  but  from  its  mines.  The 
principal  mineral  lodes  as  at  present  developed  are  in  Silver  Bow,  Deer  Lodge, 
Lewis  and  Clarke,  Beaver  Head,  and  Madison  counties,  although  minerals 
exist  in  almost  every  part  except  the  most  eastern.  There  are  in  operation 
in  1889,  10  gold-mills,  18  silver-mills,  7  lead-smelters,  8  copper-smelters,  and 
25  concentrators,  the  combined  capacity  of  which  is  5,000  tons  per  diem,  and 
as  soon  as  the  Anaconda  new  smelter  is  completed,  7,000  tons.  The  number 
of  men  directly  employed  in  mining  is  estimated  at  10,000,  and  number  of 
persons  indirectly  supported  by  mining  and  its  cognate  industries,  75,000. 
The  dividends  paid  by  mining  companies  in  1889  amounted  to  $4,000,000. 

The  production  of  lumber  from  98  millsfor  1888  was  67,474,575  feet,  arid 
for  1889,  150,000,000  feet,  all  of  which  was  consumed  in  the  territory,  a  proof 
of  rapid  building  and  other  improvements.  The  value  of  this  product  at  $15 
per  thousand  was  $22,500,000.  The  area  of  timbered  lands  in  Montana  is 
variously  estimated  at  from  34,000  to  40,000  square  miles.  The  increasing 
use  of  wire  fencing,  of  coal  and  coke  instead  of  charcoal  in  smelting-furnaces, 
and  of  coal  by  the  railroads,  will  enable  the  state  to  preserve  its  timber  sup 
ply  for  a  much  longer  period  than  it  otherwise  would.  The  forests,  however, 
have  suffered  heavy  losses  by  fires  during  the  dry  summer  weather,  when 
Indians,  hunters,  tourists,  teamsters,  and  prospectors,  by  carelessness  in  leav 
ing  camp-tires,  cause  the  destruction  of  more  timber  than  would  supply  the 
whole  population  for  a  generation. 

Wages  in  Montana  were  high,  even  at  this  period,  bricklayers  receiving 
from  $5  to  $6  per  day;  stone-masons,  $5;  plasterers,  $6;  carpenters,  $3.50  to 
$5;  miners,  $3.50;  and  tradesmen  generally  from  $3.50  to  $5.  Teamsters 
were  paid  $75  by  the  month;  male  cooks,  from  $50  to  $100  per  month,  and 
all  domestic  service  proportionately  high;  prescription  clerks,  $100  per 
month;  dry-goods  clerks,  $(55  to  $125;  bank  clerks,  $100  to  $125;  stenog 
raphers  and  type-writers,  $100;  male  school-teachers  and  principals,  $75  to 
$150;  female  teachers,  $50  to  $75;  printers,  45c  and  50c  per  M;  book 
keepers,  $75  to  $150. 

'The  laws  of  Montana,'  says  Gov.  White,  'are  especially  in  the  inter 
ests  of  wage-workers.  They  give  them  preference,  and  make  their  wages  a 
lien  for  all  sums  earned  sixty  days  prior  to  any  assignments  to  the  extent  of 
$200.'  The  same  preference  is  given  to  claims  for  wages  against  the  estate 
of  deceased  persons,  coming  first  after  funeral  expenses,  expenses  of  adminis 
tration,  arid  legal  allowance  to  the  widow  and  minor  children;  also  in  case 
of  execution,  attachments,  and  writs  of  a  similar  nature  issued  against  per 
sons  or  corporations.  The  constitution  adopted  in  1889  also  has  an  article  in 
the  interest  of  labor,  as  follows:  'The  legislative  assembly  may  provide  for 


RAILROADS.  761 

route  or  road  was  ever  the  theme  of  so  much  argu 
ment,  eloquence,  and  poetry.2 

The  advent  in  the  territory  of  the  Union  Pacific 
and  Northern  Pacific  gave  a  wonderful  impetus  to 
every  branch  of  industry,  and  encouraged  the  con 
struction  of  other  lines.  In  1889  there  are  three 
transcontinental  railroads  within  its  boundaries,  each 
doing  a  profitable  business.  Numerous  short  branches 
or  feeders  have  been  extended  to  mining  centres  or 
agricultural  valleys,  and  several  local  roads  are  rapidly 
being  constructed  by  home  companies.3  The  third  of 

a  bureau  of  agriculture,  labor,  and  industry,  to  be  located  at  the  capital,  under 
the  control  of  a  commissioner  appointed  by  the  governor,  subject  to  the  ap 
proval  of  the  senate. . .  .It  shall  be  unlawful  for  the  warden  or  other  officer 
of  any  state  penitentiary  or  reformatory  institution  in  the  state  of  Montana, 
or;for  any  state  officer,  to  let  by  contract  to  any  person  or  persons  or  corpora 
tion  the  labor  of  any  convict  within  said  institutions.' 

2  The  general  government  has  done  very  little  for  Montana  in  the  matter 
of  roads  and  routes.     Ill  1864  congress  made  a  small  appropriation,  and  sent 
an  expedition  from  Sioux  City  by  the  way  of  the  Niobrara  and   the  Black 
Hills  to  Montana,  under  the  charge  of  Capt.  Sawyer,  who  that  year  escorted 
a  considerable  train  of  immigrants  to  the  gold  mines.     He  came  into  the  old 
immigrant  road  near  Red  Buttes,  and  left  it  near  the  head  of  Big  Horn  river, 
trevelling  to  Virginia  City  by  the  route  afterwards  known  as  the  Bozeman 
road,  which  the  Indians  finally  caused  to  be  closed.     The  money  appropriated 
for  improving  the  Missouri  and  Yellowstone  rivers  in  more  recent  years  has 
been  almost  wholly  expended  beyond  the  confines  of  Montana.     Some  money 
was  used  in  improving    the  lower    Yellowstone,    and   also  Dauphin's  and 
Drowned  Man's  rapids  of  the  Missouri,  200  or  300  miles  below  Fort  Benton. 
A  small  amount  was  expended  in  1882  by  Capt.  Edward  Maguire,  U.  S.  En 
gineers,  above  the  Falls  of  Missouri,  but  to  little  effect,  owing  to  meagreness 
of  the  appropriation.     The  Missouri  Navigation  Company,  formed  in    1879 
with  the  design  of  navigating  the  river  above  the  Falls,  never  carried  out  its 
plans,  although  a  steamboat  was  placed  upon  that  portion  of  the  river  in 
1883.     The  Benton  Transportation  Company's  line  plies  on  the  Upper  Mis 
souri  between  Bismarck,  Dakota,  and  Fort  Benton,  and  for  many  years  has 
been  the  only  form  of  steam  transit  in  the  Upper  Missouri  country.     It   has 
a  remarkable  record,   never  having  had  a  passenger  lost  or  maimed  on  its 
boats.     In  1887,  lip  to  the  middle  of  August,  38  up  trips  had  been  made,  and 
16,750,000  pounds  of  freight  carried,  valued  at  $1,500,000.     The  down  freight 
of  800,000  pounds  was  valued  at  $800,000.     Number  of  passengers  carried, 
700.     The  same  company  does  business  between  Bismarck  and  Sioux  City. 
The  Yellowstone  is  sometimes  navigated  as  far  west  as  Billings,  but  naviga 
tion  is  impracticable  upon  it  except  during  the  months  of  June  and  July. 
Competition  with  the  N.  P.  R.   R.,  which  runs   for  several  hundred  miles 
along  the  river,  would  be  unprofitable,  and  no  boats  are  built  exclusively  for 
this  river.     The  tonnage  of  the  Missouri  river  in   1888  amounted  to  4,000 
tons,  1,000  of  which  was  in  exports  of  wool,  hides,  and  furs. 

3  The  home  companies  which  completed  their  roads  before  1889  were  the 
Montana  Central  and  Montana  Union.     The  Montana  Central  company  was 
organized  by  C.  A.  Broadwater,  backed  financially  by  the  St  Paul,  Minneap 
olis,  and  Manitoba  company.    The  Montana  Union  is  a  later  enterprise.    The 
former  connects   with  the  St  P.  M.  &  M.  Co.'s    road  at   Great   Falls,  and 


762  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

those  was  the  St  Paul,  Minneapolis,  and  Manitoba 
railroad,  running  from  St  Paul,  Minnesota,  to  Great 
Falls,  Montana,  with  the  intention  of  extending  its 
line  to  the  lower  or  northern  end  of  Puget  Sound. 

o 

So  true  is  it  railroads  create  the  business  they  thrive 
upon  that  each  of  all  those  in  Montana  were  earning 
good  receipts.  The  imports  into  Montana  by  the 
Northern  Pacific  in  1888  were  132,696  tons;  the  ex 
ports,  100,181  tons.  The  business  of  the  Union 
Pacific  was  55,833  tons  imports,  and  47,990  tons  ex 
ports,  the  local  business  of  handling  ores,  coal,  lumber, 
and  merchandise  not  being  included  in  the  tonnage, 
but  which  far  exceeds  the  through  freight  in  amount. 
The  value  of  the  exports  from  Montana  in  1888  were 
reported  by  the  governor,  "  at  a  very  conservative  es 
timate,"  as  being  $45,750,000.  These  consisted  of 
gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  beef-cattle,  horses,  sheep, 
wool,  hides,  pelts,  etc. 

One  of  the  latest  developed  resources  of  Montana  is 
coal,  which  until  the  advent  of  railroads  could  not  be 
profitably  mined.  It  is  now  known  that  along  the 
eastern  bases  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  coal  of  excel 
lent  quality  exists  in  practically  inexhaustible  quan 
tity.  The  mines  on  Rocky  Fork,  in  Park  county,  in 
1888  produced  500  tons  per  day;  those  of  Sand 
Coulee,  in  Cascade  county,  500  tons;  and  those  of 
Timberline,  in  Park  county,  200  tons  daily.  Choteau, 
Beaver  Head,  and  Gallatin  counties  are  also  rich  in 

runs  to  Helena  and  Butte,  with  a  branch  from  Silver  City  to  Marysville,  in 
Lewis  and  Clarke  county.  The  Montana  Union  runs  from  Garrison,  on  the 
N.  P.  R.  R.,  to  Butte,  with  a  branch  from  Silver  Bow  to  Anaconda.  The 
roads  under  construction  in  1888  were  the  Niehart  branch  of  the  Montana 
Central,  50  miles;  the  Northern  Pacific  and  Montana,  from  Gallatin  to  Butte, 
70  miles;  Elkhorn  branch  of  N.  P.  R.  R.,  20 miles;  from  Missoula  to  Idaho, 
N.  P.  R.  R.,  HOmiles;  Sappington  to  Red  Bluff,  20  miles;  Harrison  to  Poney, 
10  miles;  Helena  to  Granite  Quarry,  2  miles;  total,  283.5  miles.  The  roads 
surveyed,  but  not  commenced,  were  the  Manitoba  Extension  from  Great  Falls 
to  Missoula,  125  miles;  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Co.,  from  Idaho 
boundary  to  Missoula,  115  miles;  N.  P.  R.  R.  branches,  from  Billings  to 
Fort  Benton,  200  7iiiles;  branch  to  Castle  Mountain,  65  miles;  Big  Horn  and 
Southern,  115  miles;  Billings  and  Clarke's  Fork,  60  miles;  Garrison  to  Mis- 
soula,  80  miles;  Missoula  to  Idaho  boundary,  1 10  miles;  total,  870  miles. 


MINING.  763 

coal.  The  output  during  the  year  ending  June  30, 
1889,  was  118,000  tons,  and  this  amount  was  expected 
to  be  doubled  in  1890. 

The  most  serious  drawback  to  the  general  prosper 
ity  of  the  last  decade  was  the  great  loss  of  cattle  in 
the  extraordinarily  severe  winter  of  1886-7.  The 
previous  season  had  been  one  of  unusual  drought,  in 
which  large  areas  of  forest  were  burned  over,  destroy 
ing  timber  to  a  large  amount,  and  adding  by  heat  and 
smoke  to  the  discomfort  of  men  and  animals.  This 
was  followed  by  terrible  winter  storms,  high  winds, 
deep  snows,  and  extreme  cold,  prevailing  for  a  period 
long  enough  to  destroy  cattle  valued  at  several  mil 
lion  dollars.  The  loss  resulted,  as  such  losses  usually 
do,  in  better  provision  for  the  support  and  safety  of 
herds  during  these  occasional  inclement  seasons.  The 
increase  of  stock  on  the  ranges  since  1886-7  has  not 
yet  brought  the  number  up  to  the  previous  amount, 
judging  from  the  assessor's  returns,  although  it  is 
probable  that  with  so  many  railroads  carrying  stock 
out  of  the  territory  fewer  remain  upon  the  ranges 
than  heretofore. 

Mining  continues  to  be  the  leading  industry  of  the 
Montana  people.  Notwithstanding  the  low  price  of 
silver,  copper,  and  lead,  an  ever-increasing  amount  of 
capital  has  sought  investment  in  mines,  giving  them 
a  remarkable  development  from  1886  to  1889.  In 
1883  a  table  prepared  from  official  returns  gave  the 
amount  of  gold  and  silver  produced  in  the  United 
States  at  more  than  two  billions  of  dollars.  It  placed 
California  first,  with  an  accredited  product  of  over 
one  billion.  Montana  came  third  in  the  list,  with  a 
trifle  more  than  $468,000,000,  as  a  total  of  the  pro 
duction  of  its  mines  for  twenty  years,  an  average 
of  $23,400,000  annually.  The  output  of  1887  was 
about  $30,000,000,  and  that  of  1888-9,  $41,000,000, 
which  makes  Montana  the  leading  mining  state  of  the 
union.  The  single  camp  or  mining  town  of  Butte,  in 
Silver  Bow  county,  where  are  located  silver  and  cop- 


764  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

per  mines,  and  which  produced  $1,000,000  in  1880, 
increased  its  product  to  $23,000,000  in  1888.  Owing 
to  a  fall  in  the  price  of  copper,  the  output  of  this  dis 
trict  in  1889  will  not  be  valued  at  over  $18,000,000, 
but  the  mines  seem  inexhaustible. 

Butte,  which  fifteen  years  ago  was  a  small  placer- 
mining  village  on  a  mountain-side,  is  to-day  the  lead 
ing  town  of  Montana  in  population,  having  30,000 
inhabitants,  and  is  the  first  mining  camp  in  the  world, 
with  handsome  business  houses  and  elegant  residences. 
To  the  workmen  in  its  mines  and  smelters  is  paid 
$500,000  per  month  in  wages,  its  more  than  a  hun 
dred  smoke-stacks,  ever  pouring,  sending  out  day  and 
night  great  volumes  of  dense  smoke  which  testify 
to  the  ceaseless  industry  of  the  place. 

The  Anaconda,  which  was  at  first  worked  for  silver, 
is  now  the  most  celebrated  copper  mine  on  the  Amer 
ican  continent,  and  with  the  other  mines  in  this  dis 
trict,  and  one  or  two  others,  furnishes  one  third  of  the 
dividends  paid  on  mining  property  in  ten  states  and 
territories  having  dividend-paying  mines.4  The  Ana 
conda  was  visited  by  a  fire,  which  broke  out  Novem 
ber  23,  1889,  in  the  adjacent  St  Lawrence  mine,  and 
was  communicated  by  a  cross-cut  to  the  Anaconda  on 
the  500-foot  level,  cutting  off  from  escape  a  body  of 
miners  on  the  800-foot  level,  who  perished  miserably, 
as  did  four  others  who  attempted  their  rescue.  The 
mines  were  closed  to  extinguish  the  fire,  but  in  Jan 
uary  1890  they  were  still  burning.  The  destruction 
of  the  timbers  in  the  several  levels  will  occasion  seri 
ous  caving-in  of  the  walls,  and  a  very  large  loss  to 
the  owners.  The  city  of  Butte  sustained  a  loss  of 
$350,000  by  fire  in  September  1889,  adding  another 
to  the  curiously  coincident  conflagrations  of  this  year 
in  the  northwest.5 

4  The  total  amount  of  dividends  paid  in  1887  by  the  ten  mining  states  and 
territories  was  $5,111,894,  of  which  Montana  furnished  one  fourth,   livport 
of  Helena  Board  of  Trade,  1887,  p.  14. 

5  Among  the  prominent  citizens  of  Butte  is  Dr  E.  D.  Leavitt,  a  native  of 
New  Hampshire.    He  is  a  graduate  of  the  Wesleyan  University  of  Middle  town, 


PROMINENT  CITIZENS  OF  BUTTE.  766 

Phillipsburg,  in  Deer  Lodge  county,  is  another 
great  mining  camp.  The  Hope  silver  mine  is  the 
oldest  in  Montana,  having  been  opened  in  1866,  and 

Conn.,  and  Harvard  Medical  College.  After  passing  three  years  in  Colorado, 
beginning  with  the  Pike's  Peak  excitement  of  1859,  in  1802  he  removed  to 
Montana,  where  he  has  ever  since  resided,  being  now  a  permanent  resident 
of  Butte,  and  giving  his  sole  attention  to  his  large  and  increasing  practice. 
In  1876  he  was  nominated  by  the  republicans  as  delegate  to  congress.  In 
1888  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Medical  association  of  Montana.  Dur 
ing  1888  and  1889  he  has  been  and  is  at  present  health-officer  of  Butte.  By 
Gov.  Leslie  he  was  lately  appointed  one  of  the  board  of  territorial  medical 
examiners.  Few  men  in  southern  Montana  are  more  widely  respected  either 
professionally  or  for  their  unselfish  devotion  to  the  interests  of  their  adopted 
state. 

John  L.  Murphy  was  born  in  Platte  co.,  Mo.,  in  1842,  and  educated  in  a 
private  school.  At  the  age  of  17  years  he  went  to  Denver,  where  he  was 
clerk  in  a  store  for  a  year  and  a  half,  after  which  he  went  into  business  for 
himself.  He  took  a  situation  subsequently  as  an  agent  of  Holladay's  express, 
but  finally  purchased  teams,  and  began  freighting  across  the  plains  to  Colo. 
In  1864  he  came  to  Virginia  City,  Montana,  with  a  train  loaded  with  goods, 
removing  in  1865  to  Helena,  and  being  also  largely  interested  in  transpor 
tation  throughout  the  territory.  He  is  principal  of  a  mercantile  firm  doing 
business  in  Helena,  Deer  Lodge,  and  Fort  Benton. 

A.  G.  Clarke,  born  at  Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  in  1822,  remained  in  that  state 
until  19  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  St  Joseph,  Mo.,  to  engage  in  mercan 
tile  pursuits.  In  1864  he  came  to  Virginia  City,  Mont.,  bringing  a  stock  of 
hardware,  and  opening  a  store  at  that  place.  In  1865  he  removed  to  Helena 
and  established  a  hardware  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Clarke  & 
Conrad,  which  in  1866  became  Clarke,  Conrad,  &  Miller,  but  after  a  time 
Clarke,  Conrad,  &  Curtin.  Mr  Clarke  is  also  interested  in  an  extensive 
dry  goods  business,  and  in  stock-raising. 

J.  S.  Hammond  was  born  in  Abington,  Mass.,  in  1844,  and  immigrated 
to  Cal.  with  his  father's  family  in  1862,  where  he  engaged  in  teaching  in 
San  Joaquin  co.  He  subsequently  attended  the  state  normal  school,  grad 
uating  from  that  institution  in  1868,  soon  after  which  he  was  appointed  prin 
cipal  of  the  Stockton  high  school,  which  position  he  held  for  4  years,  when 
he  resigned  to  take  a  course  of  medical  lectures,  having  been  reading  medi 
cine  during  his  years  of  teaching.  He  graduated  from  Cooper  medical  insti 
tute  of  San  Francisco  in  1873,  since  which  date  he  has  practised  his  profession. 
In  1885  he  settled  permanently  in  Butte. 

George  W.  Irwin  was  born  in  Chicago,  III.,  in  1844.  He  was  the  son 
of  a  railroad  contractor,  and  lived  in  many  places  east  and  west.  In  1858 
he  went  to  Kansas,  and  in  1863  came  to  Virginia  City,  Montana.  Three 
years  later  he  removed  to  Deer  Lodge,  where  he  was  appointed  U.  S.  collec 
tor  of  internal  revenue.  In  1876  he  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  U.  S.  district 
court,  which  office  he  filled  until  1881  in  Deer  Lodge,  but  the  office  being 
removed  to  Butte,  he  removed  with  it.  In  1882  he  was  elected  sheriff  of 
Silver  Bow  co.  for  one  term.  In  1889  he  was  appointed  U.  S.  marshal  for 
Montana  by  President  Harrison.  He  was  a  member  of  the  vigilance  commit 
tee  of  1863,  and  has  had  mining  interests  in  the  territory  from  about  that 
period,  being  thoroughly  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  his  adopted  state. 

Charles  S.  Warren  was  born  in  La  Salle  co.,  111.,  Nov.  20,  1847.  He  was 
a  son  of  S.  B.  Warren,  born  in  Cold  Spring,  Putnam  co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1813, 
whose  English  grandfather  settled  there  in  1744.  C.  S.  Warren  received  a 
common  school  education,  and  when  15  years  of  age  went  to  Colorado,  but 
returned  to  Illinois  the  same  year  and  entered  the  union  army,  serving  the 
132d  and  147th  111.  vol.  infantry,  being  discharged  as  first  sergeant  of  co.  C 


766  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

successfully  worked,  the  ore  being  of  the  free-milling 
kind,  the  greater  operations  of  getting  silver  out  of 
base  and  refractory  ores  having  to  wait  for  the  ad- 

of  the  latter  regiment  at  Savannah,  Ga,  Jan.  20,  1866.  In  April  following 
he  started  for  Montana,  arriving  in  August  at  Virginia  City  by  bull-train. 
Going  to  Helena,  Deer  Lodge,  and  French  Gulch,  in  Silver  Bowco. ,  he  mined 
for  5  years.  He  served  as  deputy  sheriff  and  sheriff  for  6  years  in  Deer 
Lodge  co.  In  1872  he  married  Miss  Mittie  Avery,  of  Silver  Bow,  and  on  the 
expiration  of  his  term  of  office  removed  to  Butte,  where  he  has  his  perma 
nent  residence,  and  is  engaged  in  various  enterprises.  He  was  the  first  police 
magistrate  of  Butte,  clerk  of  the  district  court  for  5  years,  and  deputy 
internal  revenue  collector  under  T.  P.  Fuller.  In  1877,  when  a  volunteer 
company  was  organized  at  Butte  to  defend  the  settlements  from  the  Nez  Per- 
ces  under  Chief  Joseph,  he  was  made  1st  lieut  of  the  company  under  Capt.  W. 
A.  Clark.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Inter-Mountain  newspaper,  in 
which  he  still  retains  an  interest,  and  owns  in  the  Amy,  Silversmith,  and  Poor- 
man  mines.  In  1886  he  was  elected  department  commander  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  in  Montana.  He  ran  for  mayor  of  Butte  on  the  repub 
lican  ticket,  which  was  defeated;  and  one  month  later  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  state  constitutional  convention.  He  is  also  the  Montana  member  of 
the  national  republican  committee. 

C.  F.  Lloyd  was  born  at  Guttenberg,  Sweden,  in  July  1851,  and  came 
with  his  parents  to  the  United  States  when  a  year  old,  being  brought  up  in 
Wisconsin  and  Iowa.  In  1869  he  was  appointed  a  cadet  at  West  Point, 
graduating  from  there  in  1873.  He  was  assigned  to  duty  in  the  west,  being 
stationed  at  various  posts  until  1883,  when  he  resigned  to  accept  the  position 
of  manager  of  the  Northwestern  Forwarding  Co.  in  Butte.  He  is  the  owner 
also  of  a  rancho  2  miles  from  Butte,  which  he  regards  as  his  home. 

James  W.  Forbis  was  born  in  Platt  co.,  Mo.,  in  1859,  and  came  to  Mon 
tana  with  his  father  in  1864,  who  was  the  pioneer  agriculturist  of  the 
territory,  settling  on  a  farm  4  miles  from  Helena  in  1865  where  James  was 
brought  up,  receiving  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Helena.  In  1881 
he  removed  to  Butte  and  commenced  the  study  of  the  law  in  the  office  of 
Judge  Knowles,  one  of  the  ablest  members  of  the  Montana  bar.  He  was  ad 
mitted  to  practice  in  1884,  and  has  devoted  himself  to  his  profession  ever 
since.  He  served  a  term  as  member  of  the  city  council,  and  in  1885  was 
nominated  by  the  democratic  party  for  city  attorney,  but  the  ticket  was 
defeated. 

Hon.  Lee  Mantle  was  born  at  Birmingham,  Eng.,  Dec.  13,  1854,  soon 
after  the  death  of  his  father.  His  mother  became  a  convert  to  the  mormon 
faith,  and  came  with  her  children  to  Salt  Lake  City,  where,  discovering  that 
she  had  been  grossly  deceived  by  the  mormon  missionaries,  she  renounced 
their  religion.  Her  condition  was  an  unhappy  one,  and  her  children  were 
forced  to  labor  for  their  support  as  soon  as  old  enough  to  perform  any  kind 
of  service.  Lee  worked  on  farms  for  his  board  at  first,  and  then  for  small 
wages,  never  being  sent  to  school  a  day  in  his  life,  all  his  book-knowledge 
being  acquired  by  night  study  at  home.  In  1872  he  went  to  Idaho,  and 
drove  a  team  for  B.  F.  White,  afterwards  governor  of  Montana.  Returning 
to  Utah,  he  was  given  a  position  as  line-repairer  for  the  Western  Union  tele 
graph  co.,  while  in  this  situation  learning  to  be  an  operator,  and  being  given 
charge  of  the  office  at  Corinne.  In  1877  he  came  to  Butte,  and  acted  as 
agent  for  Wells,  Fargo,  &  Co.  until  1880,  when  he  established  an  insurance 
and  real  estate  business.  He  is  interested  in  various  mining  companies,  and 
was  one  of  the  founders  and  the  manager  of  the  Inter- Mountain,  the  most 
prominent  republican  newspaper  in  Montana.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first 
city  council  elected  in  Butte,  and  in  1880  was  elected  to  the  territorial  legis 
lature,  and  reflected  in  1884,  being  chosen  speaker  of  the  house  by  the 
unanimous  vote  of  the  republican  members,  who  were  in  a  majority. 


MINES.  767 

vent  of  railroads.  The  original  Hope  mill  of  ten 
stamps  is  still  pounding  out  the  precious  metal,  and 
paying  regular  dividends  in  the  midst  of  its  over 
shadowing  rivals.  The  corporation  owning  it  is  the 
St  Louis  and  Montana  company,  the  stock  in  which 
is  held  principally  in  St  Louis.  The  most  important 
group  of  mines,  although  not  the  oldest,  is  the  Gran 
ite  Mountain  group,  discovered  in  1872,  but  not  profit 
ably  developed  until  about  1884.  The  principal  mine 
is  the  Granite  Mountain,  now  producing  more  silver 
than  any  in  the  world.  It  is  stocked  for  $10,000,000, 
and  also  owned  in  St  Louis.  Although  so  recently 
developed,  it  had  paid  in  dividends  to  its  stockholders, 
in  November  1889,  $7,600,000,  or  ten  dollars  per 
share  on  400,000  shares  of  a  par  value  of  $25.6 

Next  in  importance  to  this  group  of  mines  is  the 
West  Granite  group,  opened  in  1886,  and  owned  by 
a  Montana  company,  of  which  J.  K.  Pardee  was  in 
1887  general  manager.7  Money  for  the  first  develop 
ment  of  the  mine  was  raised  by  the  sale  of  30,000 
shares  at  a  dollar  a  share.  A  number  of  other  com 
panies,  St  Louis  and  Philadelphia  corporations,  own 
mines  in  this  district.8  The  town  of  Phillipsburg  was 
named  for  Phillip  Deidesheirner,  famous  for  his  con 
nection  with  mining  on  the  Comstock.  The  camp  has 
about  300  population. 

Other  towns  in  this  county  depending  upon  mining 
are  in  the  full  tide  of  prosperity  in  1889.  Anaconda,9 

6  Much  credit  is  due  to  Charles  Clark,  former  superintendent  of  the  Hope 
mine,  and  now  one  of  the  principal  owners  of  Granite  Mountain,  for  persist 
ence  in  developing  this  mine.     He  was  succeeded  in  the  management   by 
Frank  L.  Perkins,  and  more  recently  by  John  W.  Plummer. 

7  The  officers  were  A.  M.  Holier,  prest,  Thomas  Cruse,  vice-prest,  C.  K. 
Wells,  sec.,  J.  K.  Pardee,  general  manager.     Trustees,  S.  T.  Hauser,  Samuel 
Word,  H.  M.  Parchen,  T.  J.  Lowrey,  Thomas  Cruse,  J.  K.  Pardee,  A.  M. 
Holter,  A.  A.  McDonald,  and  Ed.  I.  Zimmerman.     The  property  is  capital 
ized  at  $10,000,000. 

8  The  Granite  Belle  is  a  St  Louis  corporation.     The  Speckled  Trout  group 
dates  back  to  1874,  and  was  opened  by  the  Northwest  Mining  company,  a 
Philadelphia  concern,  in  which  Charlemagne  Tower  and  Gen.  A.  B.  Nettleton 
were  largely  interested.     The  Speckled  Trout  mine  was  not  worked  for  some 
time,  and  is  now  under  lease  to  the  Algonquin  company,  managed  by  J.  K. 
Pardee. 

•  W.  L.  Hoge  was  born  in  Illinois  in  1846,  and  removed  with  his  father 


768  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

Deer  Lodge,  and  Drummond  may  be  mentioned.  Deer 
Lodge  is  less  important  as  a  mining  town  at  present 
than  as  the  seat  of  the  United  States  penitentiary, 
the  only  federal  building,  except  the  assay-office,  in 
Montana.  It  is,  however,  in  the  midst  of  ruining 
districts,  and  derives  support  from  them.10  A  private 
institution  of  learning  called  the  Montana  college11 
is  located  at  Deer  Lodge.  The  population  is  about 
1,000. 

The  Helena  mining  district  is  the  third  in  impor 
tance  in  Montana,  containing  several  dividend-paying 
mines,  of  which  the  Drum  Lummond  is  the  most 
prominent,  and  dividing  $100, 000  12  quarterly  among 
its  share-holders.  The  Drum  Lummond  is  a  gold 
mine,  and  is  situated  at  Marysville,  twenty  miles  in  a 
northwest  direction  from  Helena.  The  Helena  and 
Northern  railroad,  a  remarkable  piece  of  engineering, 

to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  in  1857.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  that  city 
and  on  graduating  entered  a  bank  to  learn  the  business.  In  1875  he  went 
to  Salt  Lake  City,  where  he  was  teller  in  a  bank  until  1882,  when  he 
organized  the  banking-house  of  Hoge,  Brownlee,  &  Co.,  of  Butte.  The  fol 
lowing  year  he  removed  to  Anaconda  and  organized  the  banking-house  of 
Hoge,  Daly,  &  Co.,  which  was  changed  to  the  1st  National  bank  in  1889.  He 
was  the  first  mayor  of  Anaconda. 

lt  E.  L.  Bonner,  a  native  of  N.  Y.,  and  educated  there,  was  born  in  1834, 
and  in  1857  came  to  the  Pacific  coast,  settling  in  Oregon.  In  1866  he  brought 
a  stock  of  goods  to  Missoula,  Montana,  since  which  time  he  has  been  in  busi 
ness  in  this  territory.  In  1872  he  established  the  mercantile  house  of  E. 
L.  Bonner  &  Co.  in  Deer  Lodge,  and  in  1874  the  Bonner  Mercantile  Company 
of  Butte.  His  home,  however,  is  at  Deer  Lodge,  where  he  gives  personal 
attention  to  his  business. 

11  D.  J.   McMillan  was  born   in  Tennessee  in  1846,  removing  with  his 
father  to  Carlinville,  111.,  in  1854,  where  he  was  educated.     In  1862  he  en 
tered  the  union  army,  and  served  three  years,  after  which  he  was  engaged  in 
teaching  in  111.  until  1873,  when  he  went  to  Utah  and  organized  and  con 
ducted  a  number  of  mission  schools  for  a  period  of  10  years.     In  1883  he  was 
elected  the  first  president  of  Montana  College,  in  which  office  he  remains. 
In  1889  he  took  part  in  politics  on  the  republican  side,  during  the  movement 
for  statehood.     As  a  speaker  he  is  logical,  forcible,  and  witty. 

12  For  the  month  of  September  1889,  this  mine,  with  a  50-stamp  mill, 
crushed  3.238  tons,  yielding  $64,500;  a  10-stamp  mill  crushed  537  tons,  yielding 
$26,800;  a  60-stamp-mill  crushed  2,800  tons,  yielding  $20, 000— total,  $111,300. 
The  working  expenses  were  $53,000.     At  this  rate  the  dividends  should  be 
about  doubled.     I  might  mention  here  the  names  of  dividend-paying  mines 
as  quoted  in  1887,  at  which   period  $8,134,902  had   been  paid  since  1880. 
They  were  the  Alice,  $750,000;  Amy  and  Silversmith,  $331,851;  Boston  and 
Montana,  $520,000;  Elkhorn,  $180,000;  Empire,  $33,000;  Granite  Mountain, 
$2,600,000;  Helena  M.  &  R.,  $192,310;  Hecla  Consolidated,  $1,032,600;  Hope, 
$158,241;    Lexington,    $565,000;    Montana   Limited,    $1,254,000;    Moulton, 
$350,000;  Original,  $120,000;  Parrot,  $18,000. 


THE  CITY  OF  HELENA.  769 

connects  it  with  the  capital.  This  road  for  ten  miles 
scales  the  sides  of  a  steep  mountain,  and  is  built  almost 
a  third  of  the  distance  on  trestles.  The  Drum  Lum- 
mond  has  but  recently  been  sufficiently  developed  to 
display  its  qualities  as  the  first  gold  producer  of  the 
world,  but  has  greatly  increased  the  expectations  of 
this  district.  A  movement  is  on  foot  to  organize  a 
company  to  purchase  the  old  Whitlatch-Union  prop 
erty  at  Unionville,  near  Helena,  and  resume  opera 
tions.  It  is  believed  this  mine  would  still  produce 
gold  in  paying  quantities. 

The  city  of  Helena,  which  is  now  inferior  in  popu 
lation  to  Butte,  is  still  the  chief  commercial  city,  with 
15,000  inhabitants,  and  the  improvements  for  1888 
cost  $3,055,000.  It  has  a  number  of  handsome  public 
buildings.  The  Lewis  and  Clarke  county  court-house 
cost  $200,000,  and  contains  the  legislative  halls  of  the 
territory.  The  high-school,  graded,  and  ward  schools 
are  constructed  of  brick,  and  supplied  with  every 
modern  convenience.  The  city  has  a  good  water 
supply,  a  well-organized  fire  department,  gas,  electric 
lights,  and  well-equipped  street  railways.  Its  rail 
road  facilities  are  excellent.  It  has  five  banks  of 
deposit,  whose  capital  stock,  surplus,  and  undivided 
profits  amount  to  $8,322,699,  more  than  can  be  found 
in  any  city  of  equal  size  in  the  world.  The  name  of 
Queen  City  is  not  an  inappropriate  one.13 

13  Among  the  notable  citizens  of  Helena  I  mention  the  following: 

Isaac  D.  McCuteheon,  born  in  N.  Y.  in  1840,  removed  to  Mich,  with  his 
parents  in  1846,  and  was  there  educated.  He  began  teaching  school  at  the 
age  of  18  years,  and  continued  to  teach  for  5  years,  after  which  he  studied 
law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1868.  He  practised  his  profession  in 
Charlotte,  Mich.,  until  1882,  when  he  was  appointed  secretary  of  Montana. 
He  resigned  in  1883  to  return  to  the  practice  of  the  law. 

F.  S.  Witherbee,  born  in  Flint,  Mich.,  in  1860,  removed  to  Louisville, 
Ky,  in  1873.  He  was  educated  for  a  physician,  graduating  in  Philadelphia 
in  1883,  but  not  liking  his  profession,  he  became  a  publisher  in  Washington, 
D.  C.  He  sold  out  his  business  in  1888,  and  came  to  Helena,  where  he  en 
gaged  in  real  estate,  organizing  the  Witherbee  and  Hunter  Real  Estate,  Loan, 
and  Investment  Co.,  Limited. 

O.  11.  Allen,  born  in  the  state  of  N.  Y.,  in  1852,  received  a  collegiate 
education,  and  in  1876  went  to  Colorado,  where  he  remained  until  1883, 
when  he  came  to  Montana  and  engaged  in  mining.  In  1886  he  acquired  the 
Jay  Gould  mine,  and  organized  a  stock  company  to  develop  the  property. 
The  mine  has  produced  over  $1,000,000,  and  is  still  producing  richly. 
HIST.  WASH. — 19 


770  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

Great  Falls,  in  the  new  count}7  of  Cascade,  estab 
lished  in  1887,  is  rapidly  growing  in  reputation.  It 

F.  P.  Sterling  was  born  in  Elkhorn,  Wis.,  in  1843,  and  was  educated  in 
his  native  town.  In  1861  he  entered  the  union  army,  serving  through 
the  war,  after  which  he  removed  to  Iowa,  and  engaged  in  school-teaching 
until  1874,  when  he  came  to  Montana.  In  1876  he  was  appointed  register 
of  the  U.  S.  land-office  at  Helena,  serving  until  1883.  The  following  year  he 
was  elected  judge  of  the  probate  court,  and  served  two  years,  since  which 
time  he  has  practised  law  in  Helena. 

T.  H.  Kleinschmidt  was  born  in  Prussia  in  1837,  and  came  to  the  U.  S. 
with  his  parents  in  1841.  He  was  raised  and  educated  at  St  Louis,  Mo.  In 
1862  he  went  to  Colorado,  where  he  followed  merchandising  for  two  years, 
removing  to  Montana  in  1864.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  1st  Na 
tional  bank  of  Helena  in  1866,  and  has  been  active  in  its  management  ever 
since.  He  was  twice  elected  mayor  of  the  city. 

Samuel  Word,  born  in  Ky  in  1837,  was  educated  in  his  native  state,  and 
removed  to  Missouri  in  1857,  where  he  read  law  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  He  practised  his  profession  there  until  1863,  when  he  came  to  Montana, 
settling  in  Virginia  City,  where  he  remained  until  1880.  He  then  moved  to 
Butte,  and  in  1885  to  Helena.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  legislature  and 
speaker  of  the  house,  and  is  permanently  located  at  the  capital. 

Charles  W.  Cannon,  born  in  Cleveland,  0.,  in  1835,  removed  with  his  pa 
rents  to  Dubuque,  la,  in  1837,  where  he  was  raised  and  educated.  He  came 
to  Montana  in  1864,  and  for  a  short  time  was  engaged  in  trade  at  Virginia 
City.  He  removed  to  Helena  in  1865,  where  he  again  engaged  in  merchan 
dising  until  1880,  after  which  he  has  been  employed  in  the  care  of  his  real 
estate,  city  and  country,  and  his  mining  interests. 

Ashburn  K.  Barbour  was  born  in  Falmouth,  Ky,  in  1856,  and  educated 
there,  studying  law,  and  being  admitted  to  the  bar.  In  1878  he  removed  to 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  where  he  remained  until  1882,  when  he  came  to  Helena,  and 
has  practised  his  profession  here. 

J.  J.  Leiser,  born  in  Penn.  in  1845,  was  educated  there,  and  studied  medi 
cine  in  Phila.  After  practising  in  several  towns,  he  took  a  post-graduate 
course  at  his  alma  mater,  and  in  1878  came  to  Helena,  where  he  has  steadily 
followed  his  profession.  He  takes  an  interest  in  noting  the  climatic  influences 
on  different  diseases  in  his  adopted  state,  on  which  he  has  written  his  ob 
servations. 

H.  M.  Parchen  was  born  in  Prussia  in  1839.  At  ten  years  of  age  he  im 
migrated  with  his  parents  to  the  U.  S.,  being  located  in  western  N.  Y.  At 
the  age  of  14  years  he  left  home  to  enter  a  merchant's  employ,  and  continued 
from  that  time  to  learn  business.  In  1862  he  went  to  Colorado,  and  in  1864 
came  to  Montana.  After  one  year  in  Virginia  City  he  settled  permanently 
in  Helena  as  a  druggist.  He  has  served  several  terms  in  the  legislature,  and 
is  a  public-spirited  citizen. 

Col  James  Sullivan,  born  in  Ireland  in  1842,  migrated  with  his  parents  to 
America  in  1849,  settling  in  Boston,  where  he  was  educated.  When  a  young 
man  he  learned  the  barber's  trade,  and  followed  it  in  Boston  and  New  York 
for  many  years.  In  1878,  on  account  of  losses  by  speculation,  he  determined 
to  remove  to  Montana.  He  purchased  a  barber's  business  in  Helena,  and 
prospered  in  it.  In  1885  he  was  elected  mayor,  and  in  1887  was  appointed 
territorial  auditor.  He  has  served  on  the  staff  of  three  different  governors, 
and  is  a  prominent  citizen  of  Helena. 

Richard  Lockey  was  born  in  England  in  1845,  and  came  to  the  U.  S.  m 
1846,  his  parents  settling  in  Dubuque,  Iowa,  where  he  was  educated.  In 
1862  he  entered  the  union  army,  serving  three  years.  In  1866  he  came  to 
Helena,  and  engaged  in  merchandising  until  1881,  when  he  gave  his  attention 
to  real  estate. 

David  A.  Cory  was  born  in  Canada  in  1842,  removing  to  the  state  of  111. 


TOWN  OF  GREAT   FALLS.  771 

is  situated  upon  a  sloping  site  at  the  junction  of  Mis 
souri  and  Sun  rivers,  commanding  a  view  of  four  nioun- 

with  his  parents  in  1855.  For  more  than  20  years  he  was  a  commercial  trav 
eller,  and  in  1880  came  to  Montana,  becoming  a  member  of  the  mercantile 
firm  of  Bach,  Cory,  &  Co.  of  Helena,  devoting  himself  to  its  business. 

A.  J.  Seligman,  junior  member  of  the  above  firm,  was  born  in  New  York 
City,  and  educated  to  be  a  civil  engineer,  graduating  from  two  of  the  most 
prominent  schools  in  Europe.  He  came  to  Montana  in  1881,  making  Helena 
his  home;  has  served  in  the  legislature,  and  is  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the 
mountain  state. 

Dr  C.  K.  Cole  was  born  in  111.  in  1S52,  educated  in  his  native  state,  and 
graduated  in  medicine  in  1S78.  He  first  practised  in  Jacksonville,  111.,  but 
removed  in  1879  to  Helena,  Mont.  He  was  twice  a  member  of  the  city 
council,  and  iu  1888  was  elected  a  member  of  the  territorial  council,  of 
which  he  was  president. 

John  H.  Ming  was  born  in  Va  in  1831,  migrated  to  Mo.  in  1840  with  his 
parents,  and  iu  1849,  at  the  age  of  18  years,  came  to  Cal..  working  in  the 
mines  and  teaming  for  3  years,  when  he  returned  home.  In  1859  he  went 
to  Colorado,  engaging  in  merchandising  at  Denver,  until  1863,  when  he  re 
moved  to  Virginia  City,  Mont.,  remaining  there  5  years.  In  1808  he  made 
his  home  in  Helena,  where  he  did  much  to  promote  the  growth  of  the  city. 
His  death  occurred  in  1887;  the  above  facts  being  furnished  by  his  widow, 
Katherine  L.  Ming. 

E.  W.  Bach  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  in  1852.  He  came  to  Montana 
in  1878,  being  engaged  in  various  enterprises  until  1883,  when  he  commenced 
a  wholesale  grocery  trade  in  Helena,  as  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Bach, 
Cory,  &  Co.,  which  does  a  business  of  over  $1,000,000  a  year.  He  is  also  in 
terested  in  the  Helena  Street  Railroad  Company,  and  the  St  Paul  and  Helena 
Land  and  Improvement  Co. 

E.  W.  Knight  was  born  in  Indiana  in  1838,  but  removed  with  his  father's 
family  to  Kj  when  a  child,  was  educated  there,  and  studied  and  practised 
law.  In  1873  he  came  to  Montana,  locating  at  Helena.  He  was  one  of  the 
original  stockholders  of  the  1st  National  bank  of  Helena,  in  which  he  was 
book-keeper  from  1873  to  1876,  when  he  was  elected  cashier.  He  was  the 
second  mayor  of  Helena. 

A.  M.  Holter,  born  in  Norway  in  1831,  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  and 
immigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1854,  locating  in  Iowa.  He  was  among  the  first 
to  go  to  the  Colorado  mines,  from  whence,  in  1864,  he  came  to  Montana,  min 
ing  and  running  a  saw-7nill  near  Virginia  City  for  two  years.  In  1866  he 
removed  to  Helena,  and  engaged  in  hardware  business.  He  is  one  of  the 
directors  of  the  1st  National  bank,  along  with  S.  T.  Hauser,  A.  M.  Holter, 
Granville  Stuart,  E.  W.  Knight,  T.  H.  Kleinschmidt,  John  C.  Curtin,  R.  S. 
Hamilton,  C.  P.  Higgins,  A.  J.  Davis,  Henry  M.  Parchen,  and  T.  C.  Power. 
Hauser  is  president,  Davis  vice-president,  Knight  cashier,  Kleinschmidt 
assistant  cashier,  and  George  H.  Hill  second  assistant.  Paid-up  capital, 
§.500,000;  surplus  and  profits,  $500,000. 

John  Kinna,  born  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  in  1837,  came  to  the  U.  S.  with  his 
parents  in  1842,  and  resided  in  Orange  co.,  N.  Y.  At  the  age  of  18  years  he 
went  to  Lincoln,  Neb.,  where  he  learned  the  tinner's  trade.  In  1864  he 
came  to  Montana,  remaining  for  one  year  at  Virginia  City,  when  he  removed 
to  Helena  and  engaged  in  hardware  business.  He  was  the  first  mayor  of 
this  city,  where  he  constantly  resided  until  his  death,  in  1887,  and  was  treas 
urer  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  co. ;  these  facts  being  furnished  by  his  son,  C.  J. 
Kinna. 

William  M.  Thornton,  born  in  Eutaw,  Ala.,  in  1853,  came  to  San 
Francisco  with  his  parents  at  the  age  of  one  year,  where  he  was  edu 
cated.  In  1869  he  engaged  in  business  in  Unionville,  Nev.,  where  he 
remained  until  1874,  removing  to  Virginia  City,  in  that  state,  to  take  the 


772  GENERAL   DEVELOPMENT. 

tain  ranges.  Here  are  the  great  cataracts  of  the 
Missouri,  having  a  total  fall  of  512  feet.  The  first,  or 
Black  Eagle  fall,  has  a  sheer  descent  of  28-|-  feet,  and 
an  available  fall  of  54  feet,  which  will  be  utilized  the 
present  year  (1889).  The  Rainbow  fall  has  a  per 
pendicular  descent  of  49  feet;  Colter's  fall,  14  feet; 
Horse-shoe  fall,  20  feet;  and  the  Great  fall,  100  feet, 
with  rapids  between — the  whole  constituting  a  water 
power  unequalled.  Coal,  iron,  and  limestone  abound 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  new  town  of  Great  Falls. 
The  advantages  of  the  place  have  been  recognized, 
and  a  million-dollar  smelter  has  been  erected,  with  a 
capacity  for  reduction  of  250  tons  of  ore  daily;  al 
though  the  works  are  only  one  fourth  their  proposed 
size,  as  it  is  intended  to  make  this  the  largest  smelter 
for  the  reduction  of  silver-lead  ores  in  the  world.  The 
population  of  Great  Falls  is  2.500,  and  its  improve 
ments,  exclusive  of  the  Manitoba  and  Montana 
Central  railroad  properties,  are  valued  at  $2,500,000. 
There  is  a  branch  railroad  line  to  the  Sand  Coulee 
coal  mines,  where  350  persons  are  employed,  and  will 
be  extended  to  the  silver,  copper,  and  Galena  mines 
in  the  Belt  range.  A  stone  and  iron  wagon  bridge 
1,000  feet  long  spans  the  Missouri  at  Great  Falls. 
The  town  is  a  shipping-point  for  stock  and  wool. 
About  29,000  sheep,  10,000  cattle,  and  1,000,000 
pounds  of  wool  were  shipped  from  there  in  1888.  It 
has  been  incorporated  as  a  city,  has  water-works  in 
progress,  has  a  large  saw  and  planing  mill,  the  largest 
Hour-mill  in  Montana,  two  agricultural-implement 

position  of  secretary  of  the  Virginia  City  and  Truckee  Railroad  Co.  In 
1885  he  removed  to  Anaconda,  where  he  became  cashier  of  the  1st  National 
bank.  In  Aug.  1889  he  was  nominated  state  senator  from  Deer  Lodge  co., 
and  elected. 

C.  A.  Broad  water,  born  in  Mo.  in  1840,  had  limited  means  of  education, 
and  when  17  years  of  age  began  clerking  for  a  commission  firm  in  St  Louis. 
In  1859  he  went  to  Colo,  and  in  1864  came  to  Montana,  where  for  4  years  he 
was  wagon-master  of  the  R.  Freighting  Co.  In  1868  he  purchased  an  interest 
in  the  business,  and  was  actively  engaged  in  it  until  1879,  when  he  sold  out. 
He  then  secured  the  post-tradership  at  Fort  Maginnis,  which  he  retained 
until  1885,  when  he  located  in  Helena  and  organized  the  Montana  National 
bank,  of  which  he  is  president. 


TOWN  OF  GREAT  FALLS.  773 

houses,  three  churches,  and  a  $20,000  school  build 
ing.     Such  is  the  vigor  of  Montana's  population.1* 

14  A  little  personal  and  territorial  history  will  not  be  out  of  place  here. 
About  1881,  Paris  Gibson,  a  pioneer  of  Minneapolis,  and  who  understood  the 
part  the  water-power  of  the  Mississippi  river  at  the  falls  of  St  Anthony  had 
played  in  the  building  up  of  that  city,  first  conceived  the  idea  of  founding  a 
city  at  the  Great  Falls  of  the  Missouri.  His  knowledge  of  this  water-power 
and  the  surrounding  country  was  chiefly  obtained  from  J.  K.  Caster  of  Bolt, 
and  late  in  the  above-mentioned  year,  in  company  with  J.  A.  Whitmore  and 
H.  P.  Rolfe,  with  James  Burns  as  driver  for  the  party,  he  set  out  from  Ben- 
ton  to  personally  inspect  the  described  locality.  There  were  no  roads,  the 
party  experienced  difficulty  in  finding  the  several  falls  in  order  to  compare 
their  power,  but  decided  the  Great  Falls  impracticable,  and  a  snow-storm 
coming  on,  they  returned  to  Ft  Benton.  In  the  spring  of  1882,  Gibson  made 
several  visits  to  the  falls,  and  in  August,  with  Gov.  Edgerton,  Charles  Gib 
son,  and  H.  P.  Rolfe,  selected  the  present  site,  and  made  a  preliminary  sur 
vey  of  the  town  preparatory  to  placing  scrip  thereon.  Soon  after,  Gibson 
formed  a  partnership  with  James  J.  Hill,  the  railway  magnate.  During  the 
winter,  additional  land  was  filed  on,  and  when  all  was  secure,  in  1883  a  final 
survey  of  the  town  was  made,  Paris  Gibson  and  Jerry  Collins,  with  Rolfe, 
marking  out  the  position  of  the  principal  business  street,  which  was  called 
Central  Avenue,  and  was  made  90  feet  wide,  all  the  other  streets  and  ave 
nues  being  80  feet  in  width.  In  the  autumn  of  1883,  John  Woods  erected 
the  first  log-house,  on  Tenth  Ave.  South.  In  the  following  April,  Rolfe  built 
the  first  frame-house,  and  George  E.  Huey  the  second,  after  which  the  town 
company's  secretary,  H.  0.  Chowen,  commenced  erecting  an  office,  and  Walker 
&  Carter  a  restaurant,  partly  of  boards,  and  partly  of  canvas.  Liberal  ad 
vertising  was  restored  to.  In  the  mean  time  the  coal  mines  at  Sand  Coulee 
were  being  opened,  and  quite  a  village  was  growing  up  there.  In  the  mean, 
time,  also,  James  J.  Hill  was  maturing  his  plans  for  bringing  the  Manitoba 
railroad  to  Great  Falls  by  1888,  700  miles  across  the  great  Indian  reservation 
north  of  the  Missouri.  During  the  summer,  Col  Dodge  of  Helena  visited  the 
Falls  and  quietly  selected  the  route  of  the  Montana  Central.  The  firm  of 
Murphy,  Maclay,  &  Co.  opened  a  store  at  Great  Falls,  with  W.  P.  Wren  in 
charge.  This  was  followed  by  Beachley  Bros  &  Hickory's  store.  E.  B. 
Largent  had  a  store  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  William  Warner 
opened  a  restaurant  which  served  for  the  hotel  of  Great  Falls  for  some  time. 
In  1885  Will  Hanks,  who  had  been  publishing  the  Rixiny  Sun  at  Sun  River, 
moved  his  plant  to  the  new  town,  and  on  the  14th  of  May  began  the  issuance 
of  the  Weekly  Tribune.  A  school  district  was  organized  this  year,  a  school- 
house  built,  and  Gibson,  Rolfe,  and  Lee  were  the  first  trustees  of  the  district, 
Rev.  J.  M.  Largent  being  teacher.  A  saw-mill  was  erected  by  McClay  & 
Myers,  and  they,  with  Holter  &  Co.,  furnished  lumber  for  the  improvements 
of  the  town.  Its  growth  was  slow  until,  in  the  winter  of  1885-6,  word  carne 
that  engineers  were  surveying  a  railroad  line  through  Prickly  Pear  canon, 
revealing  the  purpose  of  the  Montana  Central  company.  From  this  time 
the  growth  was  more  rapid  and  assured.  In  I860  the  town  had  (500  inhabi 
tants.  By  great  exertion,  the  Manitoba  railroad  was  completed  to  Great 
Falls  in  October  1887,  when  a  great  celebration  testified  the  satisfaction  of 
the  people.  In  November  the  road  to  Helena  was  opened.  Truly  the  ways 
of  the  19th  century  town-builders  resemble  not  the  ways  of  their  ancestors  of 
even  one  century  ago.  Some  opposition  was  offered  in  the  legislature  to  the 
organization  of  the  county  of  Cascade,  but  the  measure  was  carried  through 
in  1887,  and  the  county  officials  were  sworn  in  on  the  21st  of  Dec.  The  first 
board  of  commissioners  consisted  of  Charles  Wegner,  J.  A.  Harris,  and  E.  R. 
Clingon;  sheriff,  C.  P.  Downing;  county  treasurer,  A.  E.  Dickerman;  pro 
bate  judge,  H.  P.  Rolfe;  clerk  and  recorder,  J.  W.  Matkin;  assessor,  R.  T. 
(iorham;  attorney,  George  W.  Taylor;  supt  of  schools,  Miss  Bessie  Ford. 


774  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

Benton  has  1,000  inhabitants,  and  is  a  well-built, 
thriving  town.  A  substantial  iron  bridge  875  feet 

The  events  of  1888  were  the  completion  of  the  wagon-road  and  railroad 
bridges,  the  establishment  of  great  reduction  works,  the  holding  of  two  terms 
of  court,  which  cleared  the  moral  atmosphere  to  a  considerable  extent,  the 
building  of  a  jail  and  two  churches,  the  completion  of  the  Sand  Coulee  rail 
road,  the  creation  of  a  board  of  trade,  and  the  erection  of  a  large  number  of 
business  buildings,  the  public-school  edifice,  and  two  hotels,  one  of  which  is 
among  the  best  in  Montana.  Another  newspaper,  the  Leader,  was  estab 
lished  June  16,  1888.  In  October  the  city  was  incorporated,  and  Paris  Gib 
son  choden  mayor.  A  hundred  years  from  now,  when  Great  Falls  is  a  great 
city,  these  details  of  its  origin  will  not  be  without  interest  or  value,  but  quite 
the  reverse. 

Paris  Gibson  came  to  Montana  in  1879  to  engage  in  sheep-raising,  and  his 
consequent  observations  of  the  country  led  to  his  fortunate  investment  in 
land  at  the  falls  of  the  Missouri.  I  have  no  data  concerning  his  previous  life. 

Hon.  H.  P.  Rolfe  was  born  in  Vt  in  1849,  and  educated  there,  choosing 
law  for  a  profession.  He  came  to  Montana  in  1870,  and  was  for  two  years 
supt  of  public  schools  in  Helena.  During  1879  he  was  managing  editor  of  the 
Butte  Miner.  He  next  removed  to  Fort  Benton,  where  he  practised  law, 
but  in  1884  located  permanently  in  Great  Falls.  He  was  elected  probate 
judge  in  1886,  serving  one  term,  but  prefers  to  keep  out  of  politics. 

George  W.  Taylor  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Lexington,  Ky,  in  1853,  raised 
and  educated  in  his  native  state,  where  he  also  taught  school  for  several  years. 
He  came  to  Montana  in  1883  and  studied  law  with  Hon.  J.  K.  Toole,  being 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1884.  Immediately  he  located  at  Great  Falls,  the 
first  lawyer  there.  He  was  appointed  county  attorney  on  the  organization 
of  Cascade  co.,  and  in  1888  elected  to  the  same  position.  He  was  a  candi 
date  for  reelection  on  the  state  ticket  of  1889. 

E.  G.  Maclay  was  born  in  Penn.  in  1844,  and  removed  with  his  parents 
to  St  Louis  when  a  child.  He  came  to  Montana  in  1863,  and  for  twenty  years 
was  engaged  in  freighting,  after  which  he  entered  mercantile  life.  He  was 
the  first  merchant  in  Great  Falls. 

Ira  Myers,  born  in  Ohio  in  1839,  went  to  Colo  in  1859,  and  came  to  Mon 
tana  in  1863.  Mining  and  cattle-raising  was  his  business  until  1884,  when  he 
erected  a  saw-mill  at  Great  Falls,  and  has  been  in  lumber  business  ever  since. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Electric  Light  Co.  of  Great  Falls,  of  which 
he  is  president,  and  is  one  of  the  principal  owners  in  the  water-works. 

H.  VV.  Child  was  born  in  1855  in  San  Francisco,  and  educated  there,  being 
a  clerk  in  the  stationery-house  of  H.  S.  Crocker  &  Co.  from  1870  to  1875.  He 
came  to  Montana  in  1876,  engaging  in  various  enterprises  until  1882,  when 
he  became  general  manager  of  the  Gloster  and  Gregory  mines.  In  1887  he 
removed  to  Great  Falls  as  manager  of  the  Montana  Smelting  Co. 

H.  0.  Chowen  was  born  in  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  in  1859,  and  educated 
there.  He  came  to  Great  Falls  in  1884,  in  the  employ  of  Paris  Gibson.  In 
1885  he  organized  the  Cataract  Mill  Co.,  to  which  he  gives  his  special  atten 
tion,  but  is  largely  interested  in  city  real  estate. 

J.  H.  Fairchild,  born  in  Maine  in  1856.  removed  to  Minneapolis  at 
the  age  of  9  years,  and  was  there  educated.  He  studied  medicine  and 
graduated  from  the  Pennsylvania  Medical  College  in  1880,  and  was  surgeon 
of  the  Phila  hospital  for  two  years.  He  then  practised  a  year  in  Minn.,  after 
which  he  came  to  Great  Falls,  where  he  now  practises  his  profession.  He 
was  elected  mayor  in  the  spring  of  1889. 

A.  G.  Ladd  was  born  in  Maine  in  1851,  and  educated  in  his  native 
state.  He  studied  medicine  at  the  Maine  Medical  College,  Portland,  gradu 
ating  in  1878.  He  came  to  Montana  and  purchased  a  cattle  raucho  in  what 
is  now  Cascade  co.  in  1883,  living  on  his  land  and  practising  his  profession. 
When  Great  Falls  was  organized  he  removed  to  the  town,  but  retains  his 
laud  and  stock. 


TOWN  OF  BENTON.  775 

long  spans  the  Missouri  at  this  place,  at  a  cost  of 
$65,000.  The  town  has  electric-light  and  water-works 
systems,  a  fire  department,  board  of  trade,  a  public- 
school  building  costing  $33,000,  a  court-house  costing 
$60,000,  two  fine  hotels,  one  costing  $50,000,  and  a 
First  National  bank  building  costing  $20,000,  besides 
private  banks,  handsome  mercantile  houses,  several 
churches,  a  hospital,  and  other  evidences  of  the  intel 
ligence  and  prosperity  of  its  citizens.  Benton  is  in 
the  wool-growing  district  of  Montana,  and  the  town 
is  supplied  with  wool  compressors  and  warehouses  for 
the  convenience  of  shippers.  But  although  the  coun 
ties  of  Cascade  and  Choteau  have  been  regarded  as 
grazing  districts,  good  crops  of  cereals  are  raised  upon 
the  bench-lands,  as  well  as  in  the  rich  soil  of  the  val 
leys  bordering  upon  streams,  and  the  quality  of  the  up 
land  grain  is  superior,  while  thirty  bushels  to  the  acre 
is  garnered  from  land  that  has  not  been  irrigated.  It 
is  but  recently  that  the  value  of  these  northern  pla 
teaux  for  farming  purposes  has  impressed  itself  upon 
the  consciousness  of  a  people  chiefly  interested  in 
mining  and  grazing — in  gold  and  grasses — to  which 
should  now  be  added  grain.  The  opening  of  the  great 
reservation  extending  from  the  Missouri  river  to  the 
boundary  of  British  Columbia  has  added  18,000,000 
acres  of  government  land  which  is  open  to  settlement, 
embracing  the  Milk  river  valley,  traversed  by  the  St 
Paul  and  Manitoba  railroad.  With  all  these  fertile 
acres,  and  a  transcontinental  railway,  northern  Mon 
tana  has  a  grand  future,  by  no  means  very  distant,  in 
which  Benton  will  have  its  share.15 

Will  Hanks  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1860.  He  came  to  the  Sun  river  coun 
try  in  1883,  and  established  the  first  newspaper  between  Fort  Benton  and 
Helena,  the  Mining  Sun.  In  1885  he  removed  to  Great  Falls,  establishing 
the  Weelky  Tribune,  but  sold  it  in  1887,  and  went  into  real  estate  business. 
When,  in  the  spring  of  1889,  the  Cascade  bank  was  organized,  he  was  elected 
its  vice-president,  which  position  lie  now  holds.  He  is  also  chairman  of  the 
board  of  county  commissioners,  to  which  he  was  elected  in  1888. 

10  Prominent  among  the  citizens  of  Benton  and  Montana  is  John  M. 
Boardman,  a  native  of  111.,  where  he  was  born  oa  Dec.  2,  18,~>5.  He  received 
a  commercial  training  in  the  great  wholesale  house  of  Marshall,  Field,  &  Co.,  of 
Chicago,  where  he  held  a  responsible  position  for  several  years.  In  1879  he 


776  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  northeastern  and  eastern  portion  of  Montana 
remains  a  great  stock  range,  of  which  Miles  City,  in 
Ouster  county,  is  a  shipping  centre,  and  the  third  town 
in  population  in  the  state.  A  board  of  stock  com 
missioners,  with  a  member  in  each  county,  looks  after 
the  administration  of  the  written  and  unwritten  laws 
concerning  the  sole  industry  which  rivals  mining  in 
Montana,18  and  to  which  a  very  large  amount  of  its 

removed  to  Montana,  where  he  engaged  in  the  cattle  business  in  the  vicinity  of 
Fort  Benton.  In  1885  he  merged  his  stock  in  the  Milner  Live-stock  Co., 
whose  herds  are  among  the  largest  in  the  state.  As  vice-president  and  man 
ager  of  this  company  he  has  contributed  largely  to  its  prosperity,  and  aided 
perhaps  more  than  any  single  individual  in  building  the  cattle  interests 
of  northern  Montana.  As  an  instance  of  his  popularity,  it  may  be  men 
tioned  that  he  was  elected  in  1889  to  the  first  state  legislature  of  Montana, 
and  was  also  the  first  republican  elected  in  Choteau  county  to  any  legislative 
office. 

C.  E.  Conrad  was  born  in  Virginia  City  in  1850,  and  there  was  raised  and 
educated.  At  the  age  of  18  years  he  came  to  Montana,  arriving  at  Fort  Ben- 
ton  June  30,  18(38.  He  began  life  here  as  a  clerk  in  the  employ  of  J.  G.  Baker 
&  Co.,  of  which  he  is  now  a  member.  In  1882,  when  the  First  National  bank 
of  Fort  Benton  was  organized,  of  which  W.  G.  Conrad  is  prest,  he  was  chosen 
vice-prest,  which  office  he  still  holds.  He  is  also  largely  interested  in  cattle 
and  sheep,  owning  an  interest  in  the  Benton  and  St  Louis  Cattle  Co.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  state  constitutional  convention  of  1889. 

Joseph  A.  Baker  is  a  son  of  the  J.  G.  Baker  above  referred  to,  who 
•was  born  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  in  1819.  He  was  a  pioneer  in  the  west,  having 
been  a  post-trader  in  Iowa,  Kansas,  and  Montana.  He  came  to  Fort  Benton 
in  I860,  and  established  the  business  which  still  bears  his  name.  In  1880  the 
father  retired  to  a  home  in  St  Louis.  Joseph  A.  was  born  in  Westport,  Mo., 
in  1850,  but  came  when  a  lad  to  Fort  Benton,  where  he  assisted  his  father 
in  his  business  until  1878,  when  he  engaged  in  the  cattle  business  for  himself, 
continuing  actively  in  it  until  1886,  when  he  was  elected  cashier  of  the  First 
National  bank  of  Fort  Benton,  in  which  office  he  remains.  He  was  elected 
state  senator  from  Choteau  co.  to  the  first  state  senate  of  Montana. 

John  W.  Power  was  born  near  Dubuque,  la,  in  1844,  and  remained  on  his 
father's  farm  until  20  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  Fort  Randall,  Da,  where 
his  brother,  T.  C.  Power,  was  a  post-trader,  remaining  in  his  employ  until 
1867,  at  which  time  both  came  to  Fort  Benton,  and  went  into  business  to 
gether  under  the  firm  name  of  T.  C.  Power  &  Bro.,  which  firm  is  still  in 
existence.  T.  C.  Power  resides  in  Helena,  but  John  W.  is  permanently 
located  at  Benton,  where  he  has  large  interests. 

Jere.  Sullivan  was  born  in  1843,  in  Ireland,  30  miles  from  Cork.  In 
1850  his  parents  immigrated  to  Canada,  where  he  was  educated.  At  the  age 
of  18  years  he  came  to  the  U.  S.,  residing  for  a  time  at  various  points  until 
1865,  when  he  came  to  Montana,  arriving  at  Fort  Benton  in  July  of  that 
year.  He  followed  mining  until  1874,  when  he  located  at  Fort  Shaw,  on  Sun 
river,  where  he  opened  a  hotel,  remaining  there  until  1879,  when  he  removed 
to  Benton,  where  he  again  kept  a  hotel.  He  was  elected  mayor  of  Benton  in 
1886  and  1887,  and  was  chairman  of  the  republican  county  committee  in  1888 
and  1889.  He  is  owner  of  large  interests  in  Fort  Benton. 

16  Prominent  in  that  district,  which  was  formerly  in  Choteau  co.,  but  in 
that  portion  which  is  now  Fergus  co.,  at  Fort  Maginnis,  on  the  east  flank  of 
the  Judith  mountains,  is  Granville  Stuart,  president  of  the  board  of  stock 
commissioners.  Stuart  has  been  frequently  mentioned  in  the  early  part 


RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION.  777 

money  capital  is  due.17  It  is  contended  by  these  cap 
italists  that  the  government  is  unnecessarily  jealous 
of  their  aggressiveness,  for  the  territory  occupied  by 
them  is  too  broken  for  agriculture.  Opinions  change 
with  circumstances,  and  expediency  will  determine  the 
limit  of  indulgence  which  the  future  shall  discover. 

T  have  here  gathered  together  some  evidences  of 
the  material  prosperity  of  Montana.  It  was  once  wit 
tily  said  that  mining-towns  consisted  of  ophir-holes, 
gopher-holes,  and  loafer-holes.  All  that  has  been 
changed  as  far  as  Montana  is  concerned,  if  we  except 
the  ophir-holes,  which  are  as  much  as  ever  sought 
after.  Merchants  are  no  longer  compelled  to  store 
their  goods  in  caves  in  the  earth  to  protect  them  from 
fire  or  plunder;  the  rude  first  dwellings  have  been 
replaced  by  elegant,  or  at  the  least  tasteful  and  com 
fortable,  homes;  the  fashions  of  good  society  prevail 
in  place  of  unseemly  revelry;  education  and  religion 
are  fostered,18  as  in  the  older  commonwealths. 

of  this  history.  It  was  through  a  letter  from  l>Ir  Stuart  to  a  brother  in  Colo 
describing  the  placer  mines  in  the  Rocky  mountains  that  the  sudden  immi 
gration  from  Colo  to  Montana  took  place  in  1862.  He  was  for  many  years  a 
member  of  the  Montana  legislature,  and  school  trustee  since  1804.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  to  prove  that  this  was  a  superior  cattle-raising  region,  and  is 
himself  identified  with  the  cattle  interests  of  the  state.  Mr  Stuart  was  born. 
in  Va  in  1834,  and  educated  in  Iowa.  In  the  spring  of  1832  he  went  to  Cal., 
where  he  mined  until  1857,  when  he,  returning  east,  was.  through  circum 
stances  already  mentioned,  detained  in  Montana,  and  becoming  interested  in 
the  affairs  of  a  new  territory,  made  it  his  home. 

17  Joseph  Scott,  of  Miles  City,  is  a  representative  cattle-raiser  of  his  dis 
trict.      He  was  born  in  Tyrone  co.,  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  in  1844,  and  edu 
cated  there  and  in  Phila,  U.  S.     In  18(37  he  went  to  Idaho,  mining  at  War 
Eagle  mountain  for  2  years.     In  18G9  he  went  to  Utah,  purchased  some  cat 
tle  and  drove  them  to  White  Pine,  Nov.,  where  he  remained  until  1871,  after 
which  for  2  years  he  travelled  about  through  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Colorado, 
and  Utali  prospecting,  and  finally  locating  in  Idaho  in  the  track  of  the  Indian 
war  of  1878,  by  which,  he  lost  a  good  deal  of  property  in  stock.     He  then 
went  to  Elko  co. ,  Nev.,  and  tried  cattle-raising,  but  found  the  ranges  over 
stocked.     In  1880  he  came  to  Custer  co.,  Mont.,  where  he  follows  stock-rais 
ing,  still  retaining  an  interest  in  Idaho  and  Nevada. 

18  In  186H-4,  Smith  and  Price,  two  presbyterian  ministers,  and  the  first 
protestant  preachers  to  settle  in  Montana,  held  services  fora  time  in  Virginia 
City,  but  it  was  not  until  1872  that  a  presbyterian  church  was  organized  in 
that  place,  although  other  protestant  churches  had  been,  namely,  the  metho- 
dist  church  south,  and  an  episcopal  and  catholic  society.     The  last-named 
was  under  the  charge  of  Father  Giorda,  the  methodist  church  under  that  of 
A.  M.    Hough,  and  the  episcopal  church  waa  cared  for  by  H.   H.   Prout. 


778  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

Education,  being  a  matter  of  public  polity,  and  not 
of  private  conscience,  received  more  attention  from 
the  beginning,  schools  being  formed  under  a  school 
law  in  1866.  In  1867  there  were  two  public-school 
teachers  in  Madison  county,  and  three  in  Edgerton 
(Lewis  and  Clarke)  county.  The  amount  raised  for 
their  support  and  for  school-houses  was  $7,709. 
The  number  of  persons  between  four  and  twenty-one 
years  of  age  in  Montana  was  1,920,  of  whom  222 
attended  school.19  Since  that  period  the  standard 
of  education  has  advanced  within  the  last  ten  or 
twelve  years,  until  it  is  upon  the  same  plane  with 
the  school  systems  of  the  older  states.  Children  are 
admitted  from  four  to  twenty- one  years  of  age;  and 
fourteen  years'  tuition  is  required  to  be  graduated 
from  the  hi^fh  school,  where  one  exists.  Teachers'  in- 

cr*  ' 

stitutes  are  required  by  law,  to  aid  in  promoting  the 
best  methods  of  instruction. 

The  school  lands  not  being  salable  until  the  terri 
tory  became  a  state,  the  people  were  compelled  to 

Daniel  S.  Tuttle,  of  Otsego,  N.  Y.,  was  the  first  missionary  bishop  of  the 
episcopal  church  in  Montana,  appointed  in  I860  to  superintend  Utah,  Idaho, 
and  Montana.  He  was  a  scholarly  man,  young  and  energetic,  and  labored 
efficiently  in  his  field.  At  first  a  union  church  edifice  was  occupied  by  the 
protestant  societies  alternately,  but  it  was  ultimately  sold  for  secular  pur 
poses.  The  methodists  erected  a  church  in  Virginia  City  in  the  autumn  of 
18(57,  the  corner-stone  of  which  was  laid  on  the  12th  of  September.  As  in 
most  new  countries,  they  organized  in  advance  of  other  denominations,  but 
in  Montana  they  were  divided  by  politics  long  after  the  cause  which  sepa 
rated  them  was  a  lost  cause.  Helena  was,  on  account  of  its  importance,  the 
next  field  sought,  the  catholics  being  first  on  the  ground,  and  completing 
the  first  building  for  purely  religious  services  in  Montana.  Two  young 
women,  Sallie  Raymond  and  Margaret  Irvine,  solicited  contributions  for  the 
first  church-bell  in  Helena,  in  the  spring  of  1807.  Although  religious  exer 
cises  were  held  in  the  various  towns  and  settlements,  it  required  a  few  years 
for  society  to  become  sufficiently  homogeneous  to  unite  upon  religious  prin 
ciples  and  decide  to  erect  temples  for  their  favorite  practices.  Accordingly 
most  of  the  churches  have  been  built  since  1872.  The  methodist  church  at 
Missoula  was  dedicated  that  year.  The  presbyterians  did  not  begin  seriously 
to  organize  until  that  year,  when  societies  were  formed  at  Deer  Lodge, 
Helena,  Gallatin  City,  Bozeman,  and  Virginia  City,  by  Sheldon  Jackson, 
J.  R.  Russell,  and  W.  S.  Frackelton.  The  presbyteriaii  edifice  at  Deer 
Lodge  was  opened  for  services  February  21,  1875,  Russell  being  first  pastor 
of  the  society.  The  catholics  erected  a  new  church  at  Helena  in  1876.  The 
protestant  episcopal  society  of  St  Peter  of  Helena  opened  their  church  in 
October  1879,  M.  N.  Gilbert  pastor. 

19  The  first  public  school  of  Helena  was  opened  Dec.  3,  1807,  and  taught  by 
William  I.  Marshal  and  Mrs  R.  M.  Farley.  Rept  of  Superintendent  of  Schools, 
in  Vii-ijiitia  Pout,  Dec.  14,  1867. 


LITERATURE  AND  DRAMA.  779 

support  the  schools  by  taxation.  The  amounts  raised 
in  the  several  counties  varied  from  $9, 207,  in  Yellow 
stone  county,  to  $33,766.91,  in  Choteau  county,  and 
aggregated,  in  1884,  $231,229.42,  making  an  average 
of  $17,786  of  school  money  furnished  for  every  county. 
The  school  fund  collected  in  1888  averaged  twenty 
dollars  annually  for  each  child  in  Montana,  of  which 
amount  $317,442.37  was  from  county  tax.  There 
were  316  school-houses,  valued  at  $646,679;  and  the 
number  of  children  of  school  age  was  27,600;  while 
the  teachers  were  442.  Several  of  the  counties  hav 
ing  the  largest  school  funds  elected  women  for  super 
intendents.20 

Of  the  literature  of  Montana  there  is  little  to  be 
said.  Newspapers  abound,  there  being,  before  1885, 
one  in  every  county  except  Jefferson,  which  was  sup 
plied  from  Helena.  The  leading  journals  were  of 
unusual  merit  and  interest,  for  interior  newspapers.21 

29  Teachers  are  the  least  publicly  honored  of  all  the  public's  servants. 
Superintendents  have  all  been  experienced  teachers.  Therefore,  let  me  record 
here,  for  the  honor  of  some  of  Montana's  most  deserving,  the  names  of  her 
county  superintendents  of  1884:  Beaverhead,  John  Gannon;  Choteau,  Miss 
M.  E.  Johnston;  Ouster,  A.  C.  Logan;  Dawson,  J.  H.  Ray;  Deer  Lodge,  T. 
W.  Catlin;  Gallatin,  Adda  M.  Hamilton;  Jefferson,  E.  I.  Fletcher;  Lewis 
and  Clarke,  Helen  P.  Clarke;  Meagher,  Alice  M.  Darcy;  Madison,  J.  C.  Ma- 
hony;  Missoula,  J.  A.  T.  Ryman;  Silver  Bow,  T.  J.  Booher;  Yellowstone, 
B.  F.  Shuart.  Sixth  Annual  Rept  of  Sn.pt  of  Public  Instruction,  by  Cornelius 
Hedges,  who  has  filled  the  office  of  territorial  superintendent  for  many  years, 
alternating  with  C.  Wright  and  W.  Egbert  Smith. 

21  I  have  noted  the  establishment  from  time  to  time  of  political  and  news 
journals,  with  the  date  of  their  origin  and  politics.  The  following  were  be 
ing  published  in  1884:  Lewis  and  Clarke  county,  at  Helena,  Herald,  d.  and 
w.,  rep.,  ISb'b";  Independent,  d.  and  w.,  dem.,  1871;  Montana  Aryus,  w.,  Ger 
man,  1883;  Stock  and  Mining  Journal,  m.,  1884;  Christian  Advocate,  m.,  1882; 
Montana  Baptist,  q.,  1884;  Montanian,  d.,  local,  1884;  at  Sun  River,  The  Sun, 
w.,  ind.,  1884.  Silver  Bow  county,  at  Butte,  Miner,  d.  and  seini-w.,  dem., 
1879;  Inter-Mountain,  d.  and  semi-w.,  rep.,  1881.  Yellowstone  county,  at 
Billings,  Post,  w.,  rep.,  1882;  Herald,  w.,  dem.,  18S2;  Rustler,  d.,  local,  1884. 
Gallatin  county,  at  Bozeman,  Avant-Courier,  w.,  ind.,  1871;  Chronicle,  w., 
dem.,  1883;  at  Livingston,  Enterprise,  w.,  ind.  dem.,  1883.  Custer  county, 
at  Miles  City,  Yellowstone  Journal,  d.  andw.,  rep.,  1879;  Stock-yroirer's  Jour 
nal,  1884.  Dawson  county,  at  Glendive,  Times,  w.,  local,  1881;  Independent, 
w.,  local,  1884.  Missoula  county,  at  Missoula,  Missoulian,  w.,  ind.,  1873; 
Times,  w.,  rep.,  1883.  Madison  county,  at  Virginia  City,  Madiaoti'um,  w., 
dem.,  1873;  Montana  Churchman,  m.,  1883.  Deer  Lodge  county,  at  Deer 
Lodge,  New  Northwest,  w.,  ind.  rep.,  lSb'9.  Beaverhead  county,  at  Dillon, 
Tri/nine,  w.,  local,  1881.  Choteau  county,  at  Fort  Benton,  River  Press,  d. 
and  w.,  rep.,  1880;  Record,  w.,  dem.,  1881.  Meagher  county,  at  Maiden, 
Mineral  Aryus,  w.,  1883;  at  Townseud,  Tranc/iant,  w.,  local,  1883;  at  White 


780  GENERAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  dramatic  taste  of  the  people  was  not  early  de 
veloped  by  the  theatre.  There  has  been  too  much 
real  life  among  them  to  leave  a  craving  for  mimic  life. 
The  towns,  also,  were  too  small  to  support  good  com 
panies.  In  1866  Virginia  City  had  a  theatre,  which 
was  well  patronized  by  its  crowds  of  flush  miners  now 
passed  away.  Helena  had  then  occasional  seasons  of 
the  opera  and  drama.  It  has  now  a  handsome  opera- 
house.  Miles  City  early  supported  a  theatre,  and  all 
the  principal  towns  had  halls  which  served  for  musical 
and  dramatic  entertainments.  When  it  is  remembered 
that  twenty-six  years  ago  the  first  step  was  taken 
toward  subduing  the  wilderness  to  the  uses  of  civil 
ized  men,  who  could  withhold  the  judgment,  well 
done,  hardy  and  energetic  sons  of  America  I 

Sulphur  Springs,  Rocky  Mountain  Husbandman,  w.,  1875.  Then  there  were 
the  Pick  and  Plow,  Bozeman,  1871;  Times,  Bozeman;  Frontier  Index,  Butte 
City;  Atlantis,  Glendale;  Bad  Lands  Cowboy,  Medora;  Frontier  Index,  Thomp 
son  Falls. 

As  one  of  those  who  have  done  much  to  foster  the  educational  interests  of 
Montana  should  be  mentioned  Cornelius  Hedges,  a  resident  of  Helena,  who 
in  1872  was  appointed  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  and  after  serv 
ing  for  live  years  was  reappointed  in  1883,  in  which  year  he  was  also  elected 
secretary  of  the  Territorial  Historical  Society.  A  native  of  Westneld,  Mass, 
and  educated  first  at  the  Westfield  Academy,  then  at  Yale,  and  finally  at 
the  Harvard  law  school,  he  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Independ 
ence,  la,  where  in  1864  he  published  the  Independent  Civilian.  During  that 
year  he  came  to  Montana,  and  in  1863  to  Helena,  where  he  again  practised 
law,  and  was  appointed  U.  S.  attorney  and  probate  judge.  To  him  is  due 
the  credit  of  first  suggesting  that  the  National  Park  be  set  aside  for  its  pres 
ent  purposes,  and  in  1870  he  was  one  of  a  part}'  of  ten  by  whom  its  site  was 
explored  and  surveyed.  He  is  also  secretary  of  the  Pioneer  Association,  and 
has  long  been  connected  with  the  Helena  Herald,  on  whose  staff  he  is  recog 
nized  as  a  most  able  journalist,  and  as  a  ripe  and  accomplished  scholar. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PROGRESS  AND   STATEHOOD. 

1884-1889. 

CONVENTION  OF  1884— ELECTION  OF  DELEGATE  AND  LEGISLATURE— REPUB 
LICAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTIONS— TERRITORIAL  OFFICERS — Gov. 
LESLIE  APPOINTED — LEGISLATIVE  SESSIONS  AND  ENACTMENTS — MEMO 
RIALS  CONCERNING  MINERAL  LANDS— THE  NORTHERN  PACIFIC  RAIL- 

BOAD— LAWS  TO  GUARD  ELECTIONS— THOMAS  H.  CARTER,  DELEGATE — 
B.  F.  WHITE,  GOVERNOR — ENABLING  ACT  PASSED  BY  CONGRESS — CON 
STITUTIONAL  CONVENTION — FEATURES  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION — POLITICAL 
TROUBLES. 

As  this  chapter  is  to  deal  with  the  formation  of  the 
state  government  of  Montana,  let  us  go  back  to  1884, 
in  January  of  which  year  a  constitutional  convention 
was  held  at  Helena,  an  act  having  been  passed  by 
the  thirteenth  session  of  the  Montana  legislature 
authorizing  an  election  for  delegates  to  be  he)d  in 
November  1883.  The  election  took  place,1  and  the 
convention  met,  forming  a  constitution  subject  to  ac 
ceptance  or  rejection  by  the  qualified  electors  at  the 
biennial  election  of  1884.  The  voting  on  adoption 
was  light,  the  total  vote  being  7,197  less  than  the 
total  for  delegate  to  congress,  which  was  26,969.  Of 

1  The  delegates  were  Robert  Smith  and  Joseph  A.  Brown,  Beaverhead 
co.;  T.  E.  Collins  and  W.  H.  Hunt,  Choteau;  C.  W.  Savage,  Win  Van  Gas- 
ken,  and  S.  R.  Douglass,  Custer;  J.  F.  Malony,  Dawson;  J.  C.  Robinson, 
E.  B.  Waterbury,  and  Joaquin  Abascal,  Deer  Lodge;  S.  W.  Langhorne,  R.  P. 
Vivion,  G.  0.  Eaton,  F.  D.  Pease,  and  E.  F.  Ferris,  Gallatin;  E.  McSorley 
and  N.  Merriman,  Jefferson;  Matt  Carroll,  J.  K.  Toole,  C.  Hedges,  and 
George  Steele,  Lewis  and  Clarke;  H.  S.  Howell  and  J.  E.  Callaway,  Madi 
son;  W.  J.  McCormick,  W.  J.  Stephens,  R.  B.  Catlin,  and  R.  A.  Eddy,  Mis- 
soula;  J.  F.  McClintock,  James  Fergus,  and  W.  F.  Haas,  Meagher;  Thomas 
L.  Napton,  W.  Y.  Pemberton,  W.  A.  Clark,  Marcus  Daly,  J.  C.  Thornton, 
and  Francis  Medhurst,  Silver  Bow;  F.  M.  Proctor  and  F.  M.  Greene,  Yel 
lowstone;  Walter  Cooper  and  A.  F.  Burleigh,  1st  judicial  dist;  W.  W.  Dix- 
on  and  James  H.  Mills,  2d  judicial  dist;  W.  B.  Hundley  and  T.  C.  Power, 
3d  judicial  dist.  W.  A.  Clark  was  elected  president. 

(781) 


782  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

those  who  gave  expression  to  their  wishes,  15,506 
were  for  and  4,266  against  the  constitution,  the  ma 
jority  being  significantly  large  in  favor  of  statehood, 
if  we  may  judge  by  positive  and  not  by  negative  evi 
dence.  However,  nothing  further  came  of  the  move 
ment  at  that  time,  although  it  was  not  abandoned. 
E.  K.  Toole,  democrat,  was  elected  delegate  to 
congress,  and  the  fourteenth  legislature,  which  has 
already  been  named,  enacted  laws  highly  creditable 
to  the  members  and  useful  to  the  territory. 

In  May  1884,  the  republicans  of  Montana  held  a 
territorial  convention  to  elect  delegates  to  the  national 
republican  convention,  their  choice  falling  upon 
Wilbur  F.  Sanders  of  Helena,  and  Lee  Mantle  of 
Butte,  with  M.  J.  Learning  of  Choteau,  and  Hiram 
Knowles  of  Silver  Bow,  as  alternates.2  The  prefer 
ence  of  Delegate  Mantle,  as  expressed  in  territorial 
convention,  was  for  George  F.  Edmunds  for  presi 
dent,  and  that  of  Delegate  Sanders  was  for  James  G. 
Blaine. 

The  democrats  elected  Samuel  T.  Hauser  of  Helena 
and  Samuel  Ward  of  Butte  delegates  to  the  demo 
cratic  national  convention.  W.  J.  McCormick,  one 
of  the  alternates,  was  made  a  member  of  the  national 
committee,  and  S.  T.  Hauser  a  member  of  the  'noti 
fication  committee,  this  being  the  first  occasion  on 
which  Montana  was  represented  in  a  national  conven 
tion,  and  the  first  time  also  that  territorial  delegates 
were  placed  upon  committees  by  one  of  them. 

Hauser,  who  was  appointed  governor  in  July 
18 8 5,3  resigned  late  in  1886,  'and  H.  P.  Leslie  of 

2  The  other  candidates  nominated  in  convention  were,  M.  A.  Meyendorff 
of  Helena,  Hiram  Knowles  of  Butte,  Caldwell  Edwards  of  Gallatin,  George 
O.   Eaton  of  Gallatin,  and  M.  J.   Learning  of  Fort  Benton.     The  names  of 
other  republicans  mentioned  in  connection  with  this  convention  were,  George 
Irvin  of  Silver  Bow,  Henry  N.  Blake  of  Madison,  J.  V.  Bogert  of  Gallatin, 
Charles  H.  Gould  of  Custer,  I.  Rotwitt  of  Meagher,  I.  D.  McCutcheon  of 
Lewis  and  Clarke,  Orville  B.  O'Bannon,  T.  H.  Carter,  and  Alex.  C.  Botkin. 

3  The  territorial  secretaries  from  the  organization  down  to  1888  were. 
Henry  P.  Torsey,  commissioned  June  22,  18(54;  John  Coburn,  March  3,  1805; 
Thomas  F.  Meagher,  Aug.  4,  1865;  James  Tufts,  March  28,  1867;  Wiley  S. 
Scribner,  April  20,  1869;  A.  H.  Sanders,  July  19,  1870;  James  E.  Callaway, 


GOVERNOR  LESLIE.  783 

Kentucky  received  the  appointment.  Governor  Les 
lie  found  the  territory  prosperous  and  peaceful,  giving 
him  little  anxiety  on  any  account.  He  seemed  by  his 
reports  to  be  impressed  by  its  probable  future  great 
ness,  and  to  feel  a  pride  in  its  advancement.  More  he 
could  not  do  than  to  remind  the  general  government 
how  little  it  had  done  towards  the  encouragement  of 
this  aspiring  commonwealth,  and  this  he  did  not  fail  in 
doing. 

The  legislature  of  1887  neglected  to  make  an  ap 
propriation  for  printing  its  journals,  and  therefore  no 
notice  can  be  taken  of  its  proceedings.4  Partisan  feel- 

Jan.  27,  1871;  James  H.  Mills,  May  10,  1877;  Isaac  D.  McCutcheon,  1881; 
John  S.  Tooker,  April  21,  1884;  William  B.  Webb,  1886-8,  and  Louis  A. 
Walker,  1889. 

Territorial  treasurers,  John  J.  Hull,  1864-6;  John  S.  Rockfellow, 
1866-7;  William  G.  Barkley,  1867-71;  Richard  0.  Hickman,  1871-5;  Daniel 
H.  Weston,  1875-87;  W.  G.  Prewitt,  1887-9. 

Territorial  auditors,  John  S.  Lott,  1864-6;  John  H.  Wing,  1866-7;  Wil 
liam  N.  Rodgers,  1867;  George  Callaway,  1874,  resigned;  Solomon  Starr, 
1874-6;  David  H.  Cuthbert,  1876-87;  James  Sullivan,  1887-9. 

Superintendents  of  public  instruction,  Thomas  J.  Dimsdale.  1864-6; 
Peter  Ronan,  resigned,  1866;  Alexander  H.  Barrett,  resigned,  1866;  A.  M.  S. 
Carpenter,  1866-7;  Thomas  F.  Campbell,  1867-9;  James  H.  Mills,  resigned, 
1869;  S.  G.  Lathrop,  1869-72;  Cornelius  Hedges,  1872-8;  R.  H.  Howie, 
1878-83;  Cornelius  Hedges,  1883-5;  W.  W.  Wylie,  1885-7;  N.  C.  Logan, 
1887-9. 

Receivers  of  United  States  land-office,  George  McLean,  1867-70;  Richard 
F.  May,  1870-2;  Solomon  Starr,  1872-5;  H.  M.  Keyser,  1875-7;  J.  V. 
Bogert,  1877-9;  Frank  P.  Sterling,  1877-9;  E.  Ballou,  C.  H.  Gould,  Z.  F. 
Burton,  John  T.  Carlin.  H.  S.  Howell,  John  T.  Carlin,  Abram  Hall,  dates  of 
commissions  not  known. 

Registers  of  United  States  land-office,  Orville  B.  O'Bannon,  1867-9; 
Lorenzo  B.  Lyman,  1869;  Addison  H.  Sanders,  1870-2;  William  C.  Child, 
1872-5;  James  H.  Moe,  1875-9;  David  \Vilson,  1879;  E.  A.  Kreidler,  Francis 
Adkinson,  O.  P.  Chisholm,  Washington  Berry,  S.  W.  Langhorne,  Eddy  F. 
Ferris,  A.  Grover,  dates  of  commissions  not  known. 

Collectors  of  internal  revenue,  Nathaniel  P.  Langford,  1864;  Andrew  J. 
Simmons,  18ti8;  W.  B.  Judd,  acting  collector,  1869;  Samuel  L.  Watson,  1869; 
Thomas  P.  Fuller,  1873-83;  James  Shields. 

Assessors  of  internal  revenue,  Truman  C.  Evarts,  1864;  Lucius  B.  Church, 
1870-3. 

Collectors  of  customs  for  district  Montana  and  Idaho,  John  X.  Beidler, 
1867;  Walter  W.  Johnson,  1869;  Thomas  A.  Cummings,  1873;  William  A. 
Hunt,  1881;  Thomas  A.  Cummings,  James  H.  Mills. 

Surveyors-general  United  States  land,  Solomon  Meredith,  1867;  Henry 
D.  Washburn,  1869;  John  E.  Elaine,  1871-3;  Andrew  J.  Smith,  1874;  Ros- 
well  H.  Mason,  1877-9;  John  S.  Harris,  1881;  B.  H.  Greene.  Id.  259-60. 

4  The  councilmen  elected  in  November  1886  were,  G.  L.  Batchelder, 
Beaverhead  co. ;  E.  Cardwell,  Jefferson;  T.  E.  Collins,  Choteau;  R.  O.  Hick 
man,  Madison;  S.  L.  Holliday,  Gallatin;  W.  B.  Hundley,  Lewis  and  Clarke; 
Will  Kennedy,  Missoula;  J.  K.  Pardee,  Deer  Lodge;  J.  E.  Rickards,  Silver 
Bow;  W.  H.  Sutherlin,  Fergus  and  Meagher;  J.  J.  Thompson,  Custer;  E.  C. 


784  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

ing,  although  gaining  force  and  momentum  as  the 
prospect  of  statehood  assumed  greater  certainty,  had 
not  been  permitted  to  mar  the  tranquillity  of  com 
munities.  For  twenty-four  years  every  legislature 
had  been  democratic,  but  in  1888  there  was  a  sufficient 
number  of  republicans  elected  to  give  that  party  a 
working  majority  in  both  branches  of  the  legislature. 
The  principal  measures  of  general  interest  acted 
upon  at  the  sixteenth  session  of  the  Montana  assem 
bly,  which  met  January  17,  1889,  were,  the  passage 
of  a  memorial  relating  to  a  bill  introduced  in  congress 
by  delegate  Toole  to  grant  to  the  territory  the  aban 
doned  Fort  Ellis  reservation  for  educational  purposes;5 
the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  codify  the  laws 

Waters,  Dawson  and  Yellowstone.  The  representatives  elected  were,  W. 
W.  Alderson,  F.  K.  Armstrong,  C.  W.  Hoffman,  Gallatin;  H.  N.  Blake, 
Madison;  L.  A.  Brown,  Beaverhead;  J.  W.  Buskett,  Jefferson  and  Lewis  and 
Clarke:  T.  L.  Gorham,  William  Muth,  Lewis  and  Clarke;  C.  W.  Hanscomb, 
Silver  Bow;  E.  N.  Harwood,  Yellowstone;  J.  M.  Holt,  E.  H.  Johnson,  Cus- 
ter;  J.  E.  Kanouse,  Fergus  and  Meagher;  Lee  Mantle,  William  Thompson, 
Silver  Bow;  T.  C.  Marshall,  Harrison  Spaulding,  Missoula;  J.  M.  Page, 
Beaverhead  and  Madison;  C.  R.  A.  Scobey,  Dawson;  J.  F.  Taylor.  Choteau; 
Jacob  Titman,  Fergus  and  Meagher;  J.  R.  Toole,  M.  W.  White,  Deer  Lodge; 
Enoch  Wilson,  Jefferson.  Auditor's  Rept,  1886,  41. 

5  Montana  had  not,  like  Washington  and  Idaho,  provided  for  a  territorial 
university.  Two  reasons  seem  to  have  operated  to  account  for  this  neglect 
by  a  people  so  enterprising:  one,  the  heavy  indebtedness  of  the  counties, 
which,  in  1888,  amounted  to  $1,500,000;  and  the  other,  that  a  large  amount 
of  money  was  annually  expended  upon  the  educational  system  of  the  terri 
tory,  which  provided  excellent  public  schools.  It  was  thought  that  the 
government  buildings  at  Fort  Ellis  might  serve  for  the  foundation  of  a  uni 
versity.  The  members  of  the  county  teachers'  institute,  which  was  held  at 
Missoula  in  1889,  pledged  themselves  to  use  their  best  endeavors  to  secure  its 
location  at  that  place,  giving  as  their  reasons  that  the  climate  was  unexcelled 
in  the  state,  and  that  the  university  lands  were  located  in  that  county,  with 
other  considerations,  such  as  the  fact  that  Missoula  was  entitled  to  one  of 
the  state  institutions. 

The  founder  of  Missoula  was  C.  P.  Higgins,  who  was  born  in  Ireland 
in  March  1830,  and  received  a  business  education  in  the  United  States. 
He  enlisted  in  the  U.  S.  army  at  the  age  of  18  years,  serving  5  years  in  the 
dragoons.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Gov.  Stevens  expedition  in  1853,  as 
sisted  in  the  first  survey  of  the  N.  P.  R.  R.,  and  was  with  Stevens  when  he 
made  his  treaties  with  the  Blackfoot,  Flathead,  Cosur  d'  Alene,  and  Spokane 
tribes.  In  1860,  he  settled  in  Hellgate  valley,  near  the  present  site  of 
Missoula,  and  engaged  in  trade.  In  1865,  he  located  the  town,  and  removed 
to  it,  in  company  with  Worden,  they  erecting  lumber  and  flouring  mills.  In 
1870  they  opened  a  bank,  of  which  Capt.  Higgins  is  president.  He  is  also 
interested  in  horse-raising,  and  owns  several  valuable  farms  and  mining  prop 
erties.  He  married,  in  1862,  Miss  Julia  P.  Grant,  and  has  9  children. 

The  first  convention  of  the  Montana  state  teachers'  association  was  held 
at  Dillon,  in  Beaverhead  co.,  Dec.  26-28,  1889,  Mrs.  H.  S.  Simmons,  of  Hel 
ena,  president. 


LEGISLATION.  785 

of  Montana;8  the  enactment  of  a  law  regulating  the 
practice  of  medicine  and  surgery;  acts  establishing 
some  county  boundaries;  an  act  to  provide  for  the 
organization,  regulation,  and  discipline  of  the  national 
guard  of  Montana;  the  refusal  by  the  legislature  to 
appropriate  money  to  send  an  exhibit  of  Montana  pro 
ductions  to  the  Paris  exposition; 7  the  creation  of  the 
office  of  mine  inspector,  which  was  to  secure  greater 
safety  in  mining;  the  consideration  of  numerous  peti 
tions  requesting  the  legislature  to  memorialize  congress 
to  take  such  action  as  would  preserve  the  mineral 
lands  of  Montana  free  from  title,  or  claim  of  title,  in 
any  railroad  company,  and  continue  it  open  for  explo 
ration  and  location;8  also  the  enactment  of  a  registra 
tion  law  which  should  secure  the  purity  of  elections. 

These  latter  two  measures  were  of  the  greatest  im 
portance.  Should  railroad  companies  claim  the  min 
eral  lands  to  be  found  within  the  limits  of  their  grants, 
many  mining  claims  already  opened  would  be  forfeited, 
or  if  not  forfeited,  their  development  must  be  delayed 
until  congress  or  the  courts  had  determined  their  pro 
prietary  rights.  The  question  was  brought  to  the 
attention  of  the  people  by  the  action  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  railroad  company  advertising  certain  appli- 

6  The  commissioners  appointed  were,  Newton  W.  McConnell  and  B.  Platt 
Carpenter,  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  co.,  and  F.  W.  Cole,  of  Silver  Bow  co.  Mont. 
Jour.  Council,  1889,  307. 

1  The  proposition  came  from  the  governor  in  his  message  to  the  legislature. 
The  reply  of  the  committee  to  whom  this  part  of  the  message  was  referred 
was,  first,  that  there  was  not  time  to  make  a  creditable  collection,  the  mines 
being  covered  with  snow  at  that  season.  But  the  chief  argument  was  that 
while  Montana  had  been  proven  to  be  the  greatest  producer  of  the  precious 
metals  of  any  of  the  states  or  territories;  and  while  every  honest  laborer  and 
capitalist  would  be  welcomed  to  the  territory,  the  United  States  prohibited 
any  alien  from  investing  in  mining  properties  during  territorial  dependency. 
What,  then,  would  be  the  use  of  going  to  the  expense  of  making  an  exhibit 
at  Paris,  when  foreign  capitalists  knew  they  were  debarred  from  investment? 
This  appears  a  very  petty  spleen,  especially  as  state  government  was  antici 
pated,  when  alien  mine-purchasers  would  be  desired,  and  might  be  procured 
by  an  expenditure  of  $20,000. 

8  Six  petitions  were  sent  from  Jefferson  co.,  aggregating  366  names,  —  two 
from  Madison,  with  65  names  attached;  four  from  Deer  Lodge,  containing 
238  names;  and  five  from  Silver  Bow,  with  130  names — all  desiring  a  law  of 
congress  settling  the  doubt  as  to  the  title  to  mineral  lands  in  the  odd  sections 
within  railroad  limits.  Mont.  Jour.  House,  1889,  197.  Butte  co.  also  sent  two 
petitions  of  05  names. 
HIST.  WASH.— 60 


786  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

cations  for  patent  on  mineral  lands,  and  by  rulings  of 
the  land  department  which  appeared  to  be  adverse  to 
the  mineral  claimants,  together  with  the  probability 
that  patents  might  be  issued  to  the  railroad  company 
regardless  of  the  rights  of  mine-owners.  These  ap 
prehensions  led  to  the  holding  of  a  mineral-land 
convention  at  Helena  on  the  29th  of  November, 
1889,  of  which  Lee  Mantle  was  president,  in  order 
to  devise  new  ways  of  meeting  a  serious  crisis  in  the 
affairs  of  Montana,  2,000,000  acres  of  the  richest 
mineral  land,  including  the  famous  Oro  Fino  district, 
being  involved  in  the  threatened  coup  of  the  rail 
road  company.9 

A  registration  law  was  passed,  which  it  was  believed 
would  secure  purity  of  the  ballot,  the  form  of  ticket 
adopted  being,  except  some  modifications,  that  used 
in  what  is  known  as  the  Australian  system.  It 
secures  secrecy10  by  placing  upon  the  same  ticket  the 
names  of  opposing  candidates,  the  voter  marking  off 
those  he  does  not  approve.  Under  this  system  ballot- 
box  stuffing  is  prevented;  and  except  extraordinary 
intimidation  were  used,  would  always  give  correct  re- 

9  The  claim  of  the  N.  P.  R.  R.  was,  that  if  a  mine  should  be  discovered 
on  its  land,  the  burden  of  the  proof  that  the  land  was  more  valuable  for  its 
minerals  than  for  anything  else  should  rest  upon  the  claimant,  and  not  upon 
the  railroad.  If  the  road,  it  says,  is  to  be  compelled  to  surrender  its  title  to 
any  land  because  some  one  calls  it  mineral  land,  the  titles  to  a  vast  amount 
of  property  between  Duluth  and  the  Pacific  coast  would  be  imperilled.  The 
company  claims  that  if  a  man  wishes  to  locate  a  mine  on  any  part  of  its 
granted  lands  he  must  furnish  absolute  proof  that  it  is  more  valuable  as 
mineral  than  as  agricultural  land.  Portland  Oregonian,  Nov.  4,  1889.  It  is 
easy  to  see  how  Montana,  in  which  the  N.  P.  R.  R.  owns  19,000,000  acres  of 
land,  much  of  which  is  undoubtedly  mineral,  will,  without  the  intervention 
of  congress,  become  involved  in  endless  litigation. 

18  The  oath  taken  by  the  Montana  legislature,  and  designed  to  prevent 
corruption  in  that  body,  was  as  follows:  'I  do  solemnly  swear  that  I  will 
support,  protect,  and  defend  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
organic  act  of  the  territory  of  Montana,  and  that  I  will  discharge  the  duties 
of  my  office  with  fidelity;  that  I  have  not  paid  or  contributed,  or  promised 
to  pay  or  contribute,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  any  money  or  other  valu 
able  thing,  to  procure  my  nomination  or  election,  except  for  necessary  and 
proper  expenses,  expressly  authorized  by  law;  that  I  have  not  knowingly 
violated  any  election  law  of  this  territory,  or  procured  it  to  be  done  by 
others  in  my  behalf;  that  I  will  not  knowingly  receive,  directly  or  indirectly, 
any  money  or  other  valuable  thing,  for  the  performance  or  non-performance, 
of  any  act  or  duty  pertaining  to  my  office,  other  than  the  compensation 
allowed  by  law.  Montana  Jour.  House,  1889,  2. 


CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.  787 

turns.  A  law  reapportioning  the  legislative  assembly 
of  Montana  was  also  enacted  at  this  session,  which 
expired  March  14th,  having  passed  in  both  houses  a 
memorial  to  congress  relating  to  admission  into  the 
union.  A  few  days  later,  congress  passed  the  enabling 
act  authorizing  a  constitutional  convention. 

O 

By  the  election  of  November  1888,  Thomas  H. 
Carter,  republican,  was  chosen  delegate  to  congress.11 
Subsequent  to  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature 
Benjamin  F.  White  of  Dillon  was  appointed  gover 
nor  J"  by  President  Harrison.  The  passage  of  an 
enabling  act  by  a  republican  congress  also  gave  to 
Montana  politics  a  new,  and,  by  many,  an  undesired 
turn.  However,  the  people  were  nearly  unanimous 
in  favor  of  state  government,  and  proceeded  with  great 
good  humor  to  the  election  of  their  constitution- 
makers.  The  convention  assembled  July  4th  at 
Helena,  electing  William  A.  Clark  president,13  and 

11  W.  A.  Clark,  democrat,  was  opposed  to  Carter.     The  vote  was  22,468 
for  Carter,  and  17,300  for  Clark. 

12  B.  F.  Wnite  was  born  in  Mass,  in  1838.     When   20  years  of  age  he 
shipped  as  a  seaman  before  the  mast  for  a  voyage  to  San  Francisco,  and  lik 
ing  California,  remained  there,  finding  employment  on  a  fruit-farm  in  Napa 
co.  until  1800,  when  he  went  to  Idaho,  where  he  was  appointed  clerk  of  the 
U.  S.  district  court,  which  position  he  filled  until  1878,  when  he  removed  to 
Montana,  settling  at  Dillon,  in  Beaverhead  co.     He  was  elected  to  the  terri 
torial  legislature  in  1882,  serving  one  term.     On  the  organization  of  the  First 
National  bank  of  Dillon  he  was  elected  cashier.     He  was  appointed  governor 
in  March  1889.     He  is  described  in  the  Northwest  Mayazint  of  May  1889  as 
being  'a  man  of  distinguished  appearance.     His  thin  face,  gray  hair,  mous 
tache,  and  imperial  give  him  the  look  of  a  French  general.' 

13  Clark  was  also  president  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1884.     He 
was  born  near  Councils ville,  Fayette  co.,  Pa,  and  educated  in  the  public 
schools  and  Laurel  Hill  academy.     He  removed  with  his  father  to  Iowa  in 
1850,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  and  school-teaching  during  one  year,  after 
which  he  attended  an  academy  one  term,  followed  by  a  term  at  the  university 
at  Mt  Pleasant,  where  he  began  the  study  of  law,  which  he  prosecuted  for 
two  years,  after  which  he  again  resorted  to  teaching.     In  1802  he  drove  a 
team  across  the  plains  to  the  South  Park,  Colorado,  and  worked  in  the  quartz 
mines  at  Central  City  until  1803,  when  he  came  to  Montana,  arriving  at  Ban- 
nack  July  7th,  sixty-five  days  from  Central  City,  with  an  ox-team.     His 
career  in  Montana  has  been  one  of  remarkable  activity  and  success.     Mining, 
freighting,  merchandising,  mail-contracting,  cattle-trading,  gold-dust  buying 
and  selling,  and  all  the  various  avocations  of  a  new  country  were  in  turn 
made  to  yield  their  profits,  and  sometimes  also  their  losses.     In    1808   he 
formed  a  partnership  with  It.  W.  Donnell  of  New  York,  and  opened  a  whole 
sale  mercantile  house  at  Helena,'  which  was  removed  in  1870  to  Deer  Lodge, 
and  consolidated  with  a  large  house  owned  by  Donuell,  when  S.  E.  Larabie 


788  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

William  H.  Todd  chief  clerk.  Its  material  was  of 
the  best  of  both  political  parties,  who  worked  to 
gether  harmoniously,  and  "  grateful  to  almighty 
God  for  the  blessings  of  liberty,"  ordained  and  es 
tablished  in  due  time  the  constitution  of  the  state  of 
Montana.14 

was  admitted  to  the  firm,  and  a  banking-house  established  by  them,  to  which, 
finding  it  necessary  to  give  their  whole  attention,  they  sold  out  the  merchan 
dise,  and  in  1872  organized  a  national  bank,  of  which  Clark  was  elected  pres 
ident.  In  1S78  they  surrendered  this  charter,  and  continued  the  business 
under  the  former  name  and  style,  with  a  branch  at  Butte,  where  they  erected 
an  elegant  bank  building.  In  1884  Clark  and  Larabie  purchased  Doniiell's 
interest  in  all  their  Montana  business. 

Mr  Clark  had  in  the  mean  time  become  interested  in  the  quartz  mines  of 
Butte,  owning  in  the  Original,  Colusa,  Mountain  Chief,  and  Gambetta  mines, 
and  had  spent  a  year  in  the  school  of  mines  of  Columbia  College,  New  York, 
where  he  acquired  a  knowledge  that  was  of  the  greatest  service  to  him  in 
his  subsequent  extensive  experience  in  mining.  In  1879  he  organized  the 
Colorado  and  Montana  Smelting  company.  He  later  became  part  owner 
in  about  fifty  mines  of  copper,  silver,  and  gold,  and  of  very  valuable  con 
centrating,  calcining,  and  smelting  works,  and  also  owner  of  a  one-third 
interest  in  the  Shoshone  Falls  property  in  Idaho;  besides  having  large  inter 
ests  in  water  and  electric-light  companies  and  real  estate.  The  offices  held  by 
him  at  various  times  were  that  of  state  orator  to  represent  Montana  at  the  cen 
tennial  exhibition  in  Phila;  of  grand  master  of  masons;  of  major  of  the  Butte 
battalion  of  volunteers  in  the  Nez  Perce  war  of  1877;  president  of  the  state 
convention  of  1884;  commissioner  to  the  world's  industrial  and  cotton  expo 
sition  at  New  Orleans  in  1885;  and  lastly,  president  of  the  state  constitu 
tional  convention  of  1889.  He  is  very  wealthy,  and  having  been  the  maker 
of  his  own  fortune  by  legitimate  means,  is  justly  regarded  as  a  shining  exam 
ple  of  a  'great  westerner.' 

u  The  following  persons  were  membeis  of  the  constitutional  convention: 
William  A.  Clark,  Walter  M.  Bickford,  J.  F.  Brazelton,  Peter  Breen,  E.  D. 
Aiken,  Simon  It.  Buford,  William  Mason  Bullard,  Walter  A.  Burleigh,  Alex. 
F.  Burns,  Andrew  J.  Burns,  Edward  Burns,  James  Edward  Cardwell,  B. 
Platt  Carpenter,  Milton  Canby,  William  A.  Chessman,  Timothy  E.  Collins, 
Charles  E.  Conrad,  Walter  Cooper,  Thomas  F.  Courtney,  Arthur  J.  Craven, 
W.  W.  Dixon,  D.  M.  Durfee,  William  Dyer,  WilliamT.  Field,  George  0.  Eaton, 
J.  E.  Gaylord,  Paris  Gibson,  Warren  C.  Gillette,  0.  F.  Goddard,  Fielding  L. 
Graves,  R.  E.  Hammond,  Charles  S.  Hartman,  Henri  J.  Haskell,  Luke  D. 
Hatch,  Lewis  H.  Hirshfield,  Richard  0.  Hick  man,  S.  S.  Hobson,  Joseph  Ho- 
gan,  Thomas  Joyes,  Allen  R.  Joy,  J.  E.  Kanouse,  A.  R.  Joy,  W.  J.  Kennedy, 
H.  Knippenberg,  Hiram  Kuowls,  Conrad  Kohrs,  C.  H.  Loud,  Llewellyn  A. 
Luce,  Martin  Maginnis,  J.  E.  Marion,  Charles  S.  Marshall,  William  Mayger, 
P.  W.  McAclow,  C.  R.  Middleton,  Samuel  Mitchell,  William  Muth,  Alfred 
Myers,  William  Parberry,  W.  R.  Ramsdell,  G.  J.  Reek,  John  C.  Robin 
son,  L.  Rotwitt,  J.  C.  Rickards,  Francis  E.  Sargeant,  Leopold  F.  Schmidt, 
George  W.  Stapleton,  Joseph  K.  Toole,  J.  R.  Toole,  Charles  S.  Warren, 
William  H.  Watson,  H.  R.  Whitehill,  Charles  M.  Webster,  George  B.  Win 
ston,  Aaron  C.  Whitfcier,  David  G.  Brown.  Helena  Independent,  Aug.  27, 
1889. 

J.  K.  Toole  was  born  in  Savannah,  Mo.,  in  1851.  He  received  his  edu 
cation  in  the  schools  of  St  Joseph  and  the  western  military  academy  at 
Newcastle,  Ky,  after  which  he  studied  law  in  that  state,  and  came  to  Mon 
tana  in  18i39,  where  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  commenced  the  practice 


CONSTITUTIONAL  PROVISIONS.  789 

This  instrument  possesses,  in  the  main,  the  same 
features  which  distinguish  the  constitutions  of  all  the 

of  his  profession.  In  1872  he  was  elected  district  attorney,  which  office  he 
held  for  several  terms.  He  was  elected  to  serve  at  the  twelfth  session  of  the 
territorial  legislature,  and  chosen  president  of  the  council.  He  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1884,  and  in  the  autumn  of  that 
year  was  chosen  delegate  to  congress  to  succeed  Martin  Magiimis,  and  re- 
elected  in  1886. 

J.  E.  Rickards  was  born  in  Delaware  in  1848.  In  1873  he  went  to  Colo, 
where  he  resided  until  1879,  when  he  removed  to  San  Francisco,  remaining 
there  until  1882,  when  he  came  to  Montana,  making  Jiis  home  at  Butte.  He 
was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Butte  City  council  in  1885,  and  elected  member 
of  territorial  senate  in  1887.  He  was,  after  the  adoption  of  the  constitu 
tion,  a  candidate  for  the  place  of  lieutenant-governor,  which  he  obtained. 

W.  W.  Dixon  was  horn  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  in  1838,  and  migrated  with 
his  parents  to  111.  in  1842.  He  received  his  education  at  Quincy,  111.,  and 
Keokuk,  la.  In  1862  he  went  to  Nev.,  where  he  remained  until  1866,  when 
he  came  to  Montana,  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  the  law.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  legislature  in  1871,  and  of  the  state  convention  of  1884.  Al 
though  interested  in  mining,  later  he  continued  to  practise  his  profession, 
avoiding  office. 

John  R.  Toole,  born  in  Maine  in  1849,  removed  with  his  parents  to  Madi 
son,  Wis.,  in  1855,  where  he  was  educated.  In  1873  he  went  to  Utah,  where 
he  worked  in  the  mines  for  five  years,  going  to  Idaho  in  1878,  where  he  again 
mined  until  1884,  when  he  came  to  Montana,  settling  at  Anaconda,  Deer 
Lodge  co.,  his  present  home.  In  1886  he  was  elected  to  the  territorial 
legislature,  reflected  in  1888,  and  was  nominated  for  the  state  legislature  in 
18S9. 

H.  Knippenberg,  born  in  Germany  in  1843,  immigrated  with  his  parents 
to  the  U.  S.  in  1848.  He  was  a  manufacturer  in  Indianapolis,  when,  in  1881, 
he  accepted  the  position  of  superintendent  of  the  Hecla  mines,  in  Beaverhead 
co.  When  he  came  to  Montana  the  Hecla  Company  was  §77,000  in  debt. 
Under  his  management  the  company  built  §300,000  worth  of  improvements, 
and  paid  dividends  of  over  §1,500,000  in  cash.  He  made  his  residence  at 
Irlendale,  Beaverhead  co. 

Edward  Card  well,  born  in  Wellington  co.,  Canada;  in  1841  went  to 
Michigan,  and  in  1878  to  Utah,  whence  he  soon  came  to  Montana.  He  first 
mined  at  Virginia  City  for  six  years,  after  which  he  settled  on  a  raucho  on 
the  Yellowstone,  near  Stillwater. 

Hiram  Knowles,  born  in  Hampden,  Penobscot  co.,  Me,  in  1834,  removed 
with  his  parents  to  that  part  of  Hancock  co. ,  111.,  which  is  now  Warren  co., 
but  afterwards  to  Iowa,  from  which  state,  in  1850,  he  went  with  his  father  to 
Cal.,  returning  the  following  year  to  Keokuk,  la.  In  1854  he  entered  Den 
mark  academy,  and  subsequently  Antioch  college,  after  which  he  studied 
law  with  Judge  Miller  of  Keokuk,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1859. 
He  attended  lectwes  at  Cambridge  law  school,  graduating  in  I860,  when  he 
began  practice.  In  1862  he  went  to  Dayton,  Mo  ,  and  was  appointed  dis 
trict  attorney  for  Humboldt  co.,  and  elected  probate  judge.  In  1865  he 
removed  to  Idaho  City,  but  the  following  year  came  to  Montana  and  en 
gaged  in  mining  for  a  few  months,  when  he  returned  to  Keokuk  to  practise 
law.  In  1868  lie  was  appointed  one  of  the  supreme  judges  of  Montana,  which 
position  he  filled  with  distinction  until  1879.  In  1881  lie  formed  a  law  part 
nership  with  John  F.  Forbis  of  Butte,  and  took  up  his  residence  there. 

L.  H.  Hershfield,  born  in  Oneida  co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1836,  went  to  St  Louis  in 
1854,  and  in  1859  to  Leavenworth,  Kan.,  whence  he  migrated  with  the  gold- 
seekers  to  Colo,  going  into  merchandising  at  Central  City.  In  1864  he  came 
to  Montana  with  a  train  of  26  wagons,  which  he  sold  out  on  arriving  at  Vir- 


790  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

younger  states,  which  are  even  more  jealous  of  their 
liberties  than  their  elders.  While  restricting  legisla- 

ginia  City,  to  engage  in  buying  gold-dust.  In  1865  he  established  his  present 
banking  business  in  Helena,  being  also  at  the  head  of  the  firm  of  L.  H.  Hersh- 
field  &  Co.,  of  Virginia  City.  In  1882,  with  his  brother,  he  organized  the 
Merchants'  National  bank,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $150,000.  He  also,  in  1880, 
established  a  bank  at  Benton,  and  in  1883  another  at  White  Sulphur  Springs, 
in  which  property  he  is  largely  interested.  He  became  one  of  the  chief  capi 
talists  of  Montana. 

Martin  Maginnis,  a  native  of  Wayne  co.,  N.  Y.,  was  born  in  1840,  but 
removed  to  Minnesota  when  young,  where  he  was  educated  by  an  academic 
and  university  course.  He  left  college  to  take  charge  of  a  democratic  journal, 
but  when  the  rebellion  broke  out,  left  his  desk  to  join  the  union  army,  enlist 
ing  as  a  private  in  the  1st  Minn.  vol.  inf.  in  1861.  After  the  battle  of  Bull 
Run  he  was  commissioned  2d  lieut;  promoted  to  1st  lieut  in  1862,  and  to  cap 
tain  in  1863.  In  1864  he  was  commissioned  major  of  the  llth  Minn.  vol.  inf., 
and  transferred  to  the  army  of  the  Cumberland,  serving  under  Gen.  Thomas 
until  mustered  out  in  1865.  The  following  year  he  came  to  Montana  and 
edited  and  published  the  Helena  Gazette,  a  political  paper,  through  which 
means  he  was  elected  to  the  43d  congress  in  1872,  remaining  in  this  office 
until  1885,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  J.  K.  Toole,  another  democrat. 

Conrad  Korhs,  born  in  Holstein,  Germany,  in  1835,  shipped  as  a  sailor  in 
1852,  reaching  New  York  and  locating  in  Davenport,  la,  in  the  following 
year.  In  1857  he  removed  to  Cal.,  and  in  1862  to  Montana,  where  he  en 
gaged  in  buying,  selling,  and  butchering  cattle  for  market.  That  he  was  suc 
cessful  in  acquiring  a  fortune  was  apparent  by  the  following  general  inven 
tory  of  his  property  in  Montana:  840  acres  of  land  adjoining  Deer  Lodge,  2,500 
acres  of  stock  range,  1,000  acres,  4  miles  above  Deer  Lodge,  of  rich  bottom 
land,  300  shorthorn  cattle,  5,000  to  10,000  common  stock  worth  $28  to  $30 
per  head,  imported  bulls  worth  $2,500,  a  herd  of  several  thousand  sheep, 
and  a  band  of  fine  horses.  Besides,  he  owns  shares  in  the  largest  ditch 
ever  constructed  in  the  country  for  mining  purposes,  and  in  the  mines  oper 
ated  by  it.  Mr  Korhs  was  elected  county  commissioner  in  1869,  and  helped 
to  bring  the  county  out  of  debt  by  able  management. 

Perry  W.  McAdow,  born  in  1838,  in  Mason  co.,  Ky,  of  Scotch  ancestry, 
in  1839  removed  with  his  parents  to  the  Platt  Purchase,  Mo.,  and  in  1850  to 
California,  but  his  father  dying,  Perry  returned  to  Mo.  and  entered  the  Ma 
sonic  college.  In  1857  he  went  to  Fort  Bridger,  joining  Gen.  Johnston's  ex 
pedition  to  Utah  in  1838,  where  he  entered  the  service  of  Gilbert  &  Ger- 
vish  as  salesman  until  1860,  when  he  again  returned  to  Mo.  In  the  spring  of 
1861  he  took  passage  on  a  Missouri  river  steamer  for  Fort  Benton,  which 
caught  fire  and  exploded  at  the  mouth  of  Poplar  river,  350  miles  below  that 
place.  By  this  disaster  he  lost  all  he  possessed,  and  was  compelled  to  walk 
to  Fort  Benton,  whence  he  went  to  Fort  Owens  to  winter.  The  following 
spring  he  discovered  Pioneer  gulch,  taking  out  $1,000.  From  here  he  went 
to  Bannack,  and  was  one  of  the  party  which  discovered  Alder  gulch,  where 
he  erected  a  saw-mill,  which  he  sold  in  1864,  and  with  the  proceeds  located 
himself  in  the  Gallatin  valley,  and  erected  the  first  grist-mill  in  the  territory, 
selling  flour  for  $25  per  100  pounds.  He  is  still  a  miller  and  farmer,  as  well 
as  a  stock-raiser,  and  dealer  in  real  estate  in  Billings  and  Bozeman. 

B.  Platt  Carpenter,  ex -governor  of  Montana,  was  born  at  Stanford, 
Dutchess  co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1837.  He  graduated  from  Union  college  in  1857, 
and  in  1858  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  In  the  same  year  he  was  elected  dis 
trict  attorney  of  Dutchess  co.,  and  in  1864  was  appointed  internal  revenue 
assessor  for  the  12th  (now  16th)  congressional  district,  holding  the  office  until 
1869.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  N.  Y.  state  constitutional  convention, 
and  in  1872  of  the  republican  state  convention  at  Utica,  where  his  talents 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  party,  which  published  his  speech  as  a  cam- 


CONSTITUTIONAL  PROVISIONS.  791 

tion  and  extravagant  appropriation  of  public  moneys, 
the  interests  of  labor  were  carefully  protected.  It 
declared  that  the  legislature  might  provide  for  a  bureau 
of  agriculture,  labor,  and  industry  to  be  located  at  the 
capital,  and  under  the  control  of  commissioners  ap 
pointed  by  the  governor,  subject  to  the  approval  of 
the  senate.  It  was  made  unlawful  for  the  warden  of 
the  penitentiary,  or  any  officer  of  any  reformatory 
institution  in  the  state,  or  for  any  state  officer,  to  let 
prison  labor  by  contract. 

With  regard  to  revenue  and  taxation,  the  revenue 
necessary  for  the  support  of  the  state  was  to  be  pro 
vided  by  a  uniform  rate  of  assessment  upon  a  just 
valuation  of  all  property,  except  in  cases  provided; 
and  a  license-tax  upon  persons  and  corporations  might 
be  imposed  by  the  legislature  for  state  purposes.  The 
property  of  the  United  States,  the  state  of  Montana, 
of  counties,  cities,  towns,  school  districts,  municipal 
corporations,  and  public  libraries  should  be  exempt; 
and  such  property  as  should  be  used  by  agricultural 
and  horticultural  societies,  or  for  educational  purposes, 
places  of  religious  worship,  hospitals,  places  of  sepul 
chre,  and  charitable  institutions  of  a  public  nature, 
were  also  exempted. 

All  mines  and  mining  claims,  both  placer  and  rock 
in  place,  containing  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  coal,  or 
other  valuable  minerals,  after  purchase  from  the  Uni- 

paign  document  of  that  year.  In  1875  he  was  elected  state  senator,  and  in 
1877,  declining  reelection,  was  chosen  county  judge.  He  was  commissioned 
governor  of  Montana  in  1884,  succeeding  Gov.  Crosby,  and  preceding  Gov. 
Hauser. 

James  E.  Callaway  was  born  in  Ky  in  1835.  His  progenitors  were  all 
southerners,  and  his  grandfather  one  of  the  Boone  colony  which  settled  in 
Ky,  while  his  father  was  a  minister  of  fine  culture.  James  had  a  collegiate 
education,  and  studied  law  with  Gov.  Yates  of  111.,  being  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1857.  He  became  also  a  member  of  the  bar  of  the  U.  S.  supreme  court. 
During  the  civil  war  he  served  from  April  1861  to  the  close,  entering  the 
service  as  captain  of  company  D,  21st  regt  111.  vols — Gen.  Grant's  old  regi 
ment — -rising  to  the  rank  of  colonel,  and  part  of  the  time  commanding  a 
brigade.  He  came  to  Montana  in  1871,  and  served  several  years  a  territorial 
secretary.  In  1884  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  house  of  representatives 
from  Madison  co. ,  of  which  he  was  elected  speaker,  enjoying  the  distinction 
of  being  the  first  republican  who  ever  presided  over  a  legislative  body  in 
Montana. 


792  PROGRESS  AND   STATEHOOD. 

ted  States  should  be  taxed  at  the  price  paid  the 
United  States,  unless  the  surface-ground  had  a  separate 
value  for  other  than  mining  purposes,  when  it  should 
be  taxed  according  to  its  independent  value;  all  ma 
chinery  used  in  mining,  and  all  property  and  surface 
improvements  having  a  value  separate  from  mines  or 
mining  claims,  were  subject  to  tax  as  provided  bylaw, 
as  was  also  the  annual  net  proceeds  of  all  mines  and 
mining  claims.  Municipal  corporations  only  could 
levy  taxes  for  municipal  purposes;  and  taxes  for  city, 
town,  and  school  purposes  might  be  levied  upon  all 
subjects  and  objects  of  taxation,  but  the  valuation  of 
such  property  should  not  exceed  the  valuation  of  the 
same  property  for  state  and  county  purposes;  and  no 
county,  city,  or  town  should  be  released  from  its  pro 
portionate  share  of  state  taxes. 

The  powder  to  tax  corporations  or  corporate  property 
should  never  be  relinquished  or  suspended,  and  all  cor 
porations  in  the  state,  or  doing  business  therein, 
should  be  subject  to  taxes  for  state,  county,  school, 
municipal,  and  other  purposes,  on  real  or  personal 
property  owned  by  them,  and  not  exempted  by  the 
constitution.  Private  property  should  not  be  sold  for 
corporate  debts,  but  the  legislature  should  provide  by 
law  for  the  funding  of  such  indebtedness,  and  the  pay 
ment  thereof,  by  taxation  of  all  private  property  not 
exempt  within  the  limits  of  the  territory,  over  which 
such  corporations  had  authority. 

The  rate  of  taxation  in  any  one  year  should  not 
exceed  three  mills  on  each  dollar  of  valuation;  and 
whenever  the  taxable  property  in  the  state  shall 
amount  to  $100,000,000  the  rate  should  not  exceed 
two  and  one  half  mills  on  each  dollar,  and  whenever 
it  should  amount  to  $300,000,000  the  rate  should  not 
exceed  one  and  one  half  mills  to  the  dollar,  without  a 
proposition  to  increase  the  rate  being  submitted  to  a 
vote  of  the  people. 

No  appropriations  should  be  made  or  authorized  by 
the  legislature,  whereby  the  expenditures  of  the  state 


CONSTITUTIONAL  PROVISIONS.  793 

should  exceed  the  total  tax  provided  by  law,  and  ap 
plicable  to  such  expenditure,  unless  the  legislature 
making  the  appropriation  should  provide  for  levying 
a  sufficient  tax,  not  exceeding  the  constitutional  rate; 
but  this  provision  should  not  apply  to  appropriations 
made  to  suppress  insurrection,  defend  the  state,  or 
assist  in  defending  the  United  States,  and  no  appro 
priation  should  be  made  for  a  longer  period  than  two 
years. 

Particular  attention  was  bestowed  upon  the  article 
on  corporations,  with  a  view  to  prevent  the  evils  aris 
ing  out  of  the  assumption  of  power  through  which 
many  commonwealths  have  suffered,  and  to  make 
chartered  companies  amenable  to  law.10 

15  All  charters  or  grants  of  exclusive  privileges  under  which  corporations 
had  not  organized  or  commenced  business  before  the  adoption  of  the  consti 
tution  were  annulled.  No  charter  of  incorporation  should  be  granted,  ex 
tended,  or  amended  by  special  law,  except  those  under  the  control  of  the 
state;  but  the  legislature  should  provide  by  general  law  for  tlie  organization 
of  corporations  to  be  thereafter  created,  which  law  should  be  subject  to 
repeal  or  alteration  by  the  same  body,  which  should  also  have  power  to  alter, 
revoke,  or  annul  any  existing  charter  whenever,  in  its  opinion,  such  corpora 
tion  was  injurious  to  the  citizens  of  the  state.  la  elections  for  directors  or 
trustees  of  incorporated  companies,  every  stockholder  shall  have  the  right  to 
vote  in  person  or  by  proxy  the  number  of  shares  owned  by  him  m  such  man 
ner  as  he  should  see  tit. 

All  railroad,  transportation,  and  express  companies  were  declared  common 
carriers,  subject  to  legislative  control;  were  compelled  to  connect  with 
railroads  of  other  states  at  the  state  boundary,  to  permit  intersecting  roads  to 
cross  their  lines,  and  were  forbidden  to  consolidate  with  any  parallel  line,  or 
unite  its  business  or  earnings;  nor  should  any  officer  of  one  transportation 
company  act  as  an  officer  of  any  other  such  company  having  a  parallel  or 
competing  line.  Discrimination  was  forbidden;  but  special  rates  might  be 
given  to  excursionists,  provided  they  were  the  same  to  all  persons.  No 
transportation  company  should  be  allowed,  under  penalties  to  be  prescribed 
by  the  legislature,  to  charge  or  receive  any  greater  toll  for  carrying  passengers 
or  freight  a  short  distance  than  for  a  longer  one;  nor  should  any  preference 
be  given  to  any  individual,  association,  or  corporation  in  furnishing  cars  or 
motive  power,  or  for  the  transportation  of  money  or  other  express  matter. 

No  railroad,  express,  or  other  transportation  company  in  existence  at  the 
time  of  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  should  have  the  benefit  of  any  future 
legislation,  without  first  riling  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state  an  accept 
ance  of  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  in  binding  form.  The  right  of 
eminent  domain  should  never  be  abridged,  nor  so  construed  as  to  prevent  the 
legislative  assembly  from  taking  the  property  and  franchises  of  incorporated 
companies,  and  subjecting  them  to  the  public  use  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
property  of  individuals;  nor  the  police  powers  of  the  state  be  abridged  or  so 
construed  as  to  permit  any  corporations  to  conduct  their  business  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  infringe  the  equal  rights  of  individuals,  or  the  general  well-being 
of  the  state. 

No  corporation  should  issue  stocks  or  bonds,  except  for  a  real  considera 
tion  in  labor,  property,  or  money,  and  fictitious  issues  of  stock  should  be  void. 


794  PEOGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

The  article  on  elections  declared  that  an  elector 
must  be  a  male  person  of  legal  age,  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  have  resided  in  this  state  one  year,  and 
in  the  county,  town,  or  precinct  such  time  as  the  law 
prescribed,  not  a  felon;  but  no  person  having  the  right 
to  vote  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  constitution 
should  be  deprived  of  the  right  to  vote  on  the  adop 
tion.  And  it  was  provided  that  after  the  expiration 
of  five  years  no  person  except  citizens  of  the  United 
States  should  have  the  right  to  vote.  No  person 
should  be  elected  or  appointed  to  any  office  in  the  state 
who  was  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who 
had  not  resided  one  year  in  Montana.  The  legislature 
should  have  the  power  to  pass  registration  and  other 
laws  necessary  to  secure  the  purity  of  elections. 
Women  should  be  eligible  to  hold  the  office  of  county 
superintendent,  or  any  school  district  office,  and  have 
the  right  to  vote  at  any  school  district  election.  And 
upon  all  questions  submitted  to  the  tax-payers  of  the 
state,  or  any  political  division  thereof,  women  who 
were  tax-payers,  and  possessed  of  the  qualifications  for 
the  right  of  suffrage  required  of  men  by  the  constitu 
tion,  should,  equally  with  men,  have  the  right  to  vote. 
In  all  elections  by  the  people,  the  person  receiving  the 
highest  number  of  votes  should  be  declared  elected. 

The  question  of  the  permanent  location  of  the  capi- 

The  stock  of  corporations  should  not  be  increased  except  in  pursuance  of  a 
general  law,  nor  without  the  consent  of  a  majority  of  the  stockholders.  For 
eign  corporations  must  have  one  or  more  known  places  of  business,  and  an. 
authorized  agent  or  agents  upon  whom  process  might  be  served,  and  should 
not  be  allowed  to  exercise  or  enjoy  greater  rights  or  privileges  than  those 
enjoyed  by  other  corporations  created  under  the  laws  of  the  state.  It  was 
made  unlawful  for  any  corporation  to  require  of  its  employes,  as  a  condition 
of  their  employment,  or  otherwise,  any  contract  or  agreement  releasing  the 
company  from  liability  or  responsibility  on  account  of  personal  injuries  re 
ceived  by  them  while  in  their  service  by  reason  of  the  negligence  of  the 
company  or  its  agents,  and  such  contracts  were  declared  void.  No  incorpo 
rated  or  stock  company,  person,  or  association  of  persons,  in  the  state  of  Mon 
tana,  should  combine  or  form  what  is  known  as  a  trust,  or  make  contracts 
with  persons  or  corporations  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  the  price  or  regulating 
the  production  of  any  article  of  commerce,  or  of  the  product  of  the  soil,  for 
consumption  by  the  people.  The  legislature  should  cause  adequate  penalties 
to  be  enforced  to  the  extent,  if  necessary,  of  the  forfeiture  of  their  property 
and  franchises,  and  in  the  case  of  foreign  corporations,  prohibiting  them 
from  carrying  on  business  in  the  state. 


CONSTITUTIONAL  PROVISIONS.  795 

tal  should  be  submitted  to  the  qualified  electors  in  the 
year  1892,  after  which  it  would  require  a  two-thirds 
vote  of  the  electors  to  change  it,  and  the  legislature 
should  make  no  appropriations  for  capitol  buildings 
until  the  seat  of  government  should  be  permanently 
located.  Ample  provision  was  made  for  a  school  fund. 
The  legislative  and  executive  departments  of  the 
government  had  their  powers  carefully  defined  and 
guarded.  The  session  of  the  state  legislative  assembly 
should  meet  at  noon  on  the  first  Monday  of  January, 
1890,  and  each  alternate  year  thereafter,  except  the 
first,  which  should  be  determined  by  the  proclamation 
of  the  governor  after  the  admission  of  the  state  into 
the  union,  but  not  more  than  fifteen  nor  less  than  ten 
days  thereafter. 

The  executive  department  should  consist  of  a 
governor,  lieutenant-governor,  secretary  of  state, 
attorney-general,  state  treasurer,  state  auditor,  and 
superintendent  of  public  instruction,  each  of  whom 
should  hold  office  four  years,  or  until  his  successor 
was  elected,  beginning  on  the  first  Monday  of  January 
next  succeeding  his  election,  except  that  the  terms  of 
office  of  those  chosen  at  the  first  election  should  begin 
when  the  state  was  admitted,  and  end  on  the  first 
Monday  of  January  1893. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  state  was  vested  in  the 
senate  sitting  as  a  court  of  impeachment,  in  a  supreme 
court,  district  court,  justices  of  the  peace,  and  such 
inferior  courts  as  the  legislature  might  establish  in 
cities  or  towns.  The  supreme  court  should  have  ap 
pellate  jurisdiction  only,  and  hold  three  terms  yearly. 
The  supreme  court  should  consist  of  three  justices,  a 
majority  of  whom  should  be  necessary  to  pronounce 
a  decision.  Their  terms  of  office  should  be  six  years, 
except  the  first  chief  justice,  who  should  hold  until 
the  general  election  in  1892,  and  one  of  the  associate 
justices,  who  should  hold  until  the  general  election  of 
1894,  the  other  holding  until  1896,  and  each  until  his 
successor  was  elected  and  qualified.  The  terms,  and 


796  PROGRESS  AND  STATEftOOD. 

who  should  be  chief  justice,  should  be  designated  by 
ballot  at  the  first  and  all  subsequent  elections,  one 
justice  being  elected  every  two  years.  No  person 
should  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  supreme  judge  who 
had  not  been  admitted  to  practise  law  in  the  supreme 
court  of  the  territory  or  state  of  Montana,  who  was 
not  thirty  years  of  age,  not  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  or  who  had  not  resided  in  the  territory  or  state 
for  the  two  years  next  preceding  his  election.  Much 
the  same  restrictions  were  imposed  upon  the  choice  of 
district  judges.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the  constitution 
framed  at  Helena  between  July  4  and  August  26, 
1889,  is  perhaps  the  most  complete  and  well-considered 
instrument  of  the  kind  ever  perfected  by  a  new  state,16 
although  in  the  address  to  the  people  of  Montana,  in 
which  it  is  submitted  for  their  ratification  or  rejection, 
it  was  said:  "We  do  not  claim  that  it  is  a  perfect 
instrument.  No  constitution  ever  reflected  the  con 
census  of  public  opinion  upon  all  questions.  All 
constitutions  are  the  result  of  compromises." 

The  day  set  for  a  general  election  of  state  officers, 
and  the  adoption  or  rejection  of  the  constitution,  was 
the  1st  of  October.  The  election  took  place  under 
the  election  laws  passed  by  the  sixteenth  legislature 
requiring  registration  and  proofs  of  citizenship.  T. 
H.  Carter,  the  recently  elected  delegate  to  congress, 
was  the  republican  nominee  for  congressman.  T. 
C.  Power17  was  candidate  for  governor  on  the  same 

16  It  is  impossible  in  the  limits  to  which  I  am  confined  to  give  a  more  ex 
tended  review  of  the  Montana  constitution,  only  some  of  its  chief  features 
being  selected  as  instances  of  the  sagacity  of  its  authors,  which  is  everywhere 
apparent. 

17  T.  C.  Power  was  born  at  Dubuque,  la,  in  1839,  and  received  his  pre 
paratory  education  in  that  state,  which  was  completed  at  Sinsiniwa  Mound 
college,  in  Wisconsin,   where  he  studied  engineering  and    took  a  scientific 
course.     From  1858  to  1862  he  was  engaged  in  teaching,  putting  in  his  sum 
mer  vacation  by  surveying  in  Iowa  and  Dakota.     He  followed  surveying  for 
several  years,  trading  meanwhile  in  land- warrants  until  1866,  when  he  began 
sending    merchandise    to   Montana,   locating    himself    permanently    at    Fort 
Bentou  in  1867,  where  he  was  in  merchandising,  forwarding,  and  freighting 
business  until  1874,  when  he  built  the  steamer  Be.nton  in  company  with  I.  (Jr. 
Baker  and  others,  which  they  loaded  in  1875  at  Pittsburg  for  her  long  voyage. 
In  1876  they  built  the  Helena,  and  in  1878  the  Butte,  burned  in  1883.     In 
1879  they  purchased  the  steamer  Black  Hills.     Mr  Power  introduced  the  first 


ELECTION  OF  STATE 

ticket,  and  J.  E.  Rickards  for  lieutenant-governor;  for 
secretary  of  state,  L.  Rotwitt ;  for  treasurer,  R.  C. 
Hickman;  for  auditor,  E.  H.  Kinney;  for  attorney- 
general,  Henry  J.  Haskell;  for  superintendent  of 
public  instruction,  J.  Gannon;  for  chief  justice,  H.  N. 
Blake;  for  associate  justice  for  the  long  term,  W.  H. 
De  Witt;  for  associate  justice  for  the  short  terra, 
E.  N.  Harwood ;  for  clerk  of  the  supreme  court,  W. 
J.  Kennedy, — completed  the  republican  ticket. 

The  democratic  candidate  for  congressman  was 
Martin  Maginnis;  for  governor,  J.  K.  Toole;  for 
lieutenant-governor,  C.  E.  Conrad;  secretary  of  state, 
J.  A.  Browne;  state  treasurer,  T.  E.  Collins;  state 
auditor,  Fitzgerald  ;  attorney-general,  W.  Y.  Pember- 
ton  ;  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  P.  Russell ; 
chief  justice,  Stephen  De  Wolfe;  associate  justice  for 
the  long  term,  Waller  M.  Bickford ;  for  the  short 
term,  F.  K.  Armstrong ;  clerk  of  the  court,  Cope. 

The  election  gave  a  very  large  majority  for  the  con 
stitution  ;  gave  Montana  a  republican  congressman,18 
and  a  democratic  governor ;  a  republican  lieutenant- 
governor,  and  all  the  other  state  officers  republican. 
That,  however,  was  not  so  much  a  matter  of  concern 
to  the  political  parties  as  the  complexion  of  the  legis 
lature,  which  was  to  elect  two  senators  to  the  congress 
of  the  United  States.  The  democratic  party,  which 
for  twenty-five  years  controlled  Montana,  whose  lead 
ers  were  among  the  wealthiest  and  most  enterprising 
citizens,  naturally  were  averse  to  see  the  sceptre  pass 
ing  from  their  grasp,19  while  the  republicans,  having 

reapers  and  mowers  in  Montana.  He  had  a  business  house  in  Bozeman,  and 
in  1878  established  a  stage  line  from  Helena  to  Benton,  and  has  been  a  suc 
cessful  stock-raiser.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first  constitutional  convention 
of  1884.  He  removed  to  Helena  in  1876. 

lb  Carter's  majority  was  1,648;  Toole's,  754;  Rickard's,  1,386;  Rotwitt's, 
1,584;  Haskell's,  604;  Hickman's,  1,293;  Kinney's,  1,015;  Gannon's,  189; 
Blake's,  1,455;  De  Witt's,  473;  Harwood's,  871;  Kennedy's,  1,573.  It  should 
be  remarked  that  these  are  approximate  figures,  the  election  being  contested; 
but  near  enough  to  show  that  the  state  went  republican. 

l*  The  names  of  Marcus  Daly,  S.  T.  Hauser,  W.  A.  Clark,  and  C.  A. 
Broadwater,  were  frequently  associated  as  managers  of  the  democratic 
party  in  Montana,  and  during  this  election  their  owners  became  known 
as  the  'big  four.'  The  Butte  Inter-Mountain  says  of  them:  'These  four  men 


798  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

wrung  victory  from  their  powerful  hold 20  by  the 
hardest,  were  equally  determined  not  to  lose  the 
ground  heretofore  gained,  but  to  add  to  it  the  choice 
of  United  States  senators.  The  election  of  represen 
tatives  was,  therefore,  the  field  on  which  the  hardest 
battle  was  to  be  fought. 

The  most  serious  charge  brought  against  the  repub 
licans  previous  to  election  was,  that  the  sixteenth 
legislature,  which  was  republican,  had  passed  a  regis 
tration  law,  which  they  denominated  "an  infamous 
thing,"  although  at  the  time  it  was  passed  both 
democrats  and  republicans  had  voted  for  it.  Now  it 
was  called  an  act  to  disfranchise  the  farmers,  miners, 
and  stockmen  of  Montana,  who  were,  nevertheless, 
counselled  to  register,  and  thus  rebuke  the  party  which 
enacted  the  law. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  republicans  claimed  to  be 
in  possession  of  information  that  in  one  county  a  large 
number  of  miners  who  had  been  brought  in  from 
abroad  had  been  furnished  with  declarations  of  inten 
tion  to  become  citizens,  which  would  entitle  them  to 
vote,  and  were  instructed  to  vote  for  certain  candidates. 

are  the  democratic  party  in  Montana.  They  have  kept  it  in  their  power 
when  they  wanted  to,  and  when  they  fell  out,  the  party  went  to  the  dogs  to 
the  music  of  5,120  republican  majority.  They  are  very  wealthy  men.  There 
is  nothing  that  can  be  said  against  them  personally.  Every  one  of  them 
came  up  from  the  ranks  by  superior  merit  and  hard  licks.  Each  has  had  the 
control  of  large  enterprises  and  of  considerable  bodies  of  men.  Accustomed 
all  their  successful  business  lives  to  handle  men,  to  expect  obedience,  to  en 
force  discipline,  these  four  men  have  carried  into  the  politics  of  Montana  the 
ideas  which  have  been  ingrained  by  their  business  experience.  There  is  the 
evil.  Messrs.  Daly,  Hauser,  Clark,  and  Broadwater  are  not  leaders  in  their 
party.  They  are  autocrats— bosses  of  the  strongest  type.  It  is  only  nat 
ural  that  they  should  be  so,  but  that  does  not  make  the  situation  any  the 
less  unfortunate.  The  theory  of  the  millionaire  employer  that  he  can  com 
mand  the  suffrages  as  well  as  the  services  of  the  employed  is  bad;  and  at 
tempts  to  carry  out  such  a  theory  are  to  be  condemned,  whether  they  occur 
in  Pennsylvania  or  Montana.' 

'M  Marcus  Daly,  perhaps  the  largest  capitalist  in  Montana,  and  manager 
of  the  Anaconda  mine  and  smelter,  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1842.  He  came 
to  Montana  in  1876,  and  was  appointed  general  manager  of  the  Alice  silver 
mine  at  Butte,  after  which  Haggin  and  Tevis  made  him  manager  of  the  Ana 
conda  mine.  He  is  a  practical  miner  and  assayer,  and  an  unerring  judge  of 
mines  and  mineral  lands.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  constitutional 
convention  of  1884.  Even  the  republican  papers  admitted  Daly's  greatness 
of  character  as  well  as  of  fortune,  and  were  loth  to  connect  him  with  the 
alleged  frauds  in  his  district.  Anaconda  Review,  Sept.  12,  1889. 


CONTEST  OVER  THE  ELECTION.  799 

These  persons,  holding  questionable  certificates,  could, 
under  the  registration  law,  be  challenged,  and  if  chal 
lenged,  the  law  required  the  voter  to  produce  his  quali 
fication.  Several  hundred  challenges  were  filed  on  the 
ground  of  the  issuance  of  illegal  certificates. 

This  was  the  position  of  affairs  when  the  election 
took  place,  which  resulted,  if  the  returns  as  first  an 
nounced  were  correct,  in  a  democratic  majority  in  the 
legislature  of  from  three  to  five.  But  now  the  re 
publicans  refused  to  accept  the  count  in  Silver  Bow 
county,  alleging  that  in  one  precinct,  which  returned 
174  votes,  171  were  democratic,  and  that  these  171 
were  instructed  by  their  employer  to  vote  that  ticket 
or  be  discharged;  also  that  the  count  in  this  precinct 
was  illegal,  being  done  by  the  board  of  judges  of  elec 
tion  in  secret,  and  certified  to  by  the  county  clerk, 
who  had  no  authority  in  the  matter.  The  canvassing 
board  threw  out  the  vote  of  this  precinct,  which  action 
gave  the  republicans  a  small  majority  in  the  legisla 
ture.21  But  it  was  not  only  the  democrats  who  were 
accused  of  taking  dishonorable  means  to  insure  a  ma- 

O 

jority.  They  also  complained  that  in  one  county,  at 
least,  the  republicans  had  counted  votes  which  should 
have  been  thrown  out. 

The  action  of  the  county  canvassing  board  in  throw 
ing  out  the  precinct  accused  of  fraud  caused  the 
democrats  of  Silver  Bow  county  to  procure  the  issu 
ance  of  a  writ  of  mandamus  by  Associate  Justice  De 
Wolfe  of  that  district,  who  was  himself  a  candidate 
for  the  chief-justiceship  on  the  democratic  state  ticket, 
which  was  served  upon  the  board  immediately  after 
their  rejection  of  the  returns,  requiring  them  to  be 
counted.  This  command  being  disobeyed,  there  began 
one  of  the  most  stubborn  political  contests  ever  wit 
nessed  in  a  northern  state,  in  which  the  canvassing 
board  of  Silver  Bow  county  finally  obeyed  a  peremp 
tory  mandate  of  the  court,  but  not  until  after  the 

31  The  state  board  consisted  of  Governor  White,  Chief  Justice  Blake,  and 
Secretary  Walker. 


800  PROGRESS   AND   STATEHOOD. 

state  canvassing  board  had  completed  its  labors  with 
the  disputed  precinct  left  out.  The  result  of  this 
"muddle,"  as  the  press  very  properly  named  it,  was 
that  there  were  two  sets  of  representatives  from  Silver 
Bow,  one  with  state-board  certificates,  and  the  other 
with  certificates  from  the  clerk  of  Silver  Bow  county ; 
one  making  the  house  democratic,  the  other  making 
it  republican. 

Judge  De  Wolfe  was  said  by  one  party  to  have 
dragged  his  judicial  ermine  in  the  mire,  and  the 
republican  newspapers  held  up  to  public  view  the 
iniquity  of  a  combination  between  the  Northern  Paci 
fic  railroad  and  the  "big  four"  of  Montana,  by  which 
the  Montana  capitalists  expected  to  get  into  the  United 
States  senate,  and  the  railroad  expected  to  secure  the 
mineral  lands  in  its  grant  through  their  influence; 
while  the  democratic  papers  denounced  the  outrage 
perpetrated  upon  the  party  by  the  attempt  of  the 
republicans  to  "steal  the  state  of  Montana." 

Some  fear  was  entertained  that  the  contest  over  the 
election  would  delay  statehood,  but  as  there  was  no 
doubt  of  the  acceptance  of  the  constitution,  President 
Harrison,  on  the  8th  of  November,  issued  his  procla 
mation  admitting  Montana  into  the  union.  The  news 
was  received  at  10:40,  A.  M.,  by  telegraph  from  Secre 
tary  Blaine.  There  was  no  public  demonstration  of 
joy,  and  no  parade  accompanying  the  inauguration  of 
Governor  Toole.  Judge  Sanders,  police  magistrate 
of  Helena,  administered  the  oath  of  office  to  Chief 
Justice  Blake,  in  the  police  court-room,  in  presence  of 
few  witnesses,  at  12 : 30  o'clock  of  the  8th.  A  despatch 
had  been  sent  to  Governor  White  at  Dillon,  who 
could  not,  however,  arrive  to  turn  over  the  office  to 
his  successor  before  the  9th;  but  Toole  was  inaugu 
rated  at  two  o'clock  in  the  governor's  office,  in  the 
presence  of  a  number  of  citizens,  the  oath  being  ad 
ministered  by  Chief  Justice  Blake.22  After  half  an 

'•"  After  Decius  C.  Wade,  the  chief  justices  of  Montana,  who  had  asso 
ciated  with  him  during  his  last  term  J.  H.  McLeary,  W.  G.  Galbraith,  and 


INAUGURATION  OF  GOVERNOR  TOOLE.  801 

hour  of  receiving  congratulations,  Governor  Toole 
telegraphed  Secretary  Elaine  of  the  oath-taking,  and 

T.  C.  Bach,  the  next  chief  justice  was  N.  W.  McConnell  1887,  with  the  same 
associates.  In  1888  Stephen  De  Wolfe,  Moses  J.  Liddell,  and  T.  C.  Bach 
were  associates.  In  1889  Henry  N.  Blake  was  chief  justice,  with  Bach, 
De  Wolfe,  and  Liddell  associates. 

W.  J.  Galbraith  was  born  in  Freeport,  Pa,  in  1837,  and  educated  at 
Dartmouth  College,  N.  H.,  graduating  in  1857.  He  studied  law  at  Pittsburg, 
Pa,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1861,  but  enlisted  in  the  union  army 
as  a  private  in  the  12th  regt  Pa  vols.  In  Sept.  he  was  commissioned  1st 
lieut  of  company  G,  78th  Pa  vols,  and  transferred  in  Nov.  to  the  U.  S. 
signal  corps,  in  which  he  served  until  Nov.  1864.  He  was  captured  at  Chat 
tanooga,  and  held  prisoner  in  Macon,  Madison,  Libby,  Richmond,  and  other 
prisons  until  exchanged.  In  1865  he  opened  a  law-office  in  Oil  City,  Pa, 
where  he  practised  until  1872,  when  he  removed  to  Nebraska,  and  practised 
there  2  years,  and  was  in  Cherokee  co.,  la,  when  appointed  to  the  judgeship 
in  the  2d  judicial  district  of  Montana  in  1879.  He  was  reappointed  in  1883. 

Stephen  De  Wolfe  was  born  in  Hawkins  co.,  Tenn.,  in  1833,  and  educated 
at  the  Pennsylvania  university  at  Gettysburg,  and  Jefferson  college,  Cannons- 
burg.  He  studied  law  at  Lexington,  Mo.,  and  Lebanon  law  school,  gradu 
ating  in  1857,  and  commencing  practice  at  Lexington,  Mo.  In  1859  he  went 
to  Salt  Lake  City  as  agent  for  Russell,  Majors,  and  Waddell,  army  contrac 
tors,  and  subsequently  took  the  editorial  management  of  the  Valley  Tan. 
His  office  was  destroyed  by  a  mob  for  publishing  an  account  of  the  Moun 
tain  Meadows  massacre,  the  first  one  given  to  the  world.  He  then  engaged 
in  live-stock  business  in  Cal.,  but  returned  to  Salt  Lake  City  as  U.  S.  attor 
ney  for  Utah.  In  1879  he  settled  in  Butte,  Mont.,  was  elected  representa 
tive  in  1881,  and  ran  for  councilman  in  1883,  but  was  defeated.  He  was 
appointed  to  the  supreme  bench  in  1888. 

William  H.  De  Witt  was  born  in  New  York  in  1855,  educated  at  Hamil 
ton  college,  graduating  in  1875,  after  which  he  took  a  regular  course  at  the 
Columbia  law  school  of  New  York,  received  his  degree,  and  was  admitted 
to  practice  by  the  supreme  court  of  that  city.  He  practised  his  profession 
in  New  York  until  1879,  when  he  came  to  Helena.  In  1881  he  removed  to 
Butte.  He  was  appointed  U.  S.  district  attorney  in  1883,  and  was  justly 
classed  among  the  leading  attorneys  of  the  territory. 

W.  Y.  Pemberton,  democratic  candidate  for  attorney-general,  was  born 
in  Nashville,  Tenn.,  in  1842,  was  educated  at  the  Masonic  college,  Mo.,  read 
law  at  the  Lebanon  law  school  of  Cumberland  university,  graduated  in  1861, 
and  was  admitted  to  practice  the  same  year.  In  1863  he  came  to  Montana, 
forming  a  law  partnership  with  E.  W.  Toole  at  Virginia  City,  where  he  re 
mained  2  years,  when  the  firm  removed  to  Helena,  where  he  was  appointed 
by  Gov.  Edgerton  first  district  attorney  of  Helena  district.  In  1868  he  went 
to  Texas,  where  he  remained  until  1880,  when  he  returned  to  Helena,  and 
removed  hence  to  Butte  2  years  later,  where  he  was  elected  district  attor 
ney.  In  1883  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention 
of  1884. 

The  office  of  attorney-general  was  created  by  an  act  of  the  extra  session 
of  the  legislature  of  1887,  and  it  was  provided  that  the  governor  should  ap 
point  this  officer  by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  council.  The  governor  made 
a  nomination,  but  the  legislature  adjourned  without  having  ratified  it.  The 
first  term  of  the  supreme  court  after  the  adjournment  of  the  extra  session 
was  Jan.  1888,  and  the  county  attorneys  being  exempted  by  the  new  law 
from  appearing  as  counsel  for  the  territory  in  the  supreme  court,  the  gov 
ernor  commissioned  William  E.  Cullen  of  Helena  to  act  as  attorney-general 
until  the  close  of  the  next  regular  session  of  the  legislature,  in  1889.  Oov. 
Mess.  1889,  20-21. 

HIST.  WASH.— 51 


802  PROGRESS   AND   STATEHOOD. 

entered  upon  his  duties  as  executive  of  the  state  of 
Montana,  his  first  official  act  being  to  issue  a  procla 
mation  convening  the  legislature  on  the  23d  of  the 
month. 

Montana  never  having  had  a  capitol  building,  there 
had  been  certain  halls  and  rooms  in  Helena's  superb 
court-house  fitted  up  for  legislative  uses  by  the  terri 
torial  secretary  in  territorial  times.  But  when  re 
publican  State  Secretary  Rotwitt  applied  to  the  county 
commissioners  for  possession  of  the  rooms,  he  was 
refused,  and  the  rooms  were  let  to  democratic  Gov 
ernor  Toole.  Further,  the  chairman  of  the  board  of 
county  commissioners  pocketed  the  keys  and  placed 
a  guard  in  the  halls,  while  Governor  Toole  issued  a 
proclamation  on  the  22d  declaring  that  only  members 
of  the  legislature  with  county  certificates  would  be 
admitted  to  the  hall,  to  which  he,  by  his  agents,  held 
the  key.  Then  State  Auditor  Kinney,  whose  duty  it 
was  to  call  the  house  to  order,  having  been  refused 
the  keys  by  the  commissioners,  issued  a  notice  to  the 
members  of  the  house  of  representatives  calling  upon 
them  to  meet  in  the  Iron  block,  on  Main  street,  at 
noon  on  the  23d,  which  was  Saturday. 

At  the  appointed  hour  the  republicans  met  in  the 
place  indicated  by  the  auditor,  and  the  democrats 
repaired  to  the  court-house.  The  republicans  had 
thirty-two  members,  two  more  than  a  quorum,  and 
were  called  to  order  by  the  auditor,  sworn  in  by  Chief 
Justice  Blake,  and  their  organization  perfected,  A.  C. 
Witter  of  Beaverhead  county  being  elected  speaker. 
The  democrats  also  organized,  and  elected  C.  P. 
Blakely  of  Gallatin  speaker,  the  members  being 
sworn  in  by  a  notary  public,  the  doors  being  guarded 
to  admit  no  one  not  holding  a  certificate  of  election 
from  county  clerks,  although,  according  to  the  con 
stitution  adopted  by  the  people,  the  state  board  only 
had  authority  to  issue  certificates  of  this  election,  the 
validity  of  the  action  turning  upon  the  opinion  of 
the  courts,  not  yet  obtained,  as  to  the  moment  when 


LEGISLATIVE  TROUBLES.  803 

the  provisions  of  the  constitution  went  into  operation, 
whether  on  the  day  of  adoption,  or  the  day  of  admis 
sion  into  the  union. 

The  senate  met  at  the  court-house,  except  the 
democrats,  who  absented  themselves,  and  as  the  senate 
consisted  of  eight  republicans  and  eight  democrats, 
there  was  no  quorum.  Lieutenant-governor  Rickards 
called  the  senate  to  order,  and  the  eight  members 
present  were  sworn  in  by  District  Judge  W.  H.  Hunt,23 
after  which  they  adjourned  to  the  25th.  In  a  caucus 
that  evening,  the  republicans,  on  their  part,  determined 
to  stand  on  the  proposition  that  only  such  as  were 
found  to  be  members  by  the  state  canvassing  board 
were  entitled  to  seats  in  the  legislature,  and  that  all 
power  to  determine  further  rights  resided  wholly  in 
the  two  branches,  and  not  in  the  governor.  On  the 
25th,  both  lower  houses  sent  committees  to  the  gov 
ernor  with  information  of  their  organization,  but  the 
republicans  were  told  that  since  he  had  designated  in 
a  proclamation  the  place  of  meeting,  and  they  were 
not  there,  he  could  have  nothing  to  say  to  them. 
The  rival  body  was  recognized,  and  adjourned  for  the 
day. 

No  change  in  the  position  of  legislative  affairs 
occurred  for  some  time.  The  republican  senators  con- 

23  In  district  No.  1,  Lewis  and  Clarke,  W.  H.  Hunt,  R.,  was  elected  over 
George  F.  Sheldon,  D.,  by  a  majority  of  263. 

In  district  No.  3,  Deer  Lodge,  Tlieodore  Brantley,  R.,  was  elected  over 
David  M.  Durfee,  D.,  by  a  majority  of  270. 

In  district  No.  4,  Missoula,  C.  S.  Marshall,  R.,  was  elected  over  W.  J. 
Stephens,  D.,  by  a  majority  of  96. 

In  district  No.  5,  Beaverhead,  Jefferson,  and  Madison,  Thomas  J.  Gal- 
braith,  R.,  was  elected  over  Thomas  Joyes,  D.,  by  a  majority  of  158. 

In  district  No.  6,  Gallatin,  Meagher,  and  Park,  Frank  Henry,  R.,  was 
elected  over  Moses  J.  Liddell,  by  a  majority  of  223. 

In  district  No.  7,  Yellowstone,  Ouster,  and  Dawson,  Walter  A.  Burleigh, 
R.,  was  elected  over  George  R.  Milburn,  D.,  by  a  majority  of  73. 

In  district  No.  8,  Cascade,  Choteau,  and  Fergus,  C.  H.  Benton,  R.,  was 
elected  over  Jere  Leslie,  D.,  by  a  majority  of  191. 

In  district  No.  2,  Silver  Bow,  the  election  being  contested,  and  Judge  De 
Wolfe  having  commanded  the  disputed  precinct  counted  in,  John  J.  Mc- 
Hatton,  democrat,  was  sworn  in  as  well  as  the  republican  candidate,  and  two 
courts  were  set  in  motion.  Subsequently,  to  end  the  contest,  the  governor 
appointed  McHatton.  The  constitution  abolished  probate  courts,  which  was 
felt  by  some  counties  as  a  serious  check  upon  their  business. 


804  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

tinued  to  meet  without  a  quorum,  the  democrats  re 
fraining  from  taking  the  oath  of  office  in  order  to  avoid 
being  compelled  by  the  sergeant-at-arms  to  come  in. 
The  two  separate  lower  houses  met  at  their  respective 
halls,  unable  to  do  more  than  make  a  pretense  of  busi 
ness,  while  the  wheels  of  government  were  firmly 
blocked,  and  the  state  remained  unrepresented  in  the 
national  senate.  Thus  matters  stood  for  two  or  three 
weeks,  when  legal  process  was  resorted  to  as  a  means 
of  convening  the  senate,  and  a  joint  conference  was 
obtained  on  the  12th  of  December,  when  it  was  agreed 
that  on  the  16th  the  democrats  would  come  in  and  take 
their  seats.  Accordingly,  on  that  day  these  senators 
appeared,  and  were  sworn  in  by  the  chief  justice. 
Immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  senate, 
the  same  d  ly  the  sergeant-at-arms  of  the  democratic 
lower  house  delivered  written  invitations — warrants 
they  were  called — to  all  the  members  of  the  republi 
can  house,  save  the  five  from  Silver  Bow  county,  to 
meet  with  them  at  the  court-house,  and  organize  into 
a  legal  house  of  representatives.  These  invitations 
were  not  accepted. 

On  the  17th  Governor  Toole  sent  his  biennial  mes 
sage  to  the  legislature,  as  constituted  with  a  senate 
not  yet  permanently  organized,  and  no  certain  quorum 
in  the  lower  house.  It  was  read  and  laid  on  the  table 
in  the  senate,  and  by  the  democratic  house  referred  to 
committees,  as  usual.  It  contained,  besides  the  infor 
mation  and  recommendations  usual  in  a  message,  re 
grets  at  the  existing  complication,  but  advice  to  his 
party  to  stand  by  their  colors,  it  being  better  the 
deadlock  should  continue  than  that  any  principle  of 
free  government  should  be  imperilled,  or  any  right  of 
American  electors  sacrificed.24 

For  three  days  the  republican  senators  endeavored 
to  agree  with  the  democrats  upon  a  set  of  rules  and 
permanent  organization,  but  without  success.  On  the 
19th,  a  resolution  was  offered  that  a  plurality  vote 

14  Special  telegram  to  tjhe  Portland  Oregonian,  Dec.  18,  1889. 


LEGISLATIVE  TROUBLES.  805 

should  be  sufficient  to  elect,  which,  after  a  warm  de 
bate,  was  carried,  and  officers  elected  by  a  strict  party 
vote,  the  democrats  refusing  to  take  part  in  the  elec 
tion,  and  finally  leaving  the  hall.  As  the  senate  was 
now  organized,  and  as  the  republicans  under  their  or 
ganization  had  a  quorum,  that  party  considered  the 
deadlock  broken,  and  the  governor  was  informed  that 
they  were  ready  to  transact  business. 

But  now  again  the  question  of  rights  was  taken  into 
court,  a  member  of  the  republican  house  from  Silver 
Bow  presenting  his  bill  for  mileage  to  the  state  audi 
tor,  which  was  refused  settlement.  Legal  advice  was 
taken,  and  a  writ  of  mandamus  was  issued  by  District 
Judge  Hunt  to  compel  the  auditor  to  audit  the  bill, 
or  appear  in  court  and  show  cause  why  he  did  not  do 
so.  A  decision  in  this  case  would  necessarily  involve 
a  decision  upon  the  legality  of  the  Silver  Bow  elec 
tion.  All  the  quibbles  of  the  law  were  resorted  to  on 
both  sides,  the  auditor  finally  taking  refuge  apparently 
behind  the  statement  that  he  could  not  pay  bills  for 
which  no  money  had  been  appropriated.  The  decis 
ion  of  Judge  Hunt,  which  was  rendered  January  2, 
1890,  while  it  carefully  avoided  the  question  of  the 
authority  of  the  state  canvassing  board,  declared  that 
upon  the  proposition  in  dispute  as  to  whether  the  au 
ditor  might  issue  a  certificate  to  a  state  officer  where 
there  was  a  legal  claim,  but  no  appropriation  to  pay 
such  officer,  the  law  was  clear  that  he  mi^ht.  And 

7  O 

the  court  found  that  the  relator's  petition  upon  every 
point  but  the  one  by  the  court  decided  was  admitted, 
and  sufficiently  proved  by  papers  apparently  regular 
to  be  true  for  the  purpose  of  securing  such  certificate 
as  prayed  for,  and  that  the  writ  of  mandate  must  be 
peremptory.  This  decision  was  a  victory  for  the  re 
publicans,  but  it  brought  about  no  change  in  the 
legislative  situation. 

The    chief   care    now  was    to   elect    two    senators. 
Before  the  assembling  of  the    legislature,  the   men 


806  PROGRESS   AND  STATEHOOD. 

popularly  mentioned  who  might  appear  as  senatorial 
candidates  were  William  E.  Cullen,  Samuel  T.  Hauser, 
C.  A.  Broadwater  of  Helena,  Paris  Gibson  of  Great 
Falls,  W.  W.  Dixon  and  G.  W.  Stapleton  of  Butte, 
and  Marcus  Daly  of  Anaconda,  democrats ;  and  W.  F. 
Sanders,  Lester  S.  Wilson,  T.  C.  Power,  C.  S.  War 
ren,  Judge  Burleigh,  I.  D.  McCutcheon,  and  Lee 
Mantle,  republicans.  From  this  abundance  of  good 
material  it  should  have  been  easy  to  choose  men  with 
whom  the  people  would  be  satisfied.  But  the  party, 
and  not  the  state,  were  being  considered,  and  the  elec 
tion  of  senators  which  should  be  the  choice  of  a  joint 
convention  was  hopeless.  On  the  1st  of  January  the 
republican  house  and  senate  elected  W.  F.  Sanders 
United  States  senator  on  the  1st  ballot.  On  the 
following  day,  T.  C.  Power  was  chosen  on  the  second 
ballot.  The  democrats  chose  Martin  Maginnis  and 
W.  A.  Clarke.  Thus  was  presented  the  remarkable 
spectacle  of  a  state  government  wilfully  obstructed 
by  its  legislators  elect,  and  sending  a  double  represen 
tation  to  the  highest  branch  of  the  national  legislature. 
None  could  be  admitted  without  an  investigation. 

An  equally  remarkable  and  more  pleasing  spectacle 
was  that  of  a  free  people  tranquilly  regarding  the 
struggle,  satisfied  that,  however  it  terminated,  a  rem 
edy  would  be  found  for  the  evils  resulting,  and  even 
that  their  rights  might  be  more  securely  guarded  in 
the  future  for  this  outburst  of  rebelliousness. 

Montana,  like  Washington,  is  richly  endowed  by 
the  general  government.  Besides  the  16th  and  36th 
sections,  devoted  to  common-school  purposes,  and  not 
to  be  sold  for  less  than  ten  dollars  per  acre,  fifty  sec 
tions  of  land  were  given  for  public  buildings  ;  five  per 
cent  of  the  sales  of  public  lands  for  schools ;  seventy- 
two  sections  for  university  purposes,  not  to  be 
sold  for  less  than  ten  dollars  per  acre  ;  90,000  acres 
for  the  use  and  support  of  an  agricultural  college  ;  for 
scientific  schools,  100,000  acres;  for  normal  schools, 


FEDERAL  ENDOWMENTS.  807 

100,000  acres;  for  public  buildings  at  the  capital, 
besides  the  fifty  sections,  100,000  acres  ;  and  for  state, 
charitable,  educational,  penal,  and  reformatory  schools, 
200,000  acres.  With  all  this,  her  various  resources, 
her  people,  and  her  mines,  great  is  Montana.20 

25  There  are  few  early  books  upon  Montana,  because  in  early  times  it  was 
not  much  visited,  except  by  miners,  who  thought  little  of  anything  but 
gathering  up  the  season's  spoils  and  hastening  back  to  home  and  friends  in 
the  east,  or  who  roamed  away  to  newer  gold-fields  on  every  fresh  excitement. 
The  Montana  newspapers  contain  an  unusual  amount  of  good  material  in  de 
scriptive  and  statistical  matter  furnished  by  their  editors  and  correspondents. 
In  1867  G.  C.  Swallow,  at  the  request  of  Governor  Smith,  made  a  report 
upon  the  resources  of  the  country,  which  was  mentioned  in  the  Virginia  City 
Post,  Oct.  19,  1SG7.  Meagher  visited  every  part  of  Montana,  and  wrote  his 

'Rides  through  Montana'  for  Harper's  Monthly,  1867.  Potts  wrote  excel 
lent  messages  on  the  condition  of  the  country.  Military  men  contributed  not 
a  little  to  eastern  journals  concerning  the  unexpected  excellences  of  soil  and 
climate  in  Montana,  of  whom  Brisbin  was  one  of  the  most  interested.  Mul- 
laii,  from  whom  I  have  already  quoted  as  an  authority  011  Washington  and 
Idaho,  also  mentions  Montana  briefly  in  Miners'  and  Travellers  Guide.  J. 
Ross  Browne,  in  his  report  on  the  Mineral  Resources,  gives  a  curtailed  history 
of  the  discovery  and  working  of  the  mines  of  Montana;  Goddard,  in  his 

Where  to  Emigrate,  1869,  gives  reports  upon  the  agricultural  and  mining  re 
sources  of  Montana;  in  Halts  Great  West,  1864,  47-54,  is  a  mention  of  Mon 
tana's  resources;  Fry's  Guide  Across  the  Plains  contains  no  more;  the  Mon 
tana  Statistical  Almanac  and  Year-hook  of  Facts,  published  by  Bassett, 
Magee,  and  Company  of  Helena  in  1869,  was  a  valuable  collection  of  early 
historical  matter;  Fisher's  Advertisiny  Guide,  1869,  contained  sketches  of  the 
principal  towns  in  the  country;  Camp's  American  Year-book,  some  remarks 
on  the  mineral  resources  of  the  same,  p.  500;  Richardson's  Beyond  the  Mis 
sissippi,  some  travellers'  tales  and  observations;  E.  W.  Carpenter,  in  the 
Overland  Monthly,  ii.,  385,  gives  a  fair  account  of  Montana  as  it  appeared 
to  him  at  that  period.  I  have  already  quoted  E.  B.  Neally,  who  wrote 
an  article  for  the  Atlantic  Monthly  in  1866,  describing  a  year's  observations 
in  the  country  at  that  early  period,  with  much  ability.  In  1867  A.  K. 
McClure  of  Pa  visited  Montana,  and  during  that  year  corresponded  with  the 
New  York  Tribune  and  Franklin  Repository,  entering  into  the  feelings  and  in 
terests  of  the  Montanians  with  warmth,  and  writing  up  their  politics,  society, 
and  resources  with  much  frankness.  These  letters  were  published  in  a  vol 
ume  of  450  pages,  in  1869,  under  the  title  of  Three  Thousand  Miles  thromjh 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  Dunraven,  in  his  Great  Divide,  published  in  1876, 
containing  an  account  of  a  summer  spent  about  the  head  of  the  Yellowstone, 
describes  the  Yellowstone  region  and  national  park.  At  the  llth  session  of 
the  Montana  legislature  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  publication  and 
circulation  of  a  pamphlet  by  Robert  E.  Strahorn,  which  gave  the  first  con 
nected,  well  arranged,  and  authentic  account  of  the  physical  features  and 
material  resources  of  the  country,  from  which  I  have  quoted  often,  for  want 
of  a  better.  Subsequently,  Strahorn  added  a  historical  prefatory  chapter,  and 
enlarged  his  book,  Montana  and  the  National  Park,  which  was  republished  at 
Kansas  City  in  1881,  with  illustrations.  In  1882  Robert  P.  Porter,  special 
agent  of  the  10th  census,  published  his  observations  on  the  industrial,  social, 
commercial,  and  political  development  of  the  west,  111  a  volume  of  over  600 
pages,  in  which  he  devotes  a  brief  chapter  to  Montana's  altitudes,  climate,  and 
population.  In  1883  E.  J.  Farmer  published  a  volume  of  200  pages  upon  the 
Resources  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  naturally  included  Montana,  devot- 


808  PROGRESS  AND  STATEHOOD. 

ing  a  dozen  pages  to  a  general  statement  of  the  resources  of  that  country.  In 
1883  Henry  J.  Winser  published  an  illustrated  Guide  to  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad.  Remarks  upon  the  climate  of  Montana,  with  descriptions  of  the 
military  posts,  may  be  found  in  Hyijiene  of  the  United  Stales  Arn.y.  published 
by  the  government  in  1875;  SchoU's  Precipitation,  containing  tables  of  the 
rain  and  snow  fall  for  several  years;  and  Coffin's  Seat  of  Empire,  1887,  published 
in  1866.  Besides  these  fragmentary  accounts,  I  have  been  greatly  assisted 
by  information  derived  from  verbal  and  written  recollections  and  statements 
here,  as  elsewhere,  in  all  my  historical  writings. 


INDEX. 


Abernethy,  A.  S.,  legislator,  98;  can 
didate  for  congress,  204;  biog.,  205; 

prest  of  convention,  291. 
Aberiiethy,    Thomas,    settled    at    N. 

Dungeness,  27. 

'Active,'  survey  steamer,  90,  126. 
Ada  county,   Id.,   created,  458,  465; 

hist,    of,    541-7;    stock-raising   in, 

544. 

Adams  county,  Wash.,  created,  371. 
Adams,  J.  M.,  receiver,  298. 
Adkins,  L.  H.,  biog.,  355. 
Agnew,  G.,  land  claim,  365. 
Agriculture,  Wash.,  244,  343-5;  Id., 

539,    573-4;   Mont.,    738-9,    742-3, 

759. 

Ahern,  P.,  1't  of  vols,  167;  biog.,  365. 
Ahtanahm,  catholic  mission,  109;  Ind. 

fight  at,  115;  miss,  established,  372. 
Ainslie,     Geo.,    legislator,    466,    470; 

elected    delegate,    475;    defeat    of, 

1882,  567. 
Alaska,   U.  S.  terr.,  270;  advantages 

to  Wash.,  271-2. 
'Albion,'  ship,  17. 

Albion,  co.  seat,  etc.,  Cassia,  Id.,  551. 
Aldea,  Capt.  J.  R.,  survey  exped.,  90; 

arrests  Ind.  murderer,  93. 
Alder  creek  named,  628;   mining  at, 

629-30. 

Alder  gulch,  result  of  discovery,  720. 
Alexander,  John,  settles  on  Whidbey 

isl.,  30;  co.  com.,  59,  79;  aids  road- 
making,  65. 
Alki  point,  settlers  at,  21-3;  saw-mill, 

33. 

Allen,  A.,  biog.,  321. 
Allen,  Charles,  murder  of,  452. 
Allen,  E.  L.,  road-making,  65;  claim, 

36f). 
Allen,  G.  W.  L.,  settled  on  Whidbey 

isl.,  30;  co.  com.,  59. 
Allen,  H.  E.,  biog.,  308. 
Allen,  James,  settles  in  Thurston  co., 

67;  biog.,  364. 


Allen,   Lt  Jesse   K.,   exped.   against 
Yakimas,  196. 

Allen,  John  B.,  biog.  etc.  of,  316. 

Allen,  O.  R.,  biog.,  769. 

Allman,  John  C.,  land  claim,  86. 

Allyn,  Ephraim,  aids  in  road-making, 
65. 

Allyn,  F.,  assoc.  judge,  300. 

Allyn,  James  H.,  aids  in  road-making, 
65 

Alston,  Edw.  D.,  biog.,  694. 

Alturas   county,  Id.,  boundaries   of, 
444-5;  name  and  descript.,  547. 

Alverson,   James,   aids  in  road-mak 
ing,  65. 

Alvord,  Gen.,  com'd  of  dist,  229;  es 
tablishes  post,  483. 

Anaconda  mine,  hist,  of,  764. 

Anders,   T.   J.,   sup.    ct.   judge,    314; 
biog.,  317. 

Anderson,  J.  M.,  dep.  collector,  fate 
of,  224. 

Anderson,  J.  Patten,  appointed  U.  S. 
marshal,  62;  del.  to  congress,  201. 

Andrews,  L.  B.,  del.  to  conveu.,  291. 

Angelo,  C.  A.,  Idaho,  405. 

Aram,  John,  biog.,  553. 

Armstrong,    Maj.,    fight   with    Inds, 
115;  campaign,  143. 

Arnett.  Win,  execution  of,  619-20. 

Arnold,    Lieut,    establishes   depot   in 
Bitter-root  val.,  605. 

Ashley,    James   M.,    gov.    of   Mont., 
673-4. 

Assotin  county,  Wash.,  created,  371. 

Augur,  Capt.,  in  Ind.  tight,  115. 

Austin,  C.  G.,  biog.,  317. 

Austin,  E.  W.,  land  claim,  365. 


Bach,  E.  W.,  biog.,  771. 

Bachelder,   Chas  C.,   lays   out  town, 

19-20. 
Bachelder,   J.   M.,   arrival,   54;  plot, 

172-3. 

(809) 


810 


INDEX. 


Bad  lands  of  Mont. ,  598-9. 

Bagg,  C.  S.,  report  of,  045. 

Bagley,  C.  B.,  rev.  collector,  297. 

Bailey,  Chas,  murder  of,  95. 

Bailey,  Robt  S.,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30;  explorations,  386. 

Baker,  J.  A.,  biog.,  776. 

Baker,  J.  N.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 

Baker,  J.  S.,  biog.,  317. 

Balch,  F.  S.,   del.   to  convention,  40. 

Balch,  Lafayette,  establishes  Port 
Steilacoom,  18;  in  railroad  enter 
prise,  270. 

Ball,  Sergt  Edw.,  escape  from  Inds, 
181. 

Ballard,  David  W.,  gov.  Id.,  467-S; 
character  and  policy,  468-71. 

Ballston,  Win,  settler  in  Dwamish 
val.,  26. 

Baltic,  Mr,  settled  on  Whidbey  isl., 
30. 

Baimack  City  (see  also  Idaho  City), 
founded,  407;  legislature  at,  644; 
sketch  of,  753. 

Bannack  mine,  value  of,  528. 

Baunacks,  treaty  with,  515;  troubles 
with,  517  et  seq. 

Banner  City,  Id.,  founded,  429. 

Banta,  E.  S.,  biog.,  745. 

Barbour,  A.  K.,  biog.,  770. 

Barclay,  Forbes,  land  claim,  86. 

Barlow,  Corp'l  J.  T.,  death  of,  94. 

Barktroth,  Gabriel,  land  claim,  86. 

Bernard,  Capt.,  fight  with  Bannacks, 
520. 

Barrack,  Alex.,  biog.,  558. 

Barrack,  Joseph,  biog.,  556. 

Barriugton,  Edw. ,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30;  lieut  of  vols,  167. 

Barron,  Alex.,  settled  north  of  Colum 
bia,  10. 

Barrow,  J.  J.,  settled  at  N.  Dunge- 
ness,  28. 

Barry,  Corp'l,  killing  of,  123. 

Barst,  Joseph,  settled  at  Tumwater,  5. 

Barstow,  A.  C.,  Ind.  cornmis.,  498. 

Barstow,  Capt.  B.  P.,  settler  at  Whid 
bey  isl.,  31. 

Bash,  C.,  collector  of  customs,  297. 

Basil,  Nelson,  settled  on  Whidbey  isl., 
30. 

Basse tt,  W.  F.,  ferry  right,  251. 

Bates,  J.  R.,  legislator,  218;  bridge 
right,  251. 

Batty,  Geo.,  land  claim,  86. 

Beachy,  Hill,  establishes  stage  line, 
435-6. 

Beam,  Geo.  W.,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  31;  capt.  of  vols,  159,  167. 

Bear  creek,  gold  discovered  at,  414. 


Bear  Lake  district,  Id.,  copper,  etc., 

in,  536. 
Bear  Lake  county,  Id.,  created,  465; 

hist.,  548-9. 
Bear   river   valley,    soda   springs   in, 

398. 

Bear  Paw  Mts,  Ind.  fight  at,  512-13. 
Beatty,  E.  T.,  biog.,  555. 
Beatty,  J.  H.,  chief  justice,  1889,  583. 
'Beaver,'  steamer,  53^4,  124. 
Beaver  City,  Id.,  founded,  428. 
Beaverhead  county,  richness  of  mines, 

412;  created,  445;  sketch  of,  753. 
Beidler,  John  X.,  U.  S.  marshal,  659. 
Bell,  Geo.,  settled  on  Whidbey  island, 

30. 

Bell,  Isaac  E.,  land  claim,  86. 
Bell,  J.  H.,  settled  in  Puyallup  val 
ley,  66. 

Bell,  J.  N.,  leader  of  mining  co.,  232. 
Bell,   John,    settled  at  N.  Dungeness, 

28. 
Bell,  Win  N.,  settler  at  Alki  Point, 

22. 

'Belle,'  steamer,  153. 
Bellevue,  Id.,  location  etc.  of,  547. 
Bellingham  bay,   settlements  on,  31- 

2;  Ind.  depredations,  95-6. 
Bell,  W.  N.,  signs  mem.  to  congress, 

53. 

Beman,  Fred.,  in  attack  at  the  Cas 
cades,   151. 

Ben  ton,  H.  M.,  biog.,  355. 
Benn,  Samuel,  biog.  mention,  392. 
Bennett,  Capt.  Chas,  killed,  141. 
Bennett,    Thos  W.,    gov.   Id.,   biog., 

472. 

Benson,  A.,  settled  in  Puyallup  val 
ley,  66. 

Benton,  see  Fort  Benton. 
Berry,  A.  M.,  biog.,  77. 
Berry,  C.  H.,  assoc.  judge,  1888,  583. 
Berry,  S.  H.,  biog.,  310. 
Bemier,  J.,  biog.,  369. 
Big  Camas  prairie,  Id.,  descript.  of, 

395-6,  547;  name,  397. 
Bigelow,  Daniel  B.,  settles  at  Olyin- 

pia,  55;  ter.  auditor,  85. 
Bigelow,  D.  R.,  legislator,  73;  county 

treasurer,  78;  dist  att'y,  85. 
Bigelow,  R.  H.,  discovers  coal,  340. 
Bighole  river,  gold  discovered,  6^2. 
Bighorn  City,  Mont.,  map  of,  631. 
Bighorn  county,  organized,  445. 
Bighorn   river,  fort   built   at  mouth, 

601;  gold  discovered,  631-2. 
Big  Star,  Spokane  chief,  surrenders, 

191. 

Big  Thunder,  Nez  Perce  chief,  483  et 
seq. 


INDEX. 


811 


Biles,  C.,  biog.,  263. 

Biles,  C.  N.,  biog.,  263. 

Biles,  D.  F.,  biog.,  263. 

Biles,    James,   settles  at    Tumwater, 

67;    legislator,  218;    R.    R.    Enter 
prise,  270. 
Biles,   J.    D.,   legislator,  72;   lieut  of 

vols,  167. 

Bills,  Lemuel,  biog.,  366. 
Bingham,  Lieut,  at  Fort  C.  F.  Smith, 

697. 

Bingham,  W.,  biog.,  354. 
Bird,  Ezra,  biog.,  558. 
Bird,  F.  W.,  biog.,  321. 
Birnie,    Marcel,   del.   to   convention, 

49. 
Bishop,  B.  B.,  settles  at  Cascade,  37; 

justice  of  peace,  78. 
Bitter-root   valley,  Mont.,  591;   mis 
sionaries  in,  603. 
Bivens,  D.  M.,  biog.,  550. 
Black,  F.  T.,biog.,  745. 
Blackburn,  J.  T.,  biog.,  321. 
Blackfan,  C.  T.,  biog.,  321. 
Blackfoot   nation,   treaty  with,    102; 

hostility,  412;  in  Mont.,  690-4,  709. 
Blackmail,  H.,  legislator,  biog.,  292.    '-, 
Black    river   valley,    settlements   in, 

66-7. 
Blake,   A.   S.,  mining  at  Gold  creek, 

617;  exped.,  628. 
Blake,  Henry  N.,  assoc.  judge,  Mont., 

662;  chief  justice,  797,  800-2. 
Blakely,  C.  P.,  speaker,  802. 
Blair,  H.,  biog.,  321. 
Blalock,  N.  G.,  biog.,  309. 
Blanchett,   land  claim,   86;   bishop  of 

Walla  Walla,  372. 
Bledsoe,  R.,  legislator,  443. 
Block-houses,    number   erected,    121 ; 

gov.  urges  plan  for,  156. 
Bloods,   Ind.   tribe,   691;  hostility  of,  I 

694. 

'Blue  Wing,'  ship,  mysterious  disap 
pearance,  212. 

Blunt's  island,  lighthouse  at,  89. 
Boardman,  J.  M.,  biog.,  775-6. 
Boatman,    W.,    settled    in    Puyallup 

valley,  66. 

BodHsh,  C.  P.,  biog.,  545. 
Boise  basin,  map,  408;  mining  in,  409- 

10;  election  in  1863,  443;  crime  in, 

456-7. 
Boise   City,  capital,    464-5;   hist,  of, 

540-1,  571-2;  society  in,  421-2. 
Boise   county,  Id.,    crime    in,   448-9, 

457-60;     vigilantes,     451,    458-60; 

gold  prod.,  535;  descript.,  549-50. 
Boise  mines,  discovery  and  value,  etc., 

259-61,  406-7,  413-14. 


Boise  and  Payette  valleys,  Id.,   map 

of,  545. 

Boise  river,  prospecting  on,  259. 
Boise   River   Mining   and    Exploring 

co.,  organized,  415. 
Boisfort  prairie,  settlers  on,  36. 
Bolan,    A.    J.,    legislator,    73;    Ind. 

agent,  94;  actions,   109;  murdered, 

110. 

Bolster,  H.,  biog.,  392. 
Bolton,    Wm,    settles  at   Steilacoom, 

17,  19;  biog.,  366. 
Bonner,  E.  L.,  biog.,  768. 
Bond,  J.  N.,  History  of  Colorado,  etc., 

MS.,  644. 

Bonswell,  settled  on  Whidbey  isl.,  30. 
Bonnemain,    Baron    de,    biog.,    etc., 

*T9T       Q 

/o/-8. 

Booneville,  Id.,  founded,  419. 
Borcier,  Peter,  guide  to  pioneer  party, 

2. 
Borem,  C.  D.,  settles  at  Alki  Point, 

22. 

Borst,  Joseph,  del.  to  convention,  49. 
Bostwick,  John  H.,  discovers  Salmon 

river  mines,  245. 
Bothell,  G.,  biog.,  321. 
Bo  wan,  A.  0.,  sheriff,  458. 
Bowan,  Thos  A.,  app't'd  gov.  Id.,  472. 
Bozeman,  Mont.,  descript.  of,  756. 
Bozeman,  J.  M.,  biog.,  632. 
Bozeman  route,  695. 
Braden,  James,  receiver.  298. 
Bradford  &  Co.,  trading  at  the  Cas 
cades,  145;  store  attacked,  146-8. 
Bradford,   Daniel  F.,  settles  at   Cas 
cade,  37;  legislator,  73. 
Bradford,  Putman,  settles  at  Cascade, 

37. 
Bradley,  John,  del.  to  convention,  49; 

sheriff,  59;   sent   with   despatches, 

119. 
Bradshaw,  C.  M.,  settled  at  N.  Dun- 

geness,  27;  legislator,  267;    del.  to 

convention,  291. 
Brady,  John,  county  com.,  78;   lieut 

of  vols,  166. 

Brail,  Geo.,  settled  at  Tumwater,  8. 
Brannan,  Joseph,  founds  settlement, 

66. 
Branuan,  W.   H.,  founds  settlement, 

66;  murdered,  119. 
Branstetter,  Joseph,  discovers   Boise 

mines,  406;  biog.,  546. 
Bratton,  Wm,  capt.  Ind.  war,  138. 
Brayman,  M.,  appointed  gov.  Id.,  474; 

proclamation,  50  J. 
Breck,  Geo.,  biog.,  748. 
Brents,    Thomas    H.,    biog.    of,    284; 

delegate  to  cong.,  291,  567. 


812 


INDEX. 


Brickell,  E.  J.,  biog.,  300. 

Briggs,  Albert,  locates  claim,  20;  co. 

com.,  59. 
Bright,  Geo.,  sent   with   despatches, 

119. 

Brisbin,  Gen.,  campaign  of,  717. 
Bristol,  Sherlock,  mining  adventures, 

409-10;  land  claim,  etc.,  541. 
Broad  water,  C.  A.,  biog.,  772. 
Brock,  Ruth,  marriage  of,  9. 
Broderick,  C.,  assoc.  judge,  1884,  583. 
Bromfield,   D.  F.,  settled  at  N.  Dun- 

geness,  27;  del.  to  convention,  49; 

co.  com.,  59,  79;  legislator,  73. 
Brooke,  Lloyd,  justice   of   peace,  77; 

biog.,  139. 
Broshears,  Joseph,  del.  to  convention, 

49. 
Brown,  B.W.,  massacred  with  family, 

146. 
Brown,    Geo.,    justice   of    peace,    78; 

murdered,  95. 
Brown,  J.  C.,  settled   at  N.  Dunge- 

ness,  27;  co.  assessor,  79;  attacked 

by  Ind.i,  92;  exploration,  380. 
Brown,  JoelL.,  settled  on  Shoalwater 

bay,  35;  explores  route,  383. 
Brown,  J.  S.,  biog.,  321. 
Brown,  L.  P.,  legislator,  470;  biog., 

553. 
Brown,  Wm,  settler  in  Dwamish  val., 

26;  at  Bellingham  bay,  32. 
Browne,  Geo.,  biog..  321. 
Browne,  J.  J.,  biog.,  313. 
Bryan,  H.  B.,  biog.,  749. 
Bryan,  0.,  biog.,  749. 
Buchanan,  D.,  biog.,  311. 
Buchanan,    H.,    settled    on    Boisfort 

prairie,   36. 

Buck,  N.  ,  assoc.  judge,  1884,  583. 
Buckley,  Geo.,  settled  at  Seattle,  26. 
Buckley,  J.,  settler  in  Dwamish  val., 

26. 

Buckminster,  in  attack  at   the  Cas 
cades,  148. 

Buena  Vista  City,  Id.,  founded,  407. 
Bullard,  Joel,   settled   on  Shoalwater 

bay,  35. 
Bullard,  Mark,  settled  on  Shoalwater 

bay,  35. 
Bullion   district,  Id.,  mines   etc.    of, 

530. 
Bullion,    production  of,   Wash.,  343; 

Id.,  535;  Mont.,  728. 
Bunn,  W.  M.,  gov.  Id.,  1884,  480. 
Buntou,  James,  killing  of  Quiemuth, 

174. 
Burbee,  Jonathan,  located  claim,   10; 

death,  37;  del.  to  convention,  49. 
Burch.  B.  F.,  biog.,  392. 


Burford,  Geo.  W.,  biog.,  356. 

Burns,  John  E.,  settler  at  Port  Dis 
covery,  28. 

Burns,  M.  P.,  sent  with  despat.,  119. 

Burrell,  J.,  biog.,  746. 

Burrows,  Lt  J.  M.,  killed,  141. 

Burt,  James,  murder  by,  95. 

Busby,  James,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30. 

Bush,  Geo.  W.,  settled  at  Puget 
sound,  3;  biog.,  4. 

Bush,  Simeon,  settled  on  Boisfort 
prairie,  36. 

Bush,  W.  O.,  biog.,  322. 

Butler,  Hillery,  settled  at  Seattle,  26. 

Butler,  J.  S.,  biog.  etc.,  421. 

Butt,  Wilson,  biog.,  635. 

Butte  City,  Mont.,  growth  of,  740;  de- 
script.,  752,  763-4;  mining  output, 
764. 

Butte  and  Summit  val.  mining  dist, 
739. 


0 


Cady,  Col  A.,  in  com'd  of  Columbia 
dist,  228;  relieved,  229. 

Cain,  A.  J.,  holds  council,  198;  gold 
discov.  on  the  Clearwater,  235-6; 
biog.,  371. 

Cain,  J.,  Ind.  agent,  177. 

Callahan,  T.  T.,  biog.,  747. 

Callaway,  J.  E.,  biog.,  791. 

Camas  Prairie  and  Volcano  dist,  map 
of,  518. 

Camp  Bidwell,    Id.,  estab.   1865,  433. 

Campbell,  E.  T.,  biog.,  747. 

Campbell,  J.  L.,  Ida/to  and  Montana, 
405. 

Campbell,  Marshall,  settler  at  Whid 
bey  isl.,  31. 

Cannon,  A.  M.,  biog.,  392. 

Cannon,  C.  W.,  biog.,  770. 

Cardwell,  E.,  biog.,  789. 

Cariboo  mines,  discov.  of,  233;  de- 
script.,  533. 

Carlton,  J.  M.,  biog.,  629-30. 

Carnefix,  A.  D.,  settled  at  Tumwater, 
8;  saw-mill,  9. 

Cams,  Wm  C.,  biog.,  356. 

Carpenter,  B.  Platt,  gov.  of  Mont., 
689;  biog.,  690-1. 

Carr,  J.  D.,  contract  of,  440. 

'Carrie  Davis,'  steamer,  270. 

Carrington,  Col  H.  B.,  exped.  of, 
695-6. 

Cartee,  L.  F.,  vineyard  of,  biog.,  544; 
surveyor-gen.,  561. 

Carter,  T.  H.,  delegate  to  cong.,  787, 
796. 


IXDKX. 


813 


Carter,  Wm  B.,  biog.,  634. 

Carver's  map,  1778,  600. 

Cascade  county,  Mont.,  created,  1887, 
770. 

Cascades,  attack  on  the,  144-52;  de 
scribed,  145-6;  map,  152. 

Cascade  mts,  road-making  to,  65. 

Cascade  Railroad  co.,  hist,  of,  387-8. 

Casey,  Lieut-col  Silas,  arrival  with 
troops,  116;  actions  against  Inds, 
162-3. 

Cassia  county,  Id.,  created,  465;  de- 
script.,  550-1. 

Catlin,  C.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 

Catlin,  Seth,  settled  in  Cowlitz  val., 
37;  del.  to  convention,  49;  signs 
memorial  to  cong.,  53;  legislator, 
59,  73;  biog.,  370. 

Cavanaugh,  — ,  del.  to  congress,  668; 
biog.,  668-9. 

Cayuses,  sign  treaty,  101. 

Centreville,  Id.,  descript.  of,  421. 

Centralia,  ment.  of,  392. 

Chaddock,  Capt.  J.  S.  S.,  takes  pos 
session  of  custom-house,  221. 

Challis,  co.  seat  Custer,  Id.,  552. 

Chamberlain,  Jacob  B.,  biog.,  553. 

Chambers,  Andrew,  settled  at  Turn- 
water,  biog.,  8. 

Chambers,  David,  settled  at  Turn- 
water,  biog.,  8;  county  com.,  78. 

Chambers,  T.  M.,  settles  at  Tumwa- 
ter,  biog.,  8;  del.  to  convention,  49; 
county  com.,  59. 

Chambers,  Thomas  J.,  settled  at  Turn- 
water,  biog.,  8. 

Champ,  John  W.,  settled  at  Shoal- 
water  bay,  34. 

Chance,  John,  in  attack  at  the  Cas 
cades,  148. 

Chandler,  W.  F.,  chief  justice,  1884, 
Id.,  480. 

Chapman,  John  Butler,  laid  out  Che- 
halis  City,  36;  scheme  of,  47;  del. 
to  convention,  49. 

Chapman,  John  M.,  legislator,  73, 
218. 

Charlton,  Chas,  biog.,  748. 

Chehalis  City,  Wash.,  laid  out.  36. 

Chehalis  county,  created,  77;  officials, 
78:  account  of,  369. 

Chehalis  valley,  settlers  in,  37. 

Chelle,  Pierre,  settled  Boisfort  prairie, 
36. 

Chenoweth,  F.  A.,  settles  at  Cascade, 
37;  legislator,  59,  73;  candidate  for 
congress,  71-3;  dist  judge,  80; 
tries  Leschi,  172-3. 

Chenoweth,  Hardin,  escape  from  the 
Cascades,  148. 


Cherry,  Chas,  killed  by  Inds,  93. 
Child,  H.  W.,  biog.,  774. 
Chimacum  valley,  settlers  in,  28. 
Chimakums,     flight     from     northern 

Inds,  135. 
Chinn,    Maj.   M.    A.,    movements  of, 

140-1. 

Chinook,  fishery  at,  33. 
'  Chippewa, '  steamer,  burnt,  616. 
Chondra,  John,   settled   on   Whidbey 

isl.,  30. 
Choteau    county,    Mont.,    organized, 

445;  sketch  of,  752-3. 
Chowen,  H.  0.,  biog.,  774. 
Church,  Judah,  settled  on  Whidbey 

isl.,  30. 
Churches,  Wash.,  372-4;  Id.,  562-3; 

Mont.,  777-8. 
Claggett,    W.    H.,    del.    to  congress, 

676;  biog.,  676-7. 
Claim      jumping,      public      meeting 

against,  1847,  39-40. 
Clallam  county,  Wash.,  created,   77; 

officials,  79;    sketch    of,   361;  hist. 

of,  369. 

Clallams,  depredations  by,  93. 
Clark,     E.    A.,    settles    in    Dwamish 

val.,  26. 
Clark,  Frank,  university  regent,  215; 

legislator,  218,  264;  biog.,  266;  rail 
road  enterprise,  270. 
Clark,  J.,  dist  judge  Id.,  473. 
Clark,  John  C.,  lynching  of,  460. 
Clark,  Malcolm,  death  of,  706. 
Clark,  W.  A.,  prest  constit.  convent., 

787;    biog.,    787-8;    U.    S.    senator 

elect,  806. 

Clarke  co.,  officials  of,  78;  vol't's  en 
rolled,  113. 

Clarke,  A.  G.,  biog.,  765. 
Clarke,  A.  K.,  biog.,  322. 
Clarke,  F.  A.,  signs  mem.  to  congress, 

53;    legislator,    73,    98;    dist   pros. 

att'y,  85. 
Clarke,  Newman  S.,  comd.  of  Pacific 

dept,     176;    visits    Columbia,    177; 

holds  council,  183;  on  Ind.  treaties, 

196;  assigned  to  Cal.,  197. 
Clayton,  Joel,  attacked  by  Inds,  95; 

narrow  escape,  138. 
Cleale,  H.,  settles  at  Olympia,  67. 
Clearwater  gold   fields,  discovery  of, 

value,  234-7. 
Clearwater   river,    ferry   rights,  251; 

Ind.  battle,  507-8. 
Cleman,  John,  biog.,  322. 
Cliff  lode,    Mont.,    discov.,  etc.,    of, 

724. 

Climate,  of  Id.,  537-40;  Mont.,  596. 
Clindiuuing,  J. ,  biog.,  558. 


814 


INDEX. 


Cline,  Eliot,  settled  at  N.  Dungeness, 

28;  legislator,  biog.,  292. 
Clinger,  J.  G.,  locates  claim,   19,  20. 
Clough,  John  P.,  biog.,  556. 
Clough,  L.  B.,  biog.,  317. 
Coal  mines,   Wash.,   340-2;  Id.,  536; 

Mout.,  762-3. 
Cochran,    James,   del.  to  convention, 

49. 

Code  of  laws,  bill  to  provide,  76. 
Coe,  Lawrence  W.,  settles  at  Cascade, 

37;  builds  steamer,  231. 
Ccfiur   d'Alenes,  meet   Gov.  Stevens, 

104;   campaign  against,    178-96;   at 

peace  with  Nez  Perces,  194;  excite 
ment  among,  etc.,  495-6. 
Cceur  d'Alene  Lake,  Col  Wright  at, 

192. 

Coaur  d'Alene  Mines,  Id.,  580. 
Cceur  d'Alene  Mission,  prosperity  of, 

604. 

Coghanour,  D.,  biog.,  etc.,  416. 
Colburn,  John,  biog.,  748. 
Colby,  Aurelius,  co.  officer,  279;  ex 
ploration,  386. 
Cole,  C.  K.,  biog.,  771. 
Cole,  Geo.   E.,  del.  to  congress,  264; 

biog.,  264-5;  app'td  gov.,  265,  266. 
Collins,  John,  biog.,  366. 
Collins,  Luther  M.,  locates  claim,  21; 

at  Bellingham  Bay,  32;  signs  mem. 

to  congress,  53;  co.  com.,  59,  78. 
'Colonel  Wright,'  steamer,  231,  237. 
Colt,  M.  F.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 
Columbia  county,  Wash.,  hist,  of,  355.  j 
Columbia    river,    ferry    rights,    251;  j 

serious  rise,  256. 
Columbia  Transportation   Co.,  incor-  ! 

porated,  270. 
Colvin,  Ignatius,  rescued  from  Inds, 

57. 

Comegys,  Geo.,  biog.,  308. 
Commerce,  Wash.,  333-40;  Id.,  576-7.  j 
Comstock,  H.  M.,  mining  adventures,  ' 

257. 
Confederate    gulch,    Mont.,     discov., 

722. 

Connell,  M.,  killed,  118. 
Conner,  J.  S.,  biog.,  367. 
Connor,  Geu.,  Ind.  fights,  637,  693. 
Conrad,  C.  E.,  biog.,  776. 
'Constitution,'  steamer,  fate  of,  271. 
Constitutional     convention,     Wash., 

304-14;  Id.,  584-5;    Mont.,   781-2, 

787-8. 
Cook,   Francis  H.,   prest  of   council,  ! 

biog.,  291-2. 

Cook,  Win,  ter.  treasurer,  85. 
Cook,  S.  S.,  biog.,  322. 
Cooke,  Chas  P.,  biog.,  357. 


Cool,  Sam'l,  settled  at  Tumwater,  6. 
Cooper,  E.,  founds  settlement,  66. 
Cooper,    J.   G.,   in   R.    R.    surveying 

party,  71. 

Cooper,  Simon,  murdered,  179. 
Copper,  deposits  in  Id.,  536. 
Coquillon,  in  com'd  of  Ind.  force,  125. 
Coray,  John,  killing  of,  458. 
Corliss,  Geo.  W.,  biog.  202. 
Cornelius,   Thomas  R. ,  col  Or.  vols, 

142;    movements,    144;    returns   to 

Portland,  156. 
Cornwall,  J.  M.,  biog.,  322. 
Cory,  D.  A.,  biog.,  770-71. 
Coston,  I.  N.,  biog.,  546. 
Counties     of     Wash.,     354-71;    Id., 

541-60;  Mont.,  751-8. 
Coupe,     Capt.     Thomas,     settled    on 

Whidbey  island,  30. 
Cover,  Thos,  exped.,  etc.,  of,  628. 
Covington,    Richard,    judge,    44;    co. 

clerk,  45;  railroad  enterprise,  270. 
Cowan,  Andrew,  biog.,  636. 
Cowan,  John,   discovers  Last  Chance 

gulch,  721. 

Cowlitz,  public  meeting  at,  49. 
Cowlitz  county,  Wash.,  created,  77; 

officials,  76;  sketch  of,  370. 
Cowlitz  river,  steamers  on,  269-79. 
Cowlitz  valley,  settlers  in,  37. 
Cox,  W.  A.,  founded  settlement,  66. 
Craig,  Win,  biog.,  106;  app't'd  aid  to 

gov.,  142;  Ind.  agent,  177. 
Cramey,  Thomas,  settler  on  Whidbey 

island,  31. 

Crane,  Capt.,  reconnaissance  of,  385. 
Crane,  H.  C.,  biog.,  546. 
Cranny,  T.,  mention  of,  337. 
Crate,  Wm  F.,  land  claim,  86. 
Crawford,   Peter  W.,    locates   claim, 

10;  signs  mem.  to  congress,  53. 
Crockett.  Sam'l  B.,  settled  at  Puget 

sound,  3. 
Crockett,  Walter,  settled  on  Whidbey 

isl.,  30. 

Crook,  Gen.,  campaign  of,  712-14. 
Crosbie,  Henry  R.,  legislator,  73,  98. 
Crosby,    Clanrick,    biog.,    15;    del.   to 

convention,  49;  legislator,  264. 
Crosby,  John  S.,  gov.  of  Mont.,  688. 
Crowley,  D.  J.,  biog.,  311. 
Crows,  country  and  character,  691-2; 

treaty  with,  705. 
Culbertson,   Alex.,    charge  of  Amer. 

Fur  Co.'s  trade,    601;   builds   Fort 

Lewis,  602;  the  gold  discov.,  Mont., 

612. 

Cull,  John,  biog.,  635. 
Curley,  Dwamish  chief,   126;    attack 

on  Seattle,  128-32. 


INDEX. 


815 


Currency  question,  Mont.,  659-61. 

Curry,  Gov.,  Ind.  war,  140;  procla 
mation,  144;  harmony  with  Gov. 
Stevens,  160. 

Curtiss,  E.  J.,  act.  gov.,  Id.,  472. 

Cushman,  Joseph,  biog.,  72. 

Cashing,  Win,  settled  on  Willopah 
river,  36, 

Custer,  Boston,  killed,  714. 

Custer,  Capt.,  killed  with  Gen.  Cus 
ter,  714. 

Custer  county  created,  465;  sketch  of, 
551-2,  757. 

Custer,  Gen.,  exped.  of,  709-10;  de 
feat  and  death  of,  713-15. 

Custer  Mine,  Id.,  descript.  of,  532. 

Cutter,  H.  L.,  biog.,  300. 

'Cynosure,'  ship,  91. 


D 


Daly,  Marcus,  biog.,  798. 
Dallam,  F.  M.,  biog.,  311. 
Dandy,  Lieut  C.  B.,  in  Wright's  cam 
paign,  186. 
Daniels,  W.  B.,  acting  gov.,  Id.,  443; 

unpopularity,  447. 
Darwin,  C.  B.,  judicial  dist.  of,  278; 

character,  279. 
Davidson,  Lieut,  in  surveying  exped., 

90-1. 

Davis,  Gen.,  ment.  of,  497. 
Davis,  Alex.,  land  claim,  86. 
Davis,  L.  H.  biog.,  369. 
Davis,    L.     A.,    settled    on    Boisfort 

prairie,  36. 

Davis,  David  T.,  orchard  of,  544. 
Davis,   Thos  S.,   settles  on  Whidbey 

isl.,  30. 

Davis,  Win  A.,  biog.,  749. 
Dawson      county,      organized,     445; 

sketch  of,  758. 
Di,y,  H.  B.,  biog.,  322. 
Dayton,  co.  seat,    Columbia,  Wash., 

355;  sketch  of,  371. 
Dean,  E.  B.,  biog.,  322. 
'Decatur, '   sloop   of    war,    113,    118; 

plot  to  capture,  125-6. 
Deer  Lodge  City,  Mont.,  descript.  of, 

751-2. 
Deer    Lodge    county,    created,    445; 

sketch  of,  751-2. 
Deer  Lodge  City,   descript.   of,  etc., 

670,  768. 

Deer  Lod^e  valley,  591,  625-6. 
Degan,  Ross,  biog.,  748. 
De   Lacy,   W.   W.,  ferry  right,   251; 

exped.,    633;    map,    633-46;    chief 

engineer  of  militia,  699. 


Delin,  Nicholas,  claim  of,  67. 

Dement,  Lieut  John,  rescues  captive 
gold-seekers,  56. 

Dennison,  A.  P.,  Ind.  agent,  177. 

Dennison,  B.  F.,  university  regent, 
216;  com.  to  revise  laws,  273;  chief 
justice,  279;  del.  to  convention,  291. 

Denny,  A.  A.,  settles  at  Alki  Point, 
22;  judge,  51;  signs  memorial  to 
congress,  53;  co.  com.,  59;  legisla 
ture,  73,  98;  lieutof  vols,  116;  do 
nation  to  university,  215;  university 
regent,  216;  del.  to  congress,  205; 
R.  R.  enterprise,  270. 

Denny,  David  T.,  settles  at  Alki 
Point,  22. 

Dent,  Capt.,  erects  block  house,  165; 
in  Wright's  campaign,  185-7. 

De.,  Chute  falls,  flouring-mill  erected, 
8. 

De  Smet,  P.  J.,  explor.  of,  602-3. 

Deuter,  Chas  W.,  settled  in  Shoal- 
water  bay,  35. 

Dewarc,  J.  M.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 

De  Wolf,  S.,  career  of,  799-801. 

De  Witt,  W.  H.,  biog.,  801;  associate 
judge,  797. 

Dickenson,  John,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30. 

Dickey,  S.  A.,  biog.,  313. 

Dillenbaugh,  A.  B.,  del.  to  conven 
tion,  49;  signs  mem.  to  congress, 
53 

Dillingham,  sheriff,  death  of,  639. 

Dilley,  S.  B.,  mining  pioneer,  383; 
legislator,  433-4. 

Dillon,  Wm  H.,  land  claim,  biog.,  86. 

Dimsdale,  pamphlet,  etc.,  of,  641. 

Discovery  bar,  mining  at,  418. 

Dittes,  John  R.,  biog.,  602. 

Divorces,  bills  relating  to,  274—5. 

Dixon,  Jacob,  lynching  of,  461. 

Dixon,  W.  W.,  biog.,  789. 

Dodge,  F.  A.,  in  De  Lacy's  exped., 
582. 

Dodge,  J.  W.,  killing  of,  400. 

Dolan,  John,  hanged,  591. 

Donegan,  John,  biog.,  749. 

Donelson,  Lieut  A.  I.,  surveys  R.  R. 
route,  71. 

Donnell,  John,  settled  at  N.  Dunge- 
ness,  27. 

Doty,  James,  treaty  with  Inds,  101 ; 
exped.,  607. 

Dougherty,  Wm,  co.  commis'r,  59,  78. 

Douglas  county,  Wash.,  created,  37. 

Douglas,  Gov.  James,  actions  in  San 
Juan  trouble,  87;  sends  steamer  to 
Puget  Sound,  121-2. 

Douthitt,  Levi,  biog.,  365. 


816 


INDEX. 


Doyle,  Patrick,  settled  on  Whidbey 

isl.,  30. 
Doyle,  R.  L.,  settled  on  Whidbey  isl., 

30;  legislator,  98. 
Drew,     Geo. ,     founds     Cascade,     37; 

signs  mem.  to  congress,  53. 
Drew,  M.  S.,  biog.,  322. 
Drum,  H.,  biog.,   317. 
Drum   Lummond   mine,    output  etc. 

of,  768, 

Dubois,  F.  T.,  del.  to  cong.,  568,  583. 
Dudley,  S.  G.,  legislator,   biog.,  292. 
Dukes,  Geo.  L.,  biog.,  746-7. 
Dunbar,  F.  J.,  biog.,  624. 
Dunbar,   R.    O.,   biog.,  308;    sup.   ct 

judge,  314. 
Duncan,   Lieut  Johnson  K.,  surveys 

railroad  route,  71. 

Dunham,  Win  H.,  master  of  the  'Or 
bit,'  15;  death,  16. 
Dunivay,   Mrs  A.    S.,  ment.   of,  290. 
Dunlap,  G.  W.f  biog.,  364. 
Dunraven.     Great  Divide,  807. 
Dwamish  valley,  settlers  at,  22. 
Dyer,  T.  P.,  biog.,  312. 


E 


Eagle  from  the  Light,  Nez  Perce 
chief,  482  et  seq. 

Eastern  Oregon,  map  of,  521. 

Eaton,  Charles,  capt.  in  Ind.  war,  139. 

Eaton,  Charles  H.,  settled  at  Turn- 
water,  biog.,  5. 

Eaton,  0.  M.,  founds  settlement,  66. 

Ebey,  I.  N.,  purchases  the  'Orbit,' 15; 
names  Olympia,  16;  locates  claim, 
18;  biog.,  29;  pros,  att'y,  51;  legis 
lator,  59;  collector,  Puget  sound,  62; 
acts  in  S.  Juan  affair,  86-7;  mur 
dered,  137-8;  capt.  in  Ind.  war, 
139. 

Ebey,  Jacob,  biog.,  29. 

Ebey,  Winfield  S.,  settler  on  Whid 
bey  isl.,  31. 

Eddy,  A.  H.,  biog.,  322. 

Edens,  .J.  J.,  biog.,  322. 

Edgar,  Hy.,  exped.  of,  628. 

Edgar,  John,  del.  to  convention,  49; 
road  viewer,  64;  explorations,  386. 

Edgerton,  Sidney,  dist.  judge,  Id., 
444;  gov.  of  Mont.,  643;  biog.,  643. 

Education,  Wash.,  375-6;  Id.,  562; 
Mont.,  778-9,  784. 

Elders,  Win,  settled  at  Steilacoom, 
17. 

Eldridge,  Edw.,  settled  at  Bellingham 
bay,  biog.,  32;  del.  to  convention, 
310. 


Elikukah,  captures  Leschi,  171. 

'Eliza  Anderson,' steamer,  222,  271- 
2. 

Elk  City,  founded,  241. 

'Ellen  Maria,'  ship,  mysterious  dis 
appearance,  212. 

Ellensburg,  fire  etc.  1889,  391. 

Elliott,  T.  L.,  com'd  at  Vancouver, 
277. 

Elmore  Mine.     See  Bannack  Mine. 

Elmer,  E.,  biog.,  745. 

Emory,  H.  B,,  del.  to  convention, 
291. 

Engle,  W.  B.,  settled  on  Whidbey  isl., 
30. 

English,  Wm  J.,  biog.,  636-7. 

'Enterprise,' steamer,  270. 

Esmeralda,  co.  seat  Alturas,  Id.,  547. 

Eshelman,  J.  T.,  biog.,  308. 

Etherington,  C.,  biog.,  636. 

Ethridge,  Courtland,  of  navigation 
co.,  270. 

Eureka  City,  Id.,  founded,  429. 

Evans,  El  wood,  dep.  collector,  biog., 
54;  historical  notes  on  settlement, 
55;  sec.  of  terr.,  219;  com.  to  revise 
laws,  273;  legislator,  288. 

Evans,  John,  in  R.  R.  surveying  par 
ty,  71. 

Eveans,  Joseph,  biog.,  635-6. 

'Exact,'  ship,  22,  55. 


Failmg,  Wm,  attacked  by  Inds,  92. 

Fairchild,  J.  H.,  biog.,  774. 

Fairweather,  H.  W.,  biog.,  309. 

Fairweather,  Wm,  exped.  of,  628. 

'Fairy,'  steam  packet,  68. 

Farmer,  E.  J.,  Resources  of  the  Rocky 
Mts,  807-8. 

Farnsworth,  Levi,  legislator,  biog., 
292. 

Farriste,  W.,  biog.,  322. 

Farris,  A.  J.,  biog.,  317. 

'Fashion,' steamer,   154. 

Fay,  C.  T.,  biog.,  313. 

Fay,  R.  C.,  in  charge  of  Ind.  encamp 
ment,  121;  Ind.  agent,  177. 

Feighan,  J.  W.,  biog.,  322. 

Fenn,  S.  S.,  legislator,  del.  to  con 
gress,  474. 

Ferguson,  E.  C.,  biog.,  367. 

Ferguson,  Jesse,  settled  at  Puget 
sound,  3;  saw-mill,  9;  rescued  from 
Inds,  57. 

Ferry,  Elisha  P.,  surveyor-gen.,  279; 
gov.  of  Wash.,  382,  314;  rule,  282- 
3;  lends  arms  to  Idaho,  490. 


INDKX. 


817 


Fetterman,  Col,  death  of,  698. 
Fisher,  Job,  land  claim,  86. 
Fisheries,  Wash.,  345-9. 
Fisherville,  Id.,  founded,  428. 
Fisk,  James  L.,  expeds  of,  622,  634- 

7;  terr.  auditor,  675. 
Fitzgerald,     Maj.,     arrives     at     The 

Dalles,  116. 

Fitz-Gibbons,  murder  by,  458. 
Fitzhugh,  E.  C.,Iud.  agent,  121,  177; 

biog.,  250. 

Fitzpatriek,  Lawrence,  death  of,  94. 
Flanders,    Alvan,    del.    to    congress, 

biog.,  265;  gov.  of  Wash.,  279. 
Flanders,  Geo.  W.,  biog.,  747. 
Flathead  lake,  Mont.,  590. 
Fletcher,  Win,  biog.,  636. 
Florence,  mining  town,  253;  mining 

at,  427-8;  vigilants  at,  451. 
Florence  mines,  altitude,  395. 
Flour  mills,  351-2. 
Flummerfell,  C.  H.,  biog.,  323. 
Fogus,  D.  H.,  discovered  Boise  mines, 

259,  406. 

Forbes,  Chas,  trial  of,  639. 
Forbis,  J.  W.,  biog.,  766. 
Ford,  Sidney  S.,  settled  at  Tumwater, 

15;    del.  to  convention,  49;   judge, 

51;    signs    mem.    to    congress,    53; 

capt.  of  gov.'s  guard,   142;  Leschi 

surrenders  to,  171;   hid.  agent,  177. 
Ford,    Sidney   S.,    Jr,  rescued    from 

Inds,  57;  explorations,  386. 
Forests  of  Id.,  539. 
Forrest,  Lieut,  in  Ind.  fight,  136-7. 
Forrest,  W.  T.,  ment.  of,  314. 
Forsythe,  C.  E.,  biog.,  318. 
Fort  Alden,  built,  159. 
Fort  Assinaboine,  Mont.,  719. 
Fort  Benton,   Mont.,  immigrants  at, 

413;    sketch    of,    752-3;    descript., 

774-5;  gold  discov.,  612. 
Fort  Boise,  Id.,  established,  411-12. 
Fort   C.    F.  Smith,  established,  697; 

Inds  attack,  699. 
Fort   ChehaJis,    govt  buildings   sold, 

277. 
Fort  Colville,  gold   found  near,  108; 

established,  231. 
Fort  Custer,  Mont.,  established,  715, 

719. 

Fort  Elizabeth  Meagher,  estab.,  701. 
Fort  Hall,  abandoned,  140. 
Fort  Hays,  established,  165. 
Fort  Henrietta,  erected,  141. 
Fort     Keough,     Mont.,    established, 

1877,  719. 

Fort  Nisqually,  attack  on,  13-14. 
Fort  Philip  Kearney,  established,  696; 

map,  697;  massacre  near,  698. 
HIST.  WASH.— 02 


Fort  Simcoe,  abandoned,  198. 

Fort  Slaughter,  established,  165. 

Fort  Steilacoom,  erected,  14;  Ind. 
exped.  from,  113;  Inds  hanged, 
174;  abandoned,  276. 

Fort  Taylor,  built,  1,  184;  abandoned, 
195. 

Fort  Tilton,  built,  159. 

Fort  Union,  Mont.,  601,  609,  693. 

Foster,  C.  E.,  biog.,  323. 

Foster,  J.  J.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 

Foster,  Thomas,  settled  at  Shoal- 
water  bay,  34. 

Fowler,  E.  S.,  settles  at  Port  Town- 
send,  20;  R.  R.  enterprise,  270;  P. 
S.  Steam  Nav.  Co.,  272. 

Franklin  co.,  created,  371. 

Frary,  T.  C.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 

Fraser  river,  mining  excitement,  209. 

Fredericksburg,  Id.,  founded,  415. 

Frier,  F.,  biog.,  356. 

Friend,  Uric,  settled  on  Whidbey  isl., 
30. 

Frost,  Morris  H.,  collector,  219; 
biog.,  368. 

Fruit  culture,  Mont.,  744-5. 


G 


Gage,  Nelson,  biog.,  757. 
Galena  district,  Id.,  mines  of.  531. 
Galbraith,  Wm  J.,  biog.,  801. 
Gallatin  co.,  Mont.,  settlers  in,  636; 

sketch  of,  756. 
Galhher,  Silas,  biog.,  364. 
Gandy,  J.  E.,  biog.,  323. 
Gansevoort,  Capt.,  campaign  of,  125- 

33. 

Garfield  co.,  Wash.,  hist,  of,  356. 
Garfielde,    Salucius,    collector,    226; 

del.  to  congress,  actions,  280-81. 
Garlick,  Thos,  biog.,  746. 
Garnett,  Maj.,  exped.  against  Yaki- 

mas,  183;  campaign,  196. 
Garry,  chief  of  Spokanes,  109. 
Gaston,   Lieut   W.,  in    Steptoe  cam 
paign,  180;  killed,  181. 
Geary,  E.  R.,  treaty  with  Inds,  236. 
Geoghegan,  J.  D.,  biog.,  323. 
George,   W.  A.,   del.    to  convention, 

291. 

'George  Emory,'  ship,  18. 
George,  Jesse,  U.  S.  marshal,  297. 
'Georgiana,'  ship,  wrecked,  53,  56. 
Gerrish,  Geo.  H.,  settled  at  N.  Dun- 

geness,  27;  justice  of  peace,  79. 
Gerrish,  Oliver  F.,  university  regent, 

216;   P.    S.   Steam   Nav.    co.,  272; 

biog.,  366. 


818 


INDEX. 


Gholson,  Rich.  D.,  gov.  1859-61,  211; 
administ.,  211. 

Gibbon,  Gen.  John,  in  pursuit  of  Jo 
seph,  510;  campaign  of,  712-15. 

Gibbs,  Benj.,  settler  at  Port  Discov 
ery,  28;  rescued  from  Inds,  57. 

Gibbs,  G.,  explores  route,  383. 

Gibbs,  Rich.,  rescued  from  Inds,  57. 

Gibson,  Lieut  H.  G.,  in  Wright's 
campaign,  186. 

Gibson,  Paris,  biog.  etc.,  773-4. 

Giddings,  Edw.,  biog.,  275-6;  as 
sessor,  280. 

Gideon,  Solomon  S.,  rescued  from 
Inds,  57. 

Gig  harbor,  Ind.  rendezvous,  121. 

Gilbreth,  S.  L.,  biog.,  355. 

Gilchrist,  Chas,  biog.,  323. 

Gilfoil,  0.  D.,  biog.,  318. 

Gimple,  Peter,  discovered  mine,  387. 

Gilmore,  S.  M.,  del.  to  convention, 
291. 

Gilson,  Horace  C.,  acting  gov.,  de 
falcations  by,  463. 

Given,  Sam'l  R.,  biog.,  551. 

Glascock,  B.  B.,  biog.,  309. 

Glasgow,  Thomas  W.,  explor.  tour, 
10. 

Gleason,  H.,  biog.,  748. 

Glendive,  Mont.,  descript.  of,  758. 

Glover,  J.  N.,  biog.,  300. 

Gold,  discov.  of,  Wash.,  1855,  108; 
hist.,  342-3;  Id.,  527-35;  Mont., 
611-17. 

Gold  creek,  Mont.,  mining  at,  616-18. 

Gold  hill  mine,  value,  528. 

Goldsborough,  H.  A.,  biog.,  48. 

Goodell,  W.  B.,  starts  passenger  line, 
64. 

Goodman.  M.  M.,  biog.,  309. 

Gordon,  Benj.,  settled  at  Tumwater, 
6. 

Gore,  Sir  Geo.,  exped.  of,  609. 

Gosnell,  W.  B.,  Ind.  agent,  177. 

Goudy,  Geo.  B.,  biog.,  77;  capt.  in 
Ind.  war,  139. 

Gould,  A.  S.,  starts  the  Golden  Age, 
262. 

Gowey,  John  F.,  biog.,  31  ls 

Graham,  Chas,  biog.,  364. 

Graham,  W.,  mining  at  Gold  creek, 
617;  legislator,  683. 

Grambrinus  lode,  discov.  etc.  of,  416. 

Granite  creek,  gold  discov.  at,  414; 
quartz-mill,  429. 

Granite  Mountain  mines,  richness 
etc.  of,  767. 

Grant,  F.  J.,  biog.,  323. 

Grant,  J.  F.,  settled  at  Gold  creek, 
615. 


Gray,  W.  H.,  gold  discovery,  63. 
Gray  harbor,  gov.  building  sold,  277. 
Great  Consolidated  Boise  River  Gold 

and  Silver  Mining  co.,  mines,  415; 

mill  of,  429-30. 
Great  Falls,  descript.,  770-3. 
Greathouse,  H.,  biog.,  423. 
Greene,  Rodger  S.,  assoc.  judge,  279; 

chief  justice,  293,  297. 
Gregg,  Lieut,  in  Steptoe's  campaign, 

180. 
Gremnan,  Lawrence,  setttler  at  Whid- 

bey  isl.,  31. 
Grey,  Thomas,  com'd  at  Camp.  Steel, 

277. 

Grier,  Maj.  W.  N.,  in  Wright's  cam 
paign,  185,  191. 
Grimes,  Geo.,  discovered  Boise'  mines, 

406,  407,  410. 
Griswold,  Geo.,  living  at  the  Cascades, 

145. 

Gros  Ventres,  character,  691. 
Grover,    Lieut   Cuvier,    in   Stephens' 

party,  606. 

Grubb,  S.  G.,  biog.,  323. 
Grut,  Edw.,  settler  at  Whidbey  isl., 

31. 

Gulches  and  lodes,  Mont.,  1865,  630. 
Gunn,  L.  C.,  app't'd  collector,  223. 
Guernsey,  D.  C.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 
Guess,  Mason,  biog.,  366. 


H 


Hadley,  Thomas,  settles  in  Puyallup 

valley,  66. 
Haidahs,    capture     gold-seekers,    56; 

outrages  by,  90,  212. 
Hailey,  J.,   delegate,   1872,  473;  con 
gressman,  567. 
Hailey,    co.    seat    etc.    Alturas,    Id., 

547-8. 

Haines,  Joseph,  biog.,  749. 
Hale,  Supt.,  averts  Ind.  war,  484. 
Hale,  C.   H.,  signs  mem.   to  congress, 

53;  legislator,  73;  university  regent, 

215. 

Hale,  S.  C.,  biog.,  558. 
Haley,  Thomas,  biog.,  356. 
Hall,  discovered   Salmon  river  mine, 

245. 

Hall,  Henry,  death  of,  94. 
Haller,  Maj.  G.  0.,  exped.  and  defeat 

of,  108,  111-13;  biog.  of,  156. 
Hamilton,  escapes  from  the  Cascades, 

151. 

Hamilton,  H.,  biog.,  323. 
Hamilton,    John,  arrival,  54;   death, 

94. 


INDEX. 


819 


Hammond,  J.  S.,  biog.,  765. 

Hancock,  Sam'l,  settles  at  Tumwater, 
6;  biog.,  7;  brick-making,  9;  settles 
on  Whidbey  isl.,  31;  trading-port, 
90-1;  Inds  threaten,  92;  mention 
of,  340. 

Hanks,  W.,  biog.,  775. 

Hauna,  Lieut,  in  fight  with  Inds,  115. 

Hanna,  Thomas  J.,   Ind.   agent,  177. 

Hannah,  D.  B.,  del.  to  convention, 
291. 

Hanson,  John,  biog.,  747. 

Hardie,  Capt.  J.  A.,  in  Wright's  cam 
paign,  186. 

Harmon,  Hill,  terr.  treasurer,  282; 
biog.,  366. 

Harney,  Gen.  W.  S.,  assigned  to  Or. 
dept.,  197;  order  of,  197-8. 

Harney  depot,  established,  199. 

Harper,  J.  B.,  fight  with  Inds,  519. 

Harper,  M.  V.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 

Harvey,  J.,  settler  in  Dwamish  val., 
26. 

Harwood,  E.  N.,  associate  judge, 
Mont.,  797. 

Haskell,  H.  J.,  att'y-gen.,  Mont.,  797. 

Hastie.  Thomas,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30. 

Hastings,  L.  B.,  lays  out  town,  19-20; 
signs  mem.  to  congress,  53;  county 
com.,  59;  probate  judge,  79;  biog., 
366. 

Hatch,  E.  A.  C.,  Ind.  agent,  692. 

Hathaway,  Capt.  Eli,  settled  on 
Whidbey  isl.,  30. 

Hathaway,  J.  S.,  biog.,  365. 

Hauser,  Sam'l  T.,  gov.  of  Mont,  689; 
biog.,  689;  delegate,  782. 

Hawaiian  islands,  recipr.  treaty  with, 
273. 

Hay  den,  Capt.,  in  fight  with  Inds, 
115. 

Hay  den,  J.  R.,  mention  of.  298. 

Haydeu,  John  M.,  candidate  for  con 
gress,  72. 

Hays,  Gilmore,  candidate  for  con 
gress,  73;  biog.,  73;  capt.  of  vols, 
113;  in  Ind.  war,  122,  138;  major, 
159,  166;  ferry  right,  251. 

Hays,  Isaac,  capt.  in  Ind.  war,  138. 

Hays,  J.   B.,  chief  justice,   1886,  583. 

Hay  ton,  T.,  biog.,  313. 

Hay  ward,  G.,  settled  in  Puyallup 
val.,  66. 

Hazen,  Inspector  Gen.,  at  Ft  Philip 
Kearny,  697. 

Healy,  John  J.,  discovered  Salmon 
river  mines,  245. 

Hedges,  Cornelius,  biog.,  780. 

Heebe,  Hy.,  biog.,  636. 


Helena,  capital  of    Mont,   etc.,    665, 

670,  721-2;  descript.  of,  755-6,  769, 

780;   constit.     convent,     at,    1884, 

781-2. 

Helena  mines,  descript.  of,  768-9. 
Hellgate  valley,    Mont.,    name,  591; 

settlers  in,  626-7. 
Hendricks,  Chas,  rescued  from  Inds, 

57. 

Henley,  J.  C.,  biog.,  545. 
Henness,  B.  L. ,  legislator,  98;  capt. 

in  Ind.  war,  138,  159,  166;  fight  at 

White  river,  164. 
Henry,  Francis,  biog.,  309. 
Heriff,  E.  L.,  rev.  collector,  297. 
Herren,  L.  C.,  biog.,  324. 
Herman,  James,  in  attack  at  the  Cas 
cades,  148. 

Hershfield,  L.  H.,  biog.,  789-90. 
Hewett,  A.  S.,  biog.,  324. 
Hewett,   Hy.,   settled  at  Bellingham 

bay,  32. 
Hewitt,  C.  C.,  buries  victims  of  Inds, 

119;  in  Ind.  war,  122-3,  139;  judge, 

250,  278;  character,  279. 
Hibbard.  A.,  mention,  352. 
Hicks,  Gwin,  biog.,  307. 
Hicks,  W.  E.,  biog.,  73;  co.  auditor, 

78;  in  Ind.  war,  164,  167. 
Hickman,  R.  C.,  treas.  of  Mont.,  797. 
Higgins,  C.  P.,  biog.  etc.,  784. 
Hill,  Emmerson,  biog.,  748-9. 
Hill,  Humphrey,  settled  on  Whidbey 

isl.,  30;  biog.,  30. 
Hill,  N.  D.,  settled  on  Whidbey  isl., 

30;  charge  of  Ind.  camp,  121. 
Hill,  Robert  C.,  settled  on  Whidbey 

isl.,  30. 
Hillyer,  Rich.,  settled  at  Shoal  water 

bay,  34. 

Himes,  Tyrus,  claim  of,  67;  biog.,  67. 
Himrod,  C.,  treas.,  584. 
Hindbaugh,  settler  Whiubey  isl.,  31. 
Hingate,  J.  A.,  biog.,  313. 
Historical  soc.  of  Mont.,  incorporated, 

646. 

Hockensmith,  J.  H.,  biog.,  555-6. 
Hodgdon,  Steven,  biog.,  364. 
Hofen,  Leo.,  biog.,  552. 
Hoge,  W.  L.,  biog.,  767. 
Hogine,  A.,  settler  in  Dwamish  val., 

26. 
Holbrook,  del.  to  congress,  470;  biog., 

470. 

Holbrook,  John,  murder  by,  458. 
Holbrook,  Rich.  B.,  settled  on  Whid 
bey  isl.,  30. 

Holgate,  Mrs  Elizabeth,  biog.,  21. 
Holgate,    Milton,    killed   at    Seattle, 

130. 


820 


INDEX. 


Hollister,  M.  E.,  chief  justice  Id., 
473. 

Holme  harbor,  Ind.  fight  at,  93. 

Holmes,  Chas,  biog.,  747. 

Holmes,  Sam'l,  biog.,  364. 

Holter,  A.  M.,  l>iog.,  771. 

Hood  canal,  explored,  11. 

Hoover,  Wm  F.  0.,  biog.,  364. 

Hopkins,  C.  B.,  marshal,  293. 

Horton,  Dexter,  settled  at  Seattle, 
26. 

Hosmer,  H.  L.,  chief  justice,  643; 
off '1  acts,  653-5,  658-61. 

Houghton,  H.  E.,  biog.,  318. 

Hovey,  S.  W.,  legislator,  biog., 
292. 

Howard.  Daniel,  murder  by,  452-4; 
execution,  455. 

Howard,  Gen.  0.  0.,  Ind.  comis.,  498; 
Ind.  campaign  of,  500-14. 

Howe,  Ind.  agent,  at  council,  484. 

Howe,  S.  D.,  settles  on  Whidbey  isl., 
30;  rescued  from  Inds,  57;  co.  com., 
59;  legislator,  73;  capt.  of  vols, 
159,  167;  P.  S.  Steam  Nav.  co., 
272. 

Hewlett,  S.  R.,  acting  gov.,  467;  quar 
rel  with  legislature,  469-70. 

Hoyt,  Jno.,  biog.,  311. 

Hoyt,  John  P.,  assoc.  judge,  293, 
297,  314. 

Hubbs,  Paul  K.,  university  regent, 
215;  legislator,  218;  R.  R.  enter 
prise,  270. 

Hudson  Bay  co.,  Gov.  Stevens'  re 
port,  86;  S.  Juan  trouble,  87;  de- 
strov  ammunition,  139-40;  abandon 
Walla  Walla,  140. 

Hughes,  Barney,  exped.  of,  628. 

Hughes,  J.  A.,  biog.,  556. 

Hughes,  James,  settles  at  Olympia, 
55;  capt.  of  vols,  114. 

Hughes,  W.  H.,  biog.,  324. 

Hume,  Wm,  cannery  of,  370. 

Hunsaker,  J.,  biog.,  318. 

Hunt,  D.,  murder  of,  212. 

Hunt,  G.  W.,  biog.  etc.,  389. 

Hunt,  Wm  H.,  dist.  judge,  803,  805. 

Huntington,  U.  S.  marshal,  222;  at 
tempts  arrest  of  Collector  Smith, 
223. 

Huntington,  C.,  biog.,  324. 

Huntington,  H.  D.,  settles  in  Cowlitz 
val.,  37;  signs  mem.  to  congress, 
53;  legislator,  73;  R.  R.  enterprise, 
270. 

Huntress,  Robt,  del.  to  convention, 
49. 

Hurd,  James  K.,  rescued  from  Inds, 
57. 


Hnrd,  Jared  S.,  biog.,  364. 
Hutch  ins,  Ind.  agent,  484  et  seq. 
Hutchinson,  R.  H.,  biog.,  324. 
Hutton,  James  H.,  biog.,  552-3. 
Hyde,     D.     N.,     pioneer   Boise    city, 

546 
Hyde,  E.  B.,  biog.,  318. 


Ida  Elmore  mine  co.,  415. 

Idaho,  ter.  organized,  262,  393;  limits, 
393;  phys.  features,  393-9;  fauna 
and  flora,  398-401;  name,  399-400; 
early  settlements,  402-21;  map  of 
1863,  402;  mining  in,  409-32,  440-1, 
527-37,  572-3;  Ind.  affairs,  410-14, 
432-3,  481-526;  newspapers,  420-1, 
438,  447,  471-2;  stage  lines  etc., 
423-4;  roads,  425-6,  435-40;  legisl., 
444-6,  464-77,  564-5,  577-81;  seal, 
446;  crime  etc.  in,  448-63;  rail 
roads,  532-3,  576;  soil  and  climate, 
537-40;  agric.,  539,  573-4;  counties 
and  towns,  541-60;  education,  562; 
churches  and  charities,  562-3;  state 
hood,  581-3;  commerce,  576-7;  rail 
roads,  577-8. 

Idaho-  and  California  Wagon-road  co., 
incorporated,  425. 

Idaho  City,  saw-mills,  410;  1864,  421; 
burning  of,  434-5;  riot,  434;  incor 
porated,  445;  jail  at,  449. 

Idaho  co.,  created,  404-5;  sketch  of, 
552-3. 

Indians,  Wash.,  counsel  at  Whidbey 
isl.,  11;  incursions  by,  90;  plot 
against  surveying  party,  91;  small 
pox  among,  91-2;  depredations  by, 
92-4,  212;  reservations,  380-1;  af 
fairs  of,  in  Id.,  410-14,  432-3,  481- 
526;  in  Mont.,  690-719. 

Insane  asylum,  at  Steilacoom,  273^4. 

Irby,  Chas  S.,  legislator.  98. 

Ireland,  D.  C.,  biog.,  421. 

Iron,  manufact.  Wash.,  353;  deposits, 
in  Id.,  536. 

Irrigation,  Id.,  573. 

Irvine,  S.  S.,  settled  at  N.  Dungeness, 
28. 

Irwin,  Geo.  W.,  biog.,  765. 

Irwin,  J.  N.,  gov.  Id.,  1883,  480. 

Island  co.,  created,  59;  officials,  79; 
sketch  of,  360. 

Ivens,  Henry,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30. 

Ives,  Geo.,  trial  etc.  of,  640. 

Izeth,  John  M.,  settler  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  31. 


INDEX. 


821 


'J.  B.  Libbey,'  steamer,  272. 
Jackson,  John  R.,  settled   at   Puget 

sound,  3;  biog.,  4;  sheriff,  44;  del. 

to   convention,  49;    signs   mem.  to 

congress,  53;    legislator,  73;   capt. 

in  Ind.  war,  138,  167. 
Jacobs,  Cyrus,  trading  at  Boise  City, 

542. 
Jacobs,  J.  M.,  settled  at  Gold  creek, 

615. 
Jacobs,    0.,   assoc.  judge,   279;   chief 

justice,  279;  del.  to  congress,  285. 
James,  Geo.  W.,  biog.,  356. 
James,  Thos,  biog.,  364. 
Jay,  O.  W.,  biog.,  635. 
Jetfs,  R.,  biog.,  311. 
'Jetferson  Davis,'  revenue  cutter,  96, 

113,  122. 
Jefferson  co.,  created,  59;  officials,  79; 

sketch  of,  329,  754;  organized,  445. 
Jenkins,  D.  P.,  biog.,  300. 
Jerome,  D.  H.,  Ind.  comis.,  498. 
Jerome,  Pierre,  hostility  of,  109. 
Jewell,  Capt.,  killed  by  Inds,  93. 
Jewell,  Ambrose,  rescued  from  Inds, 

57. 
Jim,    friendly   to  whites,   125;   saves 

Seattle,  128-9. 

'iJoe  Lane,'  revenue  cutter,  221. 
John  Day  mine,  value  of,  257. 
John  Day  river,  fight  at,  165. 
'John  Hancock,'  U.  S.  steamer,  134. 
Johns,  L.,  biog.,  311. 
Johnson,  R.  Z.,  atty-gen.,  584. 
Johnson,  Thomas,  biog.,  357. 
Johnston,  Gen.,  relieved  from  com'd, 

227. 
Jones,  Col   De   L.   Floyd,  fight   with 

Indians,  93;  supt.  Ind.  affairs,  492. 
Jones,  Fred.,  biog.,  361. 
Jones,     Gabriel,     settled     at     Puget 

sound,  3;  saw-mill,  9. 
Jones,  H.  H.,  murder  of,  119. 
Jones,  J.  H.,  biog.,  318. 
Jones,  R.  A.,  chief  justice,  SCO. 
Jones,  W.  C.,  biog.,  747-8. 
Jordan  creek,   map,  417;  mining  at, 

418-19;  Ind.  outrages,  518. 
Jorgensen,  J.,  registrar,  298. 
Jorup,  P.  D.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 
Joseph,    Nez    Perces    chief,    198;    at 

council,  483  et  seq. 
Joset,  Father,   at  Ind.   councils,  104- 

5,  193-4;  visits  Col  Steptoe,  179. 
Joy,  0.  H.,  biog.,  312. 
Judson,  G.   H.,  biog.,  324. 
Judson,  John  Paul,  biog.,  285. 
Judson  S.,  biog.  of,  324. 


Kamiakin,  Yakimas  chief,  101;  home, 
109;  hostility,  110,  169;  refuses  to 
attend  council,  194-5;  goes  to  B. 
C.,  195. 

Kanascut,  Klikitat  chief,  122. 

Kandle,  G.,  biog.,  324. 

Kautz,  Lieut,  fight  with  Inds,  163. 

Kautz,  Fred.,  plot  of,  172-3. 

Kayrner,  James,  settler  at  Port  Dis 
covery,  28. 

Keeney,  Jonathan,  biog.,  545. 

Kellet,  J.  H.,  biog.,  364. 

Kellogg,  John,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30. 

Kellogg,  J.  C.,  biog.,  311. 

Kelly,  A.  M.,  first  mayor  of  Lewis- 
ton,  262. 

Kelly,  Lieut-col  James  K.,  move 
ments  of,  140-2. 

Kelly,  Serg't  M.,  at  Cascades  fight, 
145,  150-1. 

Kelly,  W.,  biog.,  365. 

Kendall,  B.  F.,  librarian,  85. 

Kendall,  B.  S.,  opposes  Stevens, 
203-4;  biog.,  203. 

Kennedy,  Chas,  settled  at  Seattle, 
26. 

Kennedy,  W.  J.,  elk  supr.  ct,  797. 

Kennedy,  W.  K.,  biog.,  324. 

Kenneth,  John,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30. 

Kent,  James,  biog..  746. 

Kenyon,  F.,  career  of,  447. 

Kerse,  R.  P.,  bravery  in  Ind.  fight, 
181. 

Kes-sler,  Nicholas,  biog.,  636;  legis 
lator,  684. 

Keys,  Capt.  E.  D.,  in  com'd  at  Steila- 
coom,  123;  actions  against  Inds, 
124-5;  visits  Puget  sound,  126; 
builds  Fort  Taylor,  184;  in  Wright's 
campaign,  185-7. 

Kilborn,  W.  K.,  at  Cascades,  145; 
escape  from,  151-2. 

Kiucaid,  Wm  N.,  settled  in  Puyallup 
val.,  66;  biog.,  366. 

Kindred,  John,  settled  at  Tumwater, 
8. 

Kindred,  Mrs  Tabatha,  biog.,  4. 

King  co.,  created,  59;  officials,  78. 

King,  Geo.  E  ,  murder  of,  119. 

Kinna,  John,  771. 

Kinne,  R.  R.,  registrar,  298. 

Kinnear,  J.  E.,  biog.,  308. 

Kinney,  E.  H.,  audt.  of  Mont.,  778, 
802. 

Kinred,  David,  settled  at  Puget 
sound,  3. 


822 


INDEX. 


Kip,  Lieut  L.,  works  of,  181. 
Kipsap,  Indian,  warns  settlers,  119. 
Kirkland,  M.,  founded  settlement,  06; 

escapes  from  Inds,  119. 
Kitsap  co.,  Wash.,  hist,  of,  361. 
Kitsap,    Khkitat   chief,    122;    killed, 

174. 

Kittitass  co.,  Wash.,  hist,  of,  356-7. 
Kleinschmidt,  T.  H.,  biog.,  770. 
Klickitat  co.,  Wash.,  hist,  of,  357-8. 
Klickitats,  attack   on   the   Cascades, 

146-52;  surrender,  166. 
Klowowit,  Nisqually  chief,  122. 
Knapp,  H.   H.,   Statement,  MS.,  etc., 

415-21. 

Kneeland,  W.  H.,  biog.,  318. 
Knight,  E.  W.,  biog.,  771. 
Knippenberg,  H.,  biog.,  789. 
Knowles,   Hiram,   assoc.  judge,    661; 

biog.,  789;  delegate,  782. 
Kootenaico.,  created,  Id.,  465;  sketch 

of,  553-4. 

Korhs,  C.,  biog.,  690. 
Krattcar,  G.  W.,  biog.,  746. 
Kress,    Capt.,    exped.    against    Inds, 

523. 

Kuhn,  J.  A.,  biog.,  324. 
Kussass,  Cowlitz  chief,  death,  175. 


Lacey,  0.  P.,  del.  to  convention,  291. 

Ladd,  A.  G.,  biog.,  774. 

La  Barge  city,  Mont.,  founding  of, 
625-6. 

La  Conner,  town  of,  367. 

La  Du,  J.  B.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 

Lahtoh  co.,  created,  465. 

Lake,  Joseph,  founded  settlement,  66; 
attacked  by  Inds,  119. 

Lake,  Donald,  founds  settlement, 
66. 

Lambert,  John,  in  Stevens'  survey 
party,  71. 

Lancaster,  Columbia,  obstinacy  of, 
46;  legislator,  59;  del.  to  congress, 
70-1;  politics,  201;  university  re 
gent,  215;  R.  R.  enterprise,  270. 

Lander,  Edw.,  chief  justice,  62;  com. 
to  prepare  laws,  76;  biog.,  80;  ar 
rested,  203;  donation  to  university, 
215. 

Lander,  F.  W.,  in  R.  R.  surveying 
party,  71,  382-3,  556;  erects  block 
house,  165;  biog.,  218. 

Landes,  H.,  biog.,  318. 

Land  laws,  acts  of  legislature,  81-2. 

Land-office,  established,  206. 

Landou,  lode  mining  at,  429-30. 


Lane,  actions  in  congress  on  dividing 
Oregon,  60-1. 

Lane,  Gov.,  prompt  measures  of,  14. 

Lane,  Daniel,  settles  in  Puyallup  val., 
66. 

Lane,  Rich.,  judge,  44,  45. 

Langford,  W.  G.,  assoc.  judge,  300. 

Lansdale,  R.  H.,  locates  claim,  18; 
biog.,  29-30;  co.  com.,  59;  Ind. 
agent,  177;  explores  route,  382. 

Lapwai,  Iiid.  council,  Id.,  106,  482-90. 

Lamed,  Maj.,  death  of,  94. 

Larrabee,  Chas  H.,  del.  to  conven 
tion,  291. 

Last  Chance,  Mont.,  gulch  discovered, 
721. 

Laughton,  C.  E.,  lieut  gov.  Wash., 
314. 

Lawrence,  J.  C.,  biog.,  318. 

Lawson,  Lieut,  in  surveying  exped., 
90-1. 

Lawyer,  Nez  Perce  chief,  238;  averts 
war,  483  et  seq. 

Lay  ton,  Maj.,  fight  with  Inds,  165. 

Leary,  Joseph,  settled  at  N.  Dunge- 
ness,  27. 

Learning,  M.  J.,  delegate,  782-6. 

Leavitt,  E.  D.,  biog.,  764-5. 

Leavitt,  E.  N.,  resolution  of,  645. 

Lee,  Wm  H.,  biog.,  749. 

Leech,  discovered  Salmon  river  mines, 
245. 

Lees,  Hy.,  death  of,  94. 

Leighton,  Joseph,  settled  at  N.  Dun- 
geness,  28. 

Leiser,  J.  J.,  biog.,  770. 

Legislature,  first  in  Wash.,  73;  gov. 
message,  74-6;  measures,  76-9,  267, 
274-8,  288,  386-8;  members,  218, 
282;  Id.,  measures,  444-6,  464-77, 
564-5,  578-81;  members,  444.  465- 
6,  470,  477-80,  564-5,  567;  Mont., 
measures  of,  644-50,  662-86,  783; 
members,  644,  649,  662,  669,  672- 
5,  679-89,  783-4. 

Lemhi  co.,  Id.,  created,  465;  sketch 
of,  554-6. 

Lemmon,  I.,  settled  in  Puyallup  val., 
66. 

Lemp,  John,  biog.,  546. 

'Leonesa,'  ship,  27. 

Leschi,  attempted  arrest,  124;  attack 
on  Seattle,  128-33;  capture,  171; 
trial  and  execution,  172-3. 

Leslie,  H.  P.,  gov.  of  Mont.  1886, 
782-3. 

Lewis  co.,  meeting  against  claim- 
jumping,  39;  officials,  44-6,  78. 

Lewis,  J.  R.,  assoc.  judge,  Wash., 
Id.,  279,  473;  chief  justice,  285. 


INDEX. 


823 


Lewis  and  Clarke  co.,  Mont.,  settlers 
in,  636-7;  sketch  of,  754-6. 

Lewis  and  Clarke's  map,  1806,  606. 

Lewiston,  Id.,  founded,  238;  inun 
dated,  256;  incorporated,  262;  trade 
oc,  407-9;  vigilants,  452-5;  capital 
removed,  464-5;  sketch  of,  556. 

Libbey,  Sam'l,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30. 

Libraries,  Wash.,  376-7. 

Lifeboat  stations,  establishment  of, 
336. 

Lighthouses,  Wash.,  89,  335-6. 

Lill,  Edw.,  biog.,  366. 

Lillis,  Hill,  biog.,  313. 

Lime,  works  etc.,  352. 

Lincoln  co. ,  created,  371. 

Lincoln,  Pres.,  calls  for  vols,  228. 

Lindsay,  James,  in  attack  at  the  Cas 
cades,  148. 

Lindsley,  A.  A.,  biog.,  311;  treas. 
Wash.,  314. 

Lioimet,  Father,  miss,  to  Chinook, 
372. 

'Live  Yankee,'  ship,  68. 

Lloyd,  C.  F.,  biog.,  766. 

Lockey,  R.,  biog.,  770. 

Logan,  J.  B.,  settled  at  Tumwater,  8. 

Logan,  J.  L.,  assoc.  judge,  1888,  583. 

Logan,  Robt,  settled  at  Tumwater,  8. 

Lolo  trail,  map  of,  506. 

Long,  J.  H.,  biog.,  319. 

Long,  Ransom,  biog.,  356. 

Looking-glass,  treachery  of,  105-6; 
Nez  Perce  chief,  198,  482  et  seq. 

Low,  John  N.,  founds  New  York,  21- 
3;  biog.,  21. 

Lowery,  Christopher,  murder  by, 
452-4;  execution,  455. 

Luce,  F.  H.,  biog.,  319. 

Ludlow,  Col  Wm,  exped.  of,  657-8. 

Lugenbeel.  Maj.  P.,  com'd  at  Harney 
depot,  199;  establishes  Ft  Boise, 
411. 

Lull,  A.  B.,  rnent.  of,  324. 

Lumber,  mill  at  Tumwater,  9;  early 
trade  at  Seattle,  24;  mills  at  Bel- 
lingham  bay,  32;  hist,  and  value 
of  trade,  337-40;  product  etc., 
Mont.,  760. 

Luiriimi  river,  reservation,  99. 

Lyle,  T.,  settler  at  Whidbey  isl.,  31. 

Lynde,  Walter,  settled  in  Shoalwater 
bay,  35. 

Lyon,  Caleb,  governor,  446;  arrival, 
448;  biog.,  448;  departure  of,  465; 
reappointed  1865,  466-7. 

Lyon,  Lieut  H.  B.,  in  Wright's  cam 
paign,  186. 

Lyons,  Haze,  trial  of,  639. 


M 


Maclay,  E.  G-.,  biog.,  774. 

Macumber,  Archie,  biog.,  634. 

Maddox,  Mrs  Rebecca,  settled  on 
Whidbey  isl.,  30. 

Madison,  B.  I.,  settled  at  New  Dun- 
geness,  27. 

Madison  co'ty,  created,  445;  settlers 
of,  635-6;  sketch  of,  753-4. 

Maginnis,  Martin,  del.  to  congress, 
677;  biog.,  790;  U.  S.  senator  elect, 
806. 

Magruger,  Lloyd,  murder  of,  452—4. 

Mahard,  Wm,  rescued  from  Inds,  57. 

Mails,  first  contract,  Wash.,  64;  in 
adequacy  of  service,  273. 

Maize,  H.  B.,  prospecting  etc.,  418. 

'Major  Tompkins, '  steamer,  96-7, 
271. 

Makahs,  small-pox  among,  92;  fight 
with,  92;  treaty,  100. 

Malade  City,  co.  seat  etc.  Oneida,  Id., 
559. 

Malheur  river,  gold  discovered,  230; 
fight  at  with  Inds,  379. 

Maloney,  Capt.,  com'd  Steilacoom, 
113;  despatches  to  gov.,  119;  fight 
with  Inds,  120;  arranges  campaign, 
122;  expds,  124,  162;  erects  block 
house,  165. 

Mammoth  dist,  Id.,  discov.,  1864,  432. 

Manning,  W.  C.  M.,  com'd  at  Colville, 
277. 

Mansfield,  Col,  inspects  army,  195. 

Mantle,  Lee,  biog.,  766;  delegate,  782; 
prest.  of  convention,  786. 

Manufactures,  Wash.,  351-3. 

Maps,  attack  on  Seattle,  127;  Cas 
cades,  152;  Wright's  campaign,  193; 
Walla  Walla  valley,  197;  Puget 
sound,  329;  King  co'ty  coal-fields, 
342;  east  Washington,  343;  Haro 
archipelago,  360;  railroad,  e.  Wash 
ington,  363;  Idaho,  1863,  402; 
Idaho  counties  formerly  in  Wash., 
403;  Boise  basin,  408;  Jordan  creek, 
417;  seal  of  Idaho,  414;  the  Lolo 
trail,  506;  Camas  prairie  and  vol 
canic  dist.,  518;  east  Oregon,  521;  a. 
w.  Idaho,  529;  Wood  river  mineral 
dist.,  531;  Boise  and  Payette  val 
leys,  545;  south-eastern  Idaho,  548; 
Carver's,  1778,  600;  Mont,  moun 
tain  passes,  594;  Lewis  arid  Clarke's, 
1806,  606;  Rector's,  1818,  607;  Fin- 
ley's,  1826,  558;  trading  forts,  1807- 
50,  610;  gulches  and  lodes,  1865, 
630;  Bighorn  city,  631;  L)e  Lacy's 
exyd.,  633;  seal  of  Mont.,  645; 


824 


INDEX. 


Bozeman    route,    695;     Ft     Philip 

Kearny,  697;  battles  of  east  Mont., 

716;  Butte  and  Summit  val.  mining 

dist.,  739. 
Maple,    Jacob,    settled   in    Dwamish 

val.,  biog.,  22. 
Maple,  Sam'l,  killed  at  Dwamish  val., 

22. 

Marly,  S.  H.,  biog.,  312. 
Marsh,  A.  G.,  receiver,  298. 
Marsh,  Edwin,  biog.,  364. 
Marsh,  H.  J.,  biog.,  635. 
Marshall,  Geo.  W.,  biog.,  746. 
Marshall,  Stephen,  settled  in  Shoal- 
water  bay,  ,34. 
Marston,    Gilman,   app't'd   gov.    Id., 

472. 

Martial  law,  proclaimed,  Wash.,  165. 
Martin,  Abner,  biog.,  336. 
Martin,  H.,  biog.,  365. 
'Mary,'  steamer,  in  fight  at  Cascades, 

145-8;  escapes,  148;  at  The  Dalles, 

154;  takes  relief  to  Cascades,  155. 
'Mary  Dare,'  ship,  seizure  of,  53-4. 
Mason,  C.  H.,  sec.  of  Wash,  ter.,  62; 

gives  name  to  co'ty,  77;  acting  gov., 

off'l   acts,    96-7,    118;    death,    211; 

biog.,  211. 
Mason,    Col,    Nez    Perce    campaign, 

507-8. 
Mason    co'ty,    created,    77;    officials, 

77;  sketch  of,  327. 
'Massachusetts,'  U.  S.  steamer,  134, 

136-7. 
Matthias,  F.,  settles   at  Seattle,    26; 

university   regent,   216;    adj. -gen., 

228. 

Mattice,  Henry,  killed  by  Inds,  111. 
Mayflower  mine,  Id.,  yield  etc.  of,  530. 
Maylor,  Sam'l,  settled  on  Whidbey 

isl.,  30. 
Maynard,  D.  S.,    settled  at   Seattle, 

biog.,  24;    del.   to    convention,    49; 

signs   mem.     to     congress,    53;    in 

charge  of  Ind.  camp,  121. 
McAdow,     P.    W.,    mining  at   Gold 

creek,    617;     legislator,    684,    689; 

biog.,  690. 
McAllister,  James,    settler  at  Puget 

sound,    3;   rescued   from   Inds,   57; 

county  com.,  78;   lieut  of  rangers, 

114;  killed,  118. 
McCarty,  I.,  settled  in  Puyallup  val., 

66. 

McCarver,  M.  M.,  biog.,  362. 
McClellan,  Lieut  G.  B.,  explor.  route, 

71. 

McClellan  gulch,  discovery  of,  722. 
McClure,    A.    K.,     works     of,    405, 

653-4,  807. 


McClurg,  Henry,  settler  at  Whidbey 
isl.,  31. 

McConaha,  G.  N.,  settled  at  Seattle, 
26;  pres.  of  convention,  52;  signa 
mem.  to  congress,  53;  road  viewer, 
64;  legislator,  73;  death,  73. 

McConnel,  W.  J.,  forms  vigilance 
com.,  456-7. 

McConville,  Capt.,  operations  of,  504. 

McCorkle,  W.  A.  L.,  signs  mem.  to 
congress,  53;  capt.  in  Ind.  war, 
139. 

McCormick,  W.  J.,  delegate,  782. 

McCroskey,  J.  P.  T.,  biog.,  310. 

McCurdy,  S.,  mention  of,  336. 

McCutcheon,  I.  D.,  biog.,  769. 

McDermitt,  Chas,  command  etc.  of, 
433. 

McDonald,  Angus,  at  Ind.  council, 
104. 

McDonald,  B.  F.,  rescued  from  Inds, 
57. 

McDonald,  S.  P.,  biog.,  365. 

McDougall,  David,  com'd  of  the 
•John  Hancock,'  134. 

McElroy,  T.  F.,  publishes  the  'Colum 
bian,'  51. 

McEwen,  Duncan,  rescued  from  Inds, 
57. 

McFadden,  0.  B.,  assoc.  judge,  62; 
acting  chief  justice,  172;  legislator, 
264;  del.  to  congress,  281;  death, 
281. 

McGavin,  John,  disc'v's  placers,  621. 

McGill,  Henry  M.,  acting  gov.,  211; 
adminis.,  1860-1,  211-17;  biog., 
217;  calls  out  militia,  228. 

McGlynn,  John,  legislator,  biog., 
292. 

McKibben,  Lieut,  plot  of,  172-3, 

McKenzie,  Kenneth,  biog.   etc.,  601. 

McKimens,  Win,  biog.,  745. 

McKinsey,  Geo.  E. ,  biog.,  636. 

McLean,  Alex.,  settled  at  Belling  - 
ham  bay,  32. 

McLean,  Sam'l,  del.  to  congress,  644. 

McLeod,  John,  arrest. of,  202. 

McLoughlin,  John,  influence  on  immi 
gration,  1;  treatment  of  Puget 
sound  settlers,  5. 

McMullan,  D.  J.,  biog.,  768. 

McMicken,  Win,  surveyor-gen.,  297. 

McMullin,  Fayette,  appeal  on  behalf 
of  Inds,  172;  gov.,  209;  admiuis., 
1857-8,  209-11. 

McQueen,  P.,  biog.,  416-17. 

McReavy,  J.,  biog.,  324. 

Meacham,  A.  B.,  mem.  of,  424. 

Mead,  W.  J.,  biog.,  324. 

Meagher  county,  Mont.,  sketch  of,  758. 


INDEX. 


825 


Meagher,    T.  F.,  terr.     sec.,    Mont.,  ! 

643;  acting  gov.,  (547-5*2,  666,  701; 

biog.,  702. 

Medcalf,  G.,  biog.,  324. 
Megler,  J.  G.,  biog.,  325. 
Meigs,  G.  A.,  university  regent,  215. 
Melville,  David,  murdered   by  Inds, 

95. 

Meiiefee,  Robert  P.,  biog.,  625. 
Menomy,  John  B.,  biog.,  558. 
Mercer,   A.    S.,    imports    shipload    of 

unmarried  women,  275. 
Mercer,   Thomas,    settles  at   Seattle, 

26. 
Merritt,    S.    A.,     elected     delegate, 

472-3. 
Merry  man,  Lieut  J.  H.,  in  charge  of 

custom-house,  221-2;  arrested,  223. 
Meter,  H.,  founds  settlement,  66. 
Mica  deposits  in  Id. ,.537. 
Miles  City,   Mont.,  descript.  of,  757; 

shipping  centre  etc.,  776,  779. 
Miles,    (Jen.,    Ind.    .operations    etc., 

512-25,  717-19. 
Miles,   H.,   signs   mem.   to  .congress, 

53;  legislator,  73;  capt.  of  militia, 

228. 
Military     road,     appropriations    for, 

88-9. 
Miller,  Capt.,  in  Howard's  campaign, 

506-7. 
Miller,  Chas  H.,  settled  on  Whidbey 

isl.,  30. 
Miller,  Mrs  Minnie,  first  white  woman 

in  Mont.,  615. 
Miller,   Nelson,   settled    on  Whidbev 

isl.,  30. 

Miller,  Sam'l  C.,  biog.,  356. 
Miller,  T.  H.,  discovered  Salmon  river 

mines,  245. 
Miller,    W.    W.,    port   surveyor,   54; 

biog.,   118;    R.   R.  enterprise,  270, 

272. 

Millersburg,  Wash.,  founded,  245. 
Mil  ward,   Rich.   J.,   settled  in  Shoal- 
water  bay,  35. 
Ming.  J.  H.,  biog.,  771. 
Mining,  hist,  of  in  Wash.  1861-3,  230- 

63,    340-3;   in   Id.,  409-32,    440-1, 

527-37;  in  Mont.,  611-33,  720-31, 

759^2,  762-9. 
Minor,  T.  T.,  biog.,  312. 
M inkier,  D.  B.,  biog.,  324. 
Mires,  A.,  biog.,  311. 
Missoula,  incorporated,  596;  descript. 

of,  751,  784. 
Missoula    co'ty,    created,    413,    445; 

sketch  of,  751. 
Monroe,    John,    holds    first     federal 

court,  79;  removal  of,  80. 


Montana,  name,  588;  phys.  features, 
588-95;  fauna,  595-ti;  climate,  596, 
740-4;  minerals,  597-8;  missions, 
603-4;  pioneers,  603-5,  (521-7; 
explor.,  605-1 1 ;  golddiscov.,61 1-17; 
vigilants  and  crime  in,  619-20,  638- 
41;  mining,  620-33,  720-31,  739-42, 
762-9;  terr.  organized,  1864,  642-4; 
legisl.,  644-50,  602-89,  783-6;  news 
papers,  652-3,  678,  779;  judic.,  653- 
62;  the  currency  question,  659-61; 
finances,  678-9,  687-8;  railroads, 
679-87,  752-62;  Ind.  affairs  in,  690- 
719;  travel  and  trade  in,  729-34,  761 ; 
stock-raising,  734-8,  759-763 ;agric., 
738-9,  742-3,  759;  counties  and 
towns,  751-76;  education  in,  778-9, 
784;  churches  in,  777-8;  constit. 
convent.,  781-2,  787-8;  constitution, 
789-96;  bibliog.,  807-8. 

Monteith,  J.  B.,  Ind.  agt,  492,  494-5. 

Monticello,  convention  at,  52. 

Moore,  A.  J.,  settled  at  Tumwater,  6. 

Moore,  F.  R.,  biog.,  392. 

Moore,  Geo.  B.,  settled  at  N.  Dunge- 
ness,  27. 

Moore,  J.  M.,  legislator,  218;  death 
of,  549. 

Moore,  M.C.,  gov.,  303. 

Moore,  John,  mining  exped.,  384. 

Moore,  J.  Z.,  biog.,  310. 

Moore,  Marshall  F.,  gov.,  266;  biog., 
266-7;  administ.,  267-9;  vetoes  di 
vorce  bill,  275;  death,  280. 

Moore,  R.  S.,  biog.,  310. 

Moore,  Samuel,  prospecting  on  Boise 
river,  259. 

More,  discovered  Salmon  river  mines, 
245. 

More,  R. ,  settles  in  Puyallup  val.,  66. 

Morgan,  Lieut,  shoots  Owhi,  195. 

Morgan,  J.  T.,  chief  justice  Id.,  1879, 
583. 

Morgan.  H.  D.,  biog.,  368. 

Mormons  in  Id.,  402-3,  548-9;  legisl. 
etc.  against,  585-7. 

Morris,  Col,  com'd  at  Vancouver,  153. 

Morris,  B.  F.,  biog.,  553. 

Morris,  W.  D.,  canal  built  by,  543^1. 

Morrow,  W.  W.,  in  R.  R.  enterprise, 
270. 

Morse,  — ,  biog.  etc.,  368. 

Morse,  G.  W.,  biog.,  325. 

Moscow.,  Id.,  sketch  of,  557. 

Moseley,  H.  C.,  legislator,  73;  pro 
bate  judge,  78. 

Moses,  A.  B.,  arrival,  54;  port  sur 
veyor,  62;  death,  119;  biog.,  119; 
Leschi  charged  with  murder  of, 
172. 


826 


INDEX. 


Moses,  Sampson  P.,  app't'd  collector, 

actions  of,  54-6. 
Moson,  acting  gov.,  makes  requisition 

for  troops,  111. 
Moultray,  W.  R.,  biog.,  325. 
Mount  Idaho,  vols  organized  at,  501; 

hist.,  553. 

Mount  Hayden,  scenery,  590. 
Mountain     passes,    Mont.,    map    of, 

594. 
Mounts,  James,  settled  on  Whidbey 

isl.,  30. 
Mounts,  Milton,  settled  on  Whidbey 

isl.,  30. 
Mullan,  Lieut  John,  surveys   R.  R. 

route,  71;    treaty  with   Iiids,   101; 

cotn'd     of     Ind.     scouts,     184;      in 

Wright's    campaign,     185;     wagon 

road,   199;    in  survey  exped.,  384, 

607-8. 
Mullan  road,  constructed,  89;  hist,  of 

survey,  384. 
Munsac,  John,  claim  on  Salmon  river, 

247. 
Munson,    Lyman     E.,    assoc.    judge, 

644,  648-50. 
Murphy,  John  T.,  assoc.  judge,  662; 

biog.,  765. 

Murray,  David,  biog.,  357. 
Murray,  Hy. ,  arrest  of,  202. 
Myers,  I.,  biog.,  774. 


N 


Narragansett  iron  mine,  Id.,  richness 
of,  536. 

Nash,  E.  D.,  biog.,  325. 

Neace,  L.,  biog.,  312. 

Neah  bay,  small-pox  at,  91. 

Neely,  D.  A.,  settler  in  Dwamish  val., 
26;  founded  settlement,  66;  lieut 
of  vols,  166. 

Neil,  J.  B.,  gov.  Id.,  1880,  475. 

Neilson,  S.,  discovers  mine,  419. 

Nelson,  Green  river  Ind.  chief,  122. 

Nelson,  Mr,  settled  in  Dwamish  val., 
26. 

Nelson,  John,  founds  settlement,  66. 

Nerton,  T.,  biog.,  365. 

Nesmith,  Col  J.  W.,  campaign  of, 
114-16;  reports  against  winter  cam 
paign,  140;  resigns  com'd,  142; 
supt  of  Ind.  affairs,  176;  recom 
mendations,  177. 

New  Dungeness,  early  settlers  of, 
27-8;  lighthouse,  89. 

Newell,  Robt,  Ind.  agent,  484,  491. 

Newell,  Wm  A.,  appointed  gov.,  biog., 
282. 


Newspapers;  of  Wash.,  377-SO;  Idaho, 
420-21,  438.  447,  471-2;  Montana, 
652-3,  678,  779. 

New  Tacoma,  hist,  of,  362. 

'New  World,'  steamer.  272. 

New  York  laid  out,  23;  decadence, 
of,  25. 

Nez  Percys,  treaties  with,  101,  184, 
236,  457-8;  Gov.  Stevens'  treat 
ment,  103;  escort  to  gov.,  106-7; 
mustered  out  of  service,  142-3;  hos 
tility.  168;  in  Wright's  campaign, 
185-91;  peace  with  Cceur  d'Alenes, 
194;  gold  discovered  on  reservation, 
234,  450;  allow  founding  of  Lewis- 
ton,  238;  expel  Mormons,  403;  ne 
gotiations  with,  481-94;  war  with, 
500-14,  718. 

Nez  Perce  co.,  Id.,  created,  404;  sketch 
of,  555-8. 

Nims,  L.  B.,  biog.,  325. 

Nisquallies,  attacked  by  Stikines, 
135. 

Nisqually,  Ind.  rendezvous,  121. 

Nisqually,  claim,  dispute  over,  40. 

Nitinats,  plot  of,  91. 

Nix,  II.,  settlers  in  Puyallup  val.,  66. 

Noggle,  David,  chief  justice  Id.,  biog., 
473. 

North  bay,  Ind.  rendezvous,  121. 

Northcraft,  Wm,  killing  of,  162. 

North  Pacific  railroad,  387-8,  390, 
566,  682-3,  753-61,  786. 

Norton,  I.,  biog.,  365. 

Nugen,  Lieut  John,  in  com'd  at  Fort 
Steilacoom,  120. 


0 


Oak  harbor,  Ind.  rendezvous,  121. 

Oaks,  D.  W.,  biog.,  360. 

O'Brien,  P.  M.,  biog.,  336-7. 

Odell,  J.  V.,  del.   to  convention,  291. 

Odenal,  Supt.,  conference,  494-5. 

Odle,  James,  biog.,  553. 

Ogalala  co.,  Id.,  organized,  445. 

'Okanagan,'  steamer,  237. 

Okanagan  river,  Garnett's  march  to, 
196. 

Oliphant,  W.  S.,  biog.,  325. 

Olney,  Ind.  agent,  off'l  actions  of, 
139-40. 

Olympia,  named,  16;  winter  at,  55; 
legislature  at,  71;  temp,  seat  of 
govt,  79;  custom-house  removed, 
96;  capital,  213-14;  constit.  con 
vention  at,  1889,  307-14;  sketch  of, 
362-4. 

Onderdonk,  J.  L.,  Idaho,  405. 


INDEX. 


827 


Oneida  co'ty,  Id.,  organized,  444; 
sketch  of,  558-9. 

Oneida  salt  works.  Id.,  product,  etc., 
536. 

Ophir  gulch,  discov.  of,  722. 

'Orbit,'  first  Amer.  ship  at  Puget 
sound,  15;  hist.,  16-17. 

Oregon  department,  created,  197. 

Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  co., 
hist,  of,  388. 

Oregon  Road,  Bridge,  and  Ferry  co., 
incorporated  etc.,  1865,  437. 

'Oregon  Spectator,'  newspaper,  sus 
pended,  45. 

Oregon  Steam  Navigation  co.,  opera 
tions  of,  269-70. 

Oregon  &  W.  T.  R.  R.,  hist,  of,  389. 

Oregon  Transcontinental  R.  R.,  hist, 
of,  388. 

Oregon  troops,  campaign  of,  140-4. 

Oro  Fino  City,  founded,  239. 

Oro  Fino  Gold  and  Silver  Tunnel  co., 
incorporated,  Id.,  431. 

Oro  Fino  mines,  Id.,  discov.  and  hist, 
of,  239,  528,  579. 

Orr,  Geo.,  exped.  etc.  of,  628. 

Ostrander,  B.  R.,  biog.,  325. 

Ostrander,  N.,  signs  mem.  to  con 
gress,  53;  probate  judge,  78. 

'Otter,'  H.  B.  co.  steamer,  87,  122. 

Owen,  J.  &  F.,  settle  ij.  Bitterroot 
val.,  605. 

Owen,  Thomas,  settles  in  Puyallup 
val.,  66. 

Owhi,  in  com'd  of  Ind.  force,  125; 
attack  on  Seattle,  128;  death, 
195. 

Owings,  N.  H.,  ter.  sec.,  283,  293, 
297,  300;  biog.,  319. 

Owyhee  co'ty,  Id.,  organized,  444; 
sketch  of,  559. 

Owyhee  mines,  hist,  of,  528-9. 

Owyhee  river,  mining  at,  417-19. 

Oyster-beds  of  Shoalwater  bay,  34. 


Pacific  City,  Wash.,  estab.  of,  33. 

Pacific  co.,  officials,  78;  sketch  of, 
369-70. 

Packwood,  Elisha,  settled  at  Turn- 
water,  6,  7. 

Packwood,  William,  settled  at  Turn- 
water,  7,  8;  actions  against  agric. 
assoc.,  40;  surveys  road,  65. 

Page,  H.  C.,  settled  at  Bellingham 
bay,  32;  co.  com.,  77. 

Page,  Wm,  in  Magruder  murder, 
452^1;  murder  of,  455. 


Paige,  G.  A.,  rescued  from  Inds, 
biog.,  57;  Ind.  agent,  177. 

Painter,  J.  C. ,  biog.,  325. 

Palouses,  hostility  of,  178;  campaign 
against,  178-83;  surrender,  195. 

Parchen,  H.  M.,  biog.,  770. 

Parks,  S.  C.,  judge,  Id.,  444. 

Parker,  John  G.,  establishes  express 
line,  biog.,  64. 

Parkinson,  W.  J.,  biog.,  319. 

Parrish,  J.  L.,  gold  discovery,  63. 

Patkanin,  attempt  to  exterminate 
settlers,  11-12;  causes  outbreak, 
13-14;  stipulation  with  authorities, 
134;  supports  whites,  159;  services 
accepted,  161;  fight  with  Leschi, 
161-2;  death,  174. 

Patterson,  F.  J.,  murder  by,  458-9; 
killed,  460. 

Patterson,  Ira,  land  claim,  86;  legis 
lator,  98. 

Pattle,  Wm,  discovers  coal  mine,  31. 

Payette,  Id.,  vig.  com.,  formation  of, 
457. 

Payne,  D.  S.,  U.  S.  marshal,  446;  re 
moved  from  office,  462. 

Payne,  Thos,  biog.,  319. 

Peabody,  R.  V.,  of  Whatcom  Milling 
co.,  32;  co.  com.,  77;  capt.  of  vols, 
167;  enrolling  officer,  229. 

Pearcy,  Edmund,  biog.,  558. 

Pearson,  Win  C.,  biog.,  553^1. 

Pease,  com'd  of  the  'Jefferson  Davis,' 
113. 

Peck,  C.  F.,  mining,  discov.  of,  431-2. 

Peers,  Henry  N.,  elected  to  legisla 
ture,  44. 

Peers,  H.  W.,  capt.  in  Ind.  war,  138, 
167. 

Pemberton,  W.  Y.,  biog.,  801. 

Penaluna,  John,  biog.,  749. 

Penitentiary,  location  of,  213;  estab., 
275-6. 

Penn  cove,  Ind.  rendezvous,  121. 

Percival,  D.  F.,  legislator,  294;  biog., 
292,  354. 

Perkins,  F.  K.,  biog.,  364. 

Perkins,  J.  A.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 

Perry,  Capt.,  Ind.  campaign  of,  500-4. 

Persham,  A.  S.,  settles  in  Puyallup 
val.,  66. 

Person,  J.  T.,  biog.,  325. 

Peterson,  O.,  biog.,  325. 

Petty  grove,  F.  W.,  lays  out  town, 
19-20. 

Peupeumoxmox,  death  of,  106,  141; 
hostility,  139. 

Phillips,  David,  set.  at  Seattle,  25-6. 

Phillips,  John,  prospecting  on  Boise 
river,  259. 


828 


INDEX. 


Phillipsburg  mine,  descript.  of,  7G5-7; 

name,  767. 

Pickerell,  E.  R.,  biog.,  325-6. 
Pickering,  Win,  app't'd  gov.,  1862-7, 
219;  biog.,  219;  removed,  266. 

Piegaus,  treaty  with,  '602;  war  with, 
603;  character,  691. 

Pierce  City,  situation  of,  236. 

Pierce  co.,  created,  59;  officials,  78; 
mills,  130. 

Pierce,  J.  B.,  legislator,  465-6;  biog., 
546-7. 

Pierce,  T.  B.,  settles  at  Cascade,  37; 
wounded,  152. 

Pinkham,  Sumner,  sheriff,  448;  murder 
of,  459. 

Pinney,  James  A.,  biog.,  546. 

Pioneer  City,  Id.,  founded,  407;  pop 
ulation,  etc.,  1864,  421. 

Pioneer  mine,  richness  of,  415. 

Placers,  see  Mining. 

Placerville,  Id.,  founded,  407;  popu 
lation,  etc.,  1864,  421;  incorp.,  445. 

Plomondon,  Simon,  brick-making  on 
farm,  9;  legislator,  45;  del.  to  con 
vention,  49;  signs  mem.  to  con 
gress,  53. 

Plummer,  A.  A.,  lays  out  town,  19- 
20;  biog.,  19;  probate  clerk,  59; 
co.  auditor,  79;  capt.  in  Iiid.  war, 
139. 

Plummer,  A.  A.,  jun.,  biog.,  326. 

Plummer,  H.,  career  and  death,  462, 
638-41. 

Poe,  Alonzo  Marion,  settled  at  Turn- 
water,  6;  sheriff,  45;  del.  to  con 
vention,  49;  co.  auditor.  77;  legis 
lator,  98;  lieut  of  rangers,  114. 

Poisell,  Francis,  bravery  in  Ind.  fight, 
181. 

Polatkin,  Spokane  chief,  surrenders, 
190-1;  released,  193. 

Poorman  Mines,  Id.,  discov.  and  hist, 
of,  431-2,  528,  579-80. 

Port  Angeles,  removal  of  custom 
house,  220;  destruction  of,  224-5. 

Port  Blakely,  saw-mill  at,  33. 

Port  Discovery,  settlers  at,  28. 

Porter,  Dana  H.,  settler  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  31. 

Porter,  J.  W.,  biog.,  545. 

Porter,  James,  settled  in  Cowlitz  val., 
37. 

Porter,  R.  P.,  works  of,  807. 

Port  Gamble,  saw-mills,  32-3;  Ind. 
fight  at,  135-7. 

Portland,  mining  co.  organized  at, 
232;  advantage  to,  of  gold  discov 
ery,  243;  headquarters  Columbia 
dept,  277. 


Port  Ludlow,  saw-mill  erected  at,  32. 
Port  Madison,  saw-mills  at,  33,  229. 
Port    Orchard,   saw-mill  removed  to, 

33;  Ind.  rendezvous,  121. 
Port  Steilacoom,  established,  18. 
Port  Townsend,  founded,  20;  co.  seat, 
59;   custom-house,   96,   220-2,  225; 
mills  at,  229;  sketch  of,  366. 

Potts,  Benj.  F.,  gov.  of  Mont.,  674- 
88. 

Powell,  John  W.,  discovers  mines, 
622. 

Power,  J.  N.,  biog.,  326. 

Power,  J.  W.,  biog.,  776. 

Power,  Jas,  biog.,  310. 

Power,  T.  C.,  biog.,  796-7;  U.  S.  sen 
ator-elect,  806. 

Powers,  Isaac,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30. 

Preston,  P.  A.,  biog.,  319. 

Price,  E.,  settled  at  N.  Dungeness,  28. 

Price,  E.  G.,  killing  of,  122. 

Price,  John,  settles  at  Port  Town- 
send,  20. 

Prickett,  H.  E.,  dist  judge  Id.,  473^. 

Pride,  D.  P.  B.,  delegate  for  Id.,  1884, 
480. 

Prosser,  W.  F.,  biog.,  308. 

Protection  Island,  settler  on,  28;  ori 
gin  of  name,  28. 

Proux,  Chas,  biog.,  365. 

Puget  Sound,  first  settlers  at,  3;  ori 
gin  of  name,  3;  men-of-war  at,  134; 
war  on,  134-56,  174;  map,  329. 

Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Association, 
settlers  vs,  40-3;  memorial  concern 
ing,  83-4. 

Puget  Sound  and  Columbia  River 
Railroad  co.,  incorporated,  270,  388. 

Puget  Sound  Milling  co.,  formed,  9. 

Puget  Sound  mounted  volunteers,  or 
ganized,  113. 

Puget  Sound  Navigation  co.,  incor 
porated,  271;  reincorporated,  272. 

Puget  Sound  Transportation  co.,  in 
corporated,  272, 

Purcell,  Albert,  settled  on  Boisfort 
prairie,  36. 

Purdy,  B.  F.,  biog.,  326. 

Purdy,  F.  C.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 

Purdy,  0.  H.,  mining  exped.,  416. 

Puyallup,  fight  with  Inds  near,  122-3. 

Puyallup  river,  survey  of,  271. 

Puyallup  valley,  settlers  in,  66. 


Qualchin,  hanging  of,  195. 
Quallawort,  execution  of,  13. 


INDEX. 


829 


Quartzburg,  founded,  416. 

Queeu  Charlotte  island,  acc't  of  gold 

exped.  to,  55-8. 
Quiatnak,  Nisqually  chief,  122. 
Quienmuth,   chief,   outrages  by,   163: 

killed,  173-4. 
Quillehuyte  co.,  organized,  278. 


R 


Rabbeson,  Antonio  B.,  settled  at 
Tumwater,  biog.,  6;  saw-mill,  9; 
carries  mails,  64,  119;  capt.  of 
vols,  159,  166;  in  White  river 
fight,  164. 
Rabjohn,  Fred.,  settled  at  Steilacoom, 

17. 

Rahmig,  Carl,  biog.,  635. 
Railroads,  Wash.,  70-1,   251-2,  283, 

386-90;    Id.,    532-3,    576;    Mont., 

679-87,  752-62. 
Raines,   G.   I.,   exped.    against  Inds, 

111;    brig,     gen.,     114;    campaign, 

114-18. 

Rains,  S.  M.,  death  of,  503. 
Randall,  D.  B.,  encounter  with  Inds, 

503-4. 

Randall,  M.  R.,  biog.,  326. 
Raville,  Father,  at  Ind.  council,  104. 
Raymond,    W.    W.,    quartz-mill    of, 

429. 
Rawn,    Capt.,  Nez   Perce  campaign, 

509. 

Rector's  Map,  1818,  607. 
lledfield,  A.  EL,  Ind.  agent,  692. 
Redford,  James,  biog.,  625. 
Redpath,    James,   settled  in  Cowlitz 

val.,  37. 

Reed,  Chas  B.,  biog.,  356-7. 
Reed,  James,  train)  etc.,  of,  622. 
Reed,  J.  M.,  biog.,  312. 
Reed,  T.  M.,  auditor,  314;  biog.,  etc., 

312,  314,  466;  representative,  443. 
Reese,  John  E.,  biog.,  625. 
Remenyi,    A.,    in     Stevens'    survey 

party,  71. 
Reinley,    John,  rescued    from    Inds, 

57. 

Reno,  Maj.,  campaign  of,  713-15. 
Reynolds,  John,  prospecting  on  Boise 

river,  259;  discovers   Boise  mines, 

406. 

Reynolds,  W.  F.,  exped.  of,  616. 
Rhoades,  F.  M.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 
Ricard,  Rev.  Pascal,  establishes  mis 

sion,  10,  372. 

Richard,  Nez  Perce  chief,  184. 
Richardson,  E.,  claim  of,  340. 
Richter,  Christopher,  biog.,  636. 


Rickards,  J.  E.,  biog.,  789;  lieut  gov. 

of  Mont.,  797. 
Middle,  Robt,  biog.,  745-6. 
rliggs,   H.  C.,  legislator,  465-6,  470; 

lays  out  Boise  City,  542;  R.  R.  in- 

corporator,  564. 
[linehart,  W.  V.,  biog.,  319. 
[linger,  L.  M.,  biog.,  292,  354. 
Ritz,    Philip,    U.    8.    marshal,  biog., 

279. 
Roads,  Wash.,  laying  out  of,  1852-3, 

63-6;  hist.  381-6;  Id.,  425-6,  435- 

40. 

'  Robert  Bruce,'  schr,  34. 
'  Robert  Campbell,'  steamer,  413,  609. 
Roberts,  Geo.  B.,  Recollections,  etc.,  of, 

12. 

Robertson,  A.,  biog.,  326. 
Robertson,    Capt.     Wm,    settled    on 

Whidbey  isl.,  30;  biog.,  31. 
Robie,  A.  H.,  Ind.  agent,  177;  biog., 

546. 
Robinson,  R.  S.,  settled  in  Chimacum 

val.,  28. 
Rock   creek,    saw-mill   at,  145;   gold 

discovered,  233. 
Rocky  Bar,  Id.,  415,  547. 
Roder,  Hy.,  forms  milling  co. ,  31-2; 

biog.,  31;  legislator,  292. 
Rodgers,   David,  propecting  on  Boise 

river,  259. 

'Rogers,'  steamer,  413. 
Rogers,    B.    B.,    discovered    Salmon 

river  mines,  245. 
Rogers,  Wm,  biog.,  635. 
Rolfe,  H.  P.,  biog.,  774. 
Romaine,  James,  murder  by,  452-4; 

execution,  455. 

Rooney,  Lawrence,  killed  at  the  Cas 
cades,  151. 
Ross,  Benj.,  settles  at  Port  Townsend, 

20. 

Ross,  Charles,  death  of,  94. 
Ross,    Col    Samuel,    supt   of    Indian 

affairs,  279;  biog.,  279-80. 
Ross,  R.  W.,  settles  at  Port  Town- 
send,  20. 

Rossi,  cure  of  Puget  sound,  372. 
Rotwitt,  L.,  sec'y  of  Mont.,  797,  802. 
Rotch,  F.  J.,  biog.,  326. 
Rothschild,  D.  C.  H.,  biog.,  366. 
Roundtree,  T.  R.,  biog.,  369. 
Rowland,    Wm,    rescued   from  Inds, 

57. 

Ruby  City,  Id.,  founded,  419. 
Russell,  S.  W.,  settled  at  Seattle,  26; 

founded  settlement,  66;   justice  of 
peace,  79. 

Russell,  T.  S.,  settled  at  Seattle,  26. 
Rutter,  W.  C.,  biog.,  326. 


830 


INDEX. 


St  John,  A.  E.,  settled  in  Shoalwater 

bay,  35. 

Salmon  City,  Id.,  sketch  of,  554-5. 
Salmon  river,  golddiscov.,  etc.,  244-9, 
534;  ferry  rights,  251;  hardships  at 
mines,    252-6;    phenomena,     1864, 
396-7;  massacre  at,  499. 
Salomon,   Edw.   S.,  app't'd  gov.,  281. 
Salt,  product  in  Id.,  536. 
Sanders,  Wilbur,  vigilant,  640;  legis 
lator,    (580-6;    Notes,    MS.,    655-7; 
delegate,  782;  U.   S.   senator-elect, 
806. 

Sanford,  — ,  Ind.,  operations  of,  525. 
San  Juan  co.,  hist,  of,  300-1. 
San  Juan  trouble,  86-8. 
Sankster,  actions  in  S.  Juan  trouble, 

87. 

Sands,  A.  J.,  discovered  mine,  419. 
'Sarah  Stone,'  ship,  26. 
Sargent,  Asher,  rescued  from  Inds, 

57;  biog.,  364-5. 

Sargent,  E.  N.,  rescued  from  Inds,  57. 
'  Satsall, '  steamer,  270. 
Saw-mills,  early  erections,  32-3,  230. 
Saw  Tooth  dist,  Id.,  mines  of,  531-2. 
Saxton,  Rufus,  surveys  B.  R.  route, 

71. 

Sayward,  W.  T.,  builds  saw-mill,  32; 

biog.    and   bibliog. ,    32;    legislator, 

73;  sheriff,  79;  Puget  Sound  S.  Nav. 

Co.,  272. 

Scammon,  J.  L.,  settled  on  the  Che- 

halis,  36;  justice  of  peace,  78. 
Schools,  see  Education. 
Schroeder,  fate  of,  212. 
Scott,  E.,  sup.  ct  judge,  314. 
Scott,  Jos.,  biog.,  777. 
Scott,  Thos  F.,  epis.  bishop,  374. 
Seaborg,  B.  A.,  biog.,  319. 
Seal  of,  Wash.,  76;  Id.  446;  Mont., 

645. 

'Sea  Serpent,'  schr,  34. 
Seattle,  chief,    character,  23;    death, 

174. 

Seattle,  founded,  23;  early  settlers, 
23-7;  county  seat,  59;  Ind.  rendez 
vous,  121;  citizens  uneasy,  124; 
attack  on,  125-34;  map,  127;  forti 
fications  erected,  133;  university, 
213;  anti-Chinese  riot  at,  294-5; 
sketch  of,  361. 
Seattle  and  Northern  R.  R.,  hist,  of, 

389. 
Seattle,     Lake    Shore,    and    Eastern 

R.  R.,  hist,  of,  388-9. 
Seattle  and  Squak  Railroad  co.,  hist. 
of,  388. 


Seeley,  J.  R.,  killing  of,  458. 
Seligman,  A.  J.,  biog.,  771. 
Sells,  D.  M.,  Ind.  agent,  492. 
Semmes,  Lieut,   in  Ind.   fight,  136-7. 
Semple,  Gov.  E.,    app'tm't,   etc.,  of, 

298. 

Servis,  Francis  G.,  assoc.  judge,  662. 
Sewell,  John  Y.,  settler  in  Whidbey 

isl.,  31. 
Seybert,    Chas,    settled   on  Whidbey 

isl.,  31. 
Shafer,  J.  K.,  elected  delegate,  biog., 

471. 

Sharkey,  F.  B.,  biog.,  556. 
Sharp,  J.  P.,  biog.,  326. 
Sharpe,  John  P.,  biog.,  358. 
Shaw,  A.  F.,  biog.,  326. 
Shaw,  B.  F.,  settled  at  Tumwater,  8; 

saw-mill,  9;    purchases    the    Orbit, 

15;    aids     road-making,     65;     Ind. 

agent,  114;  lieut-col  vols,  159;  legis 
lator,  218;  biog.,  292. 
Shaw,  Joseph,  biog.,  364. 
Shazar,  Geo.,  settled  at  Tumwater,  8; 

surveys  road,  65. 
Shelton,  David,  legislator,  73. 
Shelton  J.  M.,  biog.,  358. 
Shelton,  Levi,  biog.,  364. 
Sheppard,  Wm,  biog.,  746. 
Sheridan,  Lieut  Philip,  at  Vancouver, 

115;     attacks     Inds    at     Cascades, 

153-4. 

Sherwood,  B.  F.,  biog.,  300. 
Shinn,  W.  A.,  biog.,  326. 
Shipping,    Wash.,    list    of     arrivals, 

1851,  53. 

Ship-building,  etc.,  Wash.,  328-32. 
Shipwrecks,  Wash.,  333-5. 
Shoalwater  bay,  settlements  at,  34-6; 

surveyed,  90. 
Shoshone  co.,  Id.,  created,  404,  569; 

sketch  of,  560. 
Shoshones,  hostility   to  miners,  247; 

attack    miners,     259-60;     troubles 

with,    433,    515-16;   invade  Mont., 

692-3. 
Shoup,  Col  G.  L.,  exped.,  511;  biog., 

etc.,     554-5;     gov.     of     Id.    1880, 

583-4. 

Shoudy,  John  A.,  biog.,  358. 
Show,  Daniel,  rescued  from  Inds,  57. 
'  Shreveport,'  steamer,  413. 
Sidebotham,  R.  A.,  sec.  of  Id.,  474-5. 
Silver  Bow  county,  Mont.,  sketch  of, 

752;  election,  799-800. 
Silver  City,  Id.,  founded,  419. 
Silver  hill,  mining  at,  429. 
Simcoe  val.,  fight  in,  115. 
Similkameen  river,  gold  discov.,  232; 

excitement,  232-3. 


INDEX. 


831 


Simmons,  Andrew  J.,  located  claim, 
10;  signs  mem.  to  congress,  53. 

Simmons,  Christopher,  first  Am.  born 
in  Wash.,  2. 

Simmons,  L.,  exped.,  etc.,  of,  628. 

Simmons,  M.  I.,  candidate  for  con 
gress,  71-2;  death,  72. 

Simmons,  M.  T.,  at  Ft  Vancouver, 
1-2;  character,  2;  settles  on  Puget 
sound,  3;  saw-mill,  9;  store  at 
Olympia,  16;  actions  against  agric. 
assoc.,  40;  dist  judge,  44;  del.  to 
convention,  49;  signs  mem.  to  con 
gress,  53;  organizes  road  co.,  63; 
Ind.  agent,  94,  121,  177;  visit  to 
Puget  sound,  126. 

Sinclair,  James,  killed  at  the  Cas 
cades,  147. 

Sinclair,  W.  B.,  biog..  368. 

Singiser,  T.  F.,  sec.  of  Id.,  475;  con 
gressman,  567. 

Sioux,  hostilities  with,  413,  693,  718. 

Sitting  Bull,  campaign  against,  etc., 
712-19. 

Skakig  county,  created,  371. 

Skamania  county,  created,  77;  sketch 
of,  358-9. 

Skookum  creek,  block-house  erected, 
14. 

Slack,  Joseph  K.,  discov.  placers,  622. 

Slaterville,  founded,  237. 

Slaughter,  Lieut,  exped.  of,  122; 
death,  123. 

Sluggia,  captures  Leschi,  171;  death, 
174. 

Small-pox,  ravages  among  Inds.,  91-2. 

Smith,  A.  C.,  biog.,  etc.,  369-444. 

Smith,  C.  De  Witt,  acting  gov.  Id., 
463. 

Smith,  E.  L.,  sec.  of  ter.,  266. 

Smith,  Green  Clay,  gov.  of  Mont., 
662-6;  Ind.  campaign,  703-4. 

Smith,  Henry,  arrest  of,  202. 

Smith,  H.  A.,  settled  at  Seattle,  26; 
surg^  >f  vols,  166;  legislator,  282. 

Smith,        ..,.,  biog.,  354. 

Smith,  James  A.,  biog.,  748. 

Smith,  John  A.,  biog.,  624. 

Smith,  Joseph  S.,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30. 

Smith,  Levi  L.,  biog.,  15-16. 

Smith,  L.  P.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 

Smith,  Lyon  A.,  arrest  of,  202. 

Smith,  Nathan,  discovered  Salmon 
river  mines,  etc.,  245,  534. 

Smith,  R.  C.,  settled  in  Cowlitz  val., 
37. 

Smith,  Rufus,  biog.,  747. 

Smith,  Samuel,  discovered  Salmon 
river  mines,  245. 


Smith,  Victor,  collector,  220;  charges 
against,  220-3;  arrest  of,  223;  death, 
225. 
Smithers,  E.  M.,  settled  at   Seattle, 

26. 

Snake  river,  Id.,  fort  built,  184;  ferry 
rights,    251;    descript.    of,     394-7; 

surveyed,  437;  mining,  529-35. 
Snoqualimich  pass,  blockaded,  159. 
Snoqualimichs,  outbreak  of,  13-14. 
Snow,  J.  M.,  biog.,  319. 
Snyder,  Alfred,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 
Soda,  deposits  in  Id.,  536. 
South  Boise,  Id.,  mining,  etc.,  at,  431. 
Southeastern  Idaho,  map  of,  549. 
South  ford,  gold  discovered,  240-1. 
South  pass,  height  of,  395. 
Southwestern  Id.,  map  of,  529. 
Sparling,  F.  W.,  register,  298. 
Spaulding,  Henry  H.,  biog.,  354. 
Spencer,  P.  K.,  biog.,  326-7. 
Sperry,  Capt,  death  of,  522. 
Spillman,  C.  W.,  execution  of.  619- 

20. 
Splane,    Moses,  discov.  Boise   mines, 

259,  406. 

Splawn,  A.  J.,  biog.,  355. 
Spokane  co'try,  counsel  at,  104-5. 
Spokane  falls,  hist,  of,  391. 
Spokane   river,  gold   discovered,    63; 

bridge  across,  251. 
Spokanes,     Gov.     Stevens'     dealings 

with,     104-6;    campaigns    against, 

178-96;  treaty  with,  195. 
Spotted   Eagle,  capt.   of    Nez    Perce 

vols,  139. 
Spreading    Eagle,    Nez    Perce   chief, 

184. 
Squire,  W.  C.,  gov.  Wash.  1884,  293; 

biog.,  293-4;  adminst.,  293-8. 
Stahi,  chief,  outrages  by,  163. 
Standifer,  Jefferson,  capt.  of  vols,  411; 

U.  S.  sen.,  316. 
Stanton,  A.  K.,  biog.,  621. 
Stanwood,  Ingersoll,  biog.,  365. 
Starr,  L.  M.  and   E.  A.,    steamboat 

contractors,  272. 
Steamboats,  on   rivers,   269-72;   first 

charter  to  co.,  269. 
Stearns,   H.  N.,  settled   on   Boisfort 

prairie,  36. 
Steilacoom,    Ind.,    rendezvous,     121; 

insane    asylum,    273-4,    366;    coal 

mines,  309;  hist,  of,  303. 
Steinberger,  Justin,  sent  to  raise  regi 
ment  for  regular  service,  228;  com 
mand  at  Vancouver,  229. 
Steptoe,    Col,    campaign   of,    178-83; 

defeat  of,  182. 
Sterling,  F.  P.,  biog.,  770. 


832 


INDEX. 


Sterrett,  com'd  of  the  'Decatur,'  113. 

Stevens  co.,  hist,  of,  354. 

Stevens,  Isaac  Ingalls,  gov.  Wash, 
terr.,  61-2;  character  and  biog., 
70,  204-5,  208-9;  R.  R.  survey 
exped.,  71,  556;  messages,  74-6; 
98-9;  157-8;  report  on  H.  B.  co's 
property,  86;  leaves  for  Washington 
city,  88;  acts  in  lud.  affairs,  93- 
107;  visits  Puget  sound,  126;  at 
Or.  vols  camp,  142;  reception  at 
Olympia,  143;  plan  of  campaign, 
160;  takes  the  field,  162;  orders 
troops  to  the  sound,  163;  proclaims 
martial  law,  165;  holds  council 
with  Inds,  168-70;  unpopular,  202: 
del.  to  congress,  205-7;  career  dur 
ing  civil  war,  207-8;  death,  208;  ex 
ped.,  606-9. 

Stevens,  James  H.,  biog.,  358. 

Stevenson,  gov.  of  Id.,  proclam.  1889, 
584. 

Stevenson,  G.  H.,  biog.,  327. 

Stewart,  Geo.  H.,  speaker  of  house, 
280;  biog.,  292. 

Stickney,  Wm,  Ind.  comis.,  498. 

Stikines,  hostilities  of,  134-7. 

Stiles,  I.  L.,  biog.,  etc.,  310;  sup.  ct 
judge,  314. 

Stimpson,  Thomas,  biog.,  366. 

Stinkiiigwater  creek,  rich  diggings  at, 
412. 

Stock-raising,  Wash.,  349-51;  Mont., 
734-8;  759-60. 

Stodden,  Wm,  biog.,  748. 

Stone,  David,  settled  in  Cowlitz  val., 
37. 

Stone,  Nathaniel,  settled  in  Cowlitz 
val.,  37;  signs  mem.  to  congress, 
53;  justice  of  peace,  78. 

Storms,  D.  J.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 

Strahorn,  R.  E.,  works  of,  405;  pamph 
let,  etc.,  of,  807. 

Straight,  G.  E.,  biog.,  327. 

Straughn,  J.  C.,  surveyor  gen.,  584. 

Strong,  judge,  conflict  of  jury  with, 
50;  presiding  at  Olympia,  55;  can 
didate  for  congress,  73;  com.  to 
prepare  laws,  76;  capt.  in  Ind. 
war,  114,  138. 

Struve,  H.  G.,  pres.  of  council,  267. 

Stuart,  Chas,  settled  on  Shoalwater 
bay,  35. 

Stuart,  G.,  exped.  of,  613-17;  biog., 
776-7. 

Stuart,  G.  H.,  del.  to  convention, 
291. 

Stuart,  J.  .  expeds.  of,613-17;  627-8; 
630-3;  biog.,  613;  sheriff,  619;  legis 
lator,  644. 


Suckley,  G.,  in  Stevens'  survey  party, 
71. 

Suksdorf,  H.  F.,  biog.,  312. 

Sullivan,  E.  H.,  biog.,  311. 

Sullivan,  Jas,  biog.,  770. 

Sullivan,  Jere,  biog.,  776. 

Sullivan,  M.,  mention,  344. 

Sullivan,  P.  C.;  biog.,  313. 

Sully,  Gen.,  campaign  against  Sioux, 
693. 

Sulphur,  deposits  in  Id.,  537. 

Summit  City,  Id.,  founded,  428. 

Sumner,  Gen.  E.  V.,  com'd  of  Pacific 
dept,  227. 

Sumner,  G.  W.,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30. 

'Susan  Sturgis,'  ship,  attacked  by 
Inds,  90. 

Swanish  co.,  see  Mason  co. 

Swan,  James  G.,  settled  in  Shoal- 
water  bay,  35;  biog.  and  works,  35; 
explorations,  386. 

Swartout,  Sam'l,  com'd  of  the  '  Mas 
sachusetts,'  134;  actions  against 
Stikines,  134-7. 

Sweeny,  Samuel,  settled  in  Shoal- 
water  bay,  34. 

Sweet,  W.,  assoc.  judge,  1889,  583. 

Swindal,  C.  W.,  capt.  of  scouts,  159- 
67;  fight  at  White  river,  164. 

Syford,  Otto,  in  Ind.  fight,  478. 

Sylvester,  Edmund,  settled  at  Turn- 
water,  biog.,  6;  saw-mill,  9;  pur 
chases  the  Orbit,  15;  aids  road- 
making,  65. 

Symes,  Geo.  G.,  assoc.  judge,  662. 


Tabotte,  Henry  J.,  killing  of,  420. 
Taftetson,  Christian,  biog.,  368. 
Taftson,  Martin,  settled  on  Whidbey 

isl.,  30. 

Talbot,  H.  E.,  biog.,  546. 
Tappan,  Win  H.,  legislator,  73;  Ind. 

agent,  94. 
Taylor  Geo.  S.,  biog.,  355. 


Taylor 
Taylor 
Taylor 
Taylor 
Taylor 


Geo.  W.,  biog..  774. 

J.  A.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 

Capt.  0.  H.  P.,  killed,  181. 

ThosT.,  biog.,  749. 

W.  H.,  biog.,  392. 


Teeumseh,  in  attack  on  Seattle,  128. 
Temple,  Fred.,  biog.,  634. 
Territory,    petition   for   establishing, 

48-59,  59-60. 

Terry,  Gen.,  campaign  of,  713-15. 
Terry,  C.  C.,  founds  New  York,  21- 

3;  saw-mill,  33;  signs  mem.  to  con- 


INDEX. 


833 


gress,  53;   legislator,  98;   donation 

to  university,  215. 
Terry,  Mrs  Grove,  settled  on  Whid- 

bey  is}.,  30. 
'The   Columbian,'  newspaper  estab., 

51. 
The   Dalles,    army   headquarters    at, 

117. 

Thomas,  G-.  F.,  biog.,  423. 
Thomas,  John,  settled  at  Seattle,  26; 

founds  settlement,  06. 
Thompson,  Chas,  settler  at  Whidbey 

isl.,  31. 
Thompson,  D.  P.,  gov.  Id.  1876,  474; 

biog.,  474. 

Thompson,  G.  F.,  biog.,  320. 
Thompson,  Gideon,  biog.,  364. 
Thompson,  James,  in  attack  at   the 

Cascades,  148. 

Thompson,  L.  P.,  biog.,  320. 
Thompson,  W.  G.,  chief  justice  Id., 

1S79,  480. 
Thompson,  W.  J.,  biog.  and  ment.  of, 

of,  315-16. 
Thornton,  John,  settled  at  N.  Dunge- 

ness,  27;  rescued  from  Inds,  57. 
Thornton,  W.  M.,  biog.,  771-2. 
Three    Feathers,    Nez    Perce    chief, 

184. 
Thurston   co.,    created,    51;   officials, 

78;  vols  enrolled,  113;  under  mar 
tial  law,  203. 
Tibbals,  H.  L.,  of  P.  S.  Steam  Nav. 

co.,  272;  biog.,  366. 
Tilley,  M.  R.,  legislator,  biog.,  292. 
Tilton,  surveyor-gen.,  113. 
Tilton,  James,  app't'd  adj. -gen.,  114. 
Tinkham,  A.  W.,  in  Stevens'  survey 

party,  71. 

Titman,  H.,  biog.,  554. 
Tobin,    H.    H.,    founded   settlement, 

66;  Ind.  agent,  121. 
Toole,  J.  K.,  delegate  to  cong.,  782; 

biog.,   788-9;   gov.    of   Mont.,  797, 

800-4. 

Toole,  J.  R.,  biog.,  789. 
Towns,  Wash.,  hist,  of,  361-71,  390-2. 
Townsend,  A.,  Ind.  agent,  177. 
Trading  forts,  Mont.,  map  of,  610. 
'Traveller,"  steamer,  136,  271. 
Travis,  .).  J.,  biog.,  313. 
Tripp,  A.  G.,  biog.,  365. 
Troy,  S.,  legislator,   biog.,  292. 
Truett,  H.  B.,  biog.,  726-7. 
Trutch,  J.  W.,  surveys  R.  R.   route, 

69. 
Tucker,  A.   H.,  legislator,  biog.,  292- 

o. 

Tucker,  James,  settler  at   Port  Dis 
covery,  24;  murder  of,  28. 
HIST.  WASH.— 58 


Tucker,  J.  E.,  biog.,  327. 

Tukey,  John  F.,  settler  at  Port  Dis 
covery,  28. 

Tullis,  A.  F.,  settled  on  Boisfort 
prairie,  36;  legislator,  biog.,  292. 

Turn  water,  first  settlement  at,  4; 
early  annals,  5-8;  saw-mill,  9; 
block-house  erected,  14;  public 
meeting,  1848,  39;  manufac.  at, 
365. 

Turnbull,  James,  biog.,  365. 

Turner,  G.,  assoc.  judge,  297,  300; 
biog.,  310. 

Turner,  J.  C.,  biog.,  327. 

Turney,  L.  J.  S.,  app't'd  sec.  of  terr., 
211;  acting  gov.,  219. 

Twiss,  C.  P.,  legislator,  biog.,  293. 


U 


Umatillas,  loyalty  of,  521;  in  Wheat- 

on's  campaign,  525. 
'Una.'  ship,  wrecked,  53. 
Union  Lake,  named,  26. 
Updyke,  David  C.,  lynching  of,  461. 
Utah  Northern  R.  R.,  683-6,  752-3. 
Utes,  outbreaks  among,  719. 
Utter,    Wm,    settled    at    Bellingham 

bay,  32. 


Van  Assalt,  Hv.,  settled  on  the  Dwa- 

mish,  22. 

Van  Houton,  B.  C.,  biog.,  320. 
Van  Name,  J.  F.,  biog. ,'308. 
Vancouver,    co.    seat,    77;   alarm   at, 

152-3;    penitentiary,    213;    arsenal 

closed,    278;    conventions    at,  284; 

sketch  of,  365. 

Vancouver  co.,  created,  officials,  44-5. 
Vansycle,   J.    M.,   lays  out  Wallula, 

255;  biog.,  etc.,  371. 
Van  Wie,  Vroman  W. ,  biog.,  354. 
Vashon  island,  Ind.  rendezvous,  121. 
Vaughn,  Alfred  J.,  Ind.  agent,  625, 

691-2. 

Vaughn,  Wm,  biog.,  635. 
Vestal,  S.,  biog.,  320. 
Vigilance    committees,    see    Popular 

Tribunals,  this  series. 
Vincent,    Cceur    d'Alene   chief,    180; 

makes  peace,  194. 
Virginia  City,  founded,  etc.,  412,  629; 

mass   meeting   at,  699;   sketch   of, 

754,  780. 

Volcano  dist,  Id.,  mining  in,  428-9. 
!  Voorhees,    C.    S.,    del.    to    congress, 

302. 


834 


INDEX. 


W 

Wade,  Decius  C.,  chief  justice,  662. 

Wade,  R.  H.,  discovered  mine,  419. 

Wahkiakuin  co.,  created,  77;  officials, 
78. 

Wait,  S.  M.,  del.  to  convention,  291. 

Walla  Walla,  mil.  post  established  at, 
116;  campaign  of  Or.  troops,  140-4; 
army  inspected,  195;  mil.  co.  raised, 
229;  incorporated,  252;  convention 
at,  1878,  290-1;  sketch  of,  371. 

Walla  Walla  co.,  created,  77;  officials. 
77;  assessed  value  of  property,  251; 
hist,  of,  371. 

Walla  Walla  and  Columbia  River  Rail 
road  co.,  hist,  of,  388. 

Walla  Walla  Railroad,  hist,  of,  388. 

Walla  Wallas,  sign  treaty,  101;  exe 
cution  of,  195. 

Walla  Walla  valley,  Ind.  council  in, 
101;  map,  197;  settlers,  200. 

Wallace,  Leander  C.,  killed  at  Ft 
Nisqually,  13,  14. 

Wallace,  Thomas  W.,  settled  at  Turn- 
water,  6. 

Wallace,  Win,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30. 

Wallace,  WmH.,  biog.,  71;  candidate 
for  congress,  73;  legislator,  98;  capt. 
in  Ind.  war,  120,  139;  occupies 
Puyallup  val.,  122;  gov.  of  Wash., 
211;  del.  to  congress,  218;  gov.  of 
Idaho,  442  et  seq. 

Wallula,  town  laid  out,  255. 

Warbass,  E.  1).,  founds  town,  biog., 
37;  del.  to  convention,  49;  capt.  of 
vols,  167. 

Warbass,  W.  G.,  legislator, '21 8;  biog., 
364. 

Warbassport,  founded,  37. 

Ward,  Samuel,  delegate,  782. 

Ward,  D.  B.,  legislator,  biog.,  293. 

Ward,  Ira,  legislator,  73. 

Warner,  C.  H.,  biog.,  310. 

Warner,  D.,  settles  in  Puyallup  val., 
66. 

Warren,  C.  S.,  biog.,  765-6. 

Warren,  Hy.  L.,  chief  justice,  661. 

Warren,  James,  discovers  mines,  258. 

Warren,  town  of,  Id.,  552. 

Warwick,  Isaac,  murder  by,  420. 

Washington,  first  settlements,  1845- 
53,  1-38;  effects  of  Cal.  gold  discov 
ery,  12-13;  development,  1845-53, 
39-69;  terr.  named,  61;  population, 
1853,  62;  seal,  76;  Ind.  census, 
1853-4,  89-90;  Ind.  wars,  1855-8, 
108-200;  war  expenses,  175;  thro' 
four  admin.,  201-26;  mail  communi 


cations,  222;  mining,  1861-3,  230- 
63;  town-making,  231-62;  gov'm't 
and  development,  1863-86,  264-303, 
codif.  of  laws,  299;  enabling  act, 
304-7;  statehood,  317-27;  timber 
and  ship-building,  328-32;  marit. 
commerce,  etc.,  333-5;  light-houses, 
etc.,  335-6;  exports,  337-40;  coal 
mining,  340-2;  gold  and  silver, 
342-3;  agric.,  etc.,  343-5;  fisheries, 
345-9;  stock-raising,  349-51;  manu- 
fact.,  351-3;  counties  and  towns, 
354-71,  390-2;  churches,  372-4; 
education,  375-6;  libraries,  376-7; 
journals,  377-80;  Ind.  reserv.,  380-1; 
roads,  381-6;  railroads,  386-90. 

Washington  co.,  created,  465;  sketch 
of,  560. 

Washington  lake,  named,  26. 

'Water  Lily,'  steamer,  97. 

Watkins,  H.  W.,  attacked  by  Inds, 
92. 

Watkins,  James,  wounded  in  the  Cas 
cades  attack,  149. 

Watt,  A.,  biog.,  320. 

Waunch,  Geo.,  settled  at  Puget 
sound.  4. 

Weatherford,  A.  H.,  biog.,  327. 

Webber,  J.  B.,  stationed  at  S.  Juan 
island,  88;  in  charge  of  Ind.  camp, 
121;  R.  R.  enterprise,  270. 

Webster,  Win,  settles  at  Port  Town- 
send,  20. 

Weed,  Chas,  rescued  from  Inds,  57. 

Weir,  Allen,  sec.  state  Wash.,  314. 

Weir,  H.  W.,  chief  justice  1888,  583. 

Weir,  John,  exploration,  386. 

Weisenburger,  J.  J.,  biog.,  311. 

Welcher,  Benj.,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30. 

Welcher,  Lewis,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30. 

Weldon,  David  K.,  settled  on  Shoal- 
water  bay,  35. 

Wenatchee  river,  gold  discovered, 
230. 

West,  A.  J.,  biog.,  309. 

Westenfelclten,  Jacob,  prospecting  on 
Boise  river,  259,  406. 

West  Granite  mines,  ment.  of,  767. 

Whalley,  J.  T.,  biog.,  320. 

Wham,  Lieut  J.  W.,  Ind.  agent,  492. 

Whatcom  co.,  created,  77;  officials, 
77;  mil.  co.  raised,  229;  sketch  of, 
359. 

Wheaton,  Gen.,  Ind.  campaign  of, 
521-5. 

Whidbey  island,  Ind.  council  at,  11; 
settlements,  12,  28-31;  Ind.  out 
rages,  137. 


INDEX. 


835 


Whipple,  Capt.,  operations  of,  502-3. 
Whitcomb,  John,  setted  on  Protection 

island,  28. 
Whitcomb,    J.     Henry,     settled     on 

Shoalwater  bay,  35;  biog.,  36. 
White,  B.  F.,  gov.   Mont.   1889,  787; 

biog.,  787. 
White,    C.    F.,    settled    on     Boisfort 

prairie,  36;  legislator,  98. 
White,    Christian,   killed   at   Seattle, 

130. 
White,    Cyrus,    settled    on    Boisfort 

prairie,  36. 
White,   Elijah,   founds   Pacific   City, 

33. 

White,  Lieut  J.  L.,  in  Wright's  cam 
paign,  185. 
W'hite,  John,  discovers  placers,  etc., 

621. 
White,    Capt.    Joseph    A.,    fight     at 

White  river,  163-4. 
White,  W.  H.,  legislator,  biog.,  293. 
White  Bird,  Nez  Perce  chief.  499-500. 
Wrhite  river,  settlements  founded,  66; 

massacre  at,  118-20;  fight  at,  162-3. 
White    River    valley,    see    Dwamish 

valley. 
Whitesell,  H.,  settles  in  Puyallup  val., 

66. 
Whitlaeh,  James  W.,  discovers  quartz 

mine,  723. 

Whitlaeh  mine,  descript.  of,  723^4. 
Whitman  co.,  hist  of,  354. 
Whitman,    P.    B.,    Ind.    interpreter, 

484,  491. 
Whitson,  WmG.,  dist  judge,  Id.,  473; 

biog.,  473. 

Whitworth,  G.  F.,  biog.,  etc.,  373. 
Wickersham,  J.  H.,  comptroller,  584. 
Wiley,  J.  W.,  publishes  the  'Colum 
bian,'  51;  biog.,  77. 
Willamette   valley,   mining   rush  to, 

108;  gold  discovery,  243. 
Willard   creek,    gold   discovered   at, 

621. 

Willard,  Dr  G.  K.,  biog.,  364. 
Willhard,  John,  biog.,  635. 
Williams,  Amos,  biog.,  747. 
Williams,    Sam'l    H.,    rescued    from 

Inds,  57. 
Williams,  Sergt  Win  C.,  bravery  in 

[nd.  fight,  death,  ]81. 
Williamson,  J.  R.,  settled  at  Seattle, 

26. 

Williamson,  N.,  exped.,  etc.,  of,  614. 
Willison,  H.  C.,  biog.,  309. 
Williston,  L.  P.,  assoc.  judge,  643-4. 
Willopah  river,  settlers  on,  36. 
Willson,  B.,  biog.,  etc.,  549. 
Wilson,  E.  J.,  biog.,  320. 


Wilson,  Lieut,  belligerent  acts  of, 
221-2. 

Wilson,  Fred.  A.,  collector,  22(3;  biog., 
366. 

Wilson,  Henry  C.,  settles  at  Port 
Townsend,  biog.,  18;  del.  to  con 
vention,  49;  signs  mem.  to  congress, 
53;  sheriff,  59. 

WTilson,  J.  L.,  congressman,  314. 

Wingard,  S.  C.,  assoc.  judge,  285. 

Wisconsin  gulch,  mining  at,  630. 

Witherbee,  F.  S.,  biog.,  769. 

Withington,  L.  P.,  biog.,  556. 

Witten,  M.,  biog.,  747. 

Witter,   A.  C.,  speaker,  802. 

Wolfe,  H.  H.,  biog.,  320. 

Wolverton,  W.  M.,  ment.,  300. 

Woman  suffrage,  Wash.,  290,  298. 

Wood,  H.  C.,  Ind.  commis.,  498. 

Wood  river  dist,  mines  of,  529-31; 
map,  531. 

Wood,  W.  D.,  biog.,  321. 

Woodard,  A.,  settled  on  Whidbey 
isl.,  30 

Woodard,  John,  in  attack  at  the  Cas 
cades,  148. 

Wooding,  C.  F.,  biog.,  321. 

Woodward,  H.  R.,  biog.,  364. 

WToodward,  Sam'l,  settled  on  Shoal- 
water  bay,  35. 

Wool,  Gen.,  at  Vancouver,  116;  quar 
rel  with  officers,  117;  recall, 
176. 

Woolery,  A.  H.,  settled  in  Puyallup 
val.,  66. 

Woolery,  Isaac,  settled  in  Puyallup 
val.,  66. 

Word,  Saml,  biog.,  770. 

Word,  S.  E.,  biog.,  635. 

Wren,  Chas,  arrest  of,  202. 

Wright,  Col  Geo.,  arrival  of  with 
troops,  116;  exped.  to  Cascades, 
154-6;  campaign,  etc.,  of,  183-95; 
com'd  of  Pacific  dept,  227-8. 

Wright,  I.  H.,  settled  in  Puyallup 
val.,  66. 

Wright,  Moses,  biog.,  356. 

Wright,  T.  R.,  settled  in  Puyallup 
val.,  66. 

Wyche,  James  E.,  chief  justice,  biog., 
250;  dist  of,  278. 


Yakima  co.,  hist,  of,  355. 

Yakima  river,  gold  discov.,  63;  sol 
diers  drowned,  115;  mil.  post  on, 
117;  ferries,  251. 

Yakimas,  sign  treaty,  101;  hostility, 


836 


INDEX. 


109;  campaign  against,  110-13,  190; 

attack  at  Cascades,    146-52;    expel 

Leschi,    171;   exped.    against,    183- 

96. 
Yankee    Fork    dist,    Id.,    mines   of, 

532. 
Yantis,  B.  F.,  biog.,  64;  surveys  state 

road,  65;  legislator,  73. 
Yearian,  Jacob,  biog.,  556. 
Yellowstone  basin,  Mont.,  descript.  of, 

593-5. 
Yellowstone     co.,     organized,      445; 

sketch  of,  757-8. 


Yellowstone  river,  gov.  exped.  on, 
710-11. 

Yesler,  Henry  L.,  settled  at  Seattle, 
24-5;  co.  auditor,  78-9;  contrib 
utes  to  Seattle  fortifications,  133; 
R.  R.  enterprise,  270. 

'Young  America,'  steamer,  fate  of, 
271. 

Young,  Lieut,  sent  to  attack  Inds, 
135. 

Young,  Brigham,  visits  colony  in 
Idaho,  402-3. 

Young,  Wm,  killed  by  Inds,  93. 


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